SAS Scandinavian Airlines contracted Dublin-based Liberator.aero to supply its LFI System, which is aimed at reducing emissions and generating fuel burn reductions of 2% on flights longer than 3 hr.
ATR and TACV Cabo Verde Airlines signed a $50 million contract for two new ATR 72-500s and one ATR 42-500. Aircraft will be delivered in 2007, allowing TACV to renew its current fleet of three 42-300s while increasing capacity. It currently operates the 42-300s and two 757-200ERs.
New Airbus CEO Louis Gallois arrived in Toulouse yesterday to meet company officials and begin charting the manufacturer's turnaround, warning that "painful" job cuts are on the horizon. He said his position as co-CEO of EADS will allow for "a simpler and more unified command structure" that will make implementing cost-cutting initiatives easier.
Ryanair's surprise bid for newly listed Aer Lingus ( ATWOnline, Oct. 6) prompted its pilots to lodge a pay claim with Ireland's Labor Relations Commission to bring their salaries closer to those of their counterparts at EI. "Ryanair's bid to take over Aer Lingus substantially strengthens the union's claim for a closer alignment of pilots' remuneration and working conditions," the Impact union said. According to Impact, Ryanair management rejected a similar claim last month.
Tarom may be partially privatized soon, according to Romanian media reports indicating that the government is planning to float 49% of the carrier. But the government said the move is not a high priority and that it is taking care to avoid the fate that befell Bulgaria Air, whose privatization process faced several delays Tarom operates a fleet of five 737-300s, four 737-700s and seven ATR 42s and has grounded two A310-300s.
Etihad Airways named former Gulf Air President and CEO James Hogan as its new CEO effective immediately, replacing Robert Strodel, who stepped down in May after less than a year on the job. Hogan announced his resignation from Gulf Air in July and concluded his four-year tenure on Sept. 30 ( ATWOnline, July 11).
Wizz Air will launch six new routes from Katowice for the summer schedule, increasing capacity from the airport by 50%. The carrier will base a new A320 there from May 2007. New services are to Belfast and Eindhoven (both thrice-weekly from May 29), Bourgas and Heraklion (both weekly from June 2), Bournemouth (thrice-weekly from July 14) and Coventry (thrice-weekly from July 28). Summer flights to Athens and Barcelona also will resume. Lufthansa Cargo will launch a twice-weekly MD-11F service from Frankfurt to Los Angeles via Chicago O'Hare on Oct 29.
MAIR Holdings last week asked the US Bankruptcy Court in Minnesota to issue a declaratory judgment that $122.2 million in dividends and fees paid by bankrupt subsidiary Mesaba Aviation from 2002 through 2005 "were wholly proper and appropriate under law" and should be shielded from Mesaba employees and creditors. The suit is in response to a ruling last week that authorized Mesaba creditors to pursue claims against the parent company.
American Airlines flew 10.6 billion system RPMs in September, a 1.4% dip from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 0.5% to 14.03 billion ASMs and load factor was down 0.7 point to 75.5%. Domestic RPMs declined 3.8% to 6.74 billion, capacity fell 2.4% to 8.88 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 1.2 points to 75.8%. International traffic rose 3.1% to 3.85 billion RPMs against a 3% capacity increase to 5.15 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 0.1 point to 74.8%.
Northwest Airlines yesterday announced a tentative agreement with its striking mechanics, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn., which will conduct a ratification vote during the next month. NWA said the deal offers one week of layoff pay per year of service up to five weeks, or up to 10 weeks of separation pay for those leaving the company. Employees accepting layoff would remain on furlough status for two years and may apply for open positions, NWA said.
Gol 737-800 crash investigators have concluded that the ExcelAire Legacy 600 had its transponder switched off before colliding with the passenger aircraft, Estado de Sao Paulo reported. The transponder, which alerts air traffic controllers to a plane's position, apparently was turned on after the midair collision. The Legacy's two American pilots, who are being held in Brazil for questioning, have denied turning off the transponder ( ATWOnline, Oct. 5).
EADS co-CEO Louis Gallois, the former Snecma chairman and CEO, was named Airbus CEO yesterday following the resignation of Christian Streiff after just three months on the job. Gallois becomes the third Airbus CEO since mid-2005 and will remain as EADS co-CEO in addition to his new responsibilities. "The new management structure will allow, on the one hand, a leaner, more efficient corporate governance and, on the other hand, additional cost savings within the EADS group," EADS said in a statement. The company soon will own 100% of Airbus.
British Airways Commercial Director and board member Martin George resigned yesterday after admitting that "inappropriate conversations" concerning the setting of fuel surcharges on long-haul tickets occurred in his department ( ATWOnline, June 26). BA Head of Communications Iain Burns also resigned. Both executives had been on leave since June, when the UK Office of Fair Trading and the US Dept.
Air Malta called the fiscal year ended March 31 "a very difficult one" and said its operating loss increased to MTL6.4 million ($18.6 million) from MTL5.7 million in the year-ago period. Revenues fell 2.6% to MTL99.2 million. The airline said its operating result "would have shown a marked improvement" if not for "significant" fuel cost increases. Passenger numbers decreased 2.4% to 1.9 million.
Airlines serving Dallas/Fort Worth will benefit from the airport's deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp. to mine the natural gas produced on DFW's 18,000 acres. The "monumental deal," as DFW CEO Jeff Fegan characterized it, includes an initial payment of $185 million and a 25% royalty on the value of the gas. Fegan said nonaviation revenue will reach "new highs for the next couple of decades," which will "help keep costs lower for airlines, making DFW a more attractive market, and create new airline competition." Natural gas production is expected to begin within two years.
ARINC and SITA released a detailed set of standards and specifications last week that the companies say will "enable the adoption of efficient, XML-based business-to-business messaging" for airlines. The standards define a new messaging approach, Type X, that makes use of XML and Web Services technology to complement existing industry Type B messaging.
EC last week adopted regulations on a range of new security measures to be introduced at all airports in the 25 member states. The move follows last month's approval of revised carry-on baggage and security checkpoint standards by the EU's Regulatory Committee on Aviation Security and limits the quantity of liquid passengers may carry to 100 ml. per container among other previously announced provisions ( ATWOnline, Sept. 29).
US Bankruptcy Court denied a preliminary injunction request by Hawaiian Airlines to restrain Mesa Air Group from entering the island market with its new carrier go!.
Airbus denied widespread reports that CEO Christian Streiff tendered his resignation to EADS co-CEOs Tom Enders and Louis Gallois last week, and French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin yesterday backed Streiff in televised comments. European media reported that Streiff, who has been on the job just three months, clashed with Enders and Gallois over the Power8 restructuring plan announced earlier last week that aims to slash Airbus overhead costs by 30% ( ATWOnline, Oct. 6).
Irish Minister of Transport Martin Cullen formally came out in opposition to Ryanair's proposed takeover of Aer Lingus Friday, a day after Ryanair launched an unsolicited bid priced at €2.80 per share, valuing the newly privatized flag carrier at €1.48 billion ($1.88 billion) ( ATWOnline, Oct. 6). Shares in EI closed at €2.98 Friday, suggesting the market expects Ryanair to raise its bid or another suitor to emerge.
Rolls-Royce Friday suspended work for a year on the Trent 900 engine that is slated to power more than 65 A380s on firm order by seven airlines. Meanwhile, the first monetary penalty resulting from the latest delay to the A380 program was revealed. The engine-maker said no immediate layoffs are planned. It said it will continue talks with Airbus to determine the full impact of the additional year's delay to the A380 program announced last week ( ATWOnline, Oct.
Alitalia Group acknowledged last week that its airline unit will not break even this year as it predicted in its business plan ( ATWOnline, Sept. 4 and admitted that survival will be difficult despite this year's state-guaranteed €1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) recapitalization. "In the current context, the national carrier cannot generate a profit even from capital already invested," AZ noted in a report obtained by Il Sole 24 Ore.
