Lufthansa was hit again by a strike by its Lufthansa CityLine pilots, resulting in heavy delays Friday morning. Twenty-two flights were cancelled, more than 60 were delayed and 3,500 passengers were affected before operations were restored in late morning. Unlike the strikes earlier in the week that were orchestrated by the ver.di trade union, the Aug. 31 action was led by Vereinigung Cockpit, which has considerably more pilot members than ver.di. The pilots say they are striking for better working conditions at CityLine.
Hainan Airlines posted a CNY189.71 million ($25.18 million) net profit in the first half of 2007, a better-than-eightfold increase over CNY20.8 million earned in the year-ago period, on a 13.1% lift in operating revenues to CNY6.53 billion.
Dubai Aerospace Enterprise is threatening to walk away from its agreement to take a controlling stake in Auckland International Airport Ltd., citing the brewing legal battle between the airport and Air New Zealand over planned rate hikes. DAE said the potential legal proceedings constitute a Prescribed Occurrence that would permit it to cancel the investment. In a statement, AIAL said it "disputes the existence of a Prescribed Occurrence and does not consider that DAE has grounds to issue such a notice."
Shanghai Airlines said it plans to order five A321s in the face of increasingly stiff competition from China Eastern Airlines as it reported a loss for the January-June period of CNY134.5 million ($17.85 million), improved from a CNY137.1 million deficit in the year-ago half-year, on a 26.8% year-over-year lift in operating revenue to CNY5.58 billion.
Air Berlin reported that a general agreement on employment conditions was accepted for the 133 pilots of its dba subsidiary by the Vereinigung Cockpit pilot union. Members of VC will vote on the accord by mid-September.
SAS appointed Bjorn Alegren president of its SAS Ground Services subsidiary and Patrik Knutsson VP-corporate purchasing and chief purchasing officer. Alegren has held a number of senior positions at SAS including since 2005 the purchasing role taken on by Knutsson, who joins SAS from IBX. Alegren succeeds Hans-Otto Halvorsen, who is leaving the company "following a decision made mutually with Group management."
Integration trials have commenced at Singapore Changi's Terminal 3, which will open for scheduled flight operations on Jan. 9. The trials involve the terminal's check-in process, baggage handling system, immigration clearance system for departing passengers and security screening. Over the next few months the airport plans 50 trials with 5,000 participants.
Aviapartner signed a three-year network contract with Martinair for full cargo handling services at Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hanover, Berlin-Tegel, Muenster-Osnabruck, Dortmund, Leipzig, Dresden and Bremen. Aviapartner said that based on current estimated volumes the deal represents a value of at least €1 million ($1.4 million) in annual turnover.
Xiamen Airlines is the customer for 25 737-800s listed as unidentified on Boeing's Orders & Deliveries website in early August. The order is worth $1.9 billion at 2007 average list prices. "This order of 25 737-800s plus 10 purchase rights allows us to simplify our fleet with the most cost-efficient and superior-performance airplane in its class," said Xiamen Airlines President Yang Guanghua in a statement.
Boeing said Honeywell Aerospace joined its Integrated Materials Management initiative under which Boeing and suppliers maintain an airline's inventory of spare parts. Lufthansa Technik signed a Total Component Maintenance agreement with Mexicana covering more than 250 part numbers for its 47 A320 family aircraft.
AAR CORP. OFFERS A SUPPORT OPTION EMBRACING THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF ITS VARIOUS SERVICES THE CONVENTIONAL OBJECTIVE of an airline supply chain is to get the right material to the right place at the right time. The secondary objective has been to manage the parts procurement and supply chain function as efficiently as possible. But in today's highly competitive airline marketand increasingly in the future- efficiency in supply chain operations has reached a new and more critical dimension.
WELCOME TO THE SECOND ISSUE of Airline Procurement. All of us at the Air Transport World Media Group are excited about this new launch, and your enthusiastic response has exceeded our expectations by a wide mark.
WHILE THE TREND toward increased outsourcing of maintenance, repair and overhaul activities is undeniable and proving to be an effective strategy for many airlines, there is a significant challenge to the growth of the trend, according to experts who spoke to Airline Procurement. That challenge relates to the inherent confusion and disjointed systems that exist in most MRO organizations.
Congestion at Mexico City's famously crowded Benito Juarez International Airport and the emergence of Mexican LCCs have combined to make Toluca International, which handled a mere 5,673 annual passengers just five years ago, one of the world's most rapidly growing airports, according to Arthur D. Little.
COMPANY CULTURE IS EVERYTHING, and at Southwest Airlines, especially in flight ops, that culture is consummately conservative. The carrier "has always prided itself on the way our guys [hand-fly] the airplane," says Senior Director-Flight Operations Jeff Martin.
The company cited "commercial reasons" for the decision. FACE was intended to support the core processes of passenger airlines, such as schedule distribution, reservations, inventory, ticketing and departure control. The next-generation system was touted as more flexible and more cost-efficient than traditional reservations systems. Lufthansa Systems did not elaborate on the commercial reasons for its decision, but the move came on the heels of Cathay Pacific Airways' announcement that it planned to migrate to the Amadeus Altéa passenger services platform.
OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, airline passengers have become empowered by technology. Booking a flight and checking in at the airport now can be "self-service" activities in which interaction with airline employees is minimal or nonexistent. This is largely welcomed by carriers because it allows for lower staffing levels and, regarding check-in, can streamline foot traffic in terminals.
Milan's Malpensa International Airport handled 21.8 million passengers last year and remains Alitalia's second most important hub. But with the beleaguered Italian flag carrier growing by just 1% at MXP and its future in doubt, the airport and operator SEA are focusing on alternative growth opportunities, including an increase in international traffic provided by foreign airlines and a possible alliance with other airports in northern Italy.
No one connected with commercial aviation can watch what is happening in Brazil without feeling a strong sense of dismay and deja vu. A second horrific airline accident within 10 months has thrown the air transport system into chaos and the government into crisis and caused the Brazilian populace, including, apparently, the country's president, to lose faith in the safety of air travel.
NEXT TIME YOU'RE ON AN AIR NEW Zealand flight and the inflight service is a bit slow, it may be because the carrier's executives are engaged with passengers about everything from football to politicswhile serving them. The born-again airline, winner of ATW's 2005 Phoenix Award, is rewriting the management relations book, with executives rolling up sleeves and working side-by-side with staff on a regular basis.
Some of the world's leading airlines got their starts through the heroic competitive struggles of aviator entrepreneurs who began with a couple of little planes and built empires gradually over decades. The origins of Air Canada, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year and its first passenger flight this month, aren't quite so romantic: It was created by an Act of Parliament and started from scratch by government bureaucrats. But as its long and successful history has shown, the bureaucrats got it right.
ASK LARRY MONTREUIL ABOUT his biggest challenge at JetBlue Airways and the refrain is familiar: Shift the culture. The LCC's director-supply chain and fuel understands that the airline's roots are quintessentially entrepreneurial. Whether it's technical operations, flight ops, IT or marketing, the refrain has been, "Get it Done." Period.
Shrinking airline costs and growing terminal facilities are attracting more airline service to Denver International Airport and making it the fastest-growing Continental Hub in North America, according to Arthur D. Little.
