German pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) and Lufthansa have successfully restarted talks, the pilot union says. Following multiple rounds of more exploratory talks involving a mediator, more formal negotiations have now started to overcome the differences the two sides had over pensions for early retirements. Last month, the union had called for the longest strike in the airline’s history, which grounded Lufthansa for three days and forced the carrier to cancel more than 3,000 flights. After a period of radio silence, the exploratory talks have resumed.
The first major assembly for China’s C919 mainline commercial aircraft has been delivered, with Avic subsidiary Hongdu Aircraft handing over a forward fuselage section to the program’s prime contractor, Comac. The delivery supports the plan to assemble the first aircraft in the second half of the year, says Comac, which aims to roll out the first of the 158-seat aircraft in mid- 2015, fly it in October of that year and achieve airworthiness certification at the end of 2017.
Southwest Airlines, signaling its intent to battle for market share when restrictions on Dallas Love Field are lifted this fall, will add half a dozen flights per day between its home airport and both Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Chicago Midway Airport, setting up a battle with Virgin America. Southwest in February announced 15 cities--but not the frequencies--as part of its Love expansion, made possible due to the expiration of the Wright Amendment that has limited long-distance flights from the airport.
Ryanair says it will continue with new initiatives to make itself more attractive for business travelers. The airline will focus its limited growth to building frequency and capacity on key business city pairs, CEO Michael O’Leary says. In the next winter timetable, the carrier plans to open three more business-oriented bases – in Cologne/Bonn, Warsaw and Gdansk.
United Airlines will evaluate how the first self-tagging baggage and check-in kiosks in its domestic system work before deciding whether to deploy the kiosks system-wide. The IBM kiosks let passengers tag their checked baggage before depositing the bags at a United bag-drop facility. United created the software for the kiosks in-house, and it syncs with the carrier’s mobile app, allowing passengers to scan a barcode on a mobile device to collect bag tags.
BEIJING — Boeing has confirmed an intended order for 50 737NG and 737 MAX aircraft from the new budget offshoot of Juneyao Airlines. The new company, 9 Air, is due to begin flying this year. Aviation Week reported Juneyao’s intention to order the aircraft for 9 Air, then known only by its Chinese name, Jiu Yuan, on March 3. Between 20 and 30 of the aircraft would be 737 MAXs, with CFM Leap engines, industry officials said in March. Boeing does not detail the split.
FRANKFURT, LOS ANGELES—Airbus is in final negotiations with Rolls-Royce to become the sole-source supplier for a re-engined version of the A330. The launch is expected to be announced later this summer.
Latam Airlines Group, maintaining strict capacity discipline and continuing to combine the LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines aircraft into a single, optimized fleet, says it is on track to meet annual financial “synergies” targets that will total $650 million by 2017. “We recognized over $300 million [in pre-tax earnings] level related to the initiatives that were identified as the synergies, both on the cost side and on the revenue side,” in 2013, says Latam Investor Relations Director Gisela Escobar, adding that 2014’s figure will be higher.
BRUSSELS—Royal Jordanian (RJ) has signed up for the Boeing’s rotable exchange services program for the 787 as it prepares for its first aircraft of the type to enter service in August. RJ’s Head of Engineering and Maintenance Imadedeen Farahid says the airline selected the progam because “we are gaining a means of ensuring smooth introduction of our 787s while controlling costs, minimizing component maintenance time and optimizing fleet performance.”
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] . (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) May 20–22 —Cabin Operations Safety Conference, The Melia Castilla Hotel, Madrid Spain http://www.iata.org/events/Pages/cabin-safety.aspx
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) June 10-11 —MRO Eastern Europe, Baltics and Russia, Sheraton Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
SINGAPORE — Troubled Malaysian flag carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has turned in more dismal figures in its latest financial report, signaling a Ringgit443 million ($137 million) loss for the first quarter of 2014.
While some industry observers wonder if demand will sustain the rapid new-airplane build rates and growing backlogs, lessor Air Lease Corp. is having the opposite problem—customers are snapping up on-order aircraft earlier, posing questions about how far in advance lessors should tie up their future assets.
BRUSSELS — Spain’s Air Europa and Aerolineas Argentinas plan to begin codesharing July 1 on flights between Madrid and Buenos Aires as both carriers are unlocking more benefits from their SkyTeam membership. The cooperation will improve the two airlines’ position on the route, which also is served by Oneworld member Iberia with Airbus A340 equipment.
Singapore Airlines is cutting two of its four Middle East destinations, more evidence that competing against the big three Gulf carriers in their backyard is becoming increasingly difficult. Singapore will stop its service to Riyadh/Saudi-Arabia and Cairo/Egypt at the end of September. “The difficult decision to suspend the services was taken as a result of the sustained weak performance of both routes,” Singapore Airlines says.
Capital Airlines is the latest Chinese mainland carrier to move towards conversion to budget mode, following government policy encouraging low-cost operations. The Beijing-based airline is also dropping out of the frequent-flyer program of affiliate Hainan Airlines, in a move evidently intended to cut costs. The conversion has been announced internally but its timing is uncertain, say industry officials.
Southwest Airlines has begun revealing the details of how it will move AirTran Airways’ customers to its loyalty program, which would wrap up one of the major outstanding issues in the airlines’ merger.
The company that runs Sydney’s main airport appears willing to exercise its right to build and operate a second airport for the city, although it will be several months before it makes a decision. The Australian government last month announced the site for the second airport, and it wants construction work to begin as soon as 2016. However, under a previous agreement, Sydney Airport Corporation has first right of refusal for developing and operating any such facility.
