The FAA has reversed its position on mandating sign and graphics guidelines on projects funded by Airport Improvement Program (AIP) or passenger facility charges (PFCs), days after the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) argued that the provisions should be voluntary.
LAN has spent the last 2.5 years preparing for the delivery of its first Boeing 787s, but as of late July, all Justin Siegel, director of fleet projects, knew was that “we will be service-ready by August.” That is good, because the delivery date is today, Aug. 31. For the past couple of years, LAN has worked two major 787 projects in parallel. The first involved preparing for service and initiating training and the second is a 30-month effort to configure the cabin and establish specifications, says Siegel.
Bangkok-based Thai Airways International on Oct. 6 will operate its first Airbus A380 on nonstop routes to Hong Kong and Singapore, two months before placing the aircraft into long-haul service. The carrier will launch the long-haul service between Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Frankfurt Airport when it takes delivery of its second A380 in December, a spokeswoman tells Aviation Week. The airline has six A380s on order. Thai Airways currently operates Boeing 747-400s and 777s to Frankfurt, home of Star Alliance partner Lufthansa.
The first 12 domestic routes for United Airlines’ Boeing 787-8 fleet will all originate from Houston. United will place six routes into service this November and continue the rollout into early next year, with the last route scheduled for service in March 2013. The carrier last week announced its first international routes for its 787, which start in January.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of August 29, 2012, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
A government-industry committee drafting recommendations to improve the consistency of the FAA’s certification and approval processes is asking for input from aviation groups to help meet its year-end deadline. The Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) will offer an online survey to stakeholders until Sept. 25.
Air New Zealand is targeting new partnerships with other carriers as a cost-effective way to expand its network, although it is still looking to grow its own services in the key North American market. There are “discussions [occurring] with a number of other airlines,” said Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe during a review of the airline’s fiscal 2012 results. While he would not reveal which carriers these are, he says, “You can expect to see more–and potentially some quite significant–alliances and relationships established in the next 12 months.”
As many as 10 hedge funds are in talks with American Airlines about possibly funding the airline’s effort to emerge from Chapter 11 protection. The hedge funds are “substantial creditors” of American’s parent AMR Corp. that in April formed the Ad Hoc Group of AMR Corp. Creditors, the airline says in a court filing. “The Group has expressed an interest in participating in the formulation of a plan of reorganization and, in connection therewith, potentially providing for equity and other financings,” the airline says.
U.S. airlines face an additional $500 million in costs if proposed regulations are enacted into law, Airlines for America (A4A) says in its latest industry review. These new costs include $330 million from proposed training regulations, $150 million from airport hydrant fueling systems rules and $143 million from fuel-tank inerting regulations. Even more costs could be added from proposed rules governing the transport of lithium batteries, but A4A does not quantify the potential expense of such legislation.
The FAA has awarded Harris Corp. a 15-year, $291 million contract to provide a secure voice communication network for U.S. air traffic control facilities as part of the NextGen air transportation system. Company officials expect the program will proceed despite budget uncertainty on Capitol Hill. The system will replace the FAA’s aging system of voice switches with one based on Internet Protocols that will support communication among air traffic controllers, as well as air-to-ground communication between pilots and controllers.
Philippine Airlines, a longtime General Electric customer, will switch to Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce engines for its recently ordered Airbus fleets.
While the focus in Washington has remained on possible $1 trillion across-the-board budget cuts, business aviation advocates are concerned that negotiations to avoid those measures could open the door to user fees, extended depreciation or other proposals.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines are competing for a single available route for daily service to Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport. The route became available because of Delta’s request for U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) permission to switch one of its two Haneda routes from Detroit to Seattle. Rather than grant that request, the DOT decided to hold a new route selection proceeding, for which Delta or any other U.S. carrier could apply.
With markets in Europe imploding and the U.S. economy looking shaky, Singapore Airlines is expanding its business by focusing on Asian markets, and in particular by growing its short-haul narrowbody operation, SilkAir.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Istanbul - Izmir - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Istanbul - Izmir - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way
China Southern Airlines, struggling to find a suitable route for its Airbus A380s, is considering a proposal from Air China to fly the aircraft jointly between Paris and Beijing. The proposal faces likely opposition from Air France-KLM, a partner of China Southern in the SkyTeam alliance that competes with Air China’s Boeing 777-300ER service on the route, say Chinese airline industry sources.
Sri Lanka’s government plans to build eight new commercial airports and upgrade the domestic Ratmalana Airport in the nation’s capital, Colombo. A Sri Lankan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official, speaking to AviationWeek on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium in Singapore, says new airports are planned for Ampara, Batticaloa, Kandy, Koggala, Nuwara Eliya, Palaviya, Sigiriya and Trincomalee.
The European Commission (EC) is investigating the proposed takeover of Aer Lingus by Irish rival Ryanair, and from comments made yesterday by the commission it appears there is a concern the deal could be anti-competitive.
