Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red short-haul arm has become the latest victim in a sweeping strategy review focused on returning the airline to profitability.
Air Canada has reached a tentative agreement with the leadership of its pilots union on a 10-year labor contract. Leadership of the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA)—which represents 3,000 Air Canada pilots—said the agreement covers “compensation, benefits and other work rules until September 2024.” Neither the airline nor the union released details of the agreement, which must be ratified by a majority vote of Air Canada’s pilots.
Air passenger traffic demand worldwide grew 5.9% year-over-year in August, up 0.6 point from July but down 0.9 point from August 2013’s growth rate, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) data. IATA noted that sanctions resulting from the Russia-Ukraine crisis continue to have a sobering effect upon the European economy, especially affecting Germany, and within Russia itself.
You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact: Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) Oct. 7-9—MRO Europe, Madrid Spain Nov. 4-6—MRO Asia, Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre, Singapore Nov. 19-20—A&D Programs, Wigwam Resort, Liltchfield Park, Ariz.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] . (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 6-9—2014 ACI-NA Public Safety & Security Fall Conference, Arlington, Virginia, http://aci-na.org/event/4309 Oct. 7-8—Airsat Forum 2014, Arion Resort & Spa, Athens, Greece, www.iata.org/events/Pages/airsat-forum.aspx
Indonesia has opened the door to a Southeast Asian airspace-unification process that began in 2004 by signing an agreement to allow Association of Southeast Asian Nations-based (ASEAN) airlines unrestricted access to its Jakarta airports. As the last ASEAN country to register for the regional open skies framework, to date Indonesia has been reluctant to allow universal access outside existing bilateral Air Services Agreements (ASAs), mainly due to the threat of countries with more developed airline industries cutting into its market.
Evidence of a shift away from the historical trend of commercial aftermarket spares sales fluctuating based on traffic demand—and aircraft utilization—continues to mount, with several factors emerging as primary drivers. A recent Canaccord Genuity supplier survey underscored that 2014 spare parts sales are lagging behind a steady climb in global available seat kilometers (ASKs), which the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported were up 5.6 % year-over-year through August.
China Eastern plans to launch seasonal service to New Zealand in December, becoming the second Chinese carrier to serve that country. The airline will operate nonstop flights from Shanghai to Auckland International Airport between Dec. 9 and March 28, using Airbus A330-200s. According to the airport, China Eastern initially will operate four flights weekly, then move to daily service beginning Jan. 16. Air New Zealand already serves the Auckland-Shanghai route.
The European Commission (EC) has ordered carriers Germanwings, Meridiana, Ryanair, TUIFly, as well as Germany’s Zweibrücken Airport, Alghero Airport in Italy and Brussels Charleroi to repay illegal state aid, and launched an in-depth investigation into airline agreements at Brussels National Airport. A series of other investigations, involving Frankfurt-Hahn and Saarbrücken airports in Germany, Alghero in Italy, and Västerås in Sweden, were cleared.
Air France is hoping to reach a rapid solution with its pilots so it can start preparing for growth at Transavia France. “Talks with pilots are ongoing.
As American Airlines reduces the number of 50-seat jets operating at Miami International Airport in favor of larger jets, its subsidiary Envoy Airlines will substantially reduce its schedule there and is closing its flight attendant and pilot bases and moving out of hangar space. As of Oct. 1, Envoy operated 60 daily departures from Miami with 23 aircraft. By Dec.
EasyJet has increased its full-year, pre-tax profit forecast to £575-580 million ($930-935 million), after receiving a boost from the knock-on effects of the Air France pilots’ strike. Previously, EasyJet was predicting a £545-570 million pre-tax profit for its financial year ending Sept. 30, 2014, but the top end of this outlook has been raised by £10 million.
Silver Airways will continue to invest in its Florida and Bahamas network while pulling back on flying from network carrier hubs, CEO Sami T. Teittinen said in an interview. Teittinen, the airline’s former CFO, took over last month when Dave Pflieger left to run Island Air, a five-aircraft operation owned by Oracle founder Larry Ellison.
American Airlines is asking the Transportation Dept. (DOT) to seize one of Delta Air Lines’ Tokyo Haneda frequencies and reallocate it to American for service from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). In a strongly worded regulatory filing, American claims Delta has reduced the winter Seattle-Haneda schedule to the point of irrelevance. “Delta is deserting Seattle,” American said in its filing.
