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.
Jet Airways proposed allowing foreign pilots to stay three years instead of one to solve India's chronic pilot shortage. According to Hindu Business Line, Jet CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer has proposed the initiative to the government. At the same time, insiders at Jet have confirmed to ATWOnline that the airline is talking with Air Sahara about taking a stake. Air Sahara approached Ernst and Young to assist it with capital raising options to meet its expansion plans.
EasyJet carried 2.74 million passengers in September, up 16.5% compared to September 2004. Load factor dipped half a point to 86.4%. For the rolling 12 months ended Sept 30, the airline carried 29.56 million passengers, up 21.4% over the year-ago period, and load factor improved a slight 0.7% to 85.2%. Revenue increased 23% to £1.34 billion ($2.38 billion). The company reiterated its August guidance that it expects its profit for the just-ended fiscal year "to be broadly in line with last year."
Repeal of the Wright Amendment, which limits air service from Dallas Love Field to cities in Texas and seven nearby states, would result in the loss of some 436 daily flights at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport and a gain at Love Field of 251 daily flights, for a net loss to the Dallas metroplex of 185 daily flights, according to a study prepared for American Airlines by Eclat Consulting. "To the affected communities, the losses are qualitatively more damaging than the 'wins' are beneficial," the report stated.
Air China reported robust growth figures for September, with passenger numbers up 11% to 2.5 million and cargo up 5.5% to 67,000 tonnes. Passenger load factor climbed 1.4% to 78.5%.
UK government yesterday rejected a request by CAA to impose a £1 ($1.76) levy per passenger on all UK-originating international flights to fund its ATOL scheme to protect customers when tour operators fail ( ATWOnline, Sept. 26). The proposal was criticized by both easyJet and Ryanair and both airlines welcomed Monday's decision by Aviation Minister Karen Buck.
The 20 US airlines reporting performance data to the US Dept. of Transportation achieved an ontime arrival rate of 75.2% in August, down from 78.3% in August 2004 but noticeably improved over July 2005's rate of 70.9%. Of the 24.8% of flights that were delayed 15 min. or more, 7.72% were owing to aviation system delays, including weather; 7.05% to late arriving flights; 6.42% to factors within the airline's control; 1.15% to extreme weather, and .007% for security reasons (numbers may not add up due to rounding).
European Union and Chile last week signed an aviation agreement that removes nationality restrictions in the bilateral air services agreements between EU member states and Chile. It is the first so-called "horizontal" aviation agreement to be signed and allows any EU airline to operate flights between any EU member state where it is established and Chile. "The agreement recognizes that airlines in the EU are no longer national airlines but European airlines. This is an important step in our external aviation policy," said Jacques Barrot, VP in charge of transport policy.
Finnair is adding a seventh MD-11 in December and aims to acquire an eighth next year as it builds its Asian network. "Within a couple of years, we will have some 10 widebody aircraft. We will add between one and two new destinations in Asia per year and increase frequencies to current destinations," President and CEO Keijo Suila declared in a statement. The carrier opened Guangzhou last month and adds Nagoya in June.
Germanwings will add Alicante, Jerez, Antalya, Heraklion, Gothenburg and Gdansk to its network from Cologne March 26. It also will start new services from Berlin Schoenefeld to Ibiza and Stuttgart to Antalya. Thai Airways is considering launching a four-times-weekly Bangkok-Los Angeles nonstop service to ease pricing pressure on its six-times-weekly nonstop Bangkok-New York service, which will be cut back to four weekly.
Horizon Air and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract for the airline's more than 400 mechanics and fleet service agents. The deal must be approved by union membership.
Swiss International Air Lines is to spin off its Regional operations into a standalone subsidiary called Swiss European Air Lines with its own management team and operating certificate before year end.
MTU Aero Engines and Lufthansa Technik intend to grow their Kuala Lumpur engine MRO joint venture Airfoil Services to a $20 million business by 2010 compared to $5 million in annual sales today by expanding into HPC blades as well at the current LPT blades and adding the GE CF34 to the present V2500, CFM56 and CF6 portfolio. Employment will rise to 500 from 130.
Continental Airlines announced yesterday that it added another $84 million to its defined benefit pension plans, bringing its year-to-date contributions to $304 million. That total meets its minimum required contribution for 2005.
Vietnam Airlines reported a 28.9% jump in revenue to 15.6 trillion tong for the nine months to Sept. 30 as tourist numbers surged to the country. Passengers were up 21% to 4.5 million and load factor was 69%.
JDA Aviation Technology Solutions was recognized by US FAA as one of only two companies qualified to assist air carrier applicants in preparing for the FAR Part 121 certification process. JDA was founded by former FAA senior regulator Joe Del Balzo.
Air New Zealand delayed by one week an announcement that is expected to involve more orders for 777s and 787s. Last year it ordered eight 777-200ERs and two 787s and took price rights and options on 42 more 777/787s. Last month, retiring CEO and MD Ralph Norris told ATWOnline that ANZ had to move on the options because of "high demand" for the types.
Weber Aircraft, a subsidiary of Zodiac, was awarded a 100-aircraft seat order from IndiGo, the new Indian carrier partly owned by former US Airways CEO Rakesh Gangwal and headed by Bruce Ashby, former US Airways executive VP-marketing and planning. The seats are for IndiGo's A320s.
