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.
EasyJet traditionally makes a loss in the seasonably weak six months through March, but on March 26 the company upgraded its forecasts and said it now expects its pre-tax result for the first half ending March 31 to be between a loss of £5 million ($7.4 million) and a profit of £10 million.
United had wanted to begin the second flight on May 16. In a filing this week, however, United representatives admitted they needed “additional time to coordinate with local Chinese government officials and airport authorities to secure slot times . . . compatible with United’s operations.” United told the DOT it will now start service no later than July 15.
The deal—which goes into effect for travel from March 29—does not yet include Silver’s flights between Florida and the Bahamas, though Silver spokeswoman Misty Pinson said those routes should be added once regulatory approval is received.
Low fuel prices and softness in its air freight business will not disrupt FedEx’s fleet renewal plans. The company, which wrapped up its fiscal 2015 third quarter on Feb. 28, is slated to add five Boeing 767 freighters in the fourth quarter and 23 more by fiscal 2018. It has 20 in its fleet, including three that are being modified and are not in service. It also has 18 Boeing 777Fs in the pipeline to go with 25 in service, with the next deliveries slated for fiscal 2016.
BEA is one important step closer to analyzing the aircraft’s March 24 accident sequence, after having recovered the Airbus A320’s cockpit voice recorder (CVR).
Americans for Fair Skies, a group led by former Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) President Lee Moak, is aligned in its message with a coalition of organized labor, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines to oppose the Gulf carriers’ expansion into the U.S.
Ed Winter, interim chairman and CEO of Fastjet, said the company identified several potential routes within and from Zimbabwe, where it contends the low-cost model will stimulate the air travel market and tap into the huge market of passengers currently traveling by bus.
In an interim decision released this week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it intends to deny an application from the two airlines to expand their existing codeshare agreement. The carriers want to coordinate more broadly on routes, pricing and scheduling between Australia and China.
