AAR was selected by Brit Air, a subsidiary of Air France/KLM Group, to provide logistics support and component repair services for the carrier's fleet of 19 CRJ100s and 12 CRJ700s. The three-year program will be managed through AAR Aircraft Component Services-Amsterdam.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani continued to hammer the message that governments need to stop treating the airline industry as a cash cow. Speaking at the 61st IATA AGM in Tokyo Monday, Bisignani claimed that "in the US, taxes on a $200 ticket average 26%. This is a $15 billion ripoff." On top of this, he said, the industry "pays $5.6 billion a year for its own security, while our rail competitors are subsidized by $50 billion a year."
Fares continued to fall, oil prices continued to rise. That sums up the experience for the 11 largest US passenger airlines in the first quarter ended March 31. In aggregate, they posted a net loss of $3.2 billion for the period, more than double the $1.54 billion shed in the prior-year period. Losses were not spread evenly, however, as two airlinesDelta and Unitedspilled $2 out of every $3 in red ink, much of it owing to special charges related to their respective restructurings.
When the newest commercial airport terminal in the US opens this month, Ft. Myers airline tenants will get not only a complex twice as large as the old one but also a commitment by the airport director to lower their operating costs.
Although the sky-high energy prices of the past 18 months have created major hardships for the airline industry and driven a few to the edge of the financial abyss, a positive side effect for beleaguered legacy carriers has been the stifling of interest in spreading the low-fare revolution into the arena of long-haul intercontinental services. Even investors with kerosene in their veins know that with Brent crude pushing $54 a barrel, this is not the time to take a flyer on a couple of used 747s or even 767s to fly between New York and London.
That question likely will be the catchphrase for this years Paris Air Show June 13-19. It, of course, is the A380, which is expected to participate in at least a few of the daily aerial displays during the week. Although Airbus has conceded it will not meet its May 2006 delivery date to launch customer Singapore Airlines, that news is unlikely to dim enthusiasm along the chalet lines as the giant craft passes overhead.
In March it was inducted formally as the Star Alliances 16th member in ceremonies in Lisbon. Its Navigator frequent-flier program was renamed Victoria. It is celebrating its 60th anniversary as an airline, and CEO Fernando Pinto is president of AEA for 2005.
The principles of radio frequency identification have been around since development of the Identification Friend or Foe system in World War II. But it is only recently that the technology is being seen as a key contributor to the airline industry, though it is widely in service in the logistics, supply-chain, retailing and other commercial businesses.
The models strutted and sulked their way across the stage as the crowd of fashionistas watched and cheered. But this was not the spring reveal of one of France's top haute couture houses; it was the culmination of a business decision made three years ago by Air France. Airlines change liveries and now it was time for a change of clothes. Renewing its uniforms is always an important decision for an airline,AF-KLM Group Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta said at the April fashion show here. First and foremost, it is an image, a symbol of its history, its value and culture."
AirAsia appointed Jean Chang executive VP-Greater China & North Asia. Airbus North America welcomed Kristi A. Tucker as communications dir. American Airlines promoted Chuck Imhof to MD-Greater New York Div. and Jim Carter to MD-Eastern Div. Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings named Gordon L. Hutchinson VP & controller. BCI Aircraft Leasing introduced Erik Dahmen as MD-Europe & Middle East. British Airways Regional Cargo tapped Peter Smith as chairman. CAAC appointed Xianping Wang of GCW Consulting as special adviser.
Does radio frequency identification technology meet the 2-10 rule coined by Microsofts Bill Gates, which states that most new innovations are hyped endlessly during the first two years but take a decade to become truly useful? Depends whom you talk to.
My mind clicks on and off. I try letting one eyelid close at a time while I prop the other open with my will. My whole body argues dully that nothing, nothing in life is quite so desirable as sleep. My mind is losing resolution and control.
The mini-explosion of new travel meta search players has occurred largely in the leisure market. But a young company called Enable Solutions is setting its sights on the business traveler. Its product, dubbed mySmartTrip, is designed to accommodate business travelers needs as no other travel meta search engine does, according to Stephen Joseph, chief executive officer. But it has another salient feature that might make suppliers sit up and take notice: It costs them absolutely nothing.
Amadeus is developing a common, open-architecture distribution platform for hotels, similar in approach to its Altéa airline platform. The goal is to address the issue of fragmented hotel technology disparate property management, central reservations, revenue management and customer relationship management systems and to create a platform that distributes hotel inventory through all channels and integrates with all systems. Amadeus worked with British Airways and Qantas to design the Altéa platform, and it plans to replicate that experience on the hotel side.
In Europe, local emission charges already are in place at a few airports. Airlines may be assessed not only for the stuff coming out of the engines but for pollution caused by automobile traffic to and from the airport. More is on the way. Although international aviation was relegated to the too hard pile in the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that became effective in February, there was then and remains a determination to bring it into compliance.
Last month, United Airlines added another first to the list of dubious achievements that have marked the economic fortunes of the US airline industry since the end of 2000: The largest pension default in US corporate history. The carrier will transfer plans covering 120,000 current, furloughed and retired employees to the US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., along with a $6.4 billion funding deficit.
Six months ago, Avianca successfully reorganized under Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code, thereby becoming the first non-US airline to use the process to restructure its financial obligations. But the Colombian flag carriers journey through Uncle Sams legal system, which ended on Dec. 10, 2004, has done far more than add a footnote to American business law.
Ryanair reported an adjusted net profit after exceptional costs and goodwill of €268.9 million ($330.9 million) for the financial year ended March 31, a 19% increase compared to the adjusted net profit of €226.6 million in the previous year.
Citing the European Commission's "unwillingness to halt new subsidies for large civil aircraft" including the proposed A350, the US yesterday filed a request for the establishment of a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel to resolve the matter. "We continue to prefer a negotiated solution, and we would rather not have to go back to the WTO. But the EU's insistence on moving forward with new launch aid is forcing our hand," said US Trade Representative Rob Portman, who cited EU "plans to commit $1.7 billion in new risk-free launch aid subsidies" for the A350.
B/E Aerospace was selected by Air Canada to perform an upgrade of the airline's seating on 143 aircraft. Under the deal, B/E will manufacture and deliver its Spectrum family of coach and first class seating for AC's Hospitality Service and Executive Class on its narrowbody fleet and new Bombardier regional jets. AC's widebody aircraft also will be equipped with Spectrum economy seats. Total value of the deal is roughly $50 million and deliveries are expected to begin later this year.
Quiet Wing Corp. said it received an FAA STC for its 737-200 performance enhancing flap modification that permits increased payload, improved takeoff and landing performance, reduced fuel consumption and lower stall speeds.
Jet Airways of India is in final talks concerning an order for up to 15 long-haul aircraft to replace and supplement three A340s leased from South African Airways and four new A330s that will be leased from ILFC beginning next April. Jet is evaluating aircraft such as the A340-600 and 777-300ER and availability of delivery positions in 2007 is a key criterion, CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told ATWOnline in Tokyo at the IATA AGM. "Our priority is to expand our long-haul operation," he said.
Dubai-based Emirates came under concerted attack by rival airline CEOs at an industry forum held during the IATA AGM in Tokyo earlier this week. The extraordinary debate, which lasted more than an hour Monday, started when British Airways CEO Rod Eddington posed a question about whether airlines should or should not be government-owned or protected.
Alaska Airlines and its pilots have reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract that if ratified will supersede the two-year deal that took effect at the beginning of May after an arbitration decision ( ATWOnline, May 3). According to the carrier, the new contract includes a 20% reduction in both captain and first officer wages as well as work rule changes that will result in "significant productivity improvements." It also allows present employees to choose between the current pension plan and a defined contribution retirement benefit.
