Korean Air launched thrice-weekly service between Seoul Incheon and Hakodate. Condor Airlines will start a twice-weekly Frankfurt-Santo Domingo service and weekly flights from FRA to Samana and Zanzibar by November, using 767-300ERs on all routes. TACV Cabo Verde Airlines launched twice-weekly Praia-Boston service.
Transaero Airlines wants the Russian government to lift duties on imported aircraft in order to spur fleet renewal. DG Olga Pleshakova said in Toulouse that the A330, A340 and A350 "perfectly suit Transaero's development strategy in the field of servicing long-haul routes from Moscow and St.
Aviareto announced that the International Registry of Mobile Assets, which it manages on behalf of ICAO, has surpassed expectations in its first three months of operation with more than 3,500 users registered, four times the number forecast for the first year. The number of aircraft and engines recorded by Dublin-based IRMA has exceeded forecasts by more than 25%.
Cyprus Airways finalized the sale of charter subsidiary Eurocypria to the government, according to press reports. The deal, worth CYP13.5 million ($29.9 million), is part of the carrier's restructuring ( ATWOnline, March 1). The government said that the acquisition and spinoff of Eurocypria were designed to create a second, debt-free scheduled carrier. Eurocypria took delivery of its fifth 737-800 last month.
Air Wisconsin yesterday named Skyway Airlines President and CEO James Rankin as its new president and CEO effective Aug. 1. Rankin, who also is senior VP and GM of Midwest Airlines Saver Service, joined Skyway as a pilot in 1990 before moving to Midwest Express Airlines five years later. He succeeds interim CEO Patrick Thompson, who has been filling the role since Geoffrey Crowley's departure in April. Thompson will remain vice chairman. "Jim is a strong leader with great operational and business acumen," Thompson said.
UPS's 2,700 pilots are being briefed by Independent Pilots Assn. leaders on a tentative labor agreement reached late last month that will be put to a vote in September. The five-year deal reportedly provides increased pay and improved work rules, including a 20% raise in a captain's average salary to $300,000 annually. Negotiations lasted three years. The proposed deal puts pressure on FedEx, which has been negotiating with its pilots on a new labor contract since 2004.
Goodrich said yesterday that it shipped proximity sensors from its Vermont fuel and utility systems facility to Boeing last month for installation on 787s, becoming the first Dreamliner supplier to ship production components.
Etihad Airways will implement the complete Amadeus Altea Customer Management suite comprising Altea Reservation (including e-ticketing), Altea Inventory and Altea Departure Control System.
SAS Component will close its operations in Stavangar following the decision of SAS Technical Services to shutter its own operation there and rationalize Norwegian MRO capacity at Oslo ( ATWOnline, June 13). The action will affect 98 staff based in Stavangar and SASC will transfer workload to its other three locations, according to Singapore Technologies Aerospace, which purchased 67% of SAS Component last year. SASC also operates facilities at Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen.
Ferrovial Group, the new owner of BAA, said it remains committed to constructing a second runway at London Stansted but will reevaluate the project's estimated £4 billion ($7.4 billion) price tag.
Gulf Air announced President and CEO James Hogan will leave the carrier later this year. Hogan, who joined the airline in May 2002, said it was his decision. Two months ago, he reported that Gulf Air faced an BHD80 million ($204.5 million) deficit as fuel costs outstripped revenue ( ATWOnline, May 10).
Iberia cancelled some 220 flights yesterday on the first day of an expected weeklong strike by pilots who are protesting the carrier's plans to establish a low-cost airline at Barcelona International later this year ( ATWOnline, July 10). The airline claimed the strike will cost about €35 million ($44.8 million) in lost revenue, representing about one-third of its 2005 operating profit. Most of the flight cancellations were on domestic routes.
WestJet flew 774.5 million RPMs in June, up 26% over the year-ago month. Capacity increased 20% to 1 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 3.6 points to 77.1%.
Norman Mineta, the former US transportation secretary who ended a 5.5-year tenure last week, will join communications consultancy Hill & Knowlton as vice chairman effective July 24. He will be based in Washington.
Taiwan's Mandarin Airlines will lease three Embraer 190s and five 195s from GE Commercial Aviation Services. The aircraft come from the existing GECAS backlog and are scheduled to begin delivering in the second quarter of 2007. Configured in a single seating class, they will replace Mandarin's existing fleet of F100s and F50s on domestic routes and eventually will help develop short-haul international markets.
World Air Holdings finally reported its 2005 fourth-quarter and full-year financial results Friday, posting net income of $31.6 million for the year, increased 23.4% from $25.6 million in 2004. WAH, parent of wet-lease specialist World Airways and charter carrier North American Airlines, missed several reporting deadlines and was de-listed by Nasdaq as a result ( ATWOnline, May 22).
In the second fatal airplane crash in Asia in as many days (see item below), a Pakistan International Airlines F27 turboprop departing Multan en route to Lahore crashed minutes after takeoff yesterday, killing all 41 passengers and four crew onboard.
News from Travel Technology Update: In the U.S., the same people who navigate the nation's air transport system without a second thought are sometimes clueless when it comes to rail travel, particularly if they live outside the Northeast, California's Capitol Corridor or other areas where rail commutes are commonplace. So in designing the latest incarnation of its Web site, Amtrak put a lot of thought into answering questions raised by the uninitiated. It offers a primer for first-timers.
DHL yesterday opened an expanded facility in Denpasar's cargo terminal, consolidating its sales, service, warehousing and administration functions under one roof and extending cut-off times for shipments.
Thai Airways no longer will go forward with the planned launch of LCC Royal Orchid Airlines ( ATWOnline, May 4), saying the new carrier is not necessary after the government ruled that all commercial air traffic must use Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport. Royal Orchid was slated to be based at Don Muang.
Reports from Russia are suggesting that the braking system failed on the S7 Airlines A310-300 that skidded on a wet runway after landing at Irkutsk International Airport at approximately 7:50 a.m. local time Sunday morning. At least 119 passengers and five crew were killed when the aircraft broke through a 6-ft. concrete barrier and crashed into a series of one-story garages, with some reports raising the death toll to 131. At least 20 passengers are in serious condition. There were 195 passengers and eight crew aboard the aircraft, which was arriving from Moscow Domodedovo.
Penauille Servisair signed with WestJet to open airport lounges in Calgary, Vancouver and other cities to be announced. Lounges are open in Ottawa and Winnipeg. Separately, Penauille signed an agreement with Air France for ground handling at Boston and Philadelphia and its cargo arm opened a new 86,000-sq.-ft. warehouse facility at London Heathrow that will house Emirates SkyCargo, Singapore Airlines Cargo and SriLankan Cargo.
Boeing customers who want to put a multicolored livery on the engine nacelles of their 787s or add a logo will have to forgo the option or accept a performance penalty.
Airbus new aircraft sales picked up a bit last month as the embattled plane-maker reported orders for 12 aircraft in June, up from six in May and nine in April. All were for A320 family jets comprising four A319s, six A320s and two A318s. The new commitments brought total first-half sales to 117, comprising 96 narrowbodies and 21 widebodies. Airbus sold just one widebody in the second quarter and that was to a nonairline. Boeing has not released June monthly sales figures; however, in the period Jan.
