Saudi government approved the privatization of Saudi Arabian Airlines Tuesday, according to a statement from the Supreme Economic Council cited by local press reports.
US Transportation Security Administration said that Los Angeles-based J.H. World Express "does not meet security standards and will have its indirect air carrier certification revoked for shipments on passenger aircraft." The company will be able to reapply for certification in 90 days.
Aeroflot and Air Baltic announced a codeshare deal covering Moscow-Riga services. Aeroflot operates five weekly flights and Air Baltic flies six-times-weekly. Separately, Aeroflot named Sergei Belov director of its new St. Petersburg branch.
Royal Jordanian announced, as expected, a firm order yesterday for seven Embraer 195s. Aircraft will be powered by GE CF34-10s and laid out in a 100-seat, two-class configuration. According to an industry source, RJ also took options on an additional eight 195s. The Amman-based carrier will take delivery of three of the aircraft in the final quarter of this year, two in 2007 and two in early 2008. It is purchasing four, while three will be on operating leases from GE Commercial Aviation Services.
Growth in international express package shipments and effective yield management on the domestic air transportation front played key roles in FedEx Corp.'s strong fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28, resulting in net income of $428 million, up 35% from the year-ago quarter's $317 million profit.
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport began construction of a new cargo terminal on a 15,600-sq.-m. lot near Ramp 4. The Bucher Group is the principal investor, having contributed €6 million to the facility that will include 16 loading gates and refrigerated compartments. It will be able to handle 80,000-100,000 tons of cargo per year and is scheduled to begin operations this fall.
The European Union's list of 92 companies now completely barred from operating in European airspace includes 50 carriers based in Democratic Republic of Congo and a combined 33 airlines from Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Swaziland.
Hawaiian Holdings, parent of Hawaiian Airlines, reported a net loss of $19.5 million for the three months ended Dec. 31 and a 2005 full-year loss of $12.4 million.
Norwegian Air Service will commence thrice-weekly flights from Oslo to Tallinn and Vilnius from May 2. Middle East Airlines will increase its Beirut-London Heathrow frequency from five-times-weekly to daily from June 2. Finnair will boost Asian service earlier than planned to five flights a week to Hong Kong and six to Osaka between July and October. Separately, Finnair and Pulkovo signed a codeshare agreement for joint flights between Helsinki and St. Petersburg from March 26
Swiss International Air Lines, which joins Star Alliance next month, will codeshare with Star member SAS between Switzerland and Scandinavia as well as with Blue1 from Zurich to Helsinki. Swiss-Spanair cooperation will be offered between Zurich and Barcelona and Madrid. Codesharing will be initiated with Croatia Airlines between Zurich and Zagreb and with Darwin Airline on the Bern-London City sector. The codesharing is set to begin March 26, at which time agreements with Malev, Finnair and Qantas will be terminated.
European Regional airlines reported a 6.3% increase in scheduled traffic in 2005, according to the European Regions Airline Assn. Average passenger load factor was 61.5%, the highest year-end figure since ERA began collecting data in 1987, a result of "continued prudence among operators in increasing capacity." A high of 67.3% was reached in July.
AirBaltic reported a net loss of €1.9 million ($2.3 million) for 2005 owing to a €4 million charge related to the return of Avro RJ70s. Excluding the charge, the Riga-based airline said it would have earned €2.07 million compared with a loss of €1.2 million in 2004. Operating revenue totaled €120.4 million and passenger boardings reached 1.04 million.
Joseph Leonard, AirTran Airways' chairman and CEO, is the 2006 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award. He is receiving the honor "for his outstanding achievements, perseverance and 30 years of aviation excellence." The award is named for the man who piloted the first commercial passenger flight from St. Petersburg to Tampa, covering 21 mi. in 23 min.
General Electric said its GEnx engine for the 787, 747-8 and A350 demonstrated 80,500 lb. of takeoff thrust in its first ground test yesterday at the company's outdoor testing facility in Peebles, Ohio. The GEnx is scheduled to certify at 75,000 lb. in 2007, with service entry on the Dreamliner in 2008. Seven engines will be used in the certification programs. In a statement, GEnx GM Tom Brisken said, "Engine assembly was flawless, and engine testing began three days ahead of schedule.
Worldspan was selected by Surinam Airways to host the airline's operations at Worldspan's global data center under a five-year "hosting partnership." In addition, the GDS will provide Surinam with Worldspan Meridian systems to manage mission-critical daily operations including reservation and inventory management, flight operations, airport passenger processing, e-ticketing, global fares and pricing requirements.
British Airways will introduce "across-the-board" self-service check-in for customers traveling on intra-UK flights from April 25. Elimination of desk check-in for domestic travel is part of BA's strategy to streamline operations ahead of its spring 2008 move into London Heathrow's new Terminal 5. It hopes to have more than 80% of its customers using self-serve check-in by that time.
Royal Jordanian reported a 2005 profit of JOD21.7 million ($30.6 million) before deducting a share to be distributed to employees, up 25% from net earnings of JOD17.2 million in 2004. The airline said last year's profit was 33% above forecast. Revenues rose 12% from JOD345 million in 2004 to JOD387 million while expenses increased 11% to JOD352 million.
Delta Air Lines, which is expanding its transatlantic services this summer with 11 new routes and more than 50 daily flights to 29 cities in 17 countries in Europe and India, is looking for still more destinations, especially in Eastern Europe. "It is important for us to have more balance between the domestic and the international business. The demand for new routes to Europe is there," CEO Jerry Grinstein told journalists Monday.
Enigma announced the availability of Enigma InService MRO, which it said is based on the 3C Platform and claimed is the "first out-of-the-box maintenance publishing and delivery solution that provides all the technical support information needed for efficient aircraft service and support."
ANA and its subsidiary airlines face a 24-hr. strike Thursday by pilots dissatisfied with management's stance on new pay and working condition demands. If the strike goes ahead, ANA warned that up to 50% of domestic flights will be affected.
Air Arabia, which launched in October 2003, reported a 2005 net profit of AED32.1 million ($8.7 million) as annual passenger numbers surged 122% to 1.13 million and its network expanded by more than half to 23 destinations. It recently took delivery of its first A320, increasing its fleet to five aircraft. Three more A320s will arrive this year.
At a time when lost and mishandled bags are costing the industry $2.5 billion a year (see item below), airlines collectively could save $768 million annually if passive RFID tags were implemented for baggage handling, replacing barcode tags and scanners, IATA RFID Project Manager Andrew Price said yesterday during ATWOnline's webcast on radio frequency identification technology.
