TUIfly will take delivery of a new 737-800 in October and configure it with 52 business class seats. Aircraft will be used on high-priced leisure operations like around-the-world charters.
Japanese authorities ordered Japan Airlines and ANA to inspect all Q400s after a pilot was forced to abort a flight recently prior to a takeoff from Osaka. Bombardier confirmed that reports indicated a propeller blade on a Pratt & Whitney Canada engine on a JAL Q400 was dented. A spokesperson for the Canadian manufacturer emphasized that the inspection was not a "grounding order" and that the company was working with airline representatives and Japanese authorities. It would not speculate on the cause of the damage until the engine is inspected fully.
UPS on Friday opened a 27,000-sq.-ft. flight training center at Anchorage International, which it is building into its "gateway to Asia." Currently, 402 UPS Airlines pilots are based in ANC and 30 aircraft, including its entire 747-400F fleet and some MD-11Fs, will be domiciled there by 2010. The new facility houses two flight simulators including the carrier's only 747-400 simulator, classrooms and offices. "Established to support all phases of flight training, the new facility will make it unnecessary for Anchorage-based pilots to fly to Louisville for training," UPS said.
TAM flew 2.16 billion domestic RPKs in July, up 8% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 13.8% to 3.07 billion ASKs and load factor fell 3.8 points to 70.4%. International traffic jumped 37.5% to 1.48 billion RPKs against a 27.2% hike in capacity to 1.82 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 6.1 points to 81.5%. Copa Airlines flew 534.8 million RPMs in July, up 14.6% year-over-year, against a 15.2% rise in ASKs to 632.3 million. Load factor dipped 0.5 point to 84.6%.
Austrian Airlines Group announced the flotation of 57.1 million new bearer shares. Subscription period begins today and ends Sept. 8. New shares will be issued with full subscription rights of the existing shareholders, and those shares not allocated to existing shareholders will be allocated to Mohamed bin Iassa Al-Jaber in an amount corresponding to 20% of the company's shares after taking into consideration the subscription rights exercised by existing shareholders, AAG said.
Airlines on both sides of the Taiwan Strait carried 95,765 passengers across the strait with an average load factor of 87% over the seven weeks ended Aug. 18, according to Taiwanese authorities. Taiwan Civil Aviation Chief Li Long Wen told media last week that cross-strait routes are among the few profitable services operated by Taiwanese carriers.
Spanish investigators are backing away from blaming an engine fire for last week's Spanair MD-82 crash following emergence of a video of the failed takeoff that shows no signs of fire until after the aircraft, which elevated only a few meters off the ground, crashed back down on the runway.
American Airlines will launch five-times-weekly Chicago O'Hare-Montego Bay on Jan. 31 aboard a 757. AirTran Airways will launch service to Columbus from Atlanta (twice-daily), Orlando International (daily) and Fort Myers (daily) on Nov. 6 and daily MCO-Harrisburg on Nov. 20.
SAS Group airlines flew 4.16 billion RPKs in July, up 2.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 4.9% to 5.27 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 1.7 points to 78.9%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 2.62 billion RPKs, up 1%, against a 4.1% increase in ASKs to 3.25 billion. Load factor fell 2.5 points to 80.8%. Austrian Airlines flew 1.93 billion RPKs in July, down 2.9% year-over-year, against a 3.3% decline in capacity to 2.42 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 0.3 point to 79.6%.
Spanish authorities continued to search for the cause of Wednesday's Spanair MD-82 crash on takeoff from Madrid Barajas that killed at least 153 passengers and crew as the carrier insisted that a malfunctioning air intake probe that delayed the scheduled takeoff by 1 hr. had no relevance to the investigation.
Indian government has pulled back on plans to float 15% of Air India, Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla said this week in New Delhi. "The ministry is not actively looking at it," he told reporters. Instead, parent National Aviation Co. of India will seek INR10-INR15 billion ($228.3-$342.5 million) in funds from the government, including loans.
Airgo Airlines, a startup cargo carrier based in Athens, acquired an ATP Freighter on long-term sublease from West Air Sweden, which will provide maintenance and support, BAE Systems announced.
Sabre Airline Solutions reached agreement with Air One to launch Sabre's Mobile Check-In solution featuring advanced check-in capabilities across multiple touch points. Technology is part of its SabreSonic customer sales and service solution and integrates with other SabreSonic self-service options including Web and kiosk check-in. Sabre also announced that Kuwaiti startup Wataniya Airways selected its SabreSonic sales and service system featuring mobile technology aimed at expediting the check-in process.
Unite said yesterday that a strike by baggage handlers and check-in staff at London Stansted, Gatwick and Manchester planned for Aug. 25 has been "suspended" following a new pay offer from Swissport. It said a ballot of union members will begin "shortly" ( ATWOnline, Aug. 18).
Aggressive fuel hedging, a more favorable exchange rate, a booming domestic economy and tight fiscal management enabled Qantas to defy nearly every trend affecting the global airline industry and post a massive 44.1% increase in net profit to $A970 million ($845.1 million) for the fiscal year ended June 30, QF's new chairman, Leigh Clifford, attributed the result to "a strong revenue environment, which was supported by major investments in customer service and product. . .and sustained efforts to improve efficiency."
ITA Software announced that LOT Polish Airlines extended application of its QPX airfare pricing and shopping system, launching a weekend airfare search capability on LOT's website featuring flexible booking capabilities and advanced travel and cost options.
Pratt & Whitney said the PW1000G (formerly the Geared Turbofan) demonstrator engine finished the first phase of flight testing on the company's 747SP flying testbed. The engine completed 12 flights and ran approximately 43 hr., with tests focused on performance and operability, according to the company. VP-Next Generation Product Family Bob Saia said it performed "flawlessly" and "met all of our pre-flight performance targets."
Russian airline alliance AiRUnion is facing significant financial troubles and having trouble paying its bills, to the point where aircraft at Moscow Domodedovo, which controls fuel distribution, are not being fueled on time.
Lazard has been hired by Air France KLM to advise it on a possible acquisition of Austrian Airlines, a Lazard spokesperson told Thomson Financial. Companies interested in purchasing state holding company OIAG's 42.75% stake in OS have until Aug. 24 to announce their intentions ( ATWOnline, Aug. 15).
