British Airways confirmed that its all-business-class A318 service scheduled to start next year from London City Airport will require a technical stop to refuel on the westbound leg owing to runway restrictions at LCY that will limit fuel load, according to widespread press reports. Flights will continue to either New York JFK or Newark. A stop on the eastbound leg will not be required since aircraft departing either airport will not be weight-restricted. CEO Willie Walsh said flights would stop between LCY and Shannon, with total westbound travel time of 9.5 hr.
United Airlines will charge economy passengers traveling on discounted fares on its North American network $25 to check a second bag beginning May 5. The fee will apply to passengers buying nonrefundable economy tickets who do not have status in either UA's loyalty program or that of a Star Alliance partner. It will apply to domestic flights and service to Canada and also some Caribbean destinations.
SkyWest Airlines is interested in future acquisitions, but it has no plans to bid on Delta Air Lines subsidiary Comair, Chairman and CEO Jerry Atkin said. "It would be a stretch. Consolidation in Delta is not one we would have an interest in," he told ATWOnline. "There are other regionals out there." The largest regional carrier in the US, SkyWest operates a fleet of 437 aircraft in partnership with DL, United Airlines and Midwest Airlines.
Japan Airlines Group released its latest corporate plan covering the April 1, 2008-March 31, 2009, period and said the expansion of Tokyo's downtown Haneda Airport, downsizing of the fleet and the introduction of more premium products are pivotal. It plans to operate flights between Haneda and Beijing Nanyuan during this summer's Olympics as well as to increase the number of international "charter" flights from the airport. JAL currently operates flights from Haneda to downtown airports in Seoul (Gimpo) and Shanghai (Hongqiao).
Continental Airlines yesterday placed its first Q400 into service at its Newark hub. CO said the 74-seat turboprop is ideal for the airport "as it will allow more extensive use of alternative approach and departure routes and will enable flight operations at lower altitudes." Colgan Air, a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines, will operate the aircraft as Continental Connection.
Ryanair net income for the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007, slipped 1.2% to €47.2 million ($69.8 million) from €47.7 million earned in the year-ago period, but the LCC maintained its forecast for a 17.5% rise in full-year earnings to €470 million for the year to March 31. Third-quarter operating profit fell 22.7% to €44.2 million compared to €57.2 million in the year-ago period. Revenue per passenger declined 4% year-over-year "in line with the decrease in average passenger fares," the airline said.
Deucalion Aviation Funds signed an LOI with Air France to acquire six 747-400 passenger aircraft for conversion and subsequent delivery in 2009 and 2010. Deucalion will convert the aircraft to full freighters at the IAI/Bedek conversion facility with the first expected to be available in September 2009. Marketing of the freighters is being undertaken by DVB Bank, which manages Deucalion.
Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who remains at his post despite the resignation of Prime Minister Romano Prodi, told Il Sole 24 Ore he is "firmly confident" that Alitalia's acquisition by Air France KLM "will conclude positively despite all these tensions," which include Air One's effort to submit its own binding offer through the courts ( ATWOnline, Feb. 4) despite AZ's decision to negotiate exclusively with AF KLM. Air One was scheduled to have its hearing yesterday.
Neolane was contracted by Continental Airlines to provide customer marketing software featuring digitized profiles, automated campaigns and other outreach tools. Technology will target frequent business and leisure fliers.
China Eastern Airlines and AVIC I unveiled terms of their regional airline joint venture, which will be called Happy Air and eventually will fly a fleet of 50 MA60s and 50 ARJ21s, although regulatory approval may be delayed. CEA MD Cao Jianxiong said that the new venture has yet to secure CAAC approval although it submitted its plan to the regulator last August ( ATWOnline, Oct. 16, 2007). "We are still in preparations, although there is no specific timetable on when we will get approval," Cao said.
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano 727-200 en route from La Paz to Cobija crash-landed approximately 2 mi. short of an airport in Trinidad, Bolivia, where it was attempting to divert owing to poor weather. All 159 passengers and crew survived the hard landing in a jungle clearing but the aircraft sustained serious damage, according to reports. Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network said "fuel exhaustion" was a possible reason the 727 was forced to land so far short of the airport.
Hawaiian Airlines was able to sign definitive purchase agreements for six A330-200s and six A350 XWB-800s, plus purchase rights for six of each, following the conclusion of "key labor agreements" with its pilot and cabin staff unions. A dispute with pilots had threatened to scuttle the up-to-$4.4 billion deal ( ATWOnline, Jan. 21). HA said it now will endeavor to lease additional aircraft for entry into service in the 2009-12 period.
News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus unveiled a three-year, full-content program in Europe and said 34 airlines have signed up for it. Among them are Air France-KLM, Iberia, Alitalia, TAP Air Portugal, Air Europa and Malev. The new agreement is an extension of the one-year Amadeus Full Content Option introduced in 2005. Similar to the DCA-3 agreements introduced by GDS companies in the U.S. in 2003, the new Amadeus deal provides airlines with lower distribution costs in exchange for the full range of their fares.
EgyptAir is evaluating a follow-up order for several A320 family aircraft after the last of its 12 737-800NGs are delivered in 2009. The carrier also plans to phase out its three A340-200s when six ordered 777-300ERs arrive starting in February 2010. "Our oldest A320s should also leave the fleet. But we are in talks with Airbus to renovate seven younger A320s with new cabin interiors," Chairman and CEO Sherif Saad Eldin Galal told ATWOnline in Cairo.
Malev Hungarian Airlines will shift its entire Moscow operation to Domodedovo from Sheremetyevo from March 30. Malev will adjust its timetable to fit with partner AiRUnion's schedule ( ATWOnline, Dec. 10, 2007).
Globe Air Cargo will represent Vietnam Airlines in France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia under an exclusive GSA agreement. Contract extends responsibilities to capacity management, export and import handling supervision and equipment control. GAC will continue providing sales services for the airline in other parts of Europe.
Korean Air posted 2007 net income of KRW11 billion ($11.7 million), a 97.1% drop from KRW383 billion earned in the prior year that it attributed to high fuel costs and the won's weakness. KE said it is hopeful new surcharges aimed at offsetting fuel costs and a surge in demand related to this year's Beijing Olympics will help it turn around its financial fortunes in 2008. Operating revenue for 2007 rose 9.1% to KRW8.8 trillion while expenses increased 7.8% to KRW8.18 trillion, producing operating income of KRW637 billion, up 28% over KRW497 billion the prior year.
AirTran Airways will curb its growth for 2008 by delaying aircraft deliveries or selling some aircraft, President and CEO Robert Fornaro said at last week's Raymond James Growth Airline Conference in New York. The carrier is forecasting a growth rate of 10% for 2008, down from 19% last year. "You make better decisions when you have fewer airplanes," he said. AirTran will continue to expand its network, Fornaro said, pointing to its recent move into Midwest Airlines' Milwaukee hub. "If you put lower prices into Milwaukee, the market will grow substantially.
US Airways named Northwest Airlines VP-Inflight Services Suzanne Boda as senior VP-East Coast, international and cargo operations and American Airlines New York LaGuardia MD Robert Ciminelli as VP-Philadelphia operation.
Alitalia said last week that it has released an unidentified number of summer slots at Milan Malpensa as it moves toward consolidating its operation in Rome ( ATWOnline, Feb. 1). Milan airport operator SEA reportedly countered with a lawsuit seeking €1.25 billion ($1.86 billion) in damages, which SEA Chairman Giuseppe Bonomi said was based on the "serious damage" AZ's decision would cause and the alleged violation of a hub agreement, Thomson Financial reported.
Airbus operated a successful A380 test flight Friday using a liquid fuel processed from gas, touting it as the first-ever flight by a commercial aircraft that was partially powered by an alternative fuel. The Gas to Liquids test flight from Filton to Toulouse lasted 3 hr. During the flight, one of four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines was fed with a blend of GTL and jet fuel while the remaining three were fed with standard jet fuel.
British Airways enjoyed a 27.1% year-over-year profit increase to £136 million ($270.4 million) in the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 and has big plans on the horizon with the imminent opening of London Heathrow's Terminal 5, the launch of its transatlantic OpenSkies subsidiary and Friday's unveiling of an all-business-class service between London City and the New York area.
Boeing got off to a solid start to the year with orders for 61 aircraft. Last week the company booked 18 737s, one for Southwest Airlines and 17 unidentified. So far this year it has sold 19 737s, 1 747, 1 777 and 40 787s.
Lufthansa will launch thrice-weekly Frankfurt-Malabo on April 1 aboard an A330-300. Flight will continue to Abuja. Malabo is LH's 15th African destination. LH partner Swiss International Air Lines will discontinue its Malabo service and increase frequencies to Douala and Yaounde. Separately, Swiss signed several ACMI contracts for its upcoming summer schedule. LH regional partner Contact Air will operate flights from Zurich to Warsaw, Venice and Stuttgart using F100s, while Helvetic Airways will fly F100s for LX to Budapest, Manchester, Birmingham and Brussels.
