Mesaba Aviation said it reached a definitive agreement with Northwest Airlines to operate 15 CRJ200s under the Airlink banner, along with exclusive rights to the next 20 CRJ200 or CRJ440 aircraft NWA may order. The agreement is part of a new 10-year "omnibus airline services agreement" between the companies and also covers Mesaba's existing fleet of Saab 340s and Avro RJs, replacing a previous accord for the Saabs and Avros. "We're very excited about introducing the CRJ to our fleet and our passengers," said Mesaba President and COO John Spanjers.
American Airlines said August traffic rose 3.8% to 12.65 billion RPMs compared to the year-ago period on a 0.1% decline in capacity to 15.51 ASMs. As a result, load factor gained 3.1 points to 81.5%. Year-to-date through August, RPMs increased 6.8% to 94.2 billion, ASMs grew 1.4% to 119 billion and load factor rose 3.9 points to 79%. Passenger boardings climbed 5.4% to 8.7 million in August and 7.3% to 66.8 million for the first eight months. Southwest Airlines flew 5.7 billion RPMs in August, up 13.7 over August 2004.
ATR finalized an agreement with Air Caledonie for three new aircraft, one ATR 42-500 and two 72-500s. The deal, valued at approximately $50 million, was announced at the Paris Air Show in June. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2006-07. Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry delivered the first of five ERJ-145s to China Eastern Airlines. Completion of deliveries is expected by April.
Assn. of European Airlines members registered an overall traffic growth of 7% in July compared to the year-ago period. The South Atlantic market posted the highest growth with a 16% increase in traffic on 13.8% more capacity, whereas the larger Far East market recorded a 13% growth in RPKs on a capacity hike of 8.6%. Intra-European traffic rose 6.5%, with cross-border flows substantially stronger than domestic. The North Atlantic increase was just 2.2%. July passenger boardings were up 5% to 30.2 million and load factor gained 2.2 points to 81.1%.
Varig Engineering & Maintenance delivered the fifth and final A300B4 freighter to Express.Net. The aircraft were maintained nose-to-tail beginning in October. Work included inspection checks, several ADs, CPCP, TCAS installation, large structural repairs, painting, other mandatory services and some specific mods such as installation of armored cockpit doors.
Northwest Airlines, in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission late last week, said it expects to report a loss of $350-$400 million for the third quarter excluding unusual items. It noted that its unrestricted cash position deteriorated to $1.7 billion at the end of August from $2.14 billion on June 30 and reiterated a warning that without pension relief legislation "that significantly reduces future funding requirements," it will be forced to consider a bankruptcy filing.
JetBlue will launch a single daily return service between Boston and Seattle Nov. 3. Seattle is the LCC's 10th nonstop destination out of Boston. Delta Air Lines begins service from New York JFK to both Austin and San Antonio Oct. 15. Flights will be operated by Shuttle America using Embraer 170s as Delta Connection. Austin will receive two daily return services and San Antonio one.
AirTran completed a financing agreement with Royal Bank of Scotland for up to $345 million to fund aircraft deposits and provide permanent financing for 737-700 deliveries in 2006 and 2007. The transaction frees up $51.9 million in pre-delivery deposits made by AirTran to Boeing. SkyWorks Capital advised the airline on the transaction. Separately, AirTran said it has suspended service to Gulfport/Biloxi and New Orleans through Wednesday, Sept. 7.
Dragonair will provide two aircraft to its mainland affiliate Air China via wet-lease. The deal covers one A330 and one A320 for two years. Dragonair and Air China are linked through equity and codeshare on seven routes.
EasyJet reached outside the airline industry to tap Andrew Harrison as chief executive to succeed Ray Webster, who announced in May that he is retiring. Harrison, 48, will take up his new post on Dec. 1. He was chief executive of RAC, the UK motoring services group, prior to its acquisition by British insurer Aviva in March. He joined RAC predecessor company Lex Service as CEO in 1996 and led its transformation from a seller of high-end automobiles through a network of 30 dealerships into consumer services such as roadside assistance, insurance, legal services and financing.
European Commission published a staff working paper outlining two policy proposals for a tax on airline tickets to fund efforts to reduce poverty around the world in line with the Millennium Development Goals. Earlier this week, French President Jacques Chirac announced plans to implement the so-called "solidarity" tax next year ( ATWOnline, Aug. 30). The working paper analyzes two approaches: The Voluntary-Mandatory approach would involve voluntary participation of EU members in an international scheme introducing a mandatory levy for passengers at the national level.
Nippon Cargo Airlines chose GE CF6-80C2 engines to power four 747-400Fs on order for delivery beginning in 2007. The deal is valued at more than $150 million, according to the engine maker. Sichuan Airlines chose IAE V2500s to power six A320s and two A319s on order.
Airlines in the Asia/Pacific region will invest an average of 2% of annual revenues in telecommunications and information technology this year compared with 1.9% for European airlines and just 1.4% for North American carriers, according to SITA's seventh annual "Airline IT Trends Survey" released yesterday.
Boeing's 787 will feature dual head-up displays and electronic flight bags as standard equipment, along with five 12x9-in. LCD screens in the cockpit, "much larger [screens] than previously seen in airplanes," the company said late Wednesday. It also said the Dreamliner will retain a significant amount of commonality with the 777. Differences training will take just five days, it noted.
Alteon Training and Aerolineas Argentinas opened their new joint training facility near Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires. The Buenos Aires Training Center has a 737-300/-500 simulator with plans to install a flat-panel 737 trainer by year end. It is Alteon's first location in South America.
AeroMobile, a joint venture of ARINC and Telenor, reached agreement with Boeing Commercial Airplanes to explore the feasibility of equipping new Boeing passenger aircraft with AeroMobile's inflight cellular solution. The agreement covers line-fit options for widebody and narrowbody aircraft starting with the 777.
Troubled Thai airline Phuket Air has been banned from French airspace, putting its longer-term expansion on hold. The carrier started services in 2001 and operates to eight domestic destinations including Phuket plus offering international charter and scheduled flights. International services are operated with four 747-200B/Cs and one 747-300 but these aircraft have been the subject of regulatory problems, with faults alleged in both the Netherlands and UK this year. The 747-300 is presently impounded in Seoul over alleged unpaid fees relating to maintenance.
British Airways will reorganize its customer service and operations department following the retirement of director Mike Street, a 42-year veteran of the airline, at the end of September. Effective Oct. 1, Geoff Want, director-safety and security since 2002, will become director of all ground operations for the airline, including assuming responsibility for the move to Terminal 5 at London Heathrow in 2008. Want joined BA in 1988.
South Korea's Hansung Airlines, which bills itself as a low-cost Regional, commenced service Aug. 31 operating twice-daily flights between Chongju and the resort island of Cheju with a 66-seat ATR 72-200. Hansung plans to grow its fleet to 10 aircraft over the next five years and a second ATR 72 will arrive at the beginning of 2006.
United Airlines' low-fare unit Ted will take over mainline service from Chicago O'Hare to West Palm Beach beginning Dec. 15. Ted will start Saturday-only service from O'Hare to Los Cabos Oct. 15, rising to four times per week from Dec. 15.
SkyQuest International will remarket an undisclosed number of Saab 340B turboprops on behalf of AMR Leasing. The aircraft come out of the American Eagle fleet.
International passenger traffic (RPKs) for IATA member airlines rose 8.8% in July compared to July 2004 while capacity (ASKs) climbed 7%, pushing passenger load factor to 79.6%, meaning that the industry on average filled nearly four of every five seats in the month. Cargo growth remained anemic, however: FTKs rose only 2.2% on a 5.6% gain in capacity. The strongest monthly RPK growth occurred in Latin America, where airlines reported a 12.9% increase in international traffic. Middle East airlines saw RPKs climb 12.3% and North American carriers' traffic rose 10%.
US FAA moved yesterday to dispel reports that a shortage of fuel owing to damage to refineries and pipelines from Hurricane Katrina could lead shortly to flight cancellations at a number of US airports.
