British Airways yesterday finalized last month's order for four 777-200ERs valued at more than $800 million plus options for four more of the type. BA has said the compatibility of the 777-200ERs, scheduled for delivery in 2009, with the 43 777s in its existing fleet was the key driver behind the order ( ATWOnline, Feb. 22).
US airline industry representatives voiced support yesterday for FAA's planned streamlining of the certification process for technology allowing pilots to view their aircraft's "own ship" position on runways and taxiways via moving map displays but warned that the technology does not offer a complete cure for runway incursions.
AirTran Airways will launch daily flights from Orlando International to Memphis and Kansas City and a second daily MCO-Milwaukee flight on May 8. It also added a third daily Atlanta-Phoenix service. Ethiopian Airlines plans to launch four-times-weekly Addis Ababa-Bahrain flights from May 14, the first nonstop offering on the route, and will operate thrice-weekly Addis Ababa-Sanaa service from June 3. Horizon Air will launch daily CRJ700 service from Spokane to Sacramento and Los Angeles on July 1.
Lineas Aereas Azteca was grounded this week ( ATWOnline, March 27) "due to a series of findings by the [Mexico] Bureau of Civil Aviation, which has determined that this airline has not guaranteed operations within basic security standards, mainly due to problems with maintenance and training," according to airports operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, which issued a statement to assure passengers that other carriers can fill the traffic void.
UK airports operator BAA said yesterday it is spending an additional £40 million ($78.5 million) to hire 1,400 extra security guards and open 22 new security lanes across its seven airports in order to reduce lines to 5 min. or less "95% of the time." It also said it is planning a "multibillion-pound investment program" that will "add vital new facilities, improve existing terminals and add significantly to the UK's overall airport capacity" by 2012.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics was selected by Boeing to supply the onboard weight and balance system for the 777 freighter. Crane's AirWeighs system uses the landing gear struts as scales to determine the load-bearing pressure at each strut to calculate weight and balance measurements. To date, nine customers have placed 56 orders for the 777F.
Hawaiian Airlines told the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday that it expects first-quarter yield to fall 11%-12% from the 11.66 cents reported in the first quarter of 2006 owing to "intensified price competition" on services to the US mainland and the "continuing impact of increased industry capacity" on inter-island routes since Mesa Air Group's go! launched service last June ( ATW, December 2006). First-quarter capacity will rise 13.8% and load factor is expected to fall 0.6 point to 87%.
US Airways Group yesterday completed a $1.6 billion, seven-year debt refinancing transaction arranged by Citigroup Global Markets and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding that it said will improve "liquidity over the next seven years by reducing principal payments and lowering near-term interest expense." Upon finalization of the refinancing, US extinguished a $1.25 billion senior secured credit facility and a $325 million unsecured debt facility.
DHL is inaugurating a new US West Coast international gateway at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif., today, promoting the facility as a hub at which transpacific airfreight can be sorted quickly for delivery in the western US. The site has been used as a domestic West Coast distribution complex since DHL invested $70 million in 2005 in the lease and development of the dual-use facility that is shared with the US Air Force Reserve. A $3 million upgrade and today's planned arrival of a freighter from Hong Kong will mark Riverside's launch as an international site.
Flyglobespan earned a pre-tax profit of £4.7 million in the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, down 24.2% from a £6.2 million pre-tax profit in the prior year, according to the Scottish LCC's annual report cited yesterday by The Herald. The drop largely was the result of a £2.7 million charge related to aircraft acquisition. The airline intends to operate 13 737s, three 757s and five 767s by year end, Chairman Tom Dalrymple said. FY revenue rose 27% to £208 million and operating profit fell 5.7% to £5.2 million. Passenger boardings grew 25.4% to 1.8 million.
Cebu Pacific Air will operate additional daily frequencies from Manila to Legaspi, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod and Iloilo through June 12. All services are on A319s or A320s. American Airlines announced an upgrade to its Raleigh/Durham service comprising new twice-daily American Eagle flights to Louisville, Jacksonville and Kansas City starting May 1, a daily mainline MD-80 flight to New York LaGuardia from April 10 and an upgrade in service to Austin from American Eagle to mainline MD-80s.
Lufthansa Technik is investing up to $500 million in preparing for the A380, Chairman August Hennigsen told ATWOnline during last week's proving flight from Frankfurt to New York JFK ( ATWOnline, March 20). "We intend to offer complete MRO support for the aircraft," he said, noting that LHT acquired expertise as its engineers were involved in the A380 specification. LHT also was involved closely in defining Lufthansa's cabin and IFE configuration.
Northwest Airlines' disclosure statement was approved by a US Bankruptcy Court yesterday, clearing the way for the company to seek approval from creditors for its plan to emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of the second quarter with an anticipated equity value of $6.5-$7.7 billion.
News from Travel Technology Update: The merging of the US Airways and America West reservations systems got a lot of attention because of the check-in problems that resulted in long lines at Philadelphia and Charlotte, but the "larger issue was the processing for closing a flight," US Airways president Scott Kirby said. Kirby told analysts at the JPMorgan Aviation and Transportation Conference that "we had made it needlessly complex to close a flight," a process that involves tallying passengers and bags and collecting other data before an aircraft can push back from the gate.
Days after the release of an Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation report that found that none of the country's 20 major airlines meets all safety standards and just three weeks after it suffered a fatal 737-400 accident in Yogyakarta, Garuda Indonesia appears to be planning for the future with a significant 737NG order and a return to profitability.
Lineas Aereas Azteca had its operations suspended yesterday for safety and financial violations, Mexican Transport Minister Luis Tellez said, according to Reuters. The carrier, which launched in June 2001, operates a fleet of six 737-300s and two -700s on an extensive domestic network, according to the Ascend CASE database. Tellez said the government gave Azteca 90 days to resolve its issues, which were not detailed.
Airbus and Lufthansa continued the A380 route-proving program through yesterday, flying the aircraft between Germany and Hong Kong and then to the US for a demonstration flight over Washington. ATWOnline was a guest on both flights.
GECAS and Lynxs Holdings of Texas have formed a 50/50 joint venture, Lynxs Group, to develop, finance and manage new air cargo facilities. GE holds an option to expand its stake over the next five years. The companies did not announce potential sites.
VEM completed its sixth 767 freighter conversion, its first for ABX Air, in Porto Alegre. ABX's second of five aircraft already is undergoing conversion. VEM is working in conjunction with Israel Aerospace Industries.
Assn. of European Airlines named Athar Husain Khan, formerly of KLM, as GM-infrastructure. Boeing named 787 program CFO Craig Saddler as president of Boeing Australia.
China Southern Air Holding Co., parent of China Southern Airlines, announced its intention to launch a reform next month of the company's split-share structure, which comprises noncirculating and publicly traded shares. But it must overcome significant hurdles if it is to match Air China and China Eastern Airlines, which completed similar reforms at the end of 2006. The intention is to turn the state-owned noncirculating shares into circulating shares. China Southern said its A shares suspended trading Friday and it plans to release further details to shareholders on April 9.
Virgin America will partner with EchoStar Communications to provide live inflight satellite entertainment. Passengers will have access to DISH Network television as well as pay-per-view movies, music and games.
