Dubai Aerospace Enterprise reached an agreement yesterday to take a controlling interest in Auckland International Airport Ltd. DAE's stake, which still must be approved by AIAL shareholders, is expected to be at least 51% and as high as 60% and is valued at as much as NZ$2.6 billion ($2.07 billion). Under terms of the agreement, other bidders will be allowed to submit rival proposals for a controlling stake that AIAL's board also can consider.
Royal Jordanian today is launching a weekly Amman-Damascus 737-200 freighter service. The aircraft will have a capacity of 14.5 tons. RJ said it is "also studying the possibility of opening new freighter routes to other points in the Levant."
China Eastern Airlines said it sealed a deal to buy 10 A320s valued at $613 million. The carrier said in a statement that relevant government authorities have approved the transaction and the 10 aircraft are set to be delivered between March 2011 and June 2012. They will be used to meet increasing domestic demand for short/medium-haul flights.
Qantas plans to unveil a new premium economy class product in Sydney today. The new class will be fitted to the airline's A380s to be delivered next year and also to its 747-400 fleet. QF has been considering the move for some time and the delay in A380 deliveries enabled it to incorporate the new class in its first aircraft to be delivered in August 2008.
Lufthansa and TAP Portugal are analyzing the possibility of launching an offer for Spanair and have requested financial information from the airline, according to several reports in Spanish media outlets.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. promoted VP-Financial Planning and Analysis Kathryn Mikells to VP-investor relations and named Robert Sahadevan as MD-Mileage Plus. BAA announced that Divisional Director and CEO-London Heathrow Tony Douglas is leaving the company to join Laing O'Rourke Group as COO.
US Transportation Security Administration announced last week that it no longer will ban common lighters from aircraft cabins "in an effort to concentrate resources on detecting explosive threats." Torch lighters will remain prohibited. The change becomes effective Aug. 4.
Qatar Airways launched daily service to Washington Dulles last week and also announced a new codeshare agreement with United Airlines that will strengthen the Middle Eastern carrier's presence in the US market.
Okay Airways signed a lease agreement with AVIC I under which it will lease 10 of the 30 MA60s to which it committed at last year's Zhuhai Air Show ( ATWOnline, July 6). It will purchase the remaining 20. Okay is the first Chinese carrier to order the aircraft, which previously had been sold in Africa. Separately, Lao Airlines sealed a deal with AVIC I for two MA60s. Earlier this month the Laotian flag carrier became the first foreign customer for the ARJ21 when it signed an LOI for two aircraft.
Norwegian is expanding profitably, reporting second-quarter net earnings of NOK44.7 million ($7.8 million), more than double the NOK18 million earned in the second three months of 2006. Operating revenue climbed 33.3% to NOK1.02 billion against a 25.2% rise in costs to NOK857.3 million. Operating profit doubled to NOK161.5 million from 79.6 million.
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines asked the US Dept. of Transportation to amend its exemption and allow it to "exercise the full authority granted to Hong Kong carriers" under the countries' bilateral agreement. Its current exemption allows it to serve Oakland and Chicago, but it "wishes to have this authority in place so that future US services can be planned and implemented without delay."
Continental Airlines confirmed last week that it reached an agreement earlier this month to sell 10 737-500s to Transaero for delivery later this year and in 2008. It also said it is in discussions with another airline regarding the sale of five more -500s. The sales are in line with the carrier's decision to slow 2008 capacity growth to 3%-4% from the 5%-7% ASM growth rate originally planned, with most of the slowdown coming on domestic services. "It's also necessary to keep turning over the fleet to keep it young," a spokesperson said. "We want to phase out some of our older planes."
Aviapartner Handling won several new contracts in France. In Lyon, it secured contracts with Aer Lingus, Austrian Airlines, bmi, British Airways, British Regional Airlines, City Airlines, Spanair and Thomas Cook. In Marseille, it added BA and Lufthansa to its portfolio. BA also contracted the group to handle its flights in Nice and Toulouse. Separately, Aviapartner announced the reorganization of its Handling Services Business Line around regions rather than individual countries.
Ethiopian Airlines and Gulf Air entered into a codeshare agreement that initially is covering ET's Addis Ababa-Bahrain service and giving passengers access to both carriers' networks from their respective hubs. Separately, Bahrain Airport Services signed an agreement with Gulf Air to train 25 Bahrainis sponsored by the airline to become aircraft maintenance engineers.
Southwest Airlines and Boeing reached an agreement last week under which the LCC deferred delivery of five 737-700s slated to arrive in 2008-13 and exercised options for 25 additional -700s for delivery in 2013 and 2014.
Airbus said Friday that "final preparations" are underway for the October delivery of the first A380 to Singapore Airlines. The manufacturer said the aircraft returned to Toulouse after undergoing cabin interior installation in Hamburg.
US FAA reached an employment agreement with 1,200 engineers and architects responsible for the planning, design and installation of facilities, systems and equipment to support the National Airspace System. Negotiations between FAA and the workers represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. took nine months.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attempted to assure a shaken nation Friday night that its air traffic system is safe despite two crashes in less than 11 months that combined to kill more than 340 people, insisting in a televised address that "our aviation system is compatible with all the international standards."
Bmi announced enhancements to its Middle East service anchored by the launch of a daily London Heathrow-Cairo flight from Oct. 28 aboard a dual-class A320. The carrier also said it signed an MOU with EgyptAir to enter a codeshare and reciprocal frequent-flier agreement when the service starts. Flights to Amman and Beirut will become daily from Oct. 28. Bmi said restrictions in the bilateral air services agreement between the UK and Egypt will force the cancellation of British Mediterranean Airways' Alexandria service.
British Airways chose IAE V2500s to power eight new A320 family aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2008-10. Engines are worth $136 million at list prices. BA also signed a long-term maintenance agreement with IAE. The airline currently has 67 Airbus narrowbodies, 58 of which are powered by V2500s. Nine are powered by CFMI engines.
Ryanair is moving its Tenerife flights from Tenerife North to Tenerife South from Oct. 18. Flights to Tenerife North will cease Oct 14. The LCC said the change of airport has come about "as a result of requests from passengers to access the southern part of the island and we are delighted to say that we have confirmed slots at Tenerife South Airport for the upcoming winter season."
AVIC I plans to partner with a strategic investor and launch a new regional airline by year end, MD Lin Zuoming announced yesterday. "We will maintain controlling stake in the new regional entity while opening the door to airlines or an international investment bank as our strategic investor," he said, noting that AVIC I already has discussed its plans with CAAC. At last year's Zhuhai Air Show, Vice MD Gu Huizhong revealed that the new carrier will have registered capital of more than CNY80 million with total capital reaching several hundred million yuan.
