BOC Aviation, which said it anticipates "ongoing demand for leased aircraft from the A320 family at both full-service and low-cost airlines around the world," placed firm orders for 20 aircraft, Airbus announced at the Zhuhai Air Show. The Singapore-based lessor, a subsidiary of Bank of China, now has ordered 98 single-aisle aircraft from Airbus, of which 58 have been delivered.
Boeing confirmed that the 787 will not fly in 2008, although it is blaming the recently concluded machinists strike and not software troubles or newly surfaced fastener issues for the latest delay.
Indian parliament passed legislation establishing the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority ( ATWOnline, Oct. 23). AERA is designed to encourage investment, regulate charges and foster competition among Indian airports. But IATA said more is needed, with DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani claiming that "many" of ICAO's principles of "transparency, nondiscrimination and user-consultation. .
Rockwell Collins will provide Saudi Arabian Airlines with communication, navigation and surveillance avionics for 50 A320s under a deal announced yesterday. Aircraft deliveries are scheduled to begin next year and continue through 2013.
Continental Airlines' October consolidated RASM rose an estimated 9%-10% year-over-year. It flew 7.14 billion RPMs during the month, down 7.3%, against a 6.7% fall in capacity to 9.04 billion ASMs. Load factor dropped 0.5 point to 79%. Southwest Airlines flew 6.21 billion RPMs in October, up 2.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose at approximately the same rate to 8.81 billion ASMs. Load factor dippedl 0.1 point to 70.4%.
Embraer, which yesterday reported a 70.5% drop in third-quarter net income to $57.7 million, revealed that it is considering building a larger aircraft potentially to compete with rival Bombardier's CSeries. CFO Antonio Luiz Pizarro Manso said during a conference call with media that the company is "studying the development of a larger plane," adding that it "could be carried out in partnership [with another manufacturer] or not."
China received a boost to its aircraft manufacturing ambitions yesterday as GECAS announced an order for five firm and 20 option ARJ21-700s. The aircraft will be powered by GE's CF34-10A and are scheduled to begin delivering to the lessor in 2013. GECAS is the first Western customer to order the 90-seater, which now has sold 206 units. Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Chairman Zhang Qingwei said the commitment also marks the largest so far. It is worth up to approximately $800 million if all options are filled.
Four unions representing Alitalia pilots and cabin staff said they would undertake "all useful actions leading to the cancellation" of Compagnia Area Italiana's agreement to take over the ailing carrier ( ATWOnline, Nov. 4), according to a statement cited by Agence France Presse. Other unions have agreed to terms with the new investors. "I hope good sense will prevail on the part of the pilots and flight attendants because there is no alternative," UIL union Secretary General Luigi Angeletti said on Italian television.
Ryanair will open its Edinburgh base today with new service to Berlin Schonefeld, Billund, Bournemouth, Bratislava, Lodz, Malaga, Poznan, Stockholm Skavsta and Wroclaw. Flights to Krakow and Palma begin next month. The LCC transported 5.4 million passengers in October, up 18% year-over-year. Load factor was level at 85%.
Ryanair reported a €185.8 million ($236.3 million) net profit in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, a 31% drop from the €268.7 million earned in the year-ago period, as fuel costs jumped 109% to €422 million. Operating revenue increased 20% to €1.03 billion as passengers rose 20% to 16.7 million. Operating expenses climbed 50% to €830.8 million and operating profit decreased to €202.9 million from €304 million a year earlier.
The global economic downturn heightens the challenges to shifting to a satellite-based ATC system, top officials from US FAA and Eurocontrol said yesterday in Washington. Speaking at the Air Traffic Controllers Assn. Conference and Exposition, Executive Director-SESAR Joint Undertaking Patrick Ky and FAA Air Traffic Organization COO Hank Krakowski argued that it is critical to move forward with developing the SESAR and NextGen ATC systems even as traffic growth is slowing and near-term funding may be limited, and pushed for greater transatlantic cooperation.
Boeing machinists in Washington, Oregon and Kansas voted overwhelmingly Saturday to ratify a new four-year contract and return to work following a costly 58-day strike. The vote by members of the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers was 74% in favor of ratification, IAM said, with only a simple majority required. The union represents approximately 27,000 Boeing employees.
Qatar Airways reached a 15-year agreement with Qtel for migration of its data center to the telecommunications provider's operations facilities in Doha. Migration includes systems supporting flight operations, finance, human resources and Internet booking activities.
Royal Jordanian suffered a JOD2 million ($2.8 million) net loss through the year's first nine months, implying a third-quarter profit of approximately JOD1.1 million based upon its half-year results ( ATWOnline, Aug. 5). Nine-month revenue rose 34% year-over-year to JOD533 million, but fuel costs soared 92% to JOD221 million.
US House of Representatives' New York and New Jersey delegations wrote a letter to House leaders expressing "outrage" at the US Dept. of Transportation's final rule on slot auctions and flight caps at New York JFK, LaGuardia and Newark announced last month ( ATWOnline, Oct. 16). Lawmakers charged that the DOT plan is an "illegal and untested auction scheme" that will not mitigate congestion at the crowded airports and will force DOT to spend taxpayer money to defend multiple lawsuits.
Compagnia Area Italiana presented its binding offer for Alitalia Friday despite the continuing protest of unions representing pilots and flight attendants ( ATWOnline, Oct. 30). AZ, operating under administration, said the bid is "unique, inseparable and irrevocable" until Nov. 30 and is conditional upon European Commission approval of the Italian government's emergency loan and antitrust approval ( ATWOnline, Oct. 3). CAI is confident it can re-launch Alitalia on Dec.
Hong Kong Airport Services and Hong Kong International Airport Services agreed to a merger forming a single ground-handling company. HAS will have more than 3,000 employees and serve 40 airlines. Financial details were not disclosed.
Flight Safety Foundation last week announced its support for new laws to protect against the release or use in judicial proceedings of information gathered by voluntary self-disclosure reporting programs. Examples of such programs include the Aviation Safety Action Program, the Flight Operational Quality Assurance program and the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system.
Boeing's chances of flying the 787 this year took another hit after the company acknowledged further fastener problems with the first aircraft on the production line. A spokesperson confirmed the problem, telling ATWOnline that the manufacturer "recently discovered some fasteners on the 787 airplanes in Everett Final Assembly were incorrectly installed and do not conform to specifications. The fasteners themselves are fine."
Rockwell Collins won a deal with China Cargo Airlines to provide communication, navigation and surveillance avionics for 10 777Fs. Aircraft are slated for delivery from December 2009 through 2013.
GHS Aviation Auditing of McLean, Va., was certified to conduct IATA Operational Safety Audits by IATA. GHS was founded in 2004 by George Snyder, who led airline safety departments in the US and Asia. He is a founding member of the IOSA development committee.
