You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact: Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) Sept. 20-21 — MRO IT Conference & Showcase, Hyatt Regency Miami, Miami, Fla. Oct. 9—Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum, Amsterdam RAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Oct. 9—MRO IT Europe, Amsterdam RAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Oct. 9-11—MRO Europe, Amsterdam RAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) July 9-15—Farnborough International Airshow 2012, www.farnborough.com July 15-17—Large Hub Winter Operations & Deicing Conference, Dulles, Va., www.necaaae.org July 16-17—Airports Council International-North America 2012 Small Airports Conference, JW Marriott Hotel, Grand Rapids, Mich., www.aci-na.org/event/562
Austrian Airlines is making final preparations for the transition of its flight operations from the parent company to what used to be its regional affiliate Tyrolean Airways. Tyrolean will operate all of the group’s flights beginning July 1 as part of Austrian’s €220 million ($278 million) cost savings program. The transfer was decided after management failed to reach an agreement with unions over cost cuts for Austrian’s pilots.
AirAsia achieved the highest score in Aviation Week’s latest Top-Performing Airlines (TPA) study, underlining the dominance of smaller and niche carriers in this year’s rankings. Of the Top 10 overall, only Singapore Airlines (SIA)—in ninth position—comes from the category of carriers with annual revenues greater than $6 billion. Three are from the mid-size tier with revenues of $2-6 billion, and six have revenues of less than $2 billion. In every region, the smaller airlines are upstaging the giants.
U.S. airports’ ability to borrow capital could be weakened if the U.S. Congress proceeds with a surface transportation bill that does not provide relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for private activity bonds (PABs).
Hawaiian Airlines’s ambitious Pacific Rim expansion plan has one glaring hole–China–and CEO Mark Dunkerley lays the blame firmly on restrictive U.S. visa policies. “China one day will be huge for us,” Dunkerley tells Aviation Week. “But the single largest impediment to our going into the market is how hard it is for the Chinese to get tourist visas to the U.S.” Dunkerley notes that the airline could see as much as $100 million in additional revenue if U.S. visa policies for Chinese nationals were relaxed.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has expanded inspection intervals for A380 wing component cracks as the regulator continues to work with Airbus to approve a final fix for the problem.
Pinnacle Airlines managed a $3.8 million operating profit in May, but that income was offset by the amount the U.S. regional carrier paid in professional fees for its bankruptcy court-supervised restructuring. The result, with interest expense and miscellaneous income includes, was a net loss of $206,000 for the month. The amount of fees also has started to raise some hackles at the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents Pinnacle pilots being asked by management to concede tens of millions of dollars in pay and benefits.
After months of discussion, Airbus appears ready to pull the trigger on establishing another A320 final assembly line (FAL), this time in the U.S. That the company has continued internal discussions about expanding its Mobile, Ala., engineering facility to a production site was highlighted in March by then EADS CFO Hans-Peter Ring, who confirmed continued contact with local officials. Mobile was to be the final assembly site if the U.S. Air Force selected the A330-based tanker in its KC-X program. It did not, and the A330 FAL concept disappeared.
Middle East Airlines (MEA) has officially joined the Skyteam alliance. The Lebanon-based carrier is the alliance’s 17th member and its second in the region after Saudia, that as formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines. Skyteam is the last of the three global groups to become established in the Levante: Royal Jordanian is a member of Oneworld, Egyptair is in Star Alliance. Unlike Egyptair and Royal Jordanian, though, MEA does not operate long-haul flights. Its network is limited to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
Delta Air Lines’ new paradigm for feeding its network from small communities has encountered some growing pains, with Great Lakes Aviation tempering the size of its operation at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP) until it can better coordinate its reservations system with the mainline carrier, obtain the proper gates, establish a maintenance base and teach its customers how to book flights under the new arrangement.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of June 27, 2012• compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
The launch of Westjet’s Bombardier Q400 domestic feeder subsidiary appears to have slipped, with the Canadian carrier now stating that the turboprop operation will inaugurate services in the second half of 2013 instead of the mid-2013 guidance previously provided. The airline also says it intends to launch the subsidiary with 20 Q400s but has signed a conditional order that also includes 25 options, matching a letter of intent with Bombardier from May that detailed up to 45 turboprops.
Indonesian cargo carrier Cardig Air has developed an expansion plan that includes the launch of an international airfreight service and the addition of utility aircraft to serve small communities in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua, President and CEO Boyke Soebroto says there are plans to offer a Jakarta-Bangkok-Phnom Penh, Cambodia service in the winter schedule, which operates between October and March, using one of the carrier’s three Boeing 737-300Fs.
The European Commission (EC) has approved the Maltese government’s capital investment in Air Malta, saving the airline and maintaining a large part of the island nation’s air services to Europe. The government last year injected €130 million ($163 million at current exchange rates) into the national carrier as part of a five-year restructuring effort. This prompted a formal investigation by the EC, which initially stated that it had serious doubts that the aid complied with European Union competition law.
James Albaugh, a 37-year veteran at Boeing who has been a management leader in all of the company’s product markets—space, defense and airliners—on Oct. 1 will retire as president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA). Boeing Chairman and CEO James McNerney has named Raymond Conner, another company veteran, to succeed Albaugh. Conner, who is an executive VP, joined Boeing 34 years ago as a mechanic and currently heads the company’s global sales operations.
