Lufthansa Group said it flew 10.1 billion RPKs in September, up 3.9% over the same month last year. With ASKs up 2.5% to 12.7 billion, load rose 1.1 points to 79%. LH said the increase in RPKs was owing to strong growth across all regions, with Asia/Pacific traffic up 8.2% and Middle East traffic 7.8%. Cargo traffic (RTKs) fell 4.7% to 659 million on a 1.3% reduction in ATKs to 1.03 billion, pushing cargo load factor down 2.2 points to 63.9%.
Lufthansa Systems and Bundesdrukerei have developed a biometric security solution that uses fingerprint match and smart card technology to achieve positive passenger identification between passenger check-in and the airport boarding gate. System is called SecBoard.
Aeroflot entered into an agreement Oct. 7 with Mail of Russia--the Russian post office--to load and transport and domestic and international mail on regular, added and charter flights. Previously, Aeroflot carried only international mail, according to the airline. Some 36% of its mail service now will occur inside Russia.
Airbus said Air New Zealand became the first airline to seek certification for its A320s to carry out approach procedures using required navigation performance standards. ANZ is working with Airbus and Seattle-based Naverus to gain a special CAA approval to operate its A320s using RNP rather than visual approaches below existing VOR/DME minima down to 270 ft. AGL at Queenstown. At present, aircraft inbound for Queenstown cannot descend below 3,000 ft. (900 m.) unless visual conditions prevail.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, has begun distributing 40,940 shares of new common stock as it continues to restructure following its emergence last year from Chapter 11. The shares will go to holders of allowed general unsecured claims against AAWW and its subsidiaries and are the first to be allocated since an initial pro rata distribution of more than 16 million shares in July. Distribution of the remaining 1,065,950 shares to holders of allowed claims will occur on a quarterly basis beginning in January. As of Sept.
Emirates postponed launch of its second daily A340-500 nonstop between Dubai and New York JFK from Nov. 7 to Nov. 16. The carrier cited the impact of the strike at Boeing, which caused a delivery delay that forced it to continue to use the aircraft on other services. Separately, Emirates noted it is increasing its presence in five Asian markets. It added two weekly flights to Hong Kong on Oct. 1, bringing its weekly total to 14. At the end of October it will add three direct flights to Jakarta each week, returning to Dubai over Singapore.
Northwest Airlines yesterday asked the US Bankruptcy Court to reject its existing labor agreements if it is unsuccessful in negotiating new contracts with its unionized employees. The so-called Section 1113(c) motion starts a 51-day negotiating period unless both sides agree to an extension.
EasyJet will set up a base at Milan Malpensa, its sixth in continental Europe and first in Italy, and launch new routes to Athens, London Gatwick, Madrid, Malaga and Paris Charles De Gaulle. These routes are in addition to the current Berlin service and the daily flight to Dortmund which commences on Oct. 30. Daily service to London begins Dec. 1. Daily services to Paris, Madrid and Malaga follow on March 27 and Athens comes on line the next day, also with a daily service.
Air France Cargo and KLM Cargo are implementing the next phase in their cooperation that aims to present One Face to the Customer without, however, integrating the operational activities of the two organizations. A Joint Cargo Management Team headed by Michael Wisbrun is responsible for the integrated commercial functions, including sales, customer service, products, marketing, revenue management and network planning. Strategy and development functions, including commercial IT functionality and alliances, also are integrated into the management team.
SkyEurope transported 196,549 passengers in September, up 74% compared to the some month last year, resulting a load factor of 80.1%. In the past 12 months, SkyEurope transported 1.7 million passengers, up 132% from the 12-month period ended Sept. 30, 2004.
JetBlue Airways announced a significant expansion at its New York JFK and Boston Logan bases yesterday, highlighting the versatility of its new 100-seat Embraer 190s, eight of which will be in service by year end with a mix of short- and long-haul flying to big and small cities. The airline has ordered 101 of the CF34-powered RJs and will take delivery of 18 in each of the next two years.
GE Commercial Aviation Services will lease two ex-US Airways A320s to India's Air Deccan for delivery in January. Aircraft and Engine Support LLC took delivery on Sept. 30 of one MD-87 from Investors Asset Holding Corp. The sale of the aircraft, which formerly was leased to AeroMexico, was arranged by Sigma Aircraft Management.
SAS Technical Services AB named Michael Brag its chief commercial officer and acting MD of SAS Component A/S. Brag, 39, joined SAS Group in 2003 and is a member of the management board overseeing marketing, sales, partnerships and supplier agreements. SAS Technical Services holds full-service MRO contracts on more than 200 aircraft.
Boeing said Japan Airlines has become the first licensed user of its Maintenance Performance Toolbox, a secure online service offering electronic assistance and integration for aircraft maintenance and troubleshooting. JAL partnered with Boeing in developing the product. The Toolbox features visual navigation methods and databases intended to facilitate prevention, repair and recordkeeping and is available on any device with an Internet connection.
Gol announced completion of the first phase of its new aircraft maintenance center in Confins just north of Belo Horizonte. The completed hangar is authorized to perform maintenance on 737-300s, dash 700s and dash 800s. The complex is scheduled to be finished in the second quarter of 2006.
Denim Air passed an IATA Operational Safety Audit. Denim is an ACMI operator with clients that include KLM, Olympic Airways, Air Nostrum, Loganair, VLM, Air Mauritania and Air Senegal.
St. George, Utah-based SkyWest Airlines agreed to purchase 22 70-seat CRJ700s for its Delta Connection operation. The deal involves the conversion of existing orders for 18 smaller CRJ200s placed by Delta Air Lines on behalf of Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which subsequently was acquired by SkyWest, plus four incremental aircraft. The order includes conversion rights for other CRJ versions and reaffirms options for 80 CRJ700s.
AirBaltic will launch service to Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, on Oct. 31, operating three weekly flights using F50s. Qatar Airways begins serving Madrid on Dec. 2 with thrice-weekly flights using A300-600s. LCC Iceland Express will start Reykjavik-Gothenburg services from May 17 using 737 Classics.
LAN Airlines finalized a previously announced order for 25 A318s and A319s with options on 15 A320 family aircraft ( ATWOnline, July 1). LAN is launch customer for the PW6000 on the A318, while the A319s will be powered by IAE V2500s.
US Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta and European Commission VP in charge of Transport Jacques Barrot agreed to resume negotiations starting Oct. 17 "with a view to reaching a comprehensive first step air services agreement between the US and EU," according to a brief statement from DOT.
North American Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of World Airways Holdings, reached an agreement valued at $15 million to furnish service for TravelSpan, a tour operator that provides vacation packages to the Dominican Republic, Tobago and other Caribbean destinations.
Virgin Blue is likely to launch an appeal after eight former Ansett flight attendants won an antidiscrimination case, claiming the airline had rejected their applications for jobs on the basis of age. The Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal ruled in favor of the women, aged between 35 and 56, who unsuccessfully had sought jobs with Virgin Blue during the 12 months after Ansett's collapse in September 2001. None of the flight attendants made it past the first interview and they alleged the assessment process for cabin crew positions focused on young and attractive applicants.
Amadeus said Norwegian will be the launch customer for its scaleable Pioneer Customer Management Solution intended to address the requirements of low-cost carriers. According to Amadeus, Pioneer, which uses Unix and Linux technology, is based on a community IT platform; comprises reservations, inventory, revenue management and departure control solutions, and supports all sales channels. Separately, Norwegian said it flew 267 million RPKs in September, up 89% over the year-ago period, on a 49% rise in capacity to 334 million ASKs.
AirBridge Cargo took delivery of a third 747 freighter that will enable it to add four weekly flights between Europe and Shanghai via its hub in Krasnoyarsk. The 747-300SF, built in 1990, features a 30-pallet main deck and is one of three of its kind with GE engines to be converted to freighters, AirBridge said. The airline was awarded significant frequency increases to Shanghai and Beijing in recent negotiations as well the right to add Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hong Kong and Moscow on westbound flights.
