The Athens-based Star Alliance member asserts that distribution costs, ground handling and aircraft maintenance still offer scope for additional savings, mainly through economies of scale arising from its merger with Olympic Air.
KQ-BOEING REMASTER —Embattled Kenya Airways (KQ) is proceeding with the phase-out of its four aging Boeing 777-200s as planned, though no decision has been made to stop flying new Boeing 777-300ERs, a spokeswoman told Aviation Daily. The airline took delivery of three new -300ERs at the end of 2013, but the aircraft reportedly are proving too large for most of its requirements and most routes appear better served with 787-8s—KQ operates six of the type and will receive three more in the coming months.
Canadian and Airbus investigators will scrutinize pilot actions, potential fatigue, wind conditions and a non-precision instrument-approach procedure for Runway 05 at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, following an underrun by an Air Canada Airbus A320 (C-FTJP) during a low-visibility landing in a snow storm with gusty crosswinds just after midnight on March 29.
The Safety Assurance System (SAS), which debuted June 2014 in the certificate management office (CMO) responsible for Delta Air Lines, is being rolled out amid high expectations.
DOT took the unusual step of attaching conditions to Delta’s retaining the slots. DOT is requiring Delta to operate the Seattle-Haneda flights daily, and report the flight’s performance quarterly to the DOT.
Jetstar’s domestic pilots and a group of airport and headquarters staff became the latest to vote in favor of new contracts. The pilot ballot was particularly significant, as the group emphatically rejected a contract proposal in December.
Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss told reporters that the government has been in discussion with airlines for the past few days about the response to the crash of Germanwings flight 9525, which is believed to have been a deliberate act by its co-pilot (Aviation Daily, March 27).
The Time-Based Separation (TBS) system—developed by U.K. air navigation service provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) and Lockheed Martin—was switched on for the first time on March 24.
“The new fleet will contribute even more [toward] optimal operations, serving the seven million passengers who fly with KLM Cityhopper each year,” KLM Cityhopper Managing Director Boet Kreiken said.
The Comair service will operate as a British Airways flight as part of its license agreement with the U.K. flag carrier, flying once a week to the South Atlantic island using a Boeing 737-800 in a two-class configuration from Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport.
For a complete list of Aviation Week’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.aviationweek.com/events Apr. 14-16, 2015—MRO Americas 2015, Conference and Exhibit Hall, Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami, Florida May 5-6, 2015—MRO BEER (Baltics, Eastern Europe, Russia), Budapest, Hungary
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] . (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Apr. 7—SpeedNews Aerospace Additive Manufacturing Briefing, Palos Verdes (Los Angeles), California, speednews.com/all/conference
A coalition of U.S. airline unions, calling the Gulf carriers’ labor standards “abhorrent,” is questioning U.S. Travel Association (USTA) President Roger Dow’s support for open skies.
A government watchdog has found that some U.S. carriers did not face penalties after violating rules by carrying dangerous goods on passenger aircraft, even though the FAA did not verify that corrections had been made afterward, a quid pro quo for the protection.
After a period of growth in 2014, Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific plans to keep its fleet numbers relatively flat over the next two years as sales of its Airbus A319s offset new deliveries. The carrier has 55 aircraft in its fleet as of March 27, and it will not exceed this number through the end of 2016, the carrier says in its latest earnings report. For the remainder of this year, it is due to receive two more Airbus A320s, while two A319s will leave the fleet.
If regularly scheduled air service gets underway anytime soon between the U.S. and Cuba, some 1.5 million U.S. passengers a year would make the trip, according to Ambassador Jose R. Cabanas, chief of the U.S. Cuban Interests Section.
Norwegian Air was the first carrier to publicly announce the move via a March 26 statement, and many others, including EasyJet, Air Berlin, Germania, Air Baltic, and Icelandair quickly followed.
Operationally, the airline performed well last year, increasing passenger numbers by 6.6% to a record 11.4 million, outpacing the average 4.5% growth recorded by members of the Association of European Airlines.
At issue is the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC)—used by 360 U.S. airports, including 98 of the top 100 by passenger traffic—to generate about $2.8 billion per year for specific, FAA-approved projects.
FINNAIR CONNECTS-—Finnair will invest approximately €30 million ($32.8 million) into bringing Wi-Fi connectivity to the majority of its widebody and narrowbody fleet. The Finnish carrier will introduce its first onboard Wi-Fi service this autumn, with the arrival of its first Airbus A50-900 aircraft. Finnair has 19 A350s on order, and will be the European launch customer for the aircraft and its third operator in the world.
