LTU German Airlines named Michael Grimme as its new director-marketing and international sales. SAS Executive VP-Corporate Administration & Support Bernhard Rickardsen has been let go by new President and CEO Mats Jansson, who said he "would like to renew such areas as human resources." SAS Braathens Head of Human Resources Svein Oppegaard will take over Rickardsen's HR duties, with the rest of his responsibilities redistributed among company management.
KLM Engineering & Maintenance was selected by TNT Airways to work on its two 747-400ER freighters. The contract covers engineering, maintenance control and component services as well as worldwide line and airframe maintenance including A and C checks.
Frontier Airlines reached a four-year tentative labor agreement with the Frontier Airline Pilots Assn. that union President Jeffrey Thomas said "provides significant improvement to our pilots' retirement benefits, preserves our scheduling and work rules and improves the job protections our pilots have earned." The carrier said it expects pilot approval in mid-February and that the agreement will take effect "around" March 1.
International passenger traffic climbed 6.7% in November compared to the same month in 2005 on a 5.5% rise in capacity, IATA reported, resulting in a 73.9% load factor.
Saudi Arabian Airlines is negotiating with both Boeing and Airbus to buy up to 60 aircraft worth up to $12 billion, London's The Business reported. The purchase should bolster its current fleet of 139 planes. Local sources said Saudi Arabian, which is government-owned, is expanding rapidly and needs a variety of new aircraft. Press reports indicate the order will be split between the two manufacturers but delivery will not happen in time for the carrier's proposed flotation in 2008 ( ATWOnline, Aug.
US National Transportation Safety Board said it will investigate a Friday morning runway incursion incident at Denver International Airport in which a Frontier Airlines A319 was forced to execute a missed approach in order to avoid a Key Lime Air Swearingen Metroliner that "inadvertently" entered the runway. The aircraft missed each other by 50 ft., NTSB said. The Airport Movement Area Safety System alerted the tower at the same time that the Frontier pilots spotted the Metroliner.
Southwest Airlines flew 5.51 billion RPMs in December, a 10.3% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity was up 8.3% to 7.99 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1.3 points to 68.9%. US Airways Group flew 5.09 billion consolidated RPMs in December, up 4.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity inched up 0.4% to 6.75 billion ASMs and load factor rose 3.2 points to 75.4%. Domestic RPMs climbed 4.4% to 4.29 billion and capacity was level at 5.68 billion ASMs. International traffic was ahead 6.9% to 799.6 million RPMs against a 2.4% gain in capacity to 1.07 billion ASMs.
Amadeus signed a new five-year agreement with Continental Airlines making the carrier's full content available without surcharges (Amadeus's new Content Plus program) to users in the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
AirBridge Cargo last week became the 22nd member of the Cargo 2000 alliance. It is the first Russian carrier to join the group. AirBridge serves both Moscow airports, Krasnoyarsk, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Nagoya. Parent Volga-Dnepr Group VP Stan Wraight said ABC will add three new 747-400ER freighters in 2007 and 2008 and launch service to Toronto and Houston later this year.
EasyJet cancelled most flights to and from Bristol Friday and Saturday and diverted the remainder to Cardiff because of concerns over the reliability of a newly resurfaced runway in wet weather conditions. British Airways and XL Airways also canceled or diverted some flights, according to press reports. "The safety of its passengers, crew and aircraft is easyJet's first priority and this decision has been taken following extensive discussions with Bristol International Airport and the UK Civil Aviation Authority," the LCC said in a statement.
Northwest Airlines said Friday that it has reached an agreement to acquire its regional Airlink partner Mesaba Airlines. The offer must be approved by the bankruptcy court and Mesaba parent MAIR Holdings. Both Mesaba and Northwest have been in bankruptcy for more than a year. Mesaba operates a fleet of 46 Saab 340s as an Airlink partner.
FlyAsianExpress will operate flights to destinations in Asia and Europe as AirAsia X, a new long-haul, low-cost carrier launched Friday by AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, who owns 50% of FAX, a small Malaysian domestic airline that operates seven 50-seat F50s and five 19-seat Twin Otters on short-haul routes.
Ryanair represents "the irresponsible face of capitalism" and US carriers' attitude toward carbon emissions is "a disgrace," according to UK Minister of State-Climate Change and the Environment Ian Pearson, The Guardian reported Friday. Ryanair and the US-based Air Transport Assn. are among those who have protested the plan to bring airlines into the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme starting in 2011 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 21, 2006).
Italian government's offer to cede control of Alitalia ( ATWOnline, Dec. 7, 2006) has domestic media buzzing about potential suitors. Finanza Mercata said Air France KLM, which always has been considered a potential buyer, will join with SkyTeam partners Korean Air, AeroMexico and CSA Czech Airlines to bid for AZ.
Sama, a Saudi Arabian startup, said it was granted an operating license by the civil aviation authority ( ATWOnline, Aug. 28, 2006). The airline plans to offer 737-300 service throughout the country and eventually to destinations in the Middle East. It has no plan to operate long-haul routes. "Our priority is to serve as many cities in Saudi Arabia as we can with up to 35 aircraft over the next few years," board member Hatim Mouminah said on the carrier's website.
US airlines, represented by the Air Transport Assn., strongly objected last week to US FAA's proposed new traffic management system for New York LaGuardia that would force carriers to operate larger aircraft or risk losing slots. ATA called the plan "burdensome and costly" and "incoherent and overreaching." FAA imposed new "temporary measures" from Jan. 1 that maintain the 75 scheduled flights per hr. limit that has governed LGA traffic under nonpermanent rules that were mandated by Congress to expire by the end of 2006.
UK NATS won a contract from Romatsa, the Romanian air navigation service provider, to train air traffic controllers. Romania is predicting strong growth in air travel now that it is a member of the EU.
Delta Air Lines is seeking permission from the US Bankruptcy Court to finalize an order with Bombardier for 30 firm CRJ900s plus 30 options that it said will be used to expand its network and upgrade service, according to documents filed yesterday with the court. The aircraft are scheduled to begin arriving in September with deliveries continuing through February 2010. They will be configured for 76 seats in two classes. The manufacturer "has committed to provide, or cause to be provided, firm backstop financing for Delta's purchase of the aircraft," the airline said.
FlyAsianExpress yesterday received approval from the Malaysian government to operate low-cost long-haul service to Asia, Australia and Europe, the national Bernama news agency reported. FAX, which is 50% owned by AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, reportedly may partner with the larger LCC to offer the service. Rumors of a tie-up with Virgin Atlantic Airways and/or easyJet have been denied ( ATWOnline, Jan. 4).
Asiana Airlines reportedly will add both Airbus and Boeing aircraft to its fleet, but press reports yesterday differed on whether the acquisitions involve purchased and/or leased planes. The Associated Press said the Korean carrier agreed to purchase two 777-300ERs, two A321-200s, one A320-200 and one A330-300 and that it is "considering ordering two additional planes from the [A320] family this year," according to an Asiana spokesperson.
Boeing booked 1,044 net commercial aircraft orders in 2006, paced by a record 729 net orders for 737s, surpassing its 2005 record of 1,002 total orders. The company delivered 398 commercial planes for the year, a 37% boost over 2005 and its highest total since 2001, led by 302 737 deliveries. "2006 was another outstanding year for our customers and for Boeing," Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson said in a statement.
American Airlines flew 11.36 billion system RPMs in December, down 1.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 1.3% to 14.35 billion ASMs and load factor rose 0.2 point to 79.1%. Domestic RPMs were down 1.9% to 7.4 billion against a 2.2% decline in capacity to 9.22 billion ASMs. Load factor climbed 0.2 point to 80.2%. International traffic rose 0.4% to 3.95 billion RPMs, capacity was up 0.3% to 5.13 billion ASMs and load factor inched up 0.1 point to 77%. British Airways flew 9.12 billion RPKs in December, a 0.5% drop from the year-ago month.
JetBlue Airways launched its Chicago O'Hare service yesterday. It will offer five daily flights to New York JFK and twice-daily service to Long Beach. ORD is the carrier's 50th destination. "Chicago consistently ranked No. 1 on our customers' wish list of destinations," CEO David Neeleman said.
European Regions Airline Assn. welcomed Aeroflot Nord to the organization. "We have strategic views to expand our business to the west and believe ERA can play a significant role in that process," Aeroflot Nord Deputy DG-Strategic and Corporate Development Evgeniy Mironov said.
Pegasus Aviation Finance of California ordered two A350 XWBs and six A330-200s in a deal representing the lessor's first Airbus order and the first public commitment to the new A350 since the program was relaunched last month ( ATWOnline, Dec. 4, 2006).
