United Airlines and American Airlines said they have reached settlements in lawsuits filed in US courts seeking damages for alleged price-fixing related to air cargo transport, but both carriers claimed no payments will be made. The disclosure comes on the heels of Lufthansa's admission that it agreed to pay $85 million to settle a string of lawsuits filed in US courts ( ATWOnline, Sept.
Boeing maintained its bullish air cargo outlook, projecting 6.1% annual average worldwide airfreight growth over the next 20 years in its World Air Cargo Forecast 2006/07 released this week.
US Dept. of Transportation approved the transfer of the operating certificate of defunct Independence Air to Northwest Airlines, moving it closer to launching its new Regional subsidiary Compass Airlines ( ATWOnline, March 31). The proposed new service from Washington Dulles could begin as early as October.
Singapore Changi Terminal 2 renovations have been completed. The upgrade includes new commercial areas in the arrival and departure halls, more natural lighting, an extensive curbside canopy, and 15 new retail and 10 new food and beverage outlets. The S$240 million ($152.2 million) renovation began in April 2003.
Mexican low-fare startup Interjet has captured 8% of total domestic traffic and 14% of traffic in city-pairs in which it competes in just seven months, according to CEO Jose Luis Graza Alvarez, who spoke at the World Low Cost Airlines Conference in London earlier this week.
Iberia will add two weekly frequencies to its Madrid-Sao Paulo Guarulhos service from Sept. 20, bringing the number of operations on the route to 12. In the past six months, it has doubled seat supply to Brazil.
Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas are bracing for further delays in the delivery of the first batch of A380s. Speaking last week at an Airways dinner at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, ILFC Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy told guests and media that a third A380 delay is likely. According to Udvar-Hazy, the problems with the wiring required for airline customization are worse than expected and another delay may be announced soon. He said ILFC learned of the possibility earlier that day (Sept. 8).
The European Commission intends to restrict the amount of liquids permitted in hand luggage and introduce new limits on the size of hand luggage allowed on flights from EU airports, Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said yesterday. "Following the incidents of this summer we have sought to introduce a response proportional to the needs of security," he stated. "We believe we have found a good balance between the need for more security and the need to keep air transport fairly easy and smooth, which is in the interest of the passengers and the air transport industry."
A Boeing official said yesterday that the manufacturer has had "serious" talks with Emirates and "11 or 12 other" airlines regarding the 787-10, the not-yet-launched stretch version of its next-generation aircraft that would seat more than 300 passengers.
Thales and Smiths Aerospace announced that Lufthansa selected the Topflight Flight Management System, a joint product of the two companies, for seven new A340-600s. The airline's decision represents a switch from Honeywell.
Rolls-Royce announced that Air China signed an $800 million deal for Trent 1000s to power its fleet of 15 787s scheduled to begin delivery in June 2008. The agreement includes a long-term TotalCare maintenance package.
Air Arabia, which celebrates its third anniversary this fall, achieved a breakeven financial result in its first year, made a profit in its second and expects to do so again for its third, CEO Adel Abdulla Ali told the World Low Cost Airlines Conference in London. The Sharjah-based low-fare carrier has a fleet of seven A320s operating around 140 flights per week to more than two dozen cities in the Middle East, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran and India. Ali said Air Arabia will add three aircraft before year end and a similar number in 2007.
KLM will migrate its direct sales and reservations activities from the existing Corda system to Amadeus's Altea Reservation system. Partner Air France has been using Altea Reservation since 1992. "KLM expects that the migration will enable both airlines of the Air France KLM Group to better serve their customers through increased standardization and improved data exchange," it said. Implementation is expected in the first quarter of 2007.
Alitalia Group said this week that its full-year net result "should approach the level achieved in 2005," when it lost €167.6 million ($212.9 million).
Air France KLM flew 18.1 billion RPKs in August, up 4.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity increased 4.5% to 21.47 billion ASKs, nudging load factor up 0.2 point to 84.3%. Alaska Airlines flew 1.72 billion RPMs in August, a 4.8% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 6.1% to 2.13 billion ASMs and load factor fell 1 point to 80.8%.
Menzies Aviation announced the acquisition of Catamount Holdings, a cargo services business at Chicago O'Hare, and Integrated Airline Services Alliance, a ground handler specializing in low-cost carriers in Florida, Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Russia appears interested in a playing a significant role in EADS following the recent purchase of a 5% stake in the Airbus parent company by a state-owned bank ( ATWOnline, Sept. 12), and a senior Kremlin official said the nation will consider expanding its holding in the future.
Alitalia Group late yesterday released half-year financial results showing a net loss of €221.5 million in the six months ended June 30, nearly double the €125 million deficit posted in the first half of 2005. Revenues fell 1.6% to €2.24 billion and operating loss widened to €131.8 million from €83.8 million. AZ said it expects nonrecurring items to boost its net and operating results into the black in the second half.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker confirmed the airline has ordered 20 777s. The order has been listed by Boeing for months ( ATWOnline, June 13) and was due to be announced at the Farnborough Airshow in June. The first 777-300ER will be delivered to QR in November next year, according to Al Baker. The order is worth $4.24 billion, according to the Arab Air Carriers Organization.
BAA said August passenger numbers at its seven UK airports fell 5% against forecast with revenue losses and costs for the month reaching £13 million ($24.2 million). The figure includes a number of one-off costs specifically related to the period following the introduction of new security measures. Actual passenger throughput increased 0.3% over August 2005 to 14.3 million passengers despite the heightened security following the terrorist threat of Aug. 10. Its three London airports handled 0.5% more passengers, although Heathrow suffered a decrease of 2.2%.
EasyJet CEO Andrew Harrison threw down the gauntlet yesterday, challenging airports to begin their own low-cost revolution and warning that the growing power of the green movement in Europe threatens the growth and well-being of the low-fare airline sector. Airports and potential environment-related taxes are "the two boundaries closing in on our industries," he declared.
World Airways will operate two MD-11 freighters for Lufthansa Cargo between the US and Europe for one year beginning at the end of next month. World currently operates 17 MD-11s and DC-10s. Separately, parent company World Air Holdings announced it has launched its previously announced tender offer ( ATWOnline, April 14) to purchase up to 2.2 million shares of its common stock at $9-$9.50 per share. The offer expires Oct. 6.
Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber was openly upbeat about "open-minded" European Commission regulators whom he said are displaying new sensitivity to the industry's problems and a willingness to consult with stakeholders. "We are pleased to see that the [Assn. of European Airlines] Action Plan has found its way into the minds and hearts of key EU institutions," the AEA chairman said yesterday in a presentation to the European Aviation Club in Brussels.
Comair pilots who received an updated aeronautical chart of Lexington Blue Grass Airport have been told to exercise "extreme caution" when using the runways and taxiways where a Comair CRJ200 attempted to take off from the incorrect runway before crashing on Aug. 27, killing 49 people. Spokesperson Nick Miller told ATWOnline that the advisory was offered after company officials discovered that an updated chart received Sept.
