The future of Mexicana de Aviacion is in question, as the new bankruptcy court judge overseeing the case has given the consortium that took control of the bankrupt carrier until Oct. 3 to reveal its financing. Med Atlantica, which took control of Mexicana in May with the promise of a $400 million investment in the airline, has been ordered by the judge to disclose how it intends to finance the acquisition, a source close to the airline tells Aviation Week.
Marana Aerospace Solutions, citing an increased demand for parting out aircraft and expectations for even higher demand in the future, has set aside one of its hangars and created a dedicated team of workers to handle a business activity that until recently had been considered an “afterthought” in its range of services.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co., the parent of low-cost carrier Allegiant Air, says more investors may be in the wings for a joint venture it has created with companies in France and Canada for mobile technology and software services.
Singapore-based low-cost airlines Tiger Airways Singapore and Scoot, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding toward deep and wide-ranging cooperation. Under the initial phase of this partnership, each carrier will market joint itineraries between Phuket, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, destinations served by Tiger; and Sydney and Gold Coast, Australia, served by Scoot. Customers may purchase a single itinerary for travel from Australia, via Singapore, to Tiger’s destinations.
RAK Airways plans to add two more Airbus A320s to its fleet in 2013 to increase the size of its network and boost frequencies to existing destinations. Based in Ras Al Khaimah, one of the United Arab Emirates, the carrier plans to fly to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, early next year. It also wants to operate more flights to India, particularly to Cochin and Trivandrum, RAK CEO John Brayford said at the World Routes conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Honeywell company UOP has received a U.S. Defense Department (DOD) grant to revamp a refinery on the U.S. West Coast to supply up to 22 million gal. a year of bio-derived diesel and jet fuel. The agreement is part of a Pentagon-led effort to scale up production and drive down the costs of advanced biofuels as drop-in replacements for conventional kerosene fuels.
Thanks to improvement among value carriers, mostly in Asia, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is adding a bit more than a billion dollars to its 2012 airlines profit forecast, but that is still 51% off last year’s pace, and the improvement seen coming next year still will not allow airlines to reach the healthier 2011 or 2010 levels.
KLM and Air France, partners with Delta Air Lines and Alitalia Airlines on a joint venture agreement for transatlantic services, will make changes in those services again this winter as the partners try to adjust their schedules for seasonal shifts in demand and higher fuel prices. KLM, for example, is citing “fluctuating seasonal demand and soaring fuel prices” as the reason it will not serve Miami this winter. Also, as it did a year ago, it will suspend its Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport flights until next summer.
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The Uruguayan government has auctioned seven of bankrupt Pluna’s Bombardier CRJ900ERs to Spanish charter operator Cosmo for $137 million, a source close to the airline tells Aviation Week. The government did not reveal plans for the remaining six CRJ900ERs. Last month, the government postponed the auction, saying it wanted to sell Pluna’s 13 aircraft and route authorities in one bloc to create a new Uruguay-based carrier. A further stipulation was that the winning bidder would take on part of Pluna’s workforce.
The punch that Boeing’s engineers have been telegraphing with tough talk for weeks landed Monday when they rejected the company’s four-year contract offer by a 96% majority. Contract talks between the company’s six-member negotiating team and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (Speea) resumed yesterday in Seattle. “We hope the vote results clear away the nonsense and allow us to begin substantive negotiations,” says Speea Executive Director Ray Goforth.
Abu Dhabi International Airport is implementing interim measures to boost annual capacity from 12.5 million passengers to about 20 million as it struggles to keep pace with traffic growth. Abu Dhabi Airports Co. (ADAC) plans to add 20 more bus gates to the existing Terminal 3, introduce gates capable of handling the Airbus A380, phase in more security checkpoints and build another arrival hall. The measures are expected to take effect as early as 2013.
Allegiant Air is employing all of its flight attendants on a part-time basis at a new Honolulu base, a move the airline describes as an operational decision but which the attendants’ union contends is designed to avoid providing health insurance under a contract or Hawaii state law. Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 577 says a stalemate in negotiations regarding the part-timer base is one of several issues that led it to ask last month for federal mediation in the talks, which it says has been granted.
Air Canada will move all of its 15 Embraer 175s to one of its regional partners in the first half of 2013 as part of an ongoing shift in the composition of its mainline fleet, but many questions about its fleet remain unanswered. Partner Sky Regional will take delivery of the Embraer aircraft between February and June 2013, Air Canada says in a statement. Sky Regional will operate the aircraft on short-haul regional routes under the Air Canada Express brand.
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EADS and BAE Systems are facing even stronger headwinds for their merger plans 10 days before the U.K. Takeover Panel's Oct. 10 deadline for the project, with the CEO of major EADS shareholder Lagardere issuing a public statement demanding significant changes to the negotiated arrangements.
