Alitalia and Etihad Airways on Dec. 23 confirmed they have completed all the formalities related to the transfer of air transport operations from Alitalia CAI to the new Alitalia SAI, or Società Aerea Italiana.
Delta Air Lines argues that it is operating its Seattle-Tokyo Haneda route in full compliance with U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) rules, and DOT has “no lawful basis” to reconsider the route allocation and cannot “lawfully strip” Delta of the authority. DOT said it would reconsider the authority after American Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines claimed Delta is operating the route just enough to prevent triggering the 90-day dormancy rule. Delta has said it has cut flights due to seasonality and will ramp its schedule up for the summer season.
In observance of the year-end holiday season, the Dec. 24 issue of Aviation Daily is the last issue this year. The next issue will be dated Jan. 6, 2015. In the interim, subscribers can visit the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (awin.aviationweek.com).
Earlier this month, Norwegian filed a formal complaint to the European Commission (EC) and European Free Trade Area Surveillance Authority (ESA), claiming SAS receives “differential treatment” when it comes to traffic rights.
The new department—which should be up and running early next year—is an initiative of the Dutch airline’s new CEO Pieter Elbers, who was appointed in October to speed up KLM’s lagging restructuring efforts.
September’s total traffic growth was 2.3% year-over-year. In October, premium traffic was up 2.9% year-over-year (0.6 points above September) and economy traffic grew 3.7% (up 1.4 points from September).
Air New Zealand can make its Auckland base a major connecting hub for traffic from Australia and Southeast Asia to South America, the airline’s CEO Christopher Luxon says. These connecting opportunities will be opened up when Air New Zealand launches its first service to South America in December 2015—a flight from Auckland to Buenos Aires. Due to New Zealand’s geographical position, linking certain other Pacific Rim markets to South America is one of the few transit flows that is viable for Air New Zealand.
BEIJING—Airbus is aiming at getting contracts for 150-200 A330s in the current Chinese ordering campaign intended to fill airline requirements for the 2016-20 economic planning period, says an industry official in China. The contracts will be tied to an agreement to open a proposed completion center for the A330 in Tianjin.
American Airlines and Mexico City-based Interjet have signed a codeshare agreement. Under the proposed deal, American will codeshare on Interjet flights from Mexico City to five destinations: Huatulco, Villahermosa, Merida, Tuxtla Gutierrez, and Oaxaca. The carriers will submit an application to the U.S. Transportation Department for regulatory approval of the proposed cooperation.
Los Angeles International Airport will proceed with $4 billion in ground transportation improvement projects, including an automated people mover (APM) and a consolidated rental car facility, under a plan approved unanimously by the city’s Board of Airport Commissioners on Dec. 18. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who appoints the airport commission, supported the plan. Airport Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey expressed skepticism, saying airline tenants might balk at the high price tag.
TAP Portugal, hoping to limit the effects of a four-day walkout scheduled for the upcoming festive season, has re-opened reservations for the affected four-day period after the government issued a special decree activating a public service obligation and allowing the dismissal of striking employees. Twelve unions representing workers at the airline have called industrial action for Dec. 27-30 to protest working conditions at the carrier and government plans to proceed with TAP’s long-awaited privatization.
Hawaiian Airlines has finalized its agreement to order six Airbus A330-800neo aircraft, and has also struck an engine and maintenance deal with Rolls-Royce. The carrier signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) relating to the aircraft with Airbus in July, and has now placed a firm order. The A330neo deal replaces an order for six A350-800s, which Hawaiian agreed to cancel when Airbus wanted to shelve that version of the A350.
LOS ANGELES—Qantas will continue to explore tactical opportunities to make money with new routes to North America, similar to the airline’s January-only service to Vancouver, an executive said in an interview. “It’s part of a new philosophy we have at Qantas to match capacity with demand,” Vanessa Hudson, senior executive vice president for the Americas, said. “We are going to be more flexible going into the future.”
Swedish and European authorities are being asked to determine whether Sweden’s airlines are required to provide specialized medical certifications for pilots who regularly fly the night shift. The action stems from the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority’s analysis of a runway excursion by an Amapola Flyg Fokker 50 cargo aircraft at Malmo Airport at 1:44 a.m. the morning of Jan. 10, 2013.
For a complete list of Aviation Week’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.aviationweek.com/events Jan 13-14—MRO Latin America, Buenos Aires, Argentina Feb. 2-3—MRO Middle East, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE Mar. 5—Laureate Awards, Washington, D.C. Apr. 14-16—MRO Americas 2015, Conference and Exhibit Hall, Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami, Florida
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] . (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Jan. 14-16—ACI-NA 2015 Risk Management Conference, San Diego, CA, www.aci-na.org/conferences Jan. 27-29—ACI-NA 2015 Customer Service Seminar, Reno, NV, www.aci-na.org/conferences
