Wideroe, which removed its Q400s from service as per SAS Group policy ( ATWOnline, Oct. 30), will use Dash 8-300s on services to Aberdeen from Stavanger and Bergen.
WestJet yesterday confirmed to ATWOnline that it is in discussions with Air France regarding an expansive interline agreement that it hopes to launch "at some point in 2008."
HNA Group's Grand China Air, designed to be the country's fourth-largest commercial carrier, is scheduled to be launched on Nov. 29 in Haikou, capital of Hainan Province, according to HNA Chairman Chen Feng. Hainan Development Holding Co. holds 40.65% of GCA with an investment of CNY1.5 billion while HNA's Hainan Airlines invested CNY900 million in a 24.08% stake. Other investors include Starstep, Yangtze River Investment, Pan American Aviation Holdings, Qiye Industrial Investment, Union Trans-Atlantic and Perfect Star Investment.
News from Travel Technology Update: Orbitz Worldwide launched Orbitz for Business International, described as a customized solution for U.S. companies with international travel requirements. Orbitz Worldwide also is rebranding its Corporate Travel Solutions Group, which comprises Orbitz for Business and Travelport for Business, under a single Orbitz for Business brand identity.
South African Airways posted a net profit of ZAR136 million ($20.1 million) for the fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, reversed from a loss of ZAR650 million in the year-ago period, and said it is making substantive progress on its restructuring program, citing the grounding of its six 747-400s and positive labor talks.
Aer Lingus Group lodged a formal appeal with the EU Court of First Instance in Luxembourg as part of what it called "the legal process towards removing Ryanair from its shareholder register."
SAS Group named Lars Sandahl Sorensen CEO of Scandinavian Airlines International succeeding Lars Lindgren, who will become executive chairman of Spanair (see story above). Sorensen joined SAI in 2003 as GM-Australia and New Zealand and became CCO in September 2006. Lindgren became CEO in 2004. Separately, SAS announced the launch of four-times-weekly Copenhagen-New Delhi service in November 2008 and thrice-weekly CPH-San Francisco flights some time next autumn. SAS will add a new 245-seat A340 to handle the capacity increase.
Swiss International Air Lines will switch from New York JFK's Terminal 1 to T4 effective Dec. 20. It will build a new first and business class lounge in the terminal.
AirTran Airways last week launched a daily Indianapolis-Las Vegas service. Frontier Airlines last week launched daily Denver-West Palm Beach service aboard an A319.
The European Commission has concerns about the neutrality and functional independence of the slot coordinator at coordinated airports in the EU, it said last week as part of its assessment of the amended slot allocation regulation adopted in 2004.
Copa Airlines and AeroRepublica parent Copa Holdings reported net earnings of $46.8 million in the third quarter, a 25.7% increase over the $37.2 million posted in the year-ago period. The result was boosted, however, by an $8 million pre-tax gain related to insurance proceeds stemming from the July runway overrun that destroyed an AeroRepublica E-190 in Santa Marta. Company revenue during the quarter climbed 14.7% year-over-year to $264.6 million, but operating income rose just 3.3% to $46.7 million from $45.2 million in the third quarter of 2006.
Philippine Airlines suffered an $11.8 million loss in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, widened from a $6.2 million deficit in the year-ago period. PAL said the increase was due principally to higher maintenance and fuel expenses. Revenue rose 13% to $354.1 million as yields climbed, it said. Fuel accounted for $108.2 million of the $365.9 million in expenses. Despite the result, PAL reached the halfway point of its fiscal year a record $22.7 million in the black compared to a surplus of $10.9 million in the year-ago semester.
Lufthansa Flight Training will place a new A320 Level B simulator in Berlin. The 5000 Series simulator manufactured by CAE was ordered last spring and will be operational from March. It is LHT Berlin's ninth simulator.
Alitalia announced organizational changes comprising elimination of the Business & Corporate Coordination Dept., establishment of a new Passenger & Cargo Division to be headed by former BCC head Giancarlo Schisano and the immediate departure of Marketing & Business Strategies chief Giancarlo Zeni, who is replaced by Andrea Stolfa. In addition, the Administration, Finance & Control Dept. now will report directly to the president.
Lufthansa is examining the opportunities created by the transatlantic open skies agreement scheduled to take effect at the end of March, yet remains unsure about the economic viability of launching flights from outside its home market to the US.
NavAero said Continental Airlines chose its Class 2 navAero tBagC2-2 computer and display hardware as the electronic flight bag flight deck hardware for the carrier's 757 and 767 fleets. Installation will start next year.
ACTS, formerly Air Canada Technical Services, reached a 10-year deal with Aero Inventory for the supply and management of its consumable aircraft stock. Aero is expected to streamline ACTS' high-volume in-house inventory, work with numerous suppliers, accelerate customer turnarounds, increase access to consumable parts and reduce costs. Value of the contract was not disclosed.
Embraer reported more than $1.1 billion worth of firm orders from nine customers at last week's Dubai Air Show, with commercial aircraft commitments coming from NAS (five E-190s) ( ATWOnline, Nov. 13) and Virgin Nigeria (seven 170s and three 190s) ( ATWOnline, Nov.
Southwest Airlines reached agreement last week with the City of Chicago that Mayor Richard Daley's office said is "a very big first step" toward its planned privatization of Midway Airport. US legislation enacted in 1996 created a pilot program for five airport privatizations, but under the law a city needs the approval of 65% of an airport's airline tenants in order to use proceeds from a privatization for nonaviation-related purposes, which has been a historical stumbling block.
Air France Industries signed a multiyear contract with Air Mauritius for overhaul of 31 CFM56-5C engines and component maintenance of two new A330-200s to be delivered this month and at the end of 2009. The contract includes access to AFI's component pool, with creation of a main based kit situated at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International.
British Airways flew 9.63 billion RPKs in October, up 2.2% from the year-ago month, against a 1.3% increase in ASKs to 12.68 billion. Load factor rose 0.6 point to 75.9%.
Emirates President Tim Clark told Bloomberg News that the airline would buy a stretched A380, for which ILFC already is pushing ( ATWOnline, Nov. 12). "If we had the stretch available today, probably two-thirds of the A380s we've got on order would be for that model," he told the news service, adding that EK would configure the aircraft to seat around 750. Airbus CCO John Leahy said an A380 stretch could enter service around 2015.
Jeppesen finalized an agreement with Qatar Airways to supply electronic flight bag applications and data for the airline's new 777s that will feature the Boeing Class 3 EFB. First aircraft is scheduled for delivery this month.
Aviation Partners Boeing announced that Alaska Airlines has become the first carrier to operate a 737-900 with blended winglets. It expects to retrofit its -900 fleet by late next year. Continental Airlines and KLM also have ordered winglets for their -900s. APB said EASA certification is expected in early 2008.
