KLM appointed Barbara van Koppen general counsel. She has been company secretary since September 2005 and will retain that title. FAA Deputy Administrator Robert Sturgell will assume the role of acting administrator today following the departure of Marion Blakey, whose fixed five-year term heading the agency ended yesterday. It is unknown how long it will take for US President George Bush to nominate a permanent replacement.
Banamex, Citigroup's Mexican banking unit, said yesterday it will lead a group of investors prepared to launch a bid valued at more than $150 million to purchase AeroMexico from government holding company Consorcio Aeromexico. The bid of MXN1.68 ($0.15) per share tops the MXN1.10 per share offer valued at about $100 million recently made by the Saba family ( ATWOnline, Aug. 23). AeroMexico's board called the Sabas' offer "reasonable."
Bombardier said a preliminary investigation revealed some corrosion on a part of the landing gear that failed on an SAS Q400 earlier this week. A spokesperson told ATWOnline that the corrosion was evident on the landing gear actuator, which extends and retracts the gear during landing and takeoff. The Canadian manufacturer recommended that all Q400s be grounded after landing gears collapsed on two separate SAS flights on Sept. 9 and Sept. 12 ( ATWOnline, Sept.
Alitalia posted a consolidated net loss of €211.1 million ($292.7 million) for the first half of 2007, slightly narrowed from a €220.2 million loss in the year-ago period. The carrier's board last week outlined financial and performance targets for its "survival/transition" plan that aims to keep AZ viable through 2010 as it continues to seek a sale to private investors ( ATWOnline, Sept. 10).
Ryanair said it will base 12 aircraft at Milan Malpensa and launch 50 international and 10 domestic routes from the airport in response to Alitalia's plan to nearly halve its 340 daily flights from MPX ( ATWOnline, Sept. 5). In a statement dubbed "Ryanair's Manifesto for Malpensa," the Irish LCC said it is willing to commit up to $1 billion between 2008 and 2012 at two airports, MPX and Orio al Serio near Bergamo, where it currently has a base.
Bombardier recommended yesterday that Q400s with more than 10,000 cycles be grounded after the landing gear collapsed on two separate flights operated by SAS Scandinavian Airlines this week. The gear is manufactured by Goodrich, which joined Bombardier in calling for the grounding "until an inspection of the landing gear is carried out." Of the 160 Q400s Bombardier has delivered, some 60 have more than 10,000 landing gear cycles, according to the Canadian manufacturer.
CSA Czech Airlines announced the conversion of eight A319 options stemming from its 2004 order ( ATWOnline, April 7, 2005) for delivery in 2011-12. CSA, which is replacing its 737s, already has taken delivery of six A320s and two A319s. Four more A319s will arrive in 2008.
Northwest Airlines yesterday retired its final passenger 747-200 from scheduled service. Last flight was Tokyo Narita-Seattle-Minneapolis/St. Paul. The aircraft joined the fleet in 1979. NWA will continue to operate -200s as charter aircraft; it replaced them with A330s. By year end it will operate 21 A330-300s and 11 A330-200s.
Eastern Airways took delivery of a fifth Saab 2000 and will add a sixth next week, supporting expansion of its scheduled route network further into continental Europe. Aircraft also will be used on private charter services.
New Airbus President and CEO Tom Enders yesterday announced his senior management team, keeping most of the executives appointed by predecessor and EADS CEO Louis Gallois. As expected, Fabrice Bregier, who was brought onboard by Gallois in October 2006, will remain as COO and second-ranking executive, reporting directly to Enders. Hans Peter Ring remains CFO and John Leahy will continue in his long-time role as COO-customers.
US Airways unveiled plans to hire more than 350 new pilots and move 140 more who were furloughed to US Airways Express positions back to the mainline. Training for the new hires will begin in November, with positions continuing to be filled for the next 12-16 months. Those pilots will fill E-190 seats, which in turn will push current pilots to larger aircraft. US said the hirings were necessitated "primarily by retiring mainline pilots."
Nigeria's Arik Air increased its commitment to Boeing airplanes, placing an order for 10 737-800s, four 787-9s and one 777-300ER worth a combined $1.8 billion at list prices.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, whose five-year term ends today ( ATWOnline, Aug. 22), said this week that system congestion must be overcome for airlines to prosper in the future and called on carriers to make changes in flight scheduling practices and move as quickly as possible to equip aircraft for next-generation satellite-based ATC. "To be clear, the airlines need to take a step back on the scheduling practices that are at times out of line with reality," she said during a farewell speech in Washington.
European Commission launched a formal investigation into support that would have been granted by the Sardinia Region and SOGEAAL, the publicly owned company operating Alghero Airport, to various air carriers and by the Sardinia Region to SOGEAAL itself.
Hong Kong Airlines finalized its order for 30 A320 family aircraft, 20 A330s and one ACJ initially announced at the Paris Air Show ( ATWOnline, June 22). Engine choice has not been finalized, Airbus said.
ARINC announced the availability of AviNet Xmail, which it called "the first desktop XML messaging solution for the air travel industry." AviNet Xmail service will be available immediately to ARINC's aviation network customers and "allows airline and operations staff to easily edit and exchange modern XML and TypeX messages," the company said.
Airbus secured 713 gross orders in the first eight months of 2007, although cancellations reduced the net number to 656, according to the manufacturer's cumulative order data. This compares to Boeing's eight-month gross of 773 with a net figure of 763. However, since Aug. 31 Boeing, which posts its orders weekly, has lifted its tally to 851 gross and 841 net. Those numbers are certain to change significantly before year end with large orders expected from British Airways and Emirates.
JetBlue Airways added the title of president to COO Russ Chew, who joined the carrier from US FAA in the wake of the February operational difficulties at New York JFK. "Since Russ joined our team, we have established the right foundation for continuous improvement," CEO Dave Barger said.
Singapore Airlines' A380s will be configured with a main deck first class cabin consisting of 12 "Singapore Airlines Suites," 60 business class seats on the upper deck and 399 economy seats spread across both decks, the carrier announced yesterday.
Sabre Travel Network announced that Virgin America signed a multiyear distribution agreement that makes all of the airline's fares available to Sabre-connected travel agencies and corporations.
Japan Airlines will introduce first class for the first time on domestic flights from Dec. 1. The new offering will be rolled out on seven daily flights between Tokyo Haneda and Osaka Itami and eventually will be available on all flights. From April 1, the first class product will be available on flights from HND to Fukuoka and Sapporo. The move follows the rollout of a dedicated business class (J Class) on domestic routes in June 2004. JAL offers 8 million J Class seats per year with an 85% load factor.
Finnair Group ground handling subsidiary Northport Oy agreed to sell its Finnhandling AB and Northport Norway AS units, as well as Arlanda Airport lounge and ticket sales services, to Menzies Aviation. Transaction is scheduled to close on Sept. 30. Financial details were not disclosed. Menzies will provide ground-handling services to Finnair in Stockholm and Oslo. Separately, Finnair flew 1.77 billion RPKs in August, up 19.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose at the same rate to 2.3 billion ASKs, leaving load factor at 77.1%.
Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney conceded that the manufacturer is experiencing "growing pains" in its global 787 production process and said flight testing will have to "go by the books" in order for first delivery to be made on time to ANA in May 2008.
Brussels Airlines Group and Hewa Bora Airways reached agreement jointly to create a new Congolese airline to be based at Kinshasa N'Djili Airport. It will operate both domestic and international services aboard 737s and BAe 146s. BAG's participation in the new company is through its Pan African Airlines Leasing Co. affiliate, which is based in Mauritius and specializes in developing African aviation projects and partnerships.
