Air New Zealand, Air Transport World's Passenger Service Award winner for 2008, posted a 58% increase in net profit to NZ$115 million ($93.7 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31 on a 9.6% rise in operating revenue to NZ$2.33 billion.
Dusseldorf International will invest €300 million in infrastructure upgrades in order to offer shorter connecting times and compete more effectively with other European hubs. DUS is looking to increase the percentage of passengers flying long-haul to 20% from 10%. It is the third-busiest airport in Germany with 17.8 million passengers last year.
LTU German Airlines MD Jurgen Marbach resigned on Feb. 29 and will be replaced by former dba MD Helmut Weixler. Marbach sold his 45% stake in LTU to airberlin in August.
CSA Czech Airlines posted a CZK111 million ($6.7 million) pre-tax profit in 2007, an impressive reversal from a CZK396 million loss the previous year and nearly three times greater than its forecast result under its OK 2006-2008 strategy.
Norwegian is taking its low-cost model long-haul and will launch twice-weekly flights from Oslo Gardermoen and thrice-weekly flights from Stockholm Arlanda to Dubai on Oct. 26 aboard new 737--800s. "We see no reason not to launch long-haul routes based on our low-cost model," CEO Bjorn Kjos said. "Our new fleet of 737-800s from Boeing enables us to look even further when analyzing future markets and we aim to make good use of the opportunities the extra range gives us."
Beijing Capital International Airport's new $3 billion-plus Terminal 3 opened Friday as Shandong Airlines flight SC1151 arrived from Jinan at 8:39 a.m. UK architect Norman Foster claimed it is the largest covered structure ever built--3.25 km. long and 1.3 million sq. m. of floor space. Construction began in March 2004. The airport said the three-concourse facility welcomed Shandong, Sichuan Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, British Airways and El Al Friday.
Hainan Airlines is in crisis following the appeal of six pilots to the Haikou arbitration committee to have their labor contracts terminated. The six resigned at the end of last year, bringing to 20 the number of HNA pilots who have walked out since 2006. The carrier has accepted none of the resignations and their disputes remain unresolved. Luo Zulin, one of the six who asked for arbitration yesterday, said the resignations were a result of "frequent overtime" and "long delays in getting their salary."
Gulf Air will launch four-times-weekly Bahrain-Shanghai Pudong on June 16 aboard A340-300s. Service becomes daily in the winter 2008 schedule. EgyptAir will transfer its Paris operation from Orly to Charles de Gaulle on March 30. Wizz Air launched four-times-weekly Bucharest Baneasa-Cluj Napoca, its first Romanian domestic service, as well as thrice-weekly BBU-Brussels Charleroi, BBU-Bergamo and Cluj Napoca-Dortmund. Wizz will base an A320 in Cluj from May and will launch flights to Valencia and Bergamo.
Jettainer signed a five-year agreement with United Airlines to provide unit load device management services including worldwide tracking and tracing, inventory fulfillment, ULD repairs and performance monitoring.
AAAE named Sean Broderick staff VP-external communications and Barbara Cook editor-Airport Magazine. Airbus appointed Harald Wilhelm CFO. AirTran Airways promoted Peggy Sauer-Clark to VP-inflight services. American Airlines tapped Robert J. Friedman as president-AAdvantage Marketing Programs and Mark E. DuPont as VP-airport services planning. Aon Risk Services welcomed Roger Maldonado as southeast region practice leader and Christopher Barnes as assistant leader. ASIG selected Carmine Testa as GM-JFK Terminal One ground services operations.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres signed a joint venture with Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. and Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. to build a retreading facility in Jinjiang, Fujian Province. Dunlop will command a 63% stake, HAECO will take 28% and TAECO will hold a 9% share.
On Jan. 1, for the first time in six years, the US airline industry began a new year with no carriers operating under bankruptcy protection. The 10 largest were all in the black in 2007 and the nine that had reported full-year income as of this writing posted a cumulative net profit of $5.88 billion. Costs finally have been reined in, with overall 2007 expenses growing just 3.2% and CASM rising a mere 0.4%.
PECO said it won US FAA Parts Manufacturer Approval for more than 1,600 of the assemblies and components it supplies to Boeing. Based in Portland, Ore., PECO provides OEMs with interior products such as passenger service units, flight attendant modules, reading light assemblies, spacer panels and cabin air diffusers. The approval is part of a PECO initiative to advance these parts in the aftermarket. "Boeing and the FAA have been excellent partners in our drive to obtain this approval and launch the program," President and CEO Scott Smith told Airline Procurement.
AS THE INDUSTRY DEBATES THE TITANIC 787 VERSUS A350 XWB battle, it would do well to remember that two of the most successful aircraft programs in history, the 737 and 777, were last out of the blocks. When the 737 was launched, the competing DC-9 and BAC 1-11 were already in flight test, while the 777 was committed to production well after the MD-11 and A340-200/-300 had "sewn up" the market for long-haul 300-seaters.
Jervis B. Webb Co. reached a $41 million deal with Hoffman Construction Co. to install a new outbound baggage handling system with in-line EDS at Portland International. "Our first step is to install interim equipment in order to relocate existing airline baggage makeup operations to free up space for the new screening systems," Webb Airport Systems VP Ken Hamel told AP. Installation includes an automated baggage screening process and involves moving screening systems from the ticket lobby to the terminal's lower level.
WHEN SEVERE weather hits, airlineswhich generally gear their operational procedures toward keeping flights on scheduleengage in critical cost-benefit analyses. They must decide whether to cancel flights and deal with the consequences or attempt to keep aircraft moving despite a less-than-ideal operating environment. There are no easy answers, and miscalculations can lead to disastrous situations in which passengers are stranded for hours at a time in aircraft sitting on the tarmac.
The open skies treaty between the EU and US that takes effect at the end of this month might better have been called the "Open Heathrow" treaty, since that is where 99% of the action is taking place, with five new entrants set to begin serving the airport come April 1. That Heathrow should be the vortex of activity is not surprising given that for the purposes of the US-UK market it has been closed to all but four airlines for decades. Plus, as Senior Editor and Europe Bureau Chief Cathy Buyck notes in her fine feature beginning on p.
EARLY RETURNS FROM THE first Multi-Crew Pilot License instruction courses demonstrate that the ICAO-approved alternate training path for commercial transport pilots is living up to its promise, say those familiar with the programs. At the same time, advocates are working hard to dispel the notion that MPL is simply a shortcut to the cockpit intended to alleviate the current pilot drought.
CAE reached agreement with the Indian government to become the managing partner of its flight school, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi. It also entered into a JV with the Airport Authority of India to develop the Rajiv Gandhi National Flying Training Institute. "We are pleased that the government of India has recognized CAE's expertise in creating and managing world-class flight training organizations," Innovation and Civil Training and Services Group President Jeff Roberts said.
Travelport GDS said all new airline contracts will cover participation in Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan. The company also confirmed that it has moved to a "home and away" pricing system for airline bookings that "more closely aligns with the greater value we provide in reaching a global customer base." The pricing structure, which appears to be reminiscent of the "value-based" structure introduced by Amadeus at the beginning of 2004, sets lower fees for bookings made within a carrier's home market and higher fees for bookings made outside its prime market.
AIR TRAVELERS TODAY ARE MORE technologically savvy than ever, quickly embracing any new breakthrough that enables them to access information both on and off the ground. In a very real sense, passengers now can manage much of their flight experience from start to finish. They have taken the lead in this techno-revolution, with airlines playing a supporting role by implementing more self-service options.
Online travel agencies have done a great job of delivering flight search results based on price, number of stops and schedule. Meanwhile, passengers feel the pain of late flights, long connecting times, lost bags, old aircraft and other frustrations.The two realities have until now remained in separate silos. InsideTrip Inc., a new company based in Seattle, is bringing the reality of the travel experience into the booking process, assigning a "TripQuality Rating" to each flight based on 12 "pain points." The beta version of the Web site, InsideTrip.com, launches this week.
AAR Corp. acquired Miami-based third-party MRO provider Avborne Heavy Maintenance and renamed it AAR Aircraft Services-Miami. Avborne offered maintenance checks, modifications, installations and painting services to commercial airlines, international cargo carriers and major aircraft leasing companies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but AAR will gain 226,000 sq. ft. of hangar space at Miami International and increase its overall MRO space by 22%.
ON MARCH 27, THE FIRST FLIGHTS will start operating through London Heathrow's new Terminal 5, heralded by British Airways as "a new era in overseas travel." The opening of T5, as it is known, launches the biggest reshuffle in the London gateway's history and will see almost 60 airlines participating in a major move that will redistribute carriers among existing Terminals 1, 3 and 4 largely along alliance lines.
Telair International will provide Boeing with its cargo-handling system for 747-8s including main deck and lower hold systems for the 747-8 freighter and lower hold systems for the 747-8 intercontinental. Features include control system networking and two-way communication between intelligent power drive units.
