AirAsia is adding Ipoh, Tawau, Kota Bharu and Sandakan to its network from its Johor Bahru hub at Senai International Airport. New services start on Feb. 6. The LCC will operate four weekly flights to Ipoh and Tawau and thrice-weekly to Kota Bharu and Sandakan. It also is upping frequencies from Johor Bahru to 10 flights per week to Kuching, 11 flights per week to Kota Kinabalu and 10 flights per week to Penang. AirAsia launched service from Johor Bahru on Malaysia's southern tip in 2003 and is carrying 1 million passengers a year with just one aircraft.
Continental Airlines' announcement that it would take 69 aircraft out of its fleet agreement with ExpressJet ( ATWOnline, Jan. 4) came as no surprise to ExpressJet CEO and President Jim Ream. During months of negotiations, CO followed in the footsteps of other mainline carriers and aggressively sought concessions as it moved to cut costs. ExpressJet is the exclusive provider of Regional flying to CO using a fleet of some 274 ERJ-145s.
Israel Aircraft Industries' Elta Systems Group said it received authorization from Israel's CAA to install its Flight Guard anti-Manpads system on 767 passenger aircraft. According to press reports, El Al will install the system on six 767s.
EADS bought a 10% stake in Russia's Irkut Corp. for $65.3 million last month, the Russian aerospace company announced. The deal coincided with the awarding of a 10-year contract for A320, A330/A340 and A380 component and subassembly production ( ATWOnline, Dec. 22). "It is part of the global strategy of EADS to form partnerships with leading aerospace companies," EADS Russia CEO Vadim Vlasov said. The companies have been working together since 2002.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International has surpassed Chicago O'Hare as the busiest airport in the US, FAA said. ATL logged 980,197 takeoffs and landings in 2005 compared to 972,246 at ORD. Dallas/Ft. Worth International finished a distant third with 718,291. Growth at Atlanta largely reflects Delta Air Lines' increased activity there, while DFW's declining position similarly is a result of Delta's closing its hub last year.
Caribbean Aircraft Leasing will acquire an additional 50-seat Q300 turboprop for $16.3 million, Bombardier announced. The lessor, parent of Caribbean Star Airlines and Caribbean Sun Airlines, ordered three A300s two months ago.
Engine Alliance received FAR 33 certification from US FAA for its GP7200, designed for the A380. The 21-month test program involved eight engines. The GP7200 ran approximately 7,000 cycles, 25 full-scale certification tests and more than 50 component tests. It powered two flight test programs on a flying testbed and initially is certified at 76,500 lb. thrust. It was tested at levels in excess of 94,000 lb. Engine Alliance President Bruce Hughes said the engine was tested and certified to ETOPS standards. The first A380 test flight will take place this year.
Aerospace Industries Assn. named Susan Mertes director-aviation infrastructure, a new position focusing on improvements to the civil air transport system. Rockwell Collins appointed Beverly Carmichael VP-staffing and organizational development. She comes from Southwest Airlines.
EasyJet will add 14 new routes across its European network this spring as it takes delivery of nine A319s. It also will convert its bases in Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow to all-Airbus operations, replacing its current fleet of 737s in a move signifying its "commitment to future investment and expansion." It will operate 116 A319s by this summer.
Aviation Safety Network recorded 35 fatal accidents last year that resulted in 1,059 airline fatalities and 44 on the ground, according to the Dutch website. The number of accidents was "significantly lower" than the 10-year average of 40 per year while the number of fatalities was "almost equal" to the annual average of 1,095 over the past decade owing to the high number of serious accidents.
Continental Airlines said Dec. 28 it will withdraw 69 of 274 Embraer RJs from its capacity purchase agreement with ExpressJet Airlines because the latter's rates "are above the current market." ExpressJet may continue to sublease any of the 69 aircraft at higher rates but cannot operate them into any of CO's hubs. The ERJ-135s and dash 145s operate in the Continental Express network. ExpressJet at one time was a wholly owned subsidiary of CO but now is publicly traded.
Airbus and Boeing finished the year strong as several airlines announced aircraft orders or confirmations during the final week of 2005 and the first few days of the new year. Air Deccan led the way with its Dec. 24 announcement that it signed to purchase 30 additional A320s for delivery starting in 2008. The deal is worth $1.5 billion at list prices. The Indian LCC ordered 32 A320s in January 2005. It will take delivery of eight this year, increasing its fleet to 32 aircraft. No engine choice was announced for the new batch of 180-seaters.
B/E Aerospace announced that it completed a $45 million deal with Emirates to design and manufacture the international super first class cabins on a portion of its new 777s.
IATA's November international traffic report indicated a 6.1% rise in RPKs over the year-ago month and 2.8% growth in cargo. "Overall the industry is growing, which is good news. But the pace of growth has geared down a notch as a result of weaker demand from some critical sectors, such as IT," DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said. Passenger capacity rose 4.6% and load factor was 73%. The Middle East led with a 16.4% increase in RPKs and a 10.6% rise in capacity. The Asia/Pacific region showed the slowest growth with RPKs up just 3.6%.
UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, said its reorganization plan was accepted by all classes of creditors in voting tabulated and submitted last week to the US Bankruptcy Court. A confirmation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 18.
Delta Air Lines reported a November net loss of $181 million in a Dec. 30 filing with the US Bankruptcy Court compared to losses of $1.14 billion during the six weeks following its entry into Chapter 11 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 2) and approximately $300 million in October. November's net loss minus reorganization items and taxes was $164 million. Operating loss was $107 million on revenues of $1.29 billion and expenses of $1.4 billion.
Assn. of European Airlines selected Wolfgang Mayrhuber, CEO and chairman of the executive board of Lufthansa, as chairman for 2006. He takes over from TAP Portugal CEO Fernando Pinto.
Southwest Airlines launched service from Denver International Airport yesterday with 13 daily nonstops to Chicago Midway, Las Vegas and Phoenix. It also announced it will begin new services March 4 with a daily flight from DEN to Baltimore/Washington International Airport and four-times-daily service to Salt Lake City. It will increase DEN service to Phoenix from four daily flights to five and to Las Vegas from five to six on the same day.
Swiss International Air Lines reached agreement with the pilots of its regional fleet, avoiding a possible labor conflict, Reuters reported. Swiss announced plans last fall to spin off its Regional operations into a standalone subsidiary called Swiss European Air Lines with its own management team and operating certificate and aircraft and crew wet-leased from the parent ( ATWOnline, Oct. 11). Whether the purported new agreement nullifies those plans could not be determined.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said through a spokesperson on Dec. 27 that he "strongly urges" other countries to follow France's lead in raising taxes on airline tickets to fund global poverty and healthcare initiatives ( ATWOnline, Dec. 12). "I think we need to explore all creative ways of raising funding for development," Annan said.
While some analysts are forecasting a spike in airfares out of Washington Dulles as a result of the shutdown of Independence Air tomorrow, others believe the departure of the carrier formerly known as Atlantic Coast Airlines will cause barely a ripple.
Virgin Express will launch twice-weekly Brussels-Palermo service from April 1. Air Berlin will launch Sunday-Friday London Stansted-Helsinki service via Dusseldorf from Feb. 3. Gol starts service from Sao Paulo Guarulhos to Asuncion via Curitiba today. It began a nightly Sao Paulo-Montevideo flight via Porto Alegre on Tuesday.
Republic Airways Holdings knows it is difficult to serve two masters, even more so three or four. What satisfies one may not work for another. Recognizing this, it has created three subsidiaries to meet the requirements of its four codesharing partnersAmerican Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airwayswhile staying in compliance with the respective scope clauses contained in the pilot labor agreements at each.
Viewed with altered expectations, 2006 will be at or near the top of the current economic cycle and should produce the best financial results the industry has seen since 2000. Passenger traffic, on a steady rise since the 2001-02 period, will ride a still-buoyant global economy to continue its ascent at rates a bit higher than the long-term trend, but this time with some improved yields, especially in the North American domestic market where 2006 capacity should decline.
