United Airlines, still content with not becoming a significantly bigger carrier, will continue to focus on strategies to become a better one, from running a more efficient operation to boosting the appeal of its services to customers. The carrier’s just-completed calendar year saw capacity fall 1.3%, the third straight annual decline. Current projections of a 1%-2% capacity bump in 2014 means that downward run will come to an end, but only through upgauging, not growing its fleet.
Southwest Airlines’s international expansion, set to begin this year as part of wrapping up its integration of AirTran Airways, won’t include major changes from AirTran’s existing international network until at least 2015, Southwest President and CEO Gary Kelly confirms.
Japan Airlines is using its new daytime slot allocations at Tokyo Haneda Airport to launch new international services, as well as shifting flights from Tokyo Narita Airport to the more desirable Haneda.
Bombardier Aerospace is to lay off 1,700 employees in a bid to contain costs after stretching out CSeries development by at least 12 months and seeing business and commercial aircraft orders decline in 2013. Announced Tuesday in an internal memo to employees, the layoffs will be split between 1,100 in Canada and 600 in the U.S. Plants in Northern Ireland and Mexico are unaffected, the company says.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) plans to boost Superjet 100 regional jet production this year, nearly doubling the rate to 40 aircraft compared with 24 SSJ100s delivered in 2013, says SCAC President Andrey Kalinovsky. Aeroflot will continue to replace its initial batch of SSJ100s with upgraded aircraft specified as the full version. Russia’s largest carrier has 30 SSJ100s on order.
Deserts could become sources of biofuel, based on research conducted by Boeing and partners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The research has shown that saltwater-tolerant plants called halophytes, grown in coastal deserts and fed by seawater, can produce biofuel “more efficiently than other well-known feedstocks,” says Boeing.
JetBlue Airways and Etihad Airways have unveiled plans for a wide-ranging codeshare, which will initially cover 40 of JetBlue’s domestic routes. Subject to government approval, Etihad will initially place its code on 40 JetBlue-operated services from New York JFK and Washington Dulles. The DAILY reported that the announcement was likely this week (DAILY, Jan. 22).
The FAA, in its latest step to end a 25-year run of General Electric CF6-80C2 in-service fire risks tied to fuel manifolds, proposes adding repetitive inspections and parts replacements to an existing list of mandates. The proposed rule, published Friday, would require operators to replace loop clamps at designated intervals that vary based on several factors.
Declaring a truce of sorts, a coalition formed to oppose airlines’ plans to work together on a new data-transmission standard for fares, fees and product information is now withdrawing an objection it filed with the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) last year, and vowing to work with airlines to help define the new standard.
A U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) decision to deny a code-sharing application by Air Serbia—previously Jat Airways—has won the praise of Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA), but could serve as only a short-term victory considering parent owner Etihad Airways’ expansion plans.
Click here to view the pdf Mishandled Baggage Reports, November 2013 Total Baggage Enplaned Reports Per 1,000 Passengers Rank Airline Reports Passengers
Russia’s commercial air traffic reached a record level in 2013 as its domestic airlines carried 84.4 million passengers, the country’s Federal Air Transport Agency reports. This is more than one million passengers above the level for the year expected by Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov in November, and also 14% ahead of the prior year's pace, when Russian airlines carried 74 million passengers.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Jakarta - Surabaya, January 15-21, 2014, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Jakarta - Surabaya, January 15-21, 2014, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Departures Share ASKs (000) Share Seats/Dept.
Etihad Airways is expected to announce a new U.S. codeshare agreement this week, marking its third North American partnership after Air Canada and American Airlines. “We will make an announcement in America, with a U.S. airline,” Etihad President James Hogan told Aviation Week affiliate Air Transport World in Zurich on the sidelines of the Etihad Regional launch event. He declined to comment on the identity of the new partner, adding only that the deal would be revealed during this week.
Several regional airlines have contacted Etihad Airways to see if they can conclude a deal similar to that made by Lugano-based Darwin Airlines and start operating as Etihad Regional affiliates, Etihad’s president and CEO James Hogan says.
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General Electric aircraft lessor GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) confirmed a 2013 order previously listed as coming from an unidentified customer for 40 737s split evenly between the MAX and 737-800 versions. Carrying a list-price value of $3.9 billion, the order hikes GECAS commitment for the 737 MAX to 95 aircraft and the current-production 737 family to 387, making it the most for both models by any leasing company in the leasing industry.
Strong fourth-quarter and full-year financial results are a sign of things to come at Delta Air Lines, its executives believe, as key developments—including strong business traveler bookings and a favorable response to the carrier’s joint venture with Virgin Atlantic—have executives bullish on 2014.
China has begun flight testing a high-bypass ratio turbofan that will greatly improve the performance of the Y-20 heavy airlifter and potentially power the C919 commercial aircraft. The engine is the WS-20, according to local media that have published photographs of it in the left inboard position of an in-flight Ilyushin Il-76 used as a testbed. WS-20 is believed to be the military name of the powerplant, which has also been called SF-A for civil purposes.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) says its preliminary data shows that 2013 was the “safest year ever recorded” for fatalities on scheduled international passenger and cargo air transport operations for turbojets and turboprops weighing more than 12,500 lb.
