British Airways CEO Rod Eddington watered down Airbus Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy's suggestion that it is "not a matter of if but of when" BA will order the A380.
Air France President and CEO Jean Cyril-Spinetta yesterday said he has not received any information from Airbus about a possible delay in delivery of the airline's first A380, which is slated to arrive in April 2007. "I'm waiting about a decision from Airbus to know precisely what the situation is. It is not up us," he said. Singapore Airlines already has confirmed reports that its first A380 will not arrive in May 2006 as originally expected ( ATWOnline, May 5).
Air-India struck back at flawed media leaks related to its recent order for up to 50 777s and 787s ( ATWOnline, April 27). The airline told this website in a statement that it understands copies of selected and incomplete internal reports on fleet acquisition plans are being circulated in the media and other quarters by vested interests intent on derailing the Boeing order. "This is being done to malign Air-India's management and board, mislead the public and derail Air-India's plans to acquire aircraft," the carrier said.
Boosted by unexpectedly high gains from the merger of the two carriers, Air France-KLM Group--consolidating AF Group over 12 months and KLM Group over 11 months--reported net income of €351 million ($442.9 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31, up 20.2% over net income of €292 million in the prior financial year. Operating income before aircraft disposals also improved, increasing 20% to €489 million from €405 million. "The first year of the merger between AF and KLM has been a complete success," Chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta said.
As was expected, US Airways Group and America West Holdings Corp. yesterday announced an agreement to merge and create what they described as the "first full-service nationwide airline with the consumer-friendly pricing structure of a low-fare carrier," which will operate under the US Airways brand. Annual synergies of $600 million are anticipated from the merger, resulting from route restructuring, revenue synergies and cost savings. Even with oil prices at $50 per barrel, it will be profitable, the two airlines said.
Farelogix appointed David Cerino as its chief marketing and product officer. Farelogix provides independent fare and multisource distribution technology to the global travel industry. Prior to joining Farelogix, Cerino spent four years with Orbitz as VP and GM and also served in senior positions with Amadeus.
Astar Air Cargo said the US Air Force Air Mobility Command recently presented awards to 102 of its employees who operated and provided support for missions during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom at a ceremony at Andrews AFB near Washington.
Ryanair announced that it has implemented a 3% pay increase for its staff following a round of direct negotiations in April. The increase, which will be retroactive to April 1, will apply to all of the carrier's employees except its pilots, who chose not to negotiate directly with the company. However, Ryanair said it remains willing to enter discussions with that group.
Rolls-Royce and Dragonair signed an 11-year TotalCare maintenance contract covering the Trent 700s that will power 11 A330s the airline has leased from ILFC. Dragonair has placed seven of the A330s into service and expects to take delivery of the remaining four soon. The agreement is in addition to the existing TotalCare contract that covers Dragonair's five purchased A330s.
American Airlines yesterday said it reached an agreement in principle on a multimillion-dollar contract with Synergy Aerospace to perform heavy maintenance on 29 F100s formerly leased by American. The aircraft, which have been in storage, recently were sold to Brazil's Synergy Group, which holds controlling interest in Avianca of Colombia, OceanAir of Brazil and Wayra Peru.
Airbus Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy is confident he will be able to announce "triple digit" orders for the A350 at the Paris Air Show next month. "We are in final talks with several companies. We'll have more than 100 firm orders in the order book for the A350. I don't want to say 200, because I don't want to be like somebody else and not be able to commit to it," he said in a reference to claims made by Boeing ahead of the 2004 Farnborough Air Show that it would have 200 787 commitments by year end, a target it missed by a few months.
Flight Explorer said Hawaiian Airlines has opted to use Flight Explorer Professional within its operations center to monitor its flights from Hawaii. According to the company, by using the system the carrier can "more effectively manage its flight operations, apply its staff and aircraft more effectively, and reduce its operating and fuel costs." Hawaiian also is able to "display NEXRAD weather on Flight Explorer Professional for a common operating picture that will enhance safety and efficiency."
International Air Carrier Assn., representing 35 European leisure and discount airlines, expressed "dismay" at the decision by the meeting of EU Finance Ministers to introduce a levy on air passengers to fund development aid ( ATWOnline, May 17). IACA DG Sylviane Lust commented: "The imposition of a development tax on airline passengers unfairly discriminates against passengers who choose to fly.
Delta Air Lines senior management "will pull out all the stops" to prevent a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the fourth quarter of 2005 or first quarter of 2006, JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker asserted in a report released yesterday. "We mistakenly underestimated management's resolve in avoiding a filing last year," Baker stated as he predicted that "a bankruptcy filing may be in Delta's future, but not this year."
Airbus announced the launch of its modular approach to aircraft maintenance data for the A380, an extension of the manufacturer's existing advanced technical data consultation tool called AirN@v. It will consist of five modules covering maintenance, engineering, repair, maintenance planning and workshops.
US Transportation Security Administration has revised its ban on the transport of lighters on flights operating to, from and within the US. Effective immediately, new, unfilled lighters can be packed in checked luggage on commercial flights; however, all lighters still are prohibited in the passenger cabin. In April, TSA banned all lighters from the secure areas of airports and onboard aircraft ( ATWOnline, April 18).
Boeing selected B/E Aerospace to provide its next-generation passenger oxygen system for the 787. According to B/E, the 787 will be the first aircraft equipped with a system using its advanced Pulse Oxygen technology, which delivers oxygen more efficiently than traditional passenger systems and reduces overall system weight and fuel burn. The first Pulse Oxygen system deliveries are scheduled for late 2007. Meanwhile, Boeing delivered the fourth electronic flight bag-equipped 777-300ER to Emirates yesterday.
RASSA Holdings Ltd. said it intends to commercialize its [email protected] Web-based passenger services system offering flight information, fares management, seat inventory control, reservations, sales, ticketing, check-in, sales distribution and management reports. RASSA said it presently is implementing [email protected] at four airlines in Latin America and the US and is sponsored by Lockheed Martin.
US and Ethiopia signed a full open skies agreement that will permit US and Ethiopian carriers to operate air services between the two countries without restriction.
America West Holdings Corp. stockholders during their annual meeting voted to elect the four directors nominated by the board--Matthew Hart, Robert Miller, Doug Parker and John Tierney--to three-year terms expiring at the 2008 annual meeting.
