Aircraft system architecture is undergoing a major revolution in the design of current and upcoming aircraft as manufacturers increasingly reject long runs of pneumatic and hydraulic lines through the wings and fuselage in favor of electric wires, a design philosophy generically labeled "More Electric Aircraft."
European Court of Justice last week ruled in favor of the European Commission and said the Greek government made insufficient efforts to recover from Olympic Airways €41 million ($52.5 million) in restructuring aid and €153 million in new operating aid, which was found unlawful and incompatible with the Common Market rules on state aid. The court also found that the transfer of all the assets of Olympic Airways free of all debt to the new Olympic Airlines made it impossible to recover the funds in question.
Onur Air has been banned from flying into or out of the Netherlands and Germany for the next month because of repeated safety lapses. On Thursday, the Dutch Transportation Ministry's Traffic and Waterways Inspection confirmed it was withdrawing the Turkish airline's landing rights with immediate effect until June 12 after an aborted takeoff of a flight from Antalya to Amsterdam Schiphol. Germany's civil aviation authority last week revoked the carrier's permission to take off and land effective immediately, citing unspecified safety concerns.
Lufthansa Systems announced an agreement with Thai Airways International to implement the SAP Aerospace & Defense industry solution to optimize Thai's MRO planning processes.
Sabre announced that it will acquire lastminute.com, an independent online travel and leisure group that operates directly in 14 European countries and participates in three international joint ventures. Under the deal, the acquisition price was set at 165 pence ($3) per lastminute.com share, which values the company at roughly £577 million.
DBA said it made a profit of €1-€2 million ($1.3-$2.6 million) in the 2004-05 business year ended March 31. It had turnover of €265 million and transported 3 million passengers. DBA merged with low-cost airline GEXX earlier this year. For the current year it expects to carry 4.3 million passengers and generate turnover of €400 million. It operates a fleet of 27 737-300s and F100s and offers 125 flights a day.
British Airways reported a net profit of £251 million ($464.2 million) for the financial year ended March 31, a 93.1% increase compared to a net profit of £130 million during the 2003-04 fiscal year. Net debt fell by £1.2 billion to £2.9 billion, its lowest level since 1993, while operating margin improved 1.5 points to 6.9%, the airline's best margin since 1997.
Mesa Air Group reached a five-year agreement with United Airlines to add 30 more 50-seat RJs into the United Express codesharing program beginning in the fall. Mesa did not disclose where the aircraft will come from, but a senior official indicated they will not come from US Airways Express operations currently performed by the carrier. With the new deal, Mesa will operate up to 70 aircraft under the UA designator: 45 CRJ200s, 15 CRJ700s and 10 Dash 8s. It has the right to convert up to 15 CRJ200s to CRJ700s through April 2010.
Sagem and Snecma will be merged after shareholders of the companies approved the measure during their annual meetings. The new company will be called Safran and will be organized into four branches: Aerospace Propulsion, Communications, Aerospace Equipment and Defense-Security. Jean-Paul Bechat is chairman of the executive board, which also includes Gregoire Olivier and Ives Imbert. Mario Colaiacovo is chairman of the supervisory board.
Israel Aircraft Industries and PSF Conversions will convert four 747-400 passenger aircraft to freighters on behalf of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings from late 2007 to mid-2008. The agreement includes an option covering the modification of up to six additional 747-400 passenger aircraft to Special Freighters during the 2009-11 period.
Luxair Group increased its net profit for financial year 2004 to €13.4 million ($17 million) from €3.6 million in 2003. Operating result progressed from a loss of €4.1 million in 2003 to a €3.9 million profit last year. Total operating income rose 6% to €323.6 million and operating expenses increased 3.3% to €319.7 million. Luxair posted a 3.1% gain in operating income to €177.6 million, while income from other services, including passenger and cargo handling, climbed 10% to €128.4 million.
Union representing UPS pilots, which has been negotiating a new contract with management for more than three years, said more than 99% of its members voted to give its five-pilot executive board authority to call a strike. Of the 2,371 that participated in the vote, just 15 voted against it, according to the Independent Pilots Assn. "The overwhelming outcome of this vote is both a show of IPA unity and a clear signal to UPS management that our crewmembers are serious about closing out this contract over the next two weeks in Baltimore," IPA President Tom Nicholson said.
As the US Congress, the Bush Administration, airlines and other interested parties discuss how to fund the daily operation of the US air traffic control system while also maintaining investment in technology to meet forecast growth in operations ( ATWOnline, May 5), FAA confronts a major challenge whose outcome is central to the debate yet which until recently has received relatively little attention.
Singapore Airlines refuted suggestions by Airbus that the delay in its first A380 delivery is by mutual agreement and the airline now is seeking compensation.
President Bush nominated Edmund Hawley as the next head of the Transportation Security Administration to succeed David M. Stone, who announced last month that he will leave the department in June. Hawley currently serves as a supply chain technology consultant and is a member of FAA's Air Traffic Services Committee. Earlier, he was VP-Transportation Services for the Union Pacific Railroad and served in a senior role at US DOT.
United Airlines' successful termination of its defined benefit pension programs will give it a substantial cost advantage over other hub-and-spoke carriers and could lead to further bankruptcies as those rivals strive to achieve the same level of cost savings, according to Standard & Poor's analyst Philip Baggaley. Absent the terminations, United would have had to make at least $4.5 billion in payments over the next five years, or around $900 million per year, equal to 18% of 2004 labor costs and 5% of total operating costs, Baggaley noted.
Copa Airlines converted two options on Embraer 190s to firm orders. The Panamanian carrier previously announced an order for 10 advanced range versions of the 190. Deliveries of the additional aircraft are scheduled for October and November 2006. Copa serves 31 destinations in 20 countries with a fleet of 737s.
Despite the challenges created by high fuel prices and a proliferation of new entrants in the local market, Singapore Airlines Group announced a net profit attributable to shareholders of S$1.39 billion ($839.7 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31.
Finnair earned €11.5 million ($14.7 million) in the first quarter ended March 31, much improved over a profit of €1.2 million in the year-ago period, while EBIT was €18.7 million versus negative EBIT of €2.4 million last year. "We are back on track towards healthy growth and we can be pleased with that. Our first-quarter result clearly indicates that profitability has taken a turn for the better. Our demand remains strong and our costs are in check," said President and CEO Keijo Suila.
Boeing and GE marked the one-year anniversary of service entry of the 777-300ER. The first aircraft, leased to Air France by ILFC, entered service on May 10, 2004. A total of 17 777-300ERs are in service currently and their GE90-115B engines have completed more than 64,000 hr., 4,100 departures and 8,200 cycles with no unscheduled engine removals and no inflight shutdowns, GE said. Boeing noted the type has achieved a 99.2% average schedule reliability rate.
China Southern and subsidiary Xiamen Airlines signed up for 45 737s consisting of 12 737-700s and 33 737-800s. Deliveries will run from 2006 to 2008 and 15 of the dash 800s will go to Xiamen. In a statement to Shanghai Security News, the airlines said the aircraft will lift China Southern's capacity by 15%.
