Continental Airlines will begin new daily nonstop service between Houston George Bush Intercontinental and Cali July 15 using a 737-700 in a two-class configuration.
Boeing named Stork Fokker AESP to its team designing the structure of the new 747 Large Cargo Freighter. Specifically, Stork Fokker will collaborate on design of the aircraft's all-new pressure bulkhead.
US airlines flew 41.67 billion domestic RPMs in January, up 8% over the year-ago period, according to US Dept. of Transportation statistics. Domestic capacity climbed 1.1% to 59.61 billion ASMs, pushing load factor up 4.5 points to 69.9%. Delta Air Lines carried 6.2 million domestic passengers during the month, the most of any airline. Southwest Airlines at 6 million and American Airlines at 5.8 million ranked second and third respectively. Among airports, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International was the busiest for domestic travel with 2.9 million passenger boardings.
Lufthansa will increase its fuel surcharge for long-haul flights owing to the record cost of jet fuel. The surcharge will rise to €27 ($35) from €17 for each long-haul leg for tickets purchased from April 25.
News from Travel Technology Update: Travelsky Technology Ltd., a unit of China Travelsky Holding Co. and the largest electronic air travel distribution system provider in China, signed an "exclusive strategic cooperation agreement" with American Express that designates Travelsky as the sole GDS service provider for American Express in mainland China for three years. Travelsky currently is the only GDS provider in China, but it is expected that other GDSs will enter the market.
Emirates SkyCargo increased its cargo capacity between Hong Kong and Dubai in response to high demand. The new freighter service, in partnership with SAS Cargo, began March 29, taking SkyCargo's 747-400F services between the cities to nine per week.
Ryanair announced yesterday that it will not move forward with plans to offer its passengers digEplayer portable inflight entertainment units after a five-month trial on five Stansted-based aircraft failed to develop sufficient interest among customers. According to the Associated Press, the carrier said an initial lack of availability of non-English-language programs on the handheld players was also a factor in the decision.
China Southern Airlines yesterday unveiled its new summer schedule, which includes flight increases on routes from Guangzhou to both Beijing and Shanghai. In addition, the airline is adjusting its schedules to Australia, the US, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Japan. The summer schedule will be in effect until Oct. 29.
Flyglobespan put its first Blended Winglet-equipped 737-800 into service on a flight from Glasgow to Las Palmas. Its next winglet-equipped 737-800 will enter service later this month and the airline said it is considering installing winglets on its existing fleet of 737-600s as well.
Malev will begin a new twice-weekly F70 service from Budapest to Constanza. It also will start thrice-weekly seasonal nonstop flights from Dublin and Helsinki to Athens using 737-300s.
Embraer announced a firm order for two 76-seat Embraer 170s and one 104-seat 190 from state-run Ecuadorian airline TAME, with deliveries scheduled for 2005 and 2006. Meanwhile, the manufacturer reported that it delivered 30 total aircraft in the first quarter, including 18 ERJ-145s and 10 Embraer 170s. It expects to deliver 145 aircraft in 2005, but approximately 60% will be concentrated in the second half, when first deliveries of the new 175 and 190 are scheduled to begin.
Northwest Airlines said it completed a $147.8 million financing, the proceeds of which it used to pay the November 2005 principal amortization in the same amount under its $975 million credit agreement. The financing transaction was led by JP Morgan and Citigroup and included participation from existing and new lenders in the credit agreement. In connection with the move, the airline said it received consent from its lenders to waive the fixed charge coverage covenant until the second quarter of 2006.
Executives of cash-strapped South African Airways told ATWOnline in Johannesburg that the carrier is laying plans to be a healthy global competitor while preparing for full membership in the Star Alliance, expected in April 2006. Among issues to be sorted out before then is the fate of its codeshare relationship with SkyTeam member Delta Air Lines on flights to Atlanta and beyond.
EasyJet took delivery of its 100th aircraft. The new A319 will be based at Berlin Schoenefeld and is the 39th A319 to be delivered from the LCC's order of 120 aircraft that will be completed by 2007. An additional 20 A319s will be delivered this year to facilitate easyJet's continued expansion and a planned increase in passenger numbers by a further 15%-20% this financial year. It has an option for an additional 120 aircraft from 2007 onward.
Pegasus Aviation Finance Co. delivered the first 737-800 it has leased to WestJet. Pegasus will finance a total of five 737NGs for the airline through June.
Air New Zealand will raise its fuel surcharge from April 20 on international flights from the US to $35 per one-way segment and from Canada to C$45 ($36.05) per one-way segment owing to rising fuel prices.
Qatar Airways is nearing completion of its new $18 million maintenance hangar. The facility, the world's biggest "stretched arch" hangar, will be capable of simultaneously accommodating two A330s and an A380. Dimensions are 509 ft. in length, 443 ft. wide and 115 ft. high at its highest point. It is set to be finished in June.
India's Jet Airways, which launched service to Singapore last week, will start daily flights to Kuala Lumpur on May 5 and to London on May 23. Also on the international horizon are six weekly flights to New York from early July.
Swiss International Air Lines announced a reorganization of its sales and marketing division last week. Christoph Beckmann will join the management board with responsibility for all marketing activities, while the worldwide sales organization will be headed directly by CEO Christoph Franz until the effects of the company's link-up with Lufthansa are identified more clearly. Oliver Evans, currently chief sales and marketing officer, will concentrate on the overall management of Swiss WorldCargo.
Canada's Mechtronix, a recent entry into the ranks of full flight simulator manufacturers, is taking a different approach to the training market with its Non Zero Flight Time Simulator. The NZFT is a Level B+++ full motion simulator with a visual system that fulfills all recurrent training requirements and 80% of initial certification requirements, said Mechtronix President Xavier Herve.
Lufthansa Flight Training and Austrian Airlines Group, as previously reported ( ATWOnline, April 5), entered into a training cooperation agreement under which LFT will construct a simulator center at Austrian's technical base at Vienna International Airport. In conjunction with the existing AAG safety and service center, which trains cabin attendants and pilots, this will result in creation of a comprehensive training center to be called Vienna Aviation Campus.
