United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, seeking to seize an opportunity for new or expanded service to Tokyo’s close-in Haneda International Airport, are slamming Delta Air Lines for requesting U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) approval to move its Detroit-Haneda service to Seattle (Aviation Daily, Aug. 2).
October 9, 2012 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Repair in New Generation Aircraft: Challenges and OpportunitiesLightweight composites will soon rival metals as the primary material for airframes. Are you prepared? This event will highlight the latest developments, challenges and best practices in aircraft composite repair and maintenance technology. It will allow all of the key industry players to discuss best practices and share experiences. Register now! www.aviationweek.com/events/composites
German regional airline OLT Express is understood to have found a new investor following the decision of its current owner to leave the airline business. According to industry sources, an agreement with a European financial investor has been signed, ensuring that the airline will continue to operate.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), defending his comments on post-merger unionization votes, stated in a letter to the National Mediation Board (NMB) that amendments to the Railway Labor Act (RLA) do not apply to representation elections following an airline merger.
AerCap Holdings would “move very quickly on a large scale” if it finds the right aircraft acquisition deal, but the Amsterdam-based aircraft leasing company is not in a rush, CEO Aengus Kelly says. With a low debt-to-equity ratio of 2.7 to 1, an investment-grade rating and a relatively small order book for aircraft, AerCap is well positioned to move if a good deal is available, Kelly said during a conference call on the company’s second-quarter earnings—a $29.6 million profit.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Cancun - Mexico City - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Cancun - Mexico City - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way
Citing the potential effect on the relationship between maintenance, repair and overhaul providers and their customers, as well as the proposal’s overall scope, nine associations have asked the FAA for 90 more days to comment on the agency’s proposed repair station rule changes.
Looming mandatory budget cuts could affect wait times at U.S. airports if funding for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff is cut. The mandatory budget cuts, due to take effect on Jan. 2 under a process known as “sequestration,” in a best-scenario could cut as much as 8.5% from federal discretionary spending. The effect of the cuts could be greater than that, however, because they would go into effect three months into a fiscal year, forcing a full-year’s budget cutting for the remaining nine months.
AMR Corp.’s American Airlines’ bankruptcy proceedings will pass another milestone Wednesday when the results from two union contract ratification votes are revealed.
Wizz Air says its initial experience during a month-long trial to test a charge for carry-on baggage has been very promising. The airline is charging 10 euros ($12.39) for every piece of hand luggage that does not fit underneath the seat. According to the Hungarian low-fare airline, about 10% of passengers are paying the extra fee. The carrier says it has launched the test to speed up the boarding process, but the fee also is a source of ancillary revenues. No other European airline charges for hand luggage.
A BAE Systems-operated Jetstream 31 is conducting sense-and-avoid trials over the Irish Sea as a U.K.-funded program to develop technologies and procedures to enable civil unmanned aircraft to operate in unrestricted airspace enters its final stages. Begun in 2006, the ₤62 million ($97 million) Astraea program is scheduled to end in March 2013 with completion of the “virtual certification” of an unmanned aircraft to fly without restrictions in all classes of airspace.
United Airlines will terminate its joint venture with Irish carrier Aer Lingus to provide nonstop service from United’s Washington Dulles International Airport hub to Madrid at the end of October. “We informed Aer Lingus two weeks ago that we will be exercising our right to terminate our enhanced code-share for the Dulles-Madrid flight,” a United spokeswoman tells Aviation Week. Service between the two points will end on Oct. 28, the spokeswoman says.
Some aircraft leasing companies are seeing a business opportunity in changes to export credit agency (ECA) financing that could make it more difficult for airlines to use ECA support to acquire aircraft.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Rio De Janeiro Dumont - Sao Paulo - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Rio De Janeiro Dumont - Sao Paulo - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats
Republican members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, in a letter to the National Mediation Board (NMB), dispute the NMB’s recent notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on unionization votes in the event of an airline merger. At issue is the representation threshold required to authorize unionization. The NMB is inviting comments on whether amendments to the Railway Labor Act (RLA) apply to representation disputes in airlines mergers.
It could be as long as six weeks before an agreement in principle for a new joint collective bargaining agreement between United Continental Holdings and its pilots is put to paper and voted on by the leadership of union groups at United Airlines and Continental Airlines, a spokesman for the Continental pilots union says.
