Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of January 2, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Today’s issue of Aviation Daily marks the beginning of a new weekly series of airline profiles provided by Oliver Wyman. The series starts with a list of the world’s 100 largest operators (please turn to pp. 6-7), and will continue throughout the year with two profiles each Friday using the most up-to-date data available for each carrier.
The U.S. and Russia next month will meet in Moscow to restart negotiations for a new bilateral air services agreement, Aviation Week has learned. Russia remains one of the few large aviation markets without an open-skies agreement with the U.S., although negotiations to replace the existing 1994 bilateral air service agreements have been ongoing for several years. An annex to the 1994 accord limits the two countries to three passenger and two cargo airlines each, and restricts flights to several designated destinations in each country.
The FAA is standing by the size of its air traffic controller payroll as a government auditor launches an examination into how the workforce is utilized.
Most restrictions of the U.S.-Colombia open-skies agreement have expired, paving the way for full implementation of an accord first negotiated two years ago. An annex to the agreement restricted capacity on 13 routes between the two countries—including New York-Bogota, New York-Medellin and Washington-Bogota—until it expired Jan. 1. The bulk of the agreement already has entered into force.
United Airlines is deferring the launch of several international flights scheduled to be served by its new Boeing 787s. Services affected include a nonstop between United’s Houston hub at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria, which will now start in late January instead of Jan. 3, the airline tells staff in an internal notice.
The rapid growth of Latin American airlines is fueled in part by reaching first-time fliers, many of whom do not have traditional bank accounts or credit cards, and this is forcing airlines in the region to be innovative in processing payments. The burgeoning growth—and competitive pricing—of air travel in countries such as Mexico, Chile and Colombia has lured many passengers away from surface transportation and has extended air travel to socioeconomic sectors that have not traditionally chosen to fly.
New rules issued last week by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will make it easier for airlines to expand inflight wireless services. The rules define a regulatory framework to ensure that the wireless systems do not affect avionics on the aircraft, the FCC says in a statement. Previously, the FCC authorized companies to provide inflight wireless services on an ad hoc basis.
The U.S. Senate Jan. 1 confirmed Michael Huerta as FAA administrator, some nine months after President Barack Obama nominated him. Confirmation of Huerta, who has been serving as acting administrator for more than a year, came during a New Year’s Day session in the Senate. Huerta had served as deputy administrator since 2010, but took the role of acting administrator after Randy Babbitt resigned in December 2011.
Garuda Indonesia’s low-cost carrier Citilink has decided to order ATR 72-600s after the manufacturer agreed to help provide foreign pilots and maintenance technicians. The airline will be ordering 25 ATR 72-600s, with options for 25 more, and first deliveries will be in September, Citilink CEO Arif Wibowo tells Aviation Week. He says five aircraft will be delivered in 2013. The delivery schedule for the first 25 aircraft runs “up to 2015” and if the 25 options are converted into firm orders the delivery schedule goes “up to 2017,” says Wibowo.
American Airlines’ flight attendants union is in talks with the carrier and US Airways for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would clarify the union’s labor contract in the event of a merger between the two airlines. Details of the talks are not being released, due to a non-disclosure agreement, but the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) says the deal is “similar” to the MOU reached in late December by union leaders representing American’s pilots.
Allegiant Air remains undaunted by the collapse of a deal to acquire 10 Airbus A319s from Cebu Pacific Air, and has expedited the 2013 delivery of seven A320s from a deal announced last month to accommodate the loss of the smaller narrowbodies. Few details are being disclosed, with Allegiant’s parent company only saying that “we were unable to come to terms on some of the economic provisions of the transaction.”
Canada and Saudi Arabia have struck a deal that expands their existing bilateral air services agreement to allow full code-share rights and liberalize cargo services between the two countries. Although this is not a new treaty between Saudi Arabia and Canada, it does amend the current agreement to allow airlines from both countries greater flexibility in scheduling, routes and pricing.
The oversight arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) this month will start auditing the FAA’s recently launched air traffic controller productivity initiatives. “It is unclear whether these initiatives have been successfully implemented or have achieved the expected outcomes,” DOT’s Office of Inspector General says.
Denmark’s Naviair has signed a contract for the installation of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) systems in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which will be vital links in what could be the first transatlantic surveillance corridor. Saab Sensis is the company chosen by Naviair for the ADS-B project, a Naviair spokesman tells Aviation Week. An initial project meeting will be held in January, where a timetable will be presented.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Madrid, Dec 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Madrid, Dec 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs
March 5-6 2013 Hilton Arlington Arlington, VA Join senior defense officials and discover where priorities and opportunities exist beyond the FY 2014 budget and hear First-hand how programs are implementing affordable and effective designs! Register now at www.aviationweek.com/events/dtar Click here to view the pdf
Introducing the Aero 100 Airfare Benchmark Index Designed for anyone with risk on the future level of airfares—for example Airlines, Banks/Credit Card Companies, Corporate Travel Managers, etc. The Aero 100 Airfare Benchmark Index tracks daily airfares within the domestic airline market. The Aero 100 delivers financial risk mitigation and protection against constant fluctuation of airline ticket prices by providing the price settling mechanism for Commodity Futures Contracts.
