Iberia and Mexicana have broadened their codeshare agreement. As of Feb. 26, Iberia will place its code on Mexicana's flights from Mexico City to Oaxaca and Merida while Mexicana will begin codesharing on Iberia's flights between Madrid and both Malaga and Santiago de Compostela.
Alitalia was forced to cancel 176 flights Monday after its flight attendants staged a one-day strike, according to media reports. The strike was organized by Sult, one of the unions currently in negotiations with the airline.
AirAsia said it will buy an additional 20 A320s, raising its previously announced commitment to 100. The latest aircraft are earmarked to handle expansion of Thai AirAsia to China. According to AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, the airline has secured regulatory approval from China's regulatory authorities to serve five destinations, including Chengdu, Kunming and Xiamen from Bangkok from May. Fernandes told media in Kuala Lumpor that AirAsia also is looking at flying from Kota Kinabalu to southern China.-- Geoffrey Thomas
CSA Czech Airlines, the fastest-growing carrier among the new EU member states, plans to continue to add at least 2-3 new destinations to its network every year. "In 2004 we added 10 new destinations, especially owing to the fall of aeropolitical barriers after the Czech Republic and other countries joined the EU," VP-Financial Petr Juza told ATWOnline. CSA also is evaluating modifying its current long-haul operations, "and we will try Tokyo during the next months," Juza added.
Boeing reached an agreement with Onex Corp. under which Onex will acquire Boeing Commercial Airplane facilities and assets in Wichita, Kan., and Tulsa and McAlester, Okla., for $900 million in cash. Boeing had been studying the sale of the facilities since last year. "This agreement fully supports our strategy to focus Boeing on large-scale systems integration, which is where we are must competitive and can add the most value to our airplanes and services," BCA President and CEO Alan Mulally said.
Air France and Continental Airlines will begin a codesharing agreement Feb. 26. Under the deal, Continental will place its code on AF flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle to 12 destinations in Europe and the Middle East, while AF will codeshare on flights from Newark and Houston to 21 destinations in the US.
Bombardier Aerospace reported 329 total deliveries for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, a 1.5% increase over deliveries of 324 aircraft in the prior financial year. Deliveries in the regional aircraft segment totaled 200, comprising 178 CRJs and 22 Q Series aircraft. Last year, the company delivered 232 regional aircraft.
Gol signed a contract with Boeing to exercise five more purchase options for 737-800s that were included in its original order for 43 737-800s ( ATWOnline, May 18). The original order consisted of 15 firm orders and 28 options, but with this new agreement the airline is increasing the number of firm orders to 26, which will be delivered between 2006 and 2010.
Air France operations at Paris Orly began to return to normal Monday after a four-day walkout by its runway crews ended. The strike, which began Friday, was launched to protest the suspension of a colleague on duty when a flight attendant fell to her death Feb. 1 while trying to exit an aircraft, the Associated Press reported. According to the report, about 83% of AF flights from Paris left as scheduled Monday.
Singapore Airlines Cargo is adding two destinations to its global network. Freighter services to the newly opened Central Japan International Airport near Nagoya will commence March 2 and to Istanbul on March 29. The new freighter service to Centrair will operate twice-weekly, making it the third SIA Cargo freighter destination in Japan after Tokyo and Osaka. Istanbul will be introduced as an additional stop on the existing twice-weekly Singapore-Kuwait-Amsterdam route. SIA Cargo operates a fleet of 14 747-400Fs on a network that extends to 68 cities in 35 countries.
Northwest Airlines filed a request with the US Dept. of Transportation for "broad" authority to serve India. The carrier said its first priority is to begin service from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Bangalore via Amsterdam in Oct. Separately, Northwest announced that it is now operating its Nagoya flights from the new Central Japan International Airport, known as Centrair. The airline currently operates daily service between Nagoya and Detroit, Tokyo, Manila and Saipan.
Indian Airlines appears certain to order 12 A330s to handle its expanding international routes. The airline's board approved the purchase of 12 widebody aircraft, which expands a decision last Sept. to lease six widebodies to replace existing A300B4s. Indian Airlines is drafting an RFP to Airbus and Boeing and also may look at used options. Insiders suggest the A330 or A340 is favored.-- GT
FLYi, parent of Independence Air, said it completed its financial restructuring, which it said will provide the company with "greater financial flexibility to execute its low-fare business plan." FLYi has struggled financially since deciding to end its codesharing relationships with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines last year in favor of launching its own low-fare operation. "Today's announcement represents an important step forward in building a much stronger future for Independence Air," Chairman and CEO Kerry Skeen said.
US Dept. of Transportation proposed to select Continental Airlines and American Airlines as new entrants in the US-China market and to award new weekly cargo flights to four carriers already serving the market. DOT proposed to award Continental seven weekly passenger flights for rights that become available March 25. Continental plans to serve the Beijing-Newark route. The department also proposed to award seven weekly passenger flights to American for services in the Chicago-Shanghai market effective March 25.
Most of the discussions regarding new GDS alternatives have centered on the suppliers' point of view. The debate has almost always focused on whether the segment fees that airlines pay the GDSs are too high. But G2 SwitchWorks is working the other side of the street: It is banking on the notion that after 30 years of working with traditional GDSs, travel agents are ready for some new technology.
Hawaiian Airlines' 376 mechanics and related workers, represented by the International Assn. of Machinists, ratified a new three-year contract. Four of the carrier's six unions now have ratified agreements. Last week, members of the Assn. of Flight Attendants rejected a tentative agreement with the bankrupt carrier. In addition, Hawaiian continues to negotiate with the Air Line Pilots Assn.
Air Dolomiti, 100% owned by Lufthansa, will add four former Aer Lingus BAe 146-300s to its fleet by May and phase out its five CRJs. It will introduce the higher capacity on routes from northern Italy to Munich.
Skyways Aviation arranged the sale of three F50s by Luxair to Largus Aviation of Sweden. The aircraft will be placed with Amapola, an F50 freight carrier operating for the Swedish post office, but will be leased by Skyways until they are required.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp said the US Bankruptcy Court approved amendments to its debtor-in-possession financing facility that provide "a significant reduction" in the interest it must pay under the loan. The agreement with DIP lenders JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, CIT and GE Capital also extends the maturity date of the loan to Sept. 30 from June 30, waives the Jan. 2005 EBITDAR covenant and adjusts the minimum monthly EBITDAR targets for UAL going forward.
In an agreement that apparently stops short of a full merger, DBA is to take over the aircraft and routes of Germania Express under financial terms that were not disclosed (ATWOnline, Feb. 18). Beginning March 28, DBA will wet-lease 12 F100s from Gexx and begin flying that carrier's 15 routes, boosting its operational fleet to 27 aircraft. Including the former Gexx routes, DBA will offer a total of 15 domestic and 17 international routes. New destinations will be Athens, Salonika, Florence, Rome, Stockholm, Tiflis and Moscow. Daily flights will grow from 125 to 180.
Finnair named Antero Lahtinen MD-Finnair Cargo Oy, responsible for Finnair Cargo. He takes up his new post on May 1 and also will become a senior VP on the Finnair Group Board of Management.
World Airways parent World Air Holdings said it earned $8.1 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 and $25.6 million for the full year, up from $0.9 million and $15.3 million respectively in the equivalent 2003 periods. Fourth-quarter operating revenues rose 6.4% to $130.1 million while operating profit climbed 20% to $8.1 million. Full-year revenues were ahead 6.1% to $503.9 million and operating income jumped 41.7% to $40.3 million. "Our strong quarterly results closed an outstanding year," stated President and CEO Randy Martinez.
Denmark's Sterling Airlines had a pre-tax loss of DKK199.3 million ($35 million) in 2004, including a deficit of DKK69.8 million in the fourth quarter. It noted that passenger numbers rose 36.4% to 1,825,206 while earned revenues totaled DKK1.61 billion. MD Harald Andresen attributed the red ink to a number of factors: "Competition is very tough at the moment, and there is a great deal of overcapacity...which is forcing the prices of our product right down.
Boeing believes the composite structure and electric systems on its new 787 will lead to significantly lower maintenance costs versus comparable aircraft in use today. In fact, according to 787 Deputy Chief Mechanic Justin Hale, the company is guaranteeing mature maintenance cost savings of 32% against the A330 at year 12 of operation.
Qatar Airways is increasing the number of daily flights between Bahrain and Doha to five starting Feb. 22. The fifth flight was needed to accommodate the increased traffic generated by Qatar's recent launch of service to London Gatwick, Seychelles, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Yangoon.
