Passengers with respiratory problems will be able to use two kinds of portable oxygen concentrator units onboard commercial aircraft under a new regulation published by US FAA. The two devices, manufactured by AirSep Corp. and Inogen Inc., do not use compressed oxygen, which the agency classifies as a hazardous material. Instead they work by filtering nitrogen from the air and delivering oxygen in concentrated form to the user. The new rule marks the first time passengers will be able to use their own medical oxygen devices onboard an airliner.
Adria Airways carried 93,700 passengers in June, a 7% increase over the same month last year. There were 5% fewer travelers on scheduled flights this June but 81% more on charter routes. In the first six months, Adria carried 411,800 passengers, up 3% compared to the first half of last year. It has approximately 180 weekly regular flights to 18 cities in Europe and will start a twice-weekly service from Ljubljana to Warsaw by September.
Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) extended the lease on its two A330s for a further five years. The airline also announced that it will launch flights from Manchester and London Gatwick to Ft. Lauderdale and weekly flights from Doncaster Robin Hood Airport to Monastir.
NAV Canada said it reached a tentative collective agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers/Canadian Air Traffic Control Assn. representing air traffic controllers. Terms were not disclosed. The agreement is subject to ratification by union membership.
Preston Aviation Solutions will supply its Total Airspace and Airport Modeler software package to Dutch consultancy firm To70 for use in capacity studies of Amsterdam Schiphol. Menzies Chengdu Airport Services was awarded two handling contracts from China Postal Airlines and United Eagle Airlines. China Postal, the first scheduled freight airline at Chengdu, operates six 737 cargo flights a week to the airport while United Eagle will launch its first service at the end of this month.
Varig signed a six-month consultancy contract with Lufthansa Consulting for its reorganization and restructuring. Following the filing of an application for the protection of creditors at the bankruptcy court, the airline must develop an appropriate restructuring plan within 60 days as well as a related business plan and submit those to the court. If the court accepts the plans, the implementation phase must be completed within a maximum of 120 days thereafter.
Sabre said the acquisition of lastminute.com by Travelocity Europe has been completed. The UK-based online travel and leisure group will be the lead brand for Travelocity in most of Europe and will continue to expand as lastminute.com. Brent Hoberman, who co-founded the company, remains as CEO. Separately, Sabre Airline Solutions announced that Trans States Holdings subsidiary GoJet Airlines has selected Sabre's flight operations tools for its crew management, flight planning and dispatch, and operations control and flight following when it begins operations in August.
America West and US Airways on Friday said they received approval for their planned merger from the US Air Transportation Stabilization Board, which has guaranteed loans for both airlines. Pending final bankruptcy court and US Airways board approval and upon close of the merger, "the two airlines' outstanding ATSB loan guarantees will be consolidated with payments beginning September 2005 through September 2010," the carriers said in a statement. Final terms are still being negotiated.
Targeting what it sees as the changing needs of the short-haul operator market, International Aero Engines launched V2500 Select, a new maintenance program linked to a package of technology enhancements that promises to cut MRO costs 20%-30%, reduce fuel burn up to 1% and increase time-on-wing by 20% compared to current-standard engines.
Germanwings increased its first-half sales by 60% to €163 million ($198 million), the carrier said in an statement. The number of passengers rose 60% to more than 2.3 million. The airline expects to carry 5.5-6 million passengers this year, generating sales of about €400 million, up from €247 million in 2004.
SkyQuest International, as acquisition agent for International Aviation Support, arranged the purchase of an Embraer Brasilia from Bank of America through its agent Northstar Aviation Services.
Delta Air Lines, which continues to be the subject of bankruptcy speculation, lost $382 million in the second quarter ended June 30, which included a net one-time charge of $78 million primarily associated with pensions. This compares to a net loss of $1.96 billion in the year-ago period, which included a one-time charge of $1.7 billion. "Delta's second-quarter results reflect both the solid progress we are making in implementation of our Transformation Plan and the substantial challenges we are facing," CEO Gerald Grinstein said.
Cargolux, as expected, has emerged as one of the launch airlines for the 747ADV after its board authorized management to enter into final negotiations with Boeing for a minimum of 10 of the type for delivery beginning in 2009. President and CEO Uli Ogiermann said, "Management's recommendation to the board is the result of a very thorough analysis during which we assessed which aircraft was best suited to our fleet renewal in the next decade.
Embattled Independence Air received another blow yesterday when US FAA proposed to fine parent Atlantic Coast Airlines $1.5 million for maintenance violations including operating an aircraft for approximately 455 flights beyond a required C check in the fall of 2004. FAA also alleged that the carrier operated several aircraft on more than 7,400 flights last year without replacing expired emergency locator transmitter batteries and several more aircraft on more than 3,600 flights without performing required inspections and tests on a variety of systems and components.
Air China signed a contract with Airbus to purchase 20 A330-200s, which are scheduled for delivery beginning next May. China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group was involved in the deal by signing a GTA with Airbus. Air China President Li Jiaxiang said the new aircraft will help the carrier expand its fleet and open more international destinations. According to ATW's "World Airline Report," Air China currently operates a fleet of 83 aircraft consisting of both Airbus and Boeing models.
United Airlines cleared a major hurdle yesterday when its 20,000 ramp agents and customer contact employees, represented by the International Assn. of Machinists, ratified a tentative agreement reached in June ( ATWOnline, June 20). According to the union, roughly 67% of IAM members voted to approve the agreement. Terms of the deal were not released but it is believed to provide the carrier with savings of $175 million a year.
Buoyed by fuel hedge gains, Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, reported that it earned $17.4 million in the second quarter compared to a loss of $1.7 million last year. Excluding special items, the current-period result rose to $24.7 million versus income of $8.2 million in 2004. Fuel hedges contributed $27.6 million in the quarter, up from $25.9 million last year.
In what was its 18th consecutive quarter of profitability, JetBlue Airways reported net income of $12.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30, down 43.2% from net income of $21.5 million in the year-ago period.
America West Holdings Corp., parent of the airline, reported net income of $13.9 million for the second quarter ended June 30, including a $2.7 million unrealized loss associated with fuel hedging transactions and a $4.3 million loss on the sale and leaseback of aircraft during the period. This was a 30.5% increase over net income of $10.7 million in the prior-year period, which included an unrealized gain on fuel hedging transactions of $7.2 million. Excluding these special items, second-quarter 2005 net income was $20.9 million compared to $3.5 million in the 2004 quarter.
Southwest Airlines yesterday offered to spend $130 million to construct facilities at Seattle's King County International Airport--also known as Boeing Field--that would allow it to transfer its operations from Seattle-Tacoma International, where it claims that "ever-increasing costs have become an obstacle to growth." In addition to being the delivery site for Boeing narrowbodies, KCIA is served by a few small Regional airlines along with corporate and cargo operators. It has runways of 3,710 ft. and 10,001 ft. in length and is located 5 mi. from downtown Seattle.
Continental Airlines will begin nonstop Saturday service between Newark and Liberia, Costa Rica, on Dec. 17 using a 737-700 in a two-class configuration. The carrier currently operates daily nonstop service to Liberia from Houston.
Ryanair said it will base two new 737-800s at Pisa and launch daily routes to Dublin from Oct. 12 and Eindhoven and Alghero from Jan. 12, bringing the total number of routes from Pisa to 10. Pisa will be its 14th European base.
Raytheon was awarded a $4.6 million contract to supply turnkey installation of an airport surveillance radar for Maiquetia International Airport in Caracas. Consorcio Hardwell Computer is the prime contractor for the project.
Mba was awarded a four-year contract valued at $1.7 million by the US Export-Import Bank to perform airline and aircraft technical due diligence under the bank's Worldwide Aviation Inspection Services program.
