AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co. will postpone the first flight of the ARJ21 at least six months to this September/October owing to the fact that "supplier[s] of key systems were not able to provide necessary test conditions on time." The aircraft was scheduled to take to the skies in March ( ATWOnline, Dec. 24, 2007). ACAC promised it is making efforts to ensure that the delivery of key systems is on schedule.
Iraqi government signed an agreement for the purchase of 10 787s and 30 737NGs, Boeing announced yesterday ( ATWOnline, Feb. 21). Contractual terms are yet to be finalized.
TAM's 2007 net income dropped 78.9% to BRL128.8 million ($74 million) from BRL611.8 million in the prior year as it contended with both the aftermath of the July A320 crash that killed 199 people and ongoing ATC problems in Brazil. The carrier called 2007 "a year of many challenges" and said the accident combined with Brazil's aviation "infrastructure" issues ( ATWOnline, July 30, 2007) and "high volatility" in the global economy drove the poor result, but it expressed optimism about future prospects.
Kingfisher Airlines will eliminate the Deccan brand once the carriers complete their merger in late April, Kingfisher Chairman Vijay Mallya told reporters, according to widespread press reports ( ATWOnline, Dec. 21, 2007). He also said Indian civil aviation authorities confirmed that Kingfisher will be able to fly abroad using Deccan's original operating certificate beginning Aug. 28 ( ATWOnline, Feb. 14).
AVIC I announced an MOU with GECAS for the sale of five ARJ21-700s, China Daily reported from Beijing. AVIC I Vice GM Hu Wenming, speaking at the ceremony launching Joy Air (see item above), confirmed that GECAS is the new aircraft's first overseas customer and that the lessor "said it will buy more ARJ21 planes to strengthen its fleet. . .This means ARJ21 planes have been accepted by the market."
Pratt & Whitney, maker of the Geared Turbofan that will power the newly launched Mitsubishi Regional Jet, "currently [has] several proposals out with various airlines and we are confident that there will be additional orders throughout this year," according to Todd Kallman, president of Pratt's Commercial Engines unit. ANA placed the first MRJ/GTF order last week ( ATWOnline, March 28).
Seattle-based cargo company offered to buy the cargo operations of Aloha Airlines, which declared bankruptcy March 20 ( ATWOnline, March 25). The Associated Press reported that Saltchuk Resources placed a bid for Aloha's cargo assets, equipment and service lines. Saltchuk has 6,000 employees and has been active in Hawaii since 2000. It also owns Northern Air Cargo, the largest cargo carrier in Alaska.
Air France KLM will retain 4,191 out of approximately 7,400 AZ Servizi workers under a new plan submitted to unions last week rather than the 3,300 it originally anticipated, according to a document accessed by Reuters ( ATWOnline, March 26). It eventually plans to cut an additional 500 positions, the news agency reported, and still plans to cut approximately 1,600 employees from Alitalia's flying operation and close the cargo subsidiary in 2010.
China Eastern Airlines and AVIC I launched their Joy Air joint venture in Beijing Friday with an eye on supporting the development of domestically produced aircraft and tapping the regional market in western China.
British Airways cancelled an estimated 150 flights over the first three days of London Heathrow Terminal 5's chaotic opening and CEO Willie Walsh conceded that the launch of operations at the highly touted facility was "definitely not British Airways' finest hour."
Boeing reached agreement with Vought Aircraft Industries to acquire its interest in Global Aeronautica, a fuselage subassembly facility in North Charleston that performs work on the 787.
Turkish Airlines CEO Temel Kotil told ATWOnline last week that THY's new "full-service" low-cost carrier will be named Anatolia Jet and will start operations on April 23 with five 737-400s from its Ankara base. "As a first step, we will use Anatolia Jet on domestic routes. Then we will grow internationally," Kotil said. The THY mainline currently operates to 29 destinations from Ankara in addition to Istanbul. That network "could" be taken over by Anatolia Jet in the future, he said.
S7 Airlines will add four A320s to its fleet during its summer schedule, which began yesterday. First already has been delivered and will begin flying from Moscow Domodedovo to Barnaul and Krasnodar this month. Others will fly from DME to Kemerovo, Sochi, Novosibirsk and Frankfurt and from Novosibirsk to Vladivostok and Beijing, where S7 will operate out of the new Terminal 3. A320s will replace Tu-154s. It will use A319s on a thrice-weekly DME-Dublin service beginning April 27.
Ryanair will close its Dublin Telesales Operation at the end of May and cut up to 40 positions as part of a cost-reduction program announced last week ( ATWOnline, March 27). CEO Michael O'Leary said phone bookings now account for fewer than 1% of sales. Ryanair will maintain call centers in Germany and Romania, which he said are 60% cheaper to operate than the Dublin office.
Alaska Airlines flew 1.42 billion RPMs in February, up 13.5% from the year-ago month, against a 9.4% increase in capacity to 1.94 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 2.6 points to 73.3%. Finnair flew 1.77 billion RPKs in February, a 17.3% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 20.3% to 2.37 billion ASKs and load factor fell 2 points to 74.8%. Estonian Air carried 51,851 passengers in February, up 18.4% from the year-ago month.
Sri Lankan government named P. B. Jayasundera as the new chairman of SriLankan Airlines, in which the government holds 51.05%. It will seat four on the new board while Emirates, which holds 43.63%, will have three seats. Air India parent National Aviation Co. of India named Raghu Menon as chairman and MD effective today, when he will replace Vasudevan Thulasidas, whose term is concluding. Menon has been serving as special secretary and financial advisor in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft purchased the Pacelab Cabin solution in order to develop customer-specific cabin configurations and "promote sales" of the Superjet 100 regional aircraft.
Northwest Airlines will join several US legacy competitors and begin charging North American economy passengers $25 for a second checked bag on each segment ( ATWOnline, March 19). Policy goes into effect May 5, applies to Northwest Airlink customers and includes an increase to $100 from $80 for three or more checked bags and to $50 from $25 for pieces weighing more than 50 lb.
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines resumed normal schedules Friday after completing inspections of wiring on hundreds of temporarily grounded aircraft, while US FAA said it will issue preliminary findings this week of its audit of domestic carriers' compliance with airworthiness directives.
AirAsia X, as expected, signed for an additional 10 392-seat A330-300s, bringing the airline's commitment to the type to 25. The additional 10 aircraft will be delivered to the long-haul LCC progressively over the next five years.
Malaysia Airlines told the Bernama national news agency that it has "yet to make a decision" on the replacement for its 737s and A330s, but according to CFO Azmil Zahruddin that decision is close. The airline has issued RFPs for 55 narrowbody and 55 twin-aisle aircraft and a recent unidentified order posted by Boeing for 85 aircraft made up of 35 787s, 40 737s and 10 777s has some analysts speculating that MAS is the buyer ( ATWOnline, March 14). The airline has a fleet of 111 aircraft.
JetBlue founder and Chairman David Neeleman is trying his hand at starting yet another airline and signed a contract yesterday for 36 E-195s to operate in Brazil. The new carrier will be based in Sao Paulo, where Neeleman was born, and is targeting a 2009 launch. It eventually will serve most major Brazilian markets, flying up to 76 195s by 2013. The agreement with Embraer includes options on 20 aircraft plus 20 purchase rights. The firm order is valued at $1.4 billion and the 118-seaters will feature LiveTV satellite IFE, a first for a Brazilian airline.
Record revenue helped El Al return to profit in 2007 as the Israeli carrier posted $31.7 million in net earnings compared to a $33.9 million loss in 2006, when hostilities with Lebanon exacted a heavy toll on the bottom line. Turnover of approximately $1.93 billion was the highest in El Al's 60-year history, it said, and represented a 16% increase from the prior year. Operating result swung to a $71.4 million profit from an $8.5 million deficit.
Delta Air Lines yesterday grounded 117 MD-88s to inspect wiring, leading to an expected 275 flight cancellations through early today. The move came a day after American Airlines began wiring inspections on all 309 of its MD-80s. AA's inspections continued yesterday, leading to more than 130 flight cancellations in addition to the 325 it cancelled Wednesday ( ATWOnline, March 27). Inspections stem from US FAA's audit of domestic airlines' compliance with agency airworthiness directives.
