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.
Tiger Airways will add two leased A319s this year and a fifth A320 in April to its Australian operation, growing seat capacity 65%, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reported. The 144-seat A319s will afford Tiger access to airports with shorter runways. CEO Tony Davis said the announcement of its second Australian base after Melbourne is due within three months.
Italian conservative leader Silvio Berlusconi toned down his opposition to Air France KLM's acquisition of Alitalia ( ATWOnline, March 6), telling Rai Uno television, "I think it's possible to envision a public company with Alitalia, Air France and KLM, so long as Alitalia remained a national company with the Italian flag on the planes and offices across the world," Agence France Presse reported. Exclusive negotiations between AZ and AF KLM must conclude by March 14.
Delta Air Lines flew 8.47 billion system RPMs in February, a 6.7% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 5.6% to 11.31 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.8 point to 74.9%. Northwest Airlines flew 5.92 billion consolidated RPMs in February, up 5% on the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 4.5% to 7.38 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 0.3 point to 80.2%. Republic Airways flew 712.7 million RPMs in February, up 39.7% on the year-ago month, against a 37.9% increase in ASMs to 1.02 billion. Load factor rose 0.9 point to 70%.
Qantas yesterday introduced into service its first aircraft, a 747-400, fitted with a premium economy cabin ( ATWOnline, July 24, 2007). Executive GM John Borghetti said the product will be installed in all of QF's 747-400s and A380s. It will be available initially on Sydney-Hong Kong -400 service, with London Heathrow and Johannesburg coming on line as three more -400s are outfitted later this month. The PE cabin has 32 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration. Pitch is 42 in.
ATA Airlines said yesterday that it will discontinue service at Chicago Midway, where it has operated since 1992. On April 14 it will cease its flights to Oakland and Dallas/Fort Worth and on June 7 it will end service to Cancun and Guadalajara. Chief Commercial and Planning Officer Rob Binns said, "This was a difficult decision, but the high cost of fuel has made it economically unfeasible to continue our low-fare service at Midway." He added that aircraft used on the routes will be redeployed to more profitable charter operations.
Emirates President Tim Clark said the carrier will "have to raise fares and strip costs to compensate" for rising fuel prices. He told Zawya Dow Jones yesterday that EK is targeting cost savings of "at least $100 million" as well as higher fares in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009.
British Airways, which will close the books on its fiscal year at the end of this month, said yesterday that it expects its operating margin to fall in the 2008-09 financial year to approximately 7%. CEO Willie Walsh said last fall that BA was targeting a 10% margin for the current year ending March 31 ( ATWOnline, Nov. 5, 2007). Its operating margin for the nine months ended Dec. 31 was 11.1%.
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.
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.
