Delta Air Lines yesterday launched daily Atlanta-Vienna 767-300ER service. It is the second of 14 new international routes DL will start this summer. Icelandair launched thrice-weekly seasonal service between Reykjavik and Halifax.
Alitalia canceled about half its flights scheduled for today owing to two separate 8-hr. strikes called by trade unions representing Italian air traffic controllers and AZ flight attendants. In a statement, the carrier said the 394 cancellations will involve national and international flights in almost equal proportion. Separately, AZ adopted Amadeus's Fares and Pricing Engine and the Amadeus Ticket Changer. It will use the solutions on a standalone basis to process all fares and pricing requests.
TUIfly will increase capacity for the upcoming winter schedule by 12% year-over-year, operating 240 weekly flights from 17 German airports to 48 destinations in 15 countries. Grenoble will be a new destination. TUIfly is expecting to transport 13.5 million passengers this year. American Airlines flew 11.55 billion RPMs in April, down 3.3% from the year-ago month, as domestic traffic fell 3.7% and international RPMs were down 2.5%. Capacity declined 3.7% to 14.06 billion ASMs on a 4.3% domestic drop and a 2.7% fall in international capacity.
AJ Walter Aviation announced a partnership with Singapore-based Relaer Asia in engine leasing. Relaer will "assist AJW in the sourcing of engine assets, support negotiations with customers, manage the lease agreements and all of the logistic concerning the maintenance storage and supply of the assets."
Mexican airport operator ASUR inaugurated the $100 million Terminal 3 at Cancun International last week. The facility, which took just 18 months to build, has 84 check-in counters, 11 attached gates and 42 immigration counters and offers 100% hold-baggage screening. It can handle 2,200 departing passengers per hr. and an equal number of arriving passengers.
Jordanian government awarded a 25-year concession to operate Amman's Queen Alia International Airport to a consortium led by Aeroports de Paris. The agreement includes construction of a new 100,000-sq.-m. terminal, representing an investment of $500 million, that will be capable of handling 9 million passengers per year against 3.5 million today. Aeroports de Paris Management will run the airport throughout the duration of the concession.
China Eastern Airlines' negotiations with Singapore Airlines concerning the sale of a strategic stake in the mainland carrier are progressing well thanks to the support of the Chinese government, CEA President Li Fenghua revealed, although there is no fixed timetable to seal the deal. Li confirmed that SIA, or another investor, will hold no more than 25% of CEA in accordance with CAAC regulations on foreign ownership in China's airlines. He refused to give further details ( ATWOnline, May 11).
World Airways signed a one-year, $22.5 million deal to continue operating Toronto-Frankfurt MD-11 freighter flights for Air Canada, extending an agreement set to expire July 1.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines will be privatized, according to a government announcement cited by press reports. The move could happen as early as next month. The airline, which employs 4,800 people, is planning significant layoffs and projecting a BDT6.91 billion ($97.2 million) loss in the fiscal year ending June 30, according to Reuters.
Peace Air of Canada announced that it ceased operations last Friday. The regional carrier, in its fifth decade, served destinations in Alberta and British Columbia.
Royal Jordanian officially is the 787's first Middle East customer, Boeing revealed this weekend, announcing that the carrier is the source of an order for two previously unidentified aircraft. RJ also took two options and said it intends to lease a further eight 787s. It announced its commitment to the Dreamliner in December when it selected it to replace its A340s ( ATWOnline, Dec. 21, 2006). At the time, it said it intended to start with 4-5 787s.
US Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee last week approved the FAA reauthorization bill proposed earlier in May by Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) ( ATWOnline, May 7).
AirTran Airways was awarded the right to operate a fifth daily Washington National-Atlanta service beginning July 10, the US Dept. of Transportation announced, saying AirTran's application for the two DCA slots was selected over those of ATA Airlines (to Chicago Midway), Comair (to Little Rock), Midwest Airlines (to Milwaukee) and US Airways (to Pensacola) "because it would provide the greatest competitive benefits." The slot exemption was made available when Spirit Airlines ended its DCA-Detroit service on Jan.
Final assembly of the first 787 began yesterday in Everett, Boeing announced, with rollout scheduled for July 8. Eventually, the company intends to assemble one aircraft every three days. "The 787 production system is the culmination of the lessons we've learned building previous airplanes," 787 VP-Manufacturing and Quality Steve Westby said. "Using composites on the 787 airframe has a number of manufacturing advantages.
MNG Technic signed an agreement with Turkmenistan Airlines to provide base maintenance services and hangar space for the carrier's 757, 737-300 and 717 fleets.
News from Travel Technology Update: There is little agreement among airlines on either side of the Atlantic on whether the European Commission's CRS Code of Conduct should be amended or abolished altogether. The airlines, along with GDS companies and organizations representing travel agencies and consumers, weighed in on the issue following a call for public consultation by the EC, which was closed on April 27.
Japan Airlines and China Eastern Airlines will expand their codeshare agreement to include flights the Chinese carrier operates four-times-weekly between Nagoya and Beijing. The airlines currently codeshare on 12 routes linking China and Japan. Emirates will start thrice-weekly Dubai-Houston Intercontinental flights from Dec. 3, marking its second destination in the US. It is using 777-200LRs and plans to increase the frequency to daily in February. Estonian Air will launch four-times-weekly Talinn-Vienna service in June.
AJ Walter Aviation received a five-year power-by-the-hour contract from Travel Service, the largest private airline company in the Czech Republic, covering its fleet of 737NGs. Nordam Group and Spirit AeroSystems reached agreement with Cathay Pacific Airways to provide overhaul services and spares support for Trent 800 thrust reversers.
Thales' TopSeries IFE system was selected by Japan Airlines for installation on the carrier's 787s, the first of which is slated to enter service next year.
SITA said it is working with Airports Authority of India to deploy an additional 17 VHF ground stations at the nation's airports, enabling Indian airlines and AAI to exchange real-time data with aircraft and allowing "increased safety and efficiency of operations." This will bring SITA's Aircom network in India to 23 stations.
US Dept. of Transportation granted final approval Friday for Virgin America to begin operations, ending a prolonged process in which the airline was forced to revise its certification application to ease concerns it would be under the influence of minority owner Virgin Group, a non-US citizen that has a 25% stake in the airline.
LAN Argentina said it reached an agreement late Thursday to end a strike by pilots and mechanics that forced cancellation of all its flights for four days.
TAM and United Airlines signed an MOU Friday to "develop an agreement that enables the airlines to offer codeshare flights." The proposed agreement will include reciprocal frequent-flier programs. TAM President Marco Antonio Bologna said the accord will give TAM passengers access to UA's US network, adding, "We anticipate that this partnership will result in more traffic and more revenue for TAM." UA Executive VP and Chief Revenue Officer John Tague said, "Our complementary route networks will deliver many codeshare and frequent-flier benefits to our customers.
Northwest Airlines received final US Bankruptcy Court approval of its reorganization plan Friday and said it will exit Chapter 11 on May 31, ending a 20-month restructuring process in which it slashed annual expenses by $2.5 billion including $1.4 billion in annual labor costs.
