Lufthansa will launch weekly Saturday flights from Dusseldorf to Newquay Cornwall in June, Newquay Airport Project Director Chris Cain revealed this week. KLM will launch daily Amsterdam-Dallas/Ft. Worth service aboard A330-200s from March 30.
US President George W. Bush said yesterday that airline passengers are "just not being treated right" and vowed to "address the problem." Following a summer marked by high levels of flight delays and cancellations in the US, Bush summoned Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell to the White House yesterday for what he called "a discussion about the fact that a lot of our air travelers are not only inconvenienced, they're. . .just not being treated fairly."
Making one of the most anticipated long-haul aircraft order announcements in recent years, British Airways yesterday said it will purchase 12 A380s and 24 787s and place options for a further seven A380s and 18 787s.
Reykjavik-based FL Group, which owns a stake of about 9% in American Airlines parent AMR Corp., wrote a strongly worded letter to AMR's board of directors this week urging immediate action to halt the rapid descent of the company's stock price.
Ryanair said it reached agreement with its Dublin-based pilots on a new four-year contract that "will significantly improve" pay and work conditions and bring them into line with the pay and conditions to which it previously agreed with pilots in Shannon and Cork. "This new agreement. . .means that all Ryanair pilots at its three Irish bases are now covered by long-term pay, benefits and roster agreements," the airline said.
BAA is investing £20 million ($40.3 million) in Smiths Group's Advanced Threat Identification aTiX explosive detection machines, The Times of London reported. It already has installed 11 of the machines at London Heathrow, where the airport operator has come under fire from airlines for slow-moving security lines. BAA said the new equipment, which it plans to install at all seven of its UK airports, will speed passengers' passage through checkpoints.
Montenegro Transport Minister Andrija Lompar said the nation plans to sell stakes in state-owned Montenegro Airlines next year, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and airlines and private consortiums all potential buyers, Reuters reported. "Capital increase is the privatization model that will make it possible to restructure the Montenegro Airlines fleet by buying new Embraer aircraft so we can open new [routes]," he said. The carrier currently operates a fleet of four F100s.
Kunpeng Airlines, the Xi'an-based JV regional carrier created by Shenzhen Airlines and Mesa Air Group, is scheduled to launch services today by opening 11 routes to destinations including Taiyuan, Tianjin, Yichang, Huhehaote, Nanchang, Zhengzhou and Hefei. It is noteworthy that Kunpeng was registered in Beijing but its operating base is located in Xi'an. Chinese industry analysts suggest that this "western attraction" for regional startups is driven partly by CAAC's policy of encouraging growth in the region through subsidies.
Quest Mexicana, the Cancun-based startup, signed a lease deal with BAE Systems Regional Aircraft for four BAe 146-200s. Delivery of the aircraft will take place between October and February 2008. They will be configured in an 85-seat, five-abreast format. The airline, part of the Lomas Travel group, aims to operate both charter and scheduled flights between cities in southeast Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.
Air India could finalize another aircraft order by the end of November and the Indian government will not delay granting approval, according to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. "If they complete their fleet planning by November-end, we can give in-principle approval by December," he told India's Economic Times.
A full-fledged bidding war for AeroMexico is now underway as the Saba family yesterday boosted its offer by more than 58% to MEX1.74 billion ($158.8 million), topping the bid valued at more than $150 million made earlier this month by a group of investors represented by Banamex.
Air France KLM is preparing to launch a bid for Iberia in conjunction with several Spanish companies, Madrid's Expansion newspaper reported. The consortium likely would include investment firm Torreal and publishing house Grupo Planeta, which currently is the largest shareholder in Vueling Airlines. The AF KLM offer would keep 51% of Iberia in Spanish hands, allowing it to maintain its traffic rights for non-EU and US routes. In recent weeks, AF KLM Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta has stated several times that the group is "studying" the Iberia dossier.
FAA granted Phoenix-based US Airways a single operating certificate, officially cementing as one entity the carrier created in September 2005 when America West Airlines acquired the assets of the former US Airways, which was enduring its second bankruptcy in three years.
Singapore and Malaysia governments stated yesterday that unlimited access to the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route, which a number of carriers have expressed interest in operating, will not be allowed until at least the end of 2008.
EasyJet will launch four-times-weekly East Midlands-Barcelona service from Dec. 7. The LCC expects to carry more than 70,000 passengers on the new route in the first 12 months of operation. Virgin America yesterday started twice-daily Washington Dulles-San Francisco service aboard its new A319s/A320s. The startup, which launched last month, plans to begin thrice-daily SFO-Las Vegas service from Oct. 10. Routes currently served include SFO-New York JFK, SFO-Los Angeles and JFK-LAX.
Kidde Aerospace & Defense, Monogram Systems and Moog were added as partners for Boeing's 787 GoldCare lifecycle support program. Kidde, an operating unit of Hamilton Sundstrand, is the exclusive supplier of fire detection and suppression systems for the 787. Monogram Systems will provide the complete water and waste systems for the aircraft while Moog will supply the primary flight control actuation system, which will control all of the primary flight control surfaces including spoilers and horizontal stabilizer.
Delta Air Lines yesterday rolled out an ambitious international expansion program for New York JFK that will include nine destinations not served by any other carrier operating at the airport. DL's new JFK schedule, which includes 14 new international destinations, will be launched next summer. "We are bringing service to new and unique locations around the world," CEO Richard Anderson said. "This is profitable and sustainable flying.
Airlines need to develop detailed plans to avoid having passengers stranded onboard delayed aircraft for long periods, the US Dept. of Transportation Inspector General said in a report released this week. IG Calvin Scovell recommended that the federal government require airlines to have policies for stranded passengers that would specify how long they would have to wait before being allowed to leave an aircraft.
Boeing said this week that Latin American airlines will need 1,730 aircraft valued at $120 billion over the next 20 years. The manufacturer projects that air travel within Latin America will grow 6.6% annually during the 20-year period, above projected worldwide average growth of 5%. The regional forecast was presented by Boeing at the Latin America Airfinance Conference in Rio de Janeiro.
Gol's consolidated traffic (including Varig operations) increased 20.8% in August to 1.63 billion RPKs on a 71.8% rise in capacity to 2.99 billion ASKs, producing a load factor of 54.2%, down 22.9 points.
Dublin Airport Authority and Macquarie Airports Group completed the joint sale of their 48.25% shareholding in Birmingham Airport Holdings for a gross consideration of £420 million ($850 million). "This has been a highly successful investment for the DAA and indirectly for the Irish taxpayer," Chairman Gary McGann said.
Midwest Airlines' recent sale to investment firm TPG Capital will result in hefty payouts of stock and cash to carrier executives, the Associated Press reported. Chairman Tim Hoeksema reportedly will receive more than $10 million in cash and stock while VPs Carole Skornicka and David Reeve are in line for $1.6 million each. CFO Curtis Sawyer and VP Scott Dickson will receive about $1 million each. Northwest Airlines is the largest shareholder in the TPG acquisition.
Alitalia Chairman Maurizio Prato testified before an Italian parliamentary committee yesterday that the troubled airline is in even worse shape than is generally acknowledged, a striking admission given the already wide acceptance of AZ's financial difficulties.
Continental Airlines' consolidated traffic increased 8.1% in August to 9.1 billion RPMs on a 4.4% rise in capacity to 10.6 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 85.3%, up 2.9 points. Copa Airlines' traffic increased 20.5% in August to 441.2 million RPMs on a 21.1% rise in capacity to 565.6 million ASMs, producing a load factor of 78%, down 0.4 point. Sister carrier Aero Republica's traffic decreased 2.8% for the month to 88.4 million RPMs on a 3.1% lift in capacity to 149.5 million ASMs, producing a load factor of 59.2%, down 3.6 points.
China Eastern Airlines said yesterday it is moving to complete a stake sale deal with Singapore Airlines "as soon as possible" following Cathay Pacific Airways' decision earlier this week to back away from a CEA share purchase.
