JetBlue Airways CEO Dave Barger says he cannot rule out the possibility that the New York-based low-cost carrier will acquire widebody aircraft in the future. “We have not studied widebodies, but we won’t say never,” Barger said at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Dallas. “We are the largest domestic carrier at JFK [New York John F. Kennedy International Airport] and can’t rule out widebodies.”
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of September 20, 2012, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Flight Safety International , New York LaGuardia Airport, promoted David Davenport to VP of the Savannah Learning Center and Fabio Miguez to manager of the Columbus, Ohio, Center, replacing Chip White, who moved to the Gulfstream Center. Daniel McLellan was promoted to regional operations manager and will continue as manager of the Dallas/Fort Worth Center.
Southwest Airlines’ flight attendants on Sept. 21 approved an agreement that establishes their pay and scheduling and per diems for work on international flights, as well as domestic flights over water to Hawaii and Puerto Rico, three months after the carrier’s pilots did the same. The attendants, who in May rejected a proposed agreement for such flying, passed this one with 57% approval among the 5,873 union members who voted. More than 4,000 attendants did not cast ballots.
Chinese authorities intend to allocate Beijing’s much-delayed second airport to SkyTeam alliance airlines, which include China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, the largest and third-largest carriers in China.
The FAA says that the magnitude of software issues with its En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) program is not as severe as indicated by the U.S. Transportation Department’s primary watchdog. In congressional testimony presented on Sept. 12, DOT Inspector General Calvin Scovel said controllers and technicians have identified and reported “in excess of 900 new high-priority software issues that need to be addressed” during operational trials at the first nine ERAM sites.
More flight attendants than expected took American Airlines’ buyout package, eliminating the need for furloughs and possibly generating a new round of flight attendant recruitment for the Fort-Worth-based carrier. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) says 2,205 flight attendants have opted to take the “voluntary early out,” which was offered as part of the new contract APFA members ratified last month. The buyout includes a $40,000 payment and allows members to bid on a retirement date.
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All Nippon Airways (ANA) says it will take another 11 higher-capacity, long-range 787-9s, raising its totals to 66 aircraft, by far the largest order rate for Boeing’s twin-engine transport. With the addition of these -9s, the Japanese carrier’s 787 fleet eventually will include 36 787-8s and 30 787-9s. This is the second follow-on 787 order for ANA, which originally bought 50 of the type. The 11 latest aircraft are scheduled to be delivered from 2018 to 2021, ANA says. As of August, ANA had taken delivery of 13 787-8s.
Consolidation among the U.S. major airlines will not only make the industry stronger, it will yield greater opportunities for low-cost carriers, the heads of two major budget operators said last week. “Consolidation has allowed airlines to better align capacity with demand,” Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza told attendees at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Dallas.
AirAsia is contemplating an initial public offering (IPO) for its medium-haul operation within months, but an offering for its Indonesian subsidiary will not be forthcoming until at least the second half of 2013 to allow for the integration of Batavia Air. “If the board agrees, then this December AirAsia X will do its IPO,” says AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes. The company will be listed on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange.
Think tanks, analysts and politicians have been predicting the rise of Africa’s economies and subsequent opportunities for air travel for many years. The forecasts, for various reasons, have often not turned into reality. But now it seems that foreign airline investors are gaining confidence in the region’s growth potential.
Aurora Flight Services , Manassas, Va., named Mark C. Cherry president and chief operating officer, succeeding founder John S. Langford, who will continue as chairman and CEO.
Uzbekistan Airlines this month is due to receive its seventh Ilyushin Il-114-100 turboprop aircraft, closing a decades-long chapter in the history of the Central Asian republic’s aerospace industry.
Allied Pilots Association (APA) leadership is adamant its members have not coordinated job actions to force American Airlines to cancel up to 2% of its schedule. “There is no job action of any sort that is organized, supported or sanctioned by the Allied Pilots Association,” the union says in a message to members. “We have verified that pilot sick rates have not deviated from normal historical rates.” The sick-call rate has been 6-7% this month, which is normal for September, a union spokesman tells Aviation Week.
The FAA, citing a need to keep rulemaking transparent, has restored language on an engine component vibration testing rule that triggered industry opposition after being adopted without public comment. Opposition to the change came from the Modification and Replacement Parts Association (Marpa), which filed a suit seeking to have the July 5 revision dropped. That change would have required on-engine tests as part of certification process “surveys” for components, such as fan blades.
Air Canada is starting to recruit pilots and flight attendants for a low-cost subsidiary scheduled to launch next year. The first round of hiring includes 50 pilots and 150 flight attendants, indicating a relatively small startup fleet for the new operation.
Germany’s Condor and Mexico’s Volaris from Oct. 1 will start a code-share arrangement on services between Frankfurt and Mexico City, flying through Cancun. The partnership will enable passengers to fly Condor to Cancun and transfer to a Volaris flight to Mexico City on one ticket. The two airlines also plan to extend this code-share to Guadalajara, Puebla and Toluca, although dates have not been determined, a source close to Volaris says.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: New York Kennedy - San Francisco, September 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: New York Kennedy - San Francisco, September 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Depts. Share ASKs (000) Share
