Italy's My Way Airlines yesterday placed a firm order with Bombardier for 19 CRJ900s in a deal valued at $702 million and the manufacturer said 15 of the firm orders will convert to the CRJ900X if it launches the stretched version of the 90-seat regional jet. My Way, which was founded by former executives of defunct Volare, operates scheduled services in Europe and the Middle East with five A320s. It plans to operate the CRJ900s on domestic and regional routes.
Uzbekistan Airways said it successfully tested an IL-114-100 retrofitted with Rockwell Collins digital avionics and Pratt & Whitney engines. The revamped aircraft, which the carrier said meets ICAO standards, was remodeled in cooperation with Tashkent Aircraft Production Corp., the Ilyushin Design Bureau and the Russian Research Institute. The airline intends to use 10 such aircraft on domestic routes.
Air France Industries was selected by China Eastern Airlines to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services for the CFM56-5Cs powering its five A340-300s and CF6-80C2s powering its 10 A300-600s. The CFM56 work will be done in the AFI shop at Paris Orly while the CF6-80C2s will be serviced at Orly or the new KLM Engineering & Maintenance facility located at Amsterdam Schiphol. AFI signed a contract with Vietnam Airlines to provide fleet support for four A330s to be delivered from October.
Air Baltic President and CEO Bertolt Flick expects further dramatic growth for the Latvian carrier, projecting it will carry around 2.2 million passengers in 2007, up nearly 50% over 1.5 million this year.
Hawaiian Airlines is charging that startup carrier go!, a Mesa Air Group subsidiary, is trying to drive competitors out of business in the Hawaii market. Mesa counters that go!'s smaller share of the overall market in Hawaii means that its impact cannot be as consequential as Hawaiian claims. "If it wasn't clear to everyone before, it should be now that Mesa is trying to eliminate competition in Hawaii," wrote Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley in a statement issued Sept. 22.
Spanair flew 718 million RPKs in August, a 5.5% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity grew 3.3% to 996 million ASKs and load factor rose 1.5 points to 72%. AirBaltic flew 173 million RPKs in August, up 35.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 25.8% to 246 million ASKs and load factor was up 4.9 points to 70.5%. WestJet flew 951.7 million RPMs in August, a 19% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 18% to 1.13 billion and load factor was up 1 point to 84.5%.
Royal Jordanian started twice-weekly Amman-Moscow Domodedovo service using two-class A320s. It is the 19th international carrier operating regular flights to DME. China Southern Airlines launched daily flights from Beijing to Shanghai Hongqiao and Chengdu aboard 777s and to Hangzhou aboard A330s. Eastern Airways began six-times-weekly Inverness-Newcastle service aboard a Jetstream 41. It will offer twice-daily weekday flights between Durham Tees Valley and Brussels International Airport from Oct. 30, also aboard a Jetstream 41.
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority will deregister 300 aircraft it has deemed unsafe to fly, according to the African Airlines Assn. The types affected include the BAC 1-11, 727 and F27.
Caribbean Star Airlines took delivery of its third new Q300, which will begin service pending certification from the Eastern Caribbean CAA. A fourth Q300 is expected to join the fleet by the end of the month.
Volvo Aero Services last week entered into a five-year agreement with Emirates to become the exclusive distributor of surplus spare parts for the carrier and will open a spare parts distribution center in Dubai to support the contract. Volvo Aero Services President Claes Malmros said the deal "strengthens our portfolio" in the aviation market and "provides a strategic platform" for growth in the Middle East. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Lufthansa Systems announced that LSG Sky Chefs will outsource its entire European and North American IT and communications infrastructure to LHS from Oct. 1. LHS also announced a deal with Southwest Airlines to implement its Sirax revenue accounting system. It is scheduled to be completed in early 2008. AT&T reached a three-year voice and data services contract with Republic Airways Holdings. AT&T Indiana will provide a multiprotocol label switching private network transport solution to Republic's Indianapolis headquarters.
Teledyne Controls received CAAC approval for its Los Angeles repair station, allowing it to perform inspections, repair, overhaul and modification of avionics components for Chinese customers. Separately, Teledyne received an order from Neos of Italy for AirFASE, the flight data monitoring software developed jointly with Airbus, which the airline will use to monitor its fleet of 737NGs and 767-300ERs.
Pratt & Whitney and MTU Aero Engines completed assembly of the first production PW6000 last week at MTU's Langenhagen facility. LAN Airlines is the launch customer for the PW6000-powered A318.
The UK Dept. for Transport revised carry-on baggage restrictions, loosening strict rules put in place following last month's disclosure of a plot to explode passenger aircraft over the Atlantic ( ATWOnline, Aug. 10).
Northwest Airlines will launch a six-times-weekly New York LaGuardia-Grand Rapids service on Nov. 1 aboard a Pinnacle Airlines 50-seat CRJ. It also will expand seasonal services to vacation destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean from its Detroit, Memphis and Minneapolis-St. Paul bases. Extra frequencies to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, San Jose del Cabo, Montego Bay and Grand Cayman will be available Feb. 15-April 8. Separately, NWA said it flew 7.05 billion RPMs in August, down 6.2% from the year-ago month.
JetBlue Airways last week lowered its full-year guidance on pre-tax profit margin to -2%-0%, down 1 point from guidance provided in July, and lowered its third-quarter RASM growth outlook to 13%-15% from 18%-20% previously. Merrill Lynch warned that the LCC "faces significant revenue challenges." The airline also said last week that it plans to close the sales of two of its A320s this month and three more in October, resulting in a $6 million gain in the third quarter.
Aeroflot opened a new office in Yekaterinburg, which it serves four-times-daily at a 76% load factor. The airline said it "considers the Ural region as the priority one in implementing of the company's strategy aimed at development of domestic conveyances." Separately, Aeroflot launched a thrice-daily Moscow Sheremetyevo-Hannover service aboard a Tu-154M.
Mesa Air Group named Paul Skellon VP-corporate communications and international operations. Etihad Airways appointed Josephine Boulus country manager for the US.
Cathay Pacific Airways used the occasion of its 60th anniversary celebration in Hong Kong Friday to unveil a radical upgrade of its first, business and economy class products. New economy seats, set in a slight recline position that cannot be moved, aim to establish a new standard for the industry. By pushing a button, passengers can move the seat cushion forward and the seatback cushion down, producing greater recline than conventional seats. Passengers get more legroom because magazine holders have been moved from seatbacks to the front of the seat beneath travelers' knees.
Emirates will launch daily 777-300ER service between New York JFK and Dubai via Hamburg Oct. 29. The carrier enjoys fifth freedom rights between the US and Germany and is offering an introductory New York-Hamburg roundtrip fare of $425. Also, from Oct. 1 Emirates will substitute a 777-300ER for an A340-500 on one of its two daily nonstop services between New York and Dubai.
IATA and Cathay Pacific Airways warned Friday that urgent attention is needed to relieve air traffic congestion in the burgeoning Pearl River Delta region, noting that the crowding is capping movements at Hong Kong International Airport at 53 per hr. instead of a potential 75. Speaking at an Aerospace Forum Asia lunch in Hong Kong, IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said the congestion is costing airlines HK$1 million ($128,461) per day.
FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nicholas Sabatini told the US Congress last week that the Comair CRJ200 crash in Lexington, Ky., last month ( ATWOnline, Aug. 28) was an "important reminder" of government's critical oversight role but said the "tragic" incident should not obscure the fact that US commercial aviation is in the midst of the "safest period" in its history.
Cimber Air Maintenance Center acquired a hangar at Billund Airport in Denmark from Sterling Airlines. CAMC plans to use the facility to expand its CRJ200 support activity and eventually offer MRO services to third-party customers. It already provides line maintenance for sister company Cimber Air, which operates a fleet of nine CRJ200s. This fall, CAMC will undertake four-year checks on two Cimber CRJs.
