Air Canada unveiled plans to launch a number of new routes in Canada this summer and fall that will be operated by Air Canada Jazz. Effective Aug. 1, AC Jazz will begin twice-daily nonstop flights between Edmonton and Regina using 37-seat Dash 8-100s and twice-daily nonstop flights between Edmonton and Saskatoon using 50-seat Dash 8-300s. From Sept. 18, the Regional will begin four daily nonstop flights between Hamilton and Montreal and three daily nonstop flights between Hamilton and Ottawa using 50-seat CRJs. In addition, AC released its new Las Vegas schedule. Beginning Oct.
Emirates said its first Islamic Sukuk issue received subscriptions of $824 million against an initial target of $550 million. However, the carrier closed the order book at $550 million. The proceeds of the Islamic Sukuk Bonds issue will be used to finance Emirates' $354 million engineering center, which is scheduled to be completed early next year, and the new $191 million Emirates Group headquarters, which is expected to be inaugurated by the end of 2006.
Mumbai-based GoAir will lease up to 20 A320s over the next two years for its new low-cost domestic services that are scheduled to begin in October. In the longer term, the airline plans to acquire up to 40 A320s. GoAir will start operations in the southern and western regions of India.
Volga-Dnepr Group reported revenue of more than $300 million for 2004, the second-highest result in its 15-year history. The company said its An-124 fleet contributed $225 million in revenue during the year and it controlled roughly 54% of the world's outsize and heavyweight air cargo transportation market. Transportation volume reached 431,973 ton-kilometers.
Air Pacific, Fiji's national airline, reported a profit after tax of $24.5 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, basically equal to the profit achieved in the prior financial year. Revenue increased 4.5% to $440.6 million while expenditure climbed 5.6% to $405.7 million. Profit before tax was $36 million, an increase of 3.7% over the previous year.
CFMI launches engine technology development program Paris opens without Emirates Paris, June 13, 2005 CFMI launches engine technology development program CFM International the day before the start of the Paris Air Show announced LEAP56, a program to develop the technology for a new engine to be available for use on a new generation of aircraft with entry into service as early as 2012.
Alaska Airlines named Shannon Alberts MD-investor relations. In this position, she will oversee analyst and shareholder communications for Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Alberts started her career at the carrier in 1985 as an administrative assistant and has held several different positions in the company.
LAN Argentina, a LAN alliance member, began operations last week with its inaugural flight from Buenos Aires to Mendoza. The carrier will operate two daily flights on the route. "Today is an important day for our company, and we would like to thank the passengers who choose to fly with us," GM Paul Petrelli said. The LAN alliance also includes LAN Airlines, LAN Peru and LAN Ecuador.
Air France Industries and Lufthansa Technik signed a contract Friday to launch Spairliners GmbH, a 50/50 joint venture that not only will work on the 25 A380s ordered by Air France and Lufthansa but will offer "a full spectrum of support services for components to all A380 operators worldwide." "Most A380 carriers will operate relatively small fleets. To have spare parts and components for the maintenance makes it a very cost-intensive subject," Lufthansa Technik Executive Board Chairman August Wilhelm Henningsen said during a press conference.
Swissport finalized a four-year ground handling agreement with Air France that initially covers 11 airports but is expected to be extended to other destinations. According to Swissport, the accord will generate revenue of CHF10 million ($12.1 million) a year. Last year, Swissport inked comprehensive deals with KLM--now a part of Air France-KLM Group--and Swiss International Air Lines.
Aeroports de Paris invested €2 million ($2.4 million) to upgrade Paris Le Bourget, of which a large part was spent to adapt the tarmac, runways and taxiways to handle the A380. The aircraft arrived Sunday for the Paris Air Show, which officially starts today, making Le Bourget the first commercial airport besides Airbus's home base in Toulouse to accommodate the A380. Work took place in several phases between October 2004 and May 2005, ADP said, and included an additional 3,000 m. of tarmac to station the giant aircraft and facilitate its maneuvering.
Nippon Cargo Airlines took delivery of the first of four new 747-400Fs it has on order. The aircraft enters NCA's all-747 fleet that consists of six 747-200Fs, four 747-200 Special Freighter conversions and one 747-100 conversion. The carrier ordered three 747-400Fs in January 2004 and added another order in April 2005.
Iberia teamed up with OnAir to provide e-mail and Web chat services for its business class passengers on long-haul routes following "very successful" inflight tests. Senior VP-Customer Relationships Felix Garcia Viejobueno said, "We know from our customer research that our business passengers are very keen to have the option of using their flight time more productively."
Northwest Airlines will have to continue to negotiate with its mechanics and related workers after the National Mediation Board rejected the carrier's request to declare the talks at an impasse. The two sides have been negotiating since October and a mediator became involved in February. Northwest sent a request to NMB in late May asking the board to declare the talks at an impasse. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. responded with its own letter asking NMB to let the talks continue.
Kitty Hawk Inc. appointed Robert Barron as VP and COO for its airline subsidiary, Kitty Hawk Aircargo. Since joining Kitty Hawk in May 2004, Barron has served as the company's VP-maintenance and engineering. Earlier he was chief inspector for US Airways.
US FAA needs to improve its processes for monitoring and overseeing safety oversight of US airlines--and third-party maintenance providers--during a period of rapid transition as the airlines undergo financial stresses and increasingly outsource maintenance. That is the conclusion of a report from the DOT Office of the Inspector General released this week.
Engine Lease Finance Corp. and its parent BTM Capital Corp., which is itself owned by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd., announced they completed the acquisition of the 49% interest in Aviation Lease Finance formerly owned by Volvo Aero North America Inc. and Volvo Aero Services LP. ALF is now a wholly owned subsidiary of ELF. It was founded in March 1998 as a joint venture among BTM, ELF and the Volvo companies.
Hawaiian Airlines announced the appointment of David Osborne to the newly created position of senior VP-CIO. Osborne joined Hawaiian last month after a long career in the banking and financial services industries.
The SkyTeam Alliance yesterday unveiled its new Associate Program and named the first carriers selected to begin the joining process: Air Europa, Copa Airlines, Kenya Airways and Tarom. According to KLM President and CEO Leo van Wijk, the Associate Program is "a new tool of SkyTeam's growth strategy and will broaden the alliance's presence to several strategic regions while providing more travelers with access to our expanding network."
OAG launched OAG MAX Online, an Internet-based market intelligence tool that enables users to query the OAG air transport databases and manipulate volumes of data to produce reports and graphs.
Penauille Group announced the appointment of Jacques Guerin as CEO of Servisair/GlobeGround, replacing Jean de Courcel. Guerin began his career with Aeroports de Paris and spent 10 years with Air France Group within which he held a number of different positions.
Aeroports de Paris Management signed a new management consultancy agreement with Beijing Capital International Airport earlier this month to assist BCIA in preparation of operating procedures for the new airport facilities that will go into service at the beginning of 2008. The three-year deal follows the initial five-year contract signed in 2000 allowing ADPM to become a strategic partner and shareholder of BCIA with a 6.6% stake.
Singapore Airlines stepped up its lobbying to gain fifth freedom rights between Australia and the US with the release of a report claiming that the lack of competition on the corridor has led to higher fares, limited capacity and deprived the tourism industry of a potential A$126 million ($96.7 million) windfall.
KLM announced that Cees van Woudenberg will resign as MD and chief human resources officer and move up to the Air France-KLM holding organization, where he will join Air France's executive committee from July 1.
