FAA announced the deployment of its En Route Communications Gateway, which will process radar and flight data in all 20 en route ATC centers and "eliminate the possibility of a system outage by removing the single point of failure that existed in the previous system."
Continental Airlines flight attendants, represented by the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, released details of the long-awaited four-year agreement signed with the carrier last week ( ATWOnline, Dec. 9). Terms include preservation of pay rates for current cabin staff, a top base pay rate increased to $50 per hour prior to the end of the agreement, a no-furlough clause, enhanced crew rest, improved commuter and reserve issues, profit-sharing and stock option plans.
French Parliament Friday passed President Jacques Chirac's tax-for-aid on international airline tickets ( ATWOnline, Nov. 24). The levy will be introduced July 1 and will vary from €1 ($1.17) to €40 depending on destination and class of travel. The impact of the new tax will be reviewed after two years, MPs decided.
Star Alliance took a major step forward Friday in its campaign to reduce the ticket distribution costs of its members with the signing of umbrella contracts with G2 SwitchWorks and ITA Software providing Alternative Content Access Platforms to Star airlines. The so-called GDS new entrants or GNEs will supply distribution functions at a fraction of the cost of going through traditional GDSs, according to G2 President Alex Zoglin.
Bmi canceled its Edinburgh-Munich service planned for the spring because Munich Airport was unable to provide a morning slot, which the carrier said was critical to the route's viability, The Scotsman reported.
Soaring airport charges are pushing airlines to consider taking drastic steps such as ending service to particularly egregious offenders, IATA Chairman Robert Milton said Friday in Montreal. Milton, who is also chairman and CEO of Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings, said the IATA board discussed the issue at its regularly scheduled meeting here. "There is the potential for some fairly draconian action," he told journalists at a Star Alliance media briefing.
Syrian Arab Airlines said its planned Regional carrier joint venture with Middle East Airlines should be ready to launch service in the second quarter of next year. The new airline, Phoenician Express, initially will operate a pair of 50/70-seat aircraft on a network based out of Damascus and Beirut. The two carriers jointly will own 50% of PE and the other half will be owned by private investors. The airline will serve domestic destinations in Syria and international routes to countries including Jordan, Cyprus, Turkey and Egypt.
Virgin America Inc., a US-based startup, announced yesterday that it has secured $177.3 million in committed funding and has filed an application for certification with the US Dept. of Transportation to operate as an interstate carrier.
The supervisory board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG yesterday approved an order for 12 CRJ900s that will be configured for 84 seats and will replace 50-seat CRJ200s. In a statement, the airline said, "The competitiveness and cost-efficiency of the regional fleet are of crucial importance in Lufthansa's European operations and for feeder flights to intercontinental connections at its major hubs."
Middle East Airlines and Syrian Arab Airlines are in the market for new lift. According to the Arab Air Carriers Organization, MEA is planning to add a new aircraft to its fleet in 2007 and one in 2008. In addition, it is evaluating the possibility of operating 50/70-seat regional aircraft. It expects to achieve a $40 million net profit for 2005 after earning $50 million in 2004 and is planning to float 10%-20% its shares on the Beirut Bourse next year. Syrian, meanwhile, is expected to finalize an order for three A330s and four A321s as early as year end.
Continental Airlines announced it reached an agreement late yesterday with its flight attendants represented by the International Assn. of Machinists. Details of the deal were not revealed. The carrier said negotiations resumed earlier this week at the Washington offices of the National Mediation Board, which had said that failure to come to an agreement could result in a release from mediation. The accord will be sent to the union membership for ratification in a process expected to conclude next month.
Scandinavian Airlines Group agreed to sell its holding in Jetpak Group, a same-day door-to-door delivery service, to Denmark-based Polaris Private Equity for SEK490 million ($61.2 million), resulting in a capital gain of approximately SEK410 million. The transaction is expected to close before year end and is conditional upon approval of the appropriate authorities.
In a major legal victory for the airline industry, the UK House of Lords ruled Thursday that deep vein thrombosis cannot be characterized as an "accident" under the terms of the Warsaw Convention and thus concluded that passengers suffering from DVT during or after an air journey will receive no compensation from carriers.
British Airways, after a two-year review, signed what it called "one of the largest engineering contracts awarded in the airline's history" with GE Engine Services. The 10-year, £1.5 billion ($2.6 billion) agreement will see GEES responsible for MRO on BA's RB211-524s and CFM56s powering its 57 747s, 21 767s, 32 737s and 10 of its 26 A320s. It replaces an existing contract due to expire at year end.
Southwest Airlines pilots agreed to raise by 1.5 hr. their average flight time per month to 68.5 hr. The initiative will save the carrier about $4 million per year, the Associated Press reported. The deal runs through July, but Southwest will seek to make it a permanent part of a new labor agreement. The current contract runs through Sept. 1, 2006.
Styrian Spirit CEO Otmar Lenz is leaving the airline after three years in charge to become MD of Fly Niki, the Austrian low-fare carrier. He will be reunited with former boss Niki Lauda, with whom Lenz was one of the founders of Lauda Air. Separately, Styrian Spirit will start six-times-weekly Graz-Salzburg-Paris service from Dec 15. Meanwhile, Fly Niki will open its third hub in Austria in summer 2006 and will base one A320 at Linz. The Air Berlin partner also will add Funchal to its network.
Korean Air cancelled 253 of 399 scheduled flights for today as the strike by its pilot unions continued into a second day ( ATWOnline, Dec. 8). The airline cancelled 204 of 387 scheduled flights Thursday. Friday's cancellations included 54 of 157 international flights, 176 of 212 domestic flights and 23 of 30 cargo flights. The South Korean government warned it will consider invoking emergency powers to order the pilots back to work but has not released a deadline after which it will act. Korean never has had a strike that lasted longer than two days.
US National Transportation Safety Board Member Ellen Engleman Conners asked President Bush to withdraw her nomination for a second term as chairman, saying in a letter that she "intends to focus on continuing to serve as an aggressive advocate for safety in her role as a member of the Safety Board. . .without the additional demands of the chairmanship."
Goodrich announced an agreement with JetBlue Airways to provide exclusive maintenance for the Goodrich component content on its A320 fleet, which ultimately could exceed 200 aircraft. The long-term agreement covers actuation, lighting, fuel and utility systems and potable water system components among others.
Qantas scrapped domestic and transtasman base commissions to travel agents in Australia and New Zealand and reduced payments on international sales from 7% to 5% in a move designed to lower distribution costs and improve profit margins. The decision reflects global trends, increasing direct ticket sales--particularly through the Internet--and the growth of online-based low-cost subsidiary Jetstar, according to Qantas.
Delta Air Lines' pilots may consider a vote to strike the carrier if the bankruptcy court agrees to the company's request to impose a new agreement on the workforce. The pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., provided $1 billion in givebacks last year, but after Delta filed for Chapter 11 in September it asked for a further $325 million in concessions. "It is our contention that if they start imposing their terms we will start defending the contract," ALPA spokesperson John Culp told the Associated Press. Delta argues that a strike would be illegal.
White House yesterday defended the two air marshals who shot and killed 44-year-old Rigoberto Alpizar as he exited an American Airlines 757 at Miami International Airport (ATWOnline, Dec. 8), although there were some discrepancies in witness accounts about whether or not the Costa Rica-born US citizen claimed to be carrying a bomb, according to media reports. "From what we know, the team of air marshals acted in a way that is consistent with the training that they have received," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters.
LAN Airlines will roll out in March a new premium business class service across its 767-300 fleet that combines its existing first and business class cabins. The product, to be offered on flights between North and South America, will feature lie-flat seats with a full 180-deg. recline and 74-in. pitch. Inflight entertainment will be upgraded to include audio/video on demand with 15.4-in. personal monitors. LAN is spending $100 million on the cabin makeover.
Bmi will commence a thrice-weekly London Heathrow-Jeddah service April 23. "We have been extremely encouraged by the start that we have had on the Heathrow to Riyadh route," chief executive Nigel Turner said. The carrier will increase to daily its service from Heathrow to Mumbai April 22 and also begin a daily service March 26 to Doha from LHR that will be operated under a wet-lease agreement with Qatar Airways subject to government approval. At the same time, bmi's existing codeshare agreement with QR will be expanded to allow bmi to sell QR flights from LHR to Doha.
