Babcock & Brown announced the acquisition of seven aircraft currently on lease with four carriers. The planes, worth a combined $250 million, will increase the lessor's portfolio to 54 aircraft, it said. The purchase comprises four A319-100s on lease to US Airways, one A320-200 on lease to Clickair, one 737-900ER on lease to SpiceJet and one 747-400 on lease to United Airlines. B&B CEO Colm Barrington said, "Market conditions remain robust, with strong demand from airlines for new aircraft and insufficient capacity from manufacturers to meet this demand."
Reluctant to pursue acquisition opportunities currently available in Europe, Lufthansa instead opted to invest approximately $300 million in a recently loss-making carrier based in one of the world's most saturated and volatile markets. The German giant yesterday announced the acquisition of 19% of the equity of JetBlue Airways, a move that Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said marked "a compelling opportunity to invest in the US point-to-point carrier market as the industry continues to evolve."
United Airlines remains focused on its product and on improving the customer experience rather than investing in new aircraft because it sees its fleet as "relatively young," Chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton told ATWOnline during the Star Alliance meeting in Beijing. He said the 104-strong widebody fleet is not the first priority for replacement. He said he sees the 777-200LR as an excellent aircraft for UA and he also will have a look at the 747-800. Regarding its 767s, UA is evaluating the installation of blended winglets.
GE Commercial Aviation Services yesterday announced that it has ordered 53 737-800s and two 777-300ERs collectively valued at $4.5 billion. The massive order includes an exercise of existing options and was listed last week by Boeing as placed by an unidentified customer. "This additional order with Boeing will allow GECAS to help our customers around the world benefit from. . .leading-edge operational efficiency," President and CEO Henry Hubschman said.
US airline pilots pushing age 60 may be in store for an unexpected Christmas present this year if President Bush signs a bill passed unanimously by Congress that would allow them to fly until age 65. Sources in both the Senate and House told ATWOnline they expect the President to sign before the holiday. Late Wednesday night the Senate unanimously passed the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act ( ATWOnline, Dec.
Alitalia once again postponed its decision on an investor, this time scheduling a board meeting for Dec. 18 following yesterday's receipt of a letter signed by representatives of SA Holdings, Evergreen LLC and THL Transportation regarding the consortium's interest in the Italian government's 49.9% stake in the airline. AZ had said it would choose an exclusive negotiating partner from a group comprising Air France KLM, Air One and a consortium led by an Italian attorney at yesterday's board meeting ( ATWOnline, Dec.
Finnair this week placed an order with Airbus for a seventh A330-300. The airline currently operates 11 A319s, 12 A320s, six A321s and three A340s and in addition to the seven A330-300s has four A340-300s and 11 A350 XWBs on order.
Airbus announced creation of the Airbus Maintenance Training Network designed to extend its MRO Network and simplify access to its training courses. Contracts with major training providers include Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd., Iberia Maintenance & Engineering, SIA Engineering Co., Sogerma Training and SR Technics, according to the aircraft manufacturer. Computer assisted training, Virtual Aircraft and the Airbus active learning and competence focused training concept are some of the learning tools available.
Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber, whose company yesterday announced a surprising foray into the US market with its investment in JetBlue Airways (see story above), confirmed to ATWOnline in Beijing that LH will not bid for Iberia despite the Spanish carrier's strong position in Europe and last month's withdrawal of the British Airways/TPG consortium ( ATWOnline, Nov. 28).
In line with its strategy to fill in the so-called "white spots" in a network that now spans 897 destinations in 160 countries, the Star Alliance Board of Chief Executives Thursday voted to accept the application of Air India to become a member.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air entered into a codeshare agreement with Air France effective Jan. 5 under which AF will sell tickets on Alaska and Horizon flights serving 18 destinations in the US Pacific Northwest and Alaska, providing feed for AF's Seattle-Paris Charles de Gaulle service. Alaska/Horizon passengers also will be able to fly aboard AF beyond CDG to points throughout Europe, India, Africa and the Middle East. Ticket sales for codeshare flights will start Dec. 15. The carriers also expanded their frequent-flier program partnership.
SR Technics reached a seven-year Integrated Engine Solutions deal with Air India covering its A330-200s and a three-year IES agreement with Vietnam Airlines covering three A330s. Contracts include MRO services on PW4168s to be conducted at SRT's shop in Zurich.
Emirates will halt its Hamburg-New York JFK service March 30. The route was EK's first transatlantic service from Europe but was put under considerable pressure by Continental Airlines' Newark-Hamburg service. EK launched the route in October 2006 and will continue to serve Hamburg from Dubai, from which it also is planning to launch flights to Berlin and Stuttgart.
CIT Aerospace ordered five 737NGs just two days after announcing a deal to purchase 15 737-800s from Ryanair ( ATWOnline, Dec. 11). Aircraft are worth around $311 million at list prices and will be delivered in 2011 along with the last of the 10 737 NGs previously ordered by CIT.
Northwest Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Assn. yesterday jointly asked a federal court to approve a restructured pension plan for the carrier's 4,500 pilots. The airline froze but did not terminate its pilots' pension plan during its bankruptcy restructuring and claims that more than $2 billion in pension payments still can be made under the new "equitable" plan. Separately, the carrier yesterday launched its "EarthCares" program by making a $1 million gift on behalf of its employees and customers to The Nature Conservancy in equal payments over the next three years.
Under the motto "Sharing Unbounded Space," Air China and Shanghai Airlines formally joined Star Alliance yesterday at a ceremony held in the vast new Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport.
Hamilton Sundstrand was selected by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to provide the electrical system, fire detection and suppression system, air management system, APU and flap/slat actuation system on the new Mitsubishi Regional Jet. MHI already has selected the Geared Turbofan produced by HS's United Technologies partner Pratt & Whitney ( ATWOnline, Nov. 14).
SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew 1.44 billion RPMs in November, up 10.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity increased 12.3% to 1.9 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 1.1 points to 75.6%. Midwest Air Group flew 380.7 million RPMs in November, up 14.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 21.1% to 545.7 million ASMs and load factor fell 4.2 points to 69.8%. Yield rose an estimated 4% to 15.51 cents and passenger unit revenue fell an estimated 2% to 10.82 cents.
East Line Technique, an independent technical service center in Russia, opened a wheel and brake service shop at Moscow Domodedovo. The 290-sq.-m. facility is certified by European authorities to service 747s and 757s, and certification for 737s, 767s, A310s and A320 family aircraft is planned for early 2008, the company said. Also participating are Aircraft Wheels and Brakes, Goodrich Corp. (UK), SAS and APPH Basingstoke MRO (UK), according to East Line.
US Congress moved closer to raising the commercial pilot retirement age from 60 to 65, with the House voting unanimously late Tuesday to support the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act (HR 4343). Senate sources told ATWOnline they were hopeful the legislation will be considered in the upper house this week. FAA already has proposed raising the age limit, but legislators claim the agency will take too long to introduce a new rule.
Verified Identity Pass said it opened an enrollment center for its Clear expedited security passage program at Denver International and by early next year will establish multiple enrollment stations pre- and post-security at the airport as well as at off-site locations in downtown Denver. Under the Clear program, passengers provide personal information in exchange for a card that enables them to gain expedited access through "fast" security lanes at more than 12 US airports currently part of the program.
Singapore Airlines' new A380 has performed with 100% reliability since the carrier placed it in operation about a month ago, CEO Chew Choong Seng told ATWOnline during the Star Alliance event in Beijing.
Pratt & Whitney said US Airways' order for IAE V2500s to power 78 firm A320s ( ATWOnline, Dec. 12) is worth more than $420 million to Pratt. International Aero Engines also includes Rolls-Royce, Japanese Aero Engines Corp. and MTU Aero Engines.
Virgin America will launch thrice-daily flights to Seattle from San Francisco (on March 18) and Los Angeles (on April 8). LAX-SEA becomes four-times-daily on May 11. SEA will be VX's seventh destination.
