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.
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way - New York Kennedy - Paris DeGaulle Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way - New York Kennedy - Paris DeGaulle Air France American Othe
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.
Saudi Arabian low-fare airline Nas Air plans to phase out all Embraer 190s and 195s. “The E-jets are a comfortable aircraft, but with our expansion we need more seats,” Nas Air CEO Francois Bouteiller said at the World Routes conference in Abu Dhabi.
The number of employees at American Airlines may fall significantly depending on how many employees represented by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) opt to accept the company’s buyout offer. Voting on the buyout ended Oct. 1, but a TWU spokesman tells Aviation Week it remains uncertain when the final results will be tabulated. The number of layoffs the company says it needs has dropped from 14,000 in April when the original term sheets were issued to 4,000 today, a source close to the airline says.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has ordered 10 more Airbus A330s, topping an order for nearly 75 Airbus aircraft placed in August. The latest PAL deal includes 10 A330-300 high-gross-weight version aircraft with sufficient range to operate from Manila to any destination in the Asia Pacific region, including Honolulu, as well as to the Middle East, according to an Airbus statement.
Sequestration could hurt not only the Essential Air Service (EAS) program but the airlines that provide the federally subsidized flights to rural airports, the head of a major connecting airport for EAS operations tells Aviation Week. Denver International Airport (DIA) serves 18 EAS markets and 250,000 passengers annually, says Kim Day, manager of aviation, city and county of Denver. The airport’s forecast for October 2012 includes 355 weekly EAS departures, an average of 51 daily flights.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has approved the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit at India’s Cochin International Airport to conduct line maintenance on Airbus narrowbodies. Cochin International Aviation Services Ltd. has two hangars with an area of 35,000 sq. ft. that can handle two narrowbodies simultaneously. The MRO business in India is estimated to be worth $800 million and likely to grow to $1.5 billion by 2020, says India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
U.S. regional Mesa Air Group, which has been privately owned since emerging from Chapter 11 protection in March 2011, has not filed an acceptable financial statement with the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) for a year, and has been asked by the agency to refile submissions for four quarters.
Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs and Statistics - 12 Months Ended March 2012 - Regional Jets Page 4 CRJ 900 Manufacturer: Bombardier
Supporters of the Thune-McCaskill bill to prohibit the U.S. airlines from participating in the EU’s emissions trading system could force the legislation through the U.S. House of Representatives during the congressional recess, Capitol Hill and industry sources say. The U.S. Senate has already passed the bill.
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