Lufthansa Technik Malta, a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik AG and Air Malta, will add a second production line by the third quarter of 2006. Effective in July, LHT will raise its share in the JV to 75% from 51%. Air Malta's stake accordingly will be reduced to 25%. LHT Malta operates as a Center of Excellence and provides C checks for 737 Classics, 737NGs and the A320 family. It was established in 2002 and employs 110.
US House of Representatives voted Friday to prevent any federal appropriations from being used by the US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. to assume United Airlines' pension obligations. Since PBGC is funded by premiums paid by US companies, it is not clear that the bill can have any impact on the situation at the carrier, which has defaulted on all of its defined benefit pension plans. Furthermore, a similar bill would need to pass in the Senate and then the two bills reconciled and signed by the President in order to become law.
Iberia will increase capacity between Madrid and Beirut by almost 59% in July and August by using 200-seat 757s instead of the 126-seat A319s it now flies on the route. The change is in response to the success of the new thrice-weekly service that launched March 28, the carrier said in a statement.
Southwest Airlines plans to begin service to Ft. Myers from Southwest Florida International Airport in October. The city will become the sixth Florida destination Southwest serves. Flight schedules will be announced in July.
Varig Engineering & Maintenance, a separate legal entity from parent Varig, has not sought bankruptcy protection and continues to maintain its normal operation, the company noted. The airline is seeking to reorganize under the New Bankruptcy and Restructuring Law of Brazil, which took effect June 9 and is similar to US Chapter 11 ( ATWOnline, June 21).
Alteon Training signed a long term agreement to provide Aerosim Technologies' PC-based training tools in conjunction with its own training services. The trainers will be used with existing training solutions. Aerosim products covered under the agreement include Flight Management System Trainer, Virtual Flight Deck, Virtual Procedure Trainer and Flight Training Devices.
AirTran Airways launched daily nonstop service from Richmond to both Atlanta and Philadelphia. With the new flights, the carrier now serves 47 cities. Separately, AirTran reported a record 58,036 enplanements on its 568 flights on June 23.
Alitalia shareholders yesterday approved the group's accounts for 2004; net loss for the year was revised slightly, falling to €810.4 million ($980.6 million) from €812 million, and shareholders approved using €235.3 million from reserves to partly cover the loss.
ATA will expand its codeshare agreement with Southwest Airlines to include its Las Vegas-Honolulu flights from Aug. 4. Previously, the codeshare agreement covered ATA flights from Honolulu to Phoenix.
Virgin Atlantic said it plans to recruit 1,500 staff over the next 18 months to support its expansion plans. About 1,000 are new positions and the remainder are a result of the natural turnover of staff, the airline said in a statement. Virgin Atlantic currently employs approximately 8,500 staff worldwide. Separately, the carrier launched services to Cuba and the Bahamas yesterday and intends to increase frequencies on its flights to Shanghai, Las Vegas, Orlando and Port Harcourt this summer. New routes to Dubai and Jamaica are expected to launch in 2006.
American Eagle will add a second daily nonstop flight between Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, Ill., and Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport in August. The carrier began daily service between the cities earlier this month.
Allegiant Air took delivery of an MD-83 on operating lease from SAS in a transaction arranged by Sigma Aircraft Management. It is the last of five MD-82s/83s contracted for by Allegiant in September. The aircraft was operated by SAS as an MD-82 and was upgraded to MD-83 status as part of the transactions with Allegiant. Separately, Aerovias de Mexico agreed to extend the lease on an MD-87 from International Aircraft Holdings Corp. The lease extension was arranged by Sigma Aircraft Management.
MicroStrategy announced that the US Transportation Security Administration's Office of Strategic Management and Analysis, part of the US Dept. of Homeland Security, implemented the MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform to analyze transportation security operations at commercial airports nationwide. The solution was implemented by BearingPoint Inc.
Cargolux is raising its fuel surcharge on all cargo shipments to €0.45 ($0.55) per kilo or the equivalent in local currency from July 8. Last week, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic also announced fuel surcharge increases. Separately, Cargolux said it will launch a new weekly service to Doha on July 4 offering main deck capacity primarily to the oil and gas industry. From Doha the flight will continue to Hong Kong before returning via Baku to Luxembourg.
Outtask established a direct connection to JetBlue Airways inventory through its Cliqbook corporate booking tool. By delivering JetBlue inventory through a direct connect, the company said Cliqbook customers are given added services at a reduced cost.
EADS shareholders ended months of public infighting and announced the appointment of EADS Defense and Security Systems Division head Thomas Enders and Airbus CEO Noel Forgeard as its new co-CEOs with immediate effect for a five-year term. The EADS board of directors, in agreement with 20% shareholder BAE Systems, also appointed Gustav Humbert as the new president and CEO of Airbus.
