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.
JetBlue Airways and Aer Lingus unveiled details of their strategic partnership Friday, nearly one year after the alliance initially was revealed ( ATWOnline, Feb. 7). The tie-up will take effect April 3 and will feature a booking engine on EI's website that will allow customers to purchase tickets on EI flights to the US and JetBlue services from New York JFK in one transaction.
AirAsia, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia launched service Friday on the previously protected Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route, propelling the region's commercial aviation industry into a new era of liberalization.
Air Astana said it enjoyed record growth in 2007 as revenue rose 48% year-over-year, passenger numbers increased 46% to 2.1 million and capacity climbed 42% to 6.5 billion ASKs. It took delivery of two 767-300ERs, two A320s and two A321s, lifting its fleet to 18 aircraft ( ATWOnline, June 1, 2007). Late last year the airline placed firm orders for three 787-8s and six A320s ( ATWOnline, Jan. 3).
Singapore Airlines reported net income of S$590 million ($416.1 million) for its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, essentially flat compared to S$589.2 million earned in the year-ago period, on a 13.2% boost in revenue to S$4.28 billion. SIA noted that the prior fiscal year's third-quarter profit benefited from a S$198 million one-time gain owing to its sale of a 35.5% stake in Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, adding that the recently ended quarter's income was a 50.7% increase if that gain is excluded.
Southwest Airlines will continue its efforts to tap into the business travel market following the introduction of its Business Select product, CEO Gary Kelly said at last week's Raymond James Growth Airline Conference in New York.
THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THE FORTUNES OF NATIONS have been linked to access to trade and control of trade routes, with prosperity not always going to the strongest but to the most flexible. In the 21st century with globalizationand open skiesin full swing, airlines in the Persian Gulf region are not only financially strong but flexible and because of their geographic location they can offer passengers and freight forwarders the fastest routings between Southeast Asian and European city-pairs.
Air New Zealand appointed Stephen Jones GM-Domestic Airline and Glen Sowry GM-Tasman Pacific Airline. Airports Council International tapped Jeff Letwin as chair of the legal committee. Air Transport Assn. elected Northwest Airlines President & CEO Douglas M. Steenland as chairman of its board of directors. Alaska Airlines named Gary Beck VP-flight operations and Elizabeth Ryan MD-labor relations. American Airlines selected Fred Cleveland as VP-base maintenance and Kurt Stache as VP & general sales mgr.
IT IS NOT WITHOUT A SENSE OF satisfaction that John Sullivan has watched the price of oil creep up to $100 a barrel. For the chairman and CEO of CommutAir, the continued escalation of fuel costs further validates his decision to remain a turboprop operator.
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, CHINA'S major carriers have undergone a transformation in their attitude toward foreign competitors. Their long-held pessimism and concern, perhaps best understood in the local saying "wolves are coming," has been replaced by a recognition that seeking cooperative partners among counterparts abroad is a way to boost competitiveness and create a win-win situation.
THE GLOBAL AIRLINE industry took notice in the last months of 2007 when President George W. Bush and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters suggested that the US government would impose "congestion pricing" at one of the world's most pivotal airports, New York JFK. President Bush's expression of support for a "market-driven" solution to excessive flight delays at JFK and his comparison of peak-hour airline traffic to rush-hour roadway congestion set off alarm bells in the offices of senior airline executives around the world.
Airservices Australia Australia's isolation, peculiar geography and demographywidely dispersed population centers along the coast separated by the vast outbackhave contributed to a culture of confident self-reliance and innovation. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of aviation, where the country is a net exporter of leadership and expertise. Part and parcel of this tradition is Airservices Australia, the government-owned corporation that provides air traffic management services.
WITH HIGHER FUEL PRICES and the prospect of an economic slowdown, it is no surprise that many airlines are looking for ways to cut costs and increase profitability. One area garnering a lot of attention is the opportunity for increased fuel efficiency, motivating many organizations to add winglets to their legacy fleets.
When Boeing purchased Dallas-based Aviall in September 2006, the acquisition sent a two-part message to the aviation community. Boeing had snagged a top player in the aftermarket community, and the news also seemed to indicate a change in its mindset that everything had to be controlled tightly in-house, even the sale of aftermarket parts. Acquiring Aviall showed that the once-resistant-to-change OEM was willing to delegate some of this segment of the business to another company and concentrate on what it does best: Building airplanes.
Air New Zealand A touch of class and a commitment by management and staff to invest in resources and service quality always have been the traits required to remain within the top ranks of the world's airlines. But today value and flexibility can be added to those requirements as an ever-more-informed public searches the Internet for the best travel experience at the least possible cost.
Singapore Airlines One good idea can propel a company to the top. Staying there, however, is another story. Companies that want to remain champions over the long term need to innovate and improve. They must constantly raise the bar, not only for their competitors but also for themselves. To stand still is to stagnate. That approach perfectly describes this year's Airline of the Year, Singapore Airlines.
Malaysia Airlines "Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully." Samuel Johnson's pithy observation resonates across time and distance as the recent history of our 2008 Phoenix Award winner, Malaysia Airlines, makes clear.
WHEN INDIAN LIQUOR BARON VIJAY MALLYA LAUNCHED KINGFISHER AIRLINES IN 2005, MOST PEOPLE IN THE AIRLINE BUSINESS SAID IT WAS JUST AN ATTEMPT TO GET PUBLICITY FOR HIS BEER OF THE SAME NAME IN A COUNTRY WHERE DIRECT ADVERTISING OF LIQUOR IS BANNED AND COMPANIES HAVE TO RESORT TO SURROGATE MEASURES TO BUILD BRAND RECOGNITION. ANOTHER REASON FOR SKEPTICISM WAS MALLYA'S LARGER-THAN-LIFE PERSONA THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH LUXURY YACHTS, SWIMSUIT CALENDARS AND THE GOOD LIFE.
Even people with creative jobs occasionally wonder what they might accomplish if work didn't get in the way. SITA, the airline-owned information technology company, is unleashing the power of "What if?" with SITA Lab, a new research and development facility based in Geneva, Switzerland, that is liberated from day-to-day product development. The company said the goal of the SITA Lab is "to drive innovation for the air transport industry working both independently and in partnership with others."
Firms that acquire, repair and resell used parts reduce the cost burdens of airlines in several ways. Parts move efficiently from where they are expensive excess to where they are affordable requirements. Lifetime value of old parts is exploited fully. Airlines need not stock inventories for exceptional events when parts can be obtained reliably. And the value of retired aircraft is maximized as all useful components are extracted.
