The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore yesterday announced a S$10 million ($7.2 million) expansion project at Changi Airport's Budget Terminal scheduled to begin in July. The seven-gate facility, which opened in March 2006 and caters to LCCs ( Airport Equipment & Technology, Summer 2006), will be enlarged to 28,700 sq. m. from 25,000 and boost annual passenger capacity to 7 million from 2.7 million.
Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines pilot groups resumed meetings on a proposed merger after a break of nearly two weeks, The Detroit News reported. The airlines last month briefed their pilot groups on details of a potential merger, but leaders of the two carriers' pilots, all of whom are represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., reached an impasse over combining seniority lists ( ATWOnline, Feb. 29). NWA and DL appear reluctant to move forward with a merger agreement absent the support of pilots.
Vueling Airlines will set up a new seasonal base at Ibiza, where it will base one A320 from May 30 to Sept. 21. The LCC will launch new routes to Seville, Bilbao and Alicante, bringing the number of destinations served from IBZ to eight. Last year it carried 283,164 passengers through the airport, representing an 8.8% share of passenger throughput.
China Southern Airlines Chairman Liu Shaoyong told reporters in Beijing yesterday that he hopes to sign a joint venture cargo agreement with Air France KLM this year, Reuters reported. "Our discussions with Air France are going smoothly," he said. The airline announced last year that it had entered into exclusive talks with AF-KLM to launch a JV freight carrier in China ( ATWOnline, May 16, 2007).
TUIfly's brand will not disappear should the carrier complete its merger with Germanwings, TUI Germany CEO Volker Bottcher said in Berlin yesterday. TUI signed an MOU with Lufthansa in January to combine their LCC subsidiaries into one "joint and independent holding company" ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27). Travel conglomerate TUI owns TUIfly, the combination of Hapag-Lloyd Flug and Hapag-Lloyd Express, while LH partners with Germanwings and Eurowings along with Albrecht Knauf Industriebeteiligung.
Condor Airlines will fit out its nine 767-300ERs with a new premium economy cabin featuring 35 seats with 36-in. pitch. Installation, which is scheduled to be finished by November, will necessitate the reduction of Condor's Comfort Class business cabin to 18 seats from 24.
Qatar Airways yesterday unveiled a 2008 network expansion plan that will include a new thrice-weekly Doha-Houston Intercontinental flight beginning Nov. 10. The 777-200LR service will become daily the following month. QR will take delivery of its first aircraft of the type just days before launching the route and will configure it with 42 seats in business class and 217 in economy. Its first new route of 2008 will be a four-times-weekly Guangzhou service beginning March 31, with a fifth weekly flight added on May 1.
B/E Aerospace said it won a $200 million contract with an unnamed international airline to retrofit existing widebodies and outfit new aircraft with its Super First Class private suites. Features include personal beds, interactive IFE and dining amenities.
Boeing said yesterday that it has completed 50% of the design releases for the 747-8 freighter, releasing detailed designs to Boeing factories and suppliers so parts, assemblies and tools for the aircraft can begin being built.
US FAA yesterday proposed a $10.2 million civil penalty against Southwest Airlines "for operating 46 airplanes without performing mandatory inspections for fuselage fatigue cracking," representing "deliberate violations" of an agency airworthiness directive.
NavAero won an EASA 737 STC for its tBagC22 EFB System for -300, -400, -500, -600, -700, -800 and -900 series aircraft. Certification was executed by Saab Aerotech in cooperation with SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
Boeing delivered its 700th 777 Monday, a -300ER leased by Cathay Pacific Airways from ILFC. The lessor has ordered 79 777s since 1992 and has five more scheduled for delivery. CX operates 24 777s, with 23 additional -300ERs to come.
Sun Country Airlines ended a 10-month search for a new chief executive yesterday, naming AirTran CFO Stan Gadek as its new president and CEO effective March 10.
Lufthansa said its operations were "gradually returning to normal" yesterday following a series of 3-hr. "token strikes" by German airport workers represented by the ver.di and komba unions early in the day. LH said it canceled 300 of its 1,850 flights yesterday, affecting about 18,500 passengers. Its long-haul operation was not impacted.
British Airways subsidiary OpenSkies revealed several product features for the transatlantic 757 service it plans to launch in June. The three-class, 82-seat 757-200s will have 24 business class seats, MD Dale Moss wrote on the startup's website. The cabin, dubbed Biz, will feature lie-flat seats, on-demand IFE with more than 50 hr. of programming and an expanded menu with "more fresh, healthy, a la carte selections. . . and a service style that is modeled from a fine dining restaurant." A Biz ticket also will include dedicated check-in and private airport lounges.
CTC Aviation and flyLAL Training signed an agreement to cooperate in the training and supply of flight deck and cabin crew. Contract calls for delivery of training courses and other activities to support airlines in Europe and Russia.
British Airways flew 8.04 billion RPKs in February, a 5.3% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 4.4% to 11.77 billion ASKs and load factor rose 0.6 point to 68.4%. Southwest Airlines flew 5.43 billion RPMs in February, up 12% from the year-ago month, against a 9% increase in ASMs to 7.91 billion. Load factor rose 1.8 points to 68.6%. Ryanair transported 3.8 million passengers in February, up 20% from the year-ago month. Load factor slipped 2 points to 75%.
Clarity Systems said JetBlue Airways, Eos Airlines, British Airways and other international and regional carriers selected its Clarity 6 and Clarity FSR technology to streamline budgeting, forecasting and regulatory reporting operations.
Varig added to its growing list of interline agreements by reaching deals with six more European carriers: Aegean Airlines, Air Moldova, Air Comet, CSA Czech Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and Ukraine International Airlines. The new agreements follow interline accords already forged with its parent Gol, Air France KLM, Hahn Air, Malev Hungarian Airlines, El Al, Air One, Japan Airlines, Mexicana, Korean Air, Iberia, Qatar Airways and Delta Air Lines.
Germanwings will increase the number of employees from the current 1,087 to 1,300 during 2008, MD Thomas Winkelmann said at the ITB convention in Berlin Wednesday. Some 200 new employees will be needed as cabin and cockpit crew as the A319/A320 fleet increases from 28 to 31 this year. He said the carrier was profitable in 2007 but declined to provide figures. Turnover rose 12.7% to €630 million ($957.7 million) and passengers increased 12.5% to 8 million. Last year's load factor was 82%.
JetBlue Airways named Joseph Eng to the new position of executive VP-systems and technology. He formerly was president and CEO of IT solutions and services provider Spectrum Systems. SkyWest Airlines promoted Casey Madsen to director-employee relations, Christopher Brown to director-flight operations and Robin Wall to director-training.
Cathay Pacific Airways reported a profit attributable to shareholders of HK$7.02 billion ($901.9 million) in 2007, up 71.8% from the HK$4.08 billion earned in 2006.
Iberia will increase A340 frequencies from Madrid to Washington Dulles (to five-times-weekly from thrice-weekly) and Boston (to daily from thrice-weekly) in mid-June. IB said its US passenger numbers rose 21% last year. SunExpress will launch thrice-weekly service from Istanbul Sabhia Gokcen to Cologne and Berlin Schoenefeld and twice-weekly flights to Hannover on March 30. It took delivery of its 14th aircraft, a 737-800, last month.
United Airlines announced the distribution of $110 million in profit-sharing payments to US-based employees, bringing to $170 million the amount employees earned in 2007 from performance incentives.
