Clickair, Iberia's low-cost affiliate, plans to ground seven or eight aircraft for the winter season owing to anticipated weak demand, a spokesperson told Reuters.
Jet Airways is "very pleased" with the performance of its European hub in Brussels, which it launched in August 2007 with a daily Mumbai-BRU-Newark 777 service, claiming that its first year "proves that the concept of hubbing out of your home market works." But CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer confirmed to ATWOnline on the sidelines of a presentation in Brussels that the venture is not yet profitable. "We remain optimistic to achieve our target to break even after 18 months of operations despite the current slowdown," he said.
Pinnacle Airlines will operate seven additional CRJ900s for Delta Air Lines that are being returned by another unidentified Delta Connection carrier. Three will arrive this month and another four in November. Pinnacle will lease the aircraft from DL on a short-term basis and return them as five ordered CRJ900s are delivered from Bombardier from January through May 2009. Pinnacle currently operates 11 CRJ900s (nine for DL).
AirTran Airways plans to launch daily Atlanta-Cancun on Feb. 25 and twice-weekly Baltimore-Cancun on March 7. TAP Portugal will launch six-times-weekly Lisbon-Casablanca on Oct. 27. It will be its ninth African destination. It also will increase daily LIS-Oslo Gardermoen to nine-times-weekly from January. TAM will launch daily Sao Paulo Guarulhos-Lima on Oct. 17 aboard a two-class A320. Jet2.com will launch Edinburgh-Dusseldorf, Manchester-Rhodes and Newcastle-Cork for its summer 2009 schedule.
Southwest Airlines flew 5.31 billion RPMs in September, down 5.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 0.8% to 8.38 billion ASMs, lowering load factor 4.5 points to 63.4%.
AiRUnion, the failed Russian airline alliance that comprised five carriers, ceased to exist Tuesday as the management company shut down. The Russian government intended to replace AiRUnion with a state-owned grouping of nine airlines ( ATWOnline, Sept. 11), but AiRUnion COO Gustav Baldauf told ATWOnline that "we are still working on a concept for a follow-up company" and that decisions on how the replacement alliance would function "will take some time."
Ryanair will expand its Madrid Barajas base with two new 737-800s on Nov. 18 and launch twice-daily service to Alicante, Palma, Santiago and Valencia. It also will increase frequencies to Dublin, Santander and Bergamo. Expansion will see the LCC's MAD network grow to six domestic and 17 international routes on six based aircraft. Ryanair also said that delayed delivery of new aircraft resulting from the machinists strike at Boeing ( ATWOnline, Sept. 22) has forced it to cancel 25 flights to/from Birmingham between Oct. 24 and Oct.
IAE announced that the first V2500 SelectOne engine entered service with launch customer IndiGo yesterday on a new A320. Aircraft, which was delivered to the Indian startup Sept. 23, is leased from Australia's Allco Finance Group.
Lufthansa Technik announced that the former Swiss International Air Lines technical division based in Basel has been relaunched as Lufthansa Technik Switzerland, focusing on technical support for VIP and business aircraft including the BBJ and ACJ. It also will service regional aircraft and engines operated by Swiss, such as the Avro RJ100. It employs nearly 500. The company will be headed by CEO Rainer Lindau and CFO Jan-Hendrik Labe. Lindau previously headed aircraft maintenance at Lufthansa CityLine.
Rockwell Collins was selected by Air Arabia to provide a package of communication, navigation and surveillance avionics for 59 forthcoming A320s. Package includes RC's WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection System. Deliveries are scheduled from 2009 through 2013.
United Airlines continued to take measures to boost its cash position, announcing yesterday that it has completed financing transactions that will add approximately $275 million in cash by year end. It said $125 million will come from an aircraft financing agreement, an additional $140 million from asset sales and another $10 million from substituting "certain cash collateral with a letter of credit." It did not provide more specific details.
Porter Airlines will launch 19-times-weekly Toronto City Centre-Chicago Midway on Nov. 12. Flights will operate thrice-daily on weekdays and twice on Saturdays and Sundays. Q400 service will increase to six times each weekday, twice on Saturdays and thrice on Sundays from Jan. 8. Porter said it is targeting flights to Boston, Washington and Philadelphia over the next 18 months. Air New Zealand will launch six-times-weekly Auckland-Masterton on Feb. 16 aboard an Eagle Air Beech 1900D.
Pratt & Whitney Canada announced integration of its customer service and support center groups into one organization. Move aims to streamline point of contact through Web tools, advance parts availability and improve TATs.
US President George Bush signed the FAA Extension Act of 2008 into law, extending funding for FAA operations and programs through March 31 ( ATWOnline, Sept. 25). He also signed a Dept. of Homeland Security appropriations bill requiring DHS to conduct two additional US Exit pilot programs--one where airlines collect and transmit biometric exit data and another where US Customs and Border Protection collects data at departure gates ( ATWOnline, Sept. 26).
LAN Airlines said the required adoption of IFRS on Jan. 1 will result in a 4.3% decline in shareholders' equity as of Dec. 31, representing a $42 million reduction to $946 million. LAN said the transition will not have a "significant material effect" on future financial results.
Lufthansa Systems reached a five-year deal with Air Berlin to provide its Traffic Flow Restrictions supplement for its Lido OC flight planning solution. Technology is expected to enhance route planning efficiency and reduce fuel costs.
British Airways World Cargo's former commercial GM, Keith Packer, pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix rates on international airfreight shipments and agreed to serve eight months in prison, the US Dept. of Justice announced. Under terms of the deal, which is subject to court approval, Packer also will pay a $20,000 criminal fine and has pledged to cooperate with DOJ's ongoing investigation into cargo carrier collusion. He is the first foreign national and third individual charged as part of DOJ's investigation.
The City of Chicago picked a consortium led by Vancouver Airport Services to operate Midway Airport under a 99-year lease. The group's $2.5 billion bid was the highest offer for MDW, the first large US commercial airport to be privatized under an FAA pilot program. Other members of the winning consortium are Citi Infrastructure Investors and John Hancock Life Insurance Co. It is the first US contract for YVRAS, which operates 18 airports in seven countries.
Southwest Airlines said yesterday that it will add Minneapolis/St. Paul to its network in March, its first new city since adding San Francisco in August 2007. Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said the expansion will be "very cautious and very conservative," evidenced by SWA's only operating flights to Chicago Midway from MSP. He did not disclose the number of daily flights on the route.
ExpressJet Holdings shareholders yesterday approved a 1:10 reverse stock split, which the company said will allow it to return immediately to trading on all NYSE Group platforms and return to compliance with NYSE's continued listing standards at the close of the six-month cure period on Jan. 18 ( ATWOnline, Sept. 8).
More than 1,000 aircraft will leave the global airline fleet by the end of this year through either retirements or carrier failures, according to Ascend Director Eddy Pieniazek, who spoke yesterday in a webcast presented by the UK-based aviation consultancy and information services firm.
Air Pacific's two 747-400s will be refurbished with new cabins (including seat covers, carpet and curtains), upgraded digital IFE, renewed galleys and lavatories, interior lighting and paint. The aircraft will be serviced in Singapore in October-November and February-March and a United Airlines 747-400 will be wet-leased to maintain the flight schedule. Separately, FJ will launch twice-weekly Nadi-Gold Coast on Dec. 1 aboard a 737-800.
SELF-SERVICE TECHNOLOGY, particularly booking tickets and checking in for flights online and airport kiosk check-in, has moved beyond the initial "hype period" and is here to stay, becoming a key component of "an irreversible evolution" in the way airline passengers travel.
