Delta Air Lines pushed its pilots union to expedite a new contract to avoid expensive engine overhaul costs on its older 50-seat jets and support the implementation of a larger business plan that has yet to the publicly disclosed, say leaders of the carrier’s Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) chapter.
Sun Country Airlines , Minneapolis, appointed Robert Fafinski, CEO of the Fafinski Mark & Johnson law firm, and Michael Opat, chair of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, to the board.
Emirates , Dubai, promoted Mohammed Mattar to divisional senior VP-airport services, Nabil Sultan to divisional senior VP-revenue optimization and distribution and Adnan Kazim to divisional senior VP-planning and research.
The U.K.’s Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) review of Ryanair’s near 30% shareholding in Aer Lingus has cleared an important legal hurdle. Ryanair was trying to get the courts to throw out the review, arguing the OFT review was launched too late. But the U.K. Supreme Court has ruled against the low-fare airline, so the OFT review, begun in 2010, will advance.
Pinnacle Airlines Corp. recorded a $5.1 million operating profit for April and ended the month with $42.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, the regional carrier holding company revealed in its first monthly operating report since filing for Chapter 11 protection April 1. Reorganization costs associated with the restructuring, however, resulted in a net loss of $60.6 million. The carrier’s $94.8 million restructuring charge related to the return of aircraft.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has unveiled a reciprocal agreement with the European Commission and Switzerland and a separate accord with Canada recognizing the air cargo security system of each jurisdiction. While the deals, which were announced with little fanfare, are effective immediately, their implementation is unclear; neither signatory has issued details on how this unprecedented security protocol—which will affect millions of tons of cargo—will be employed.
Introducing the Aero 100 Airfare Benchmark Index Designed for anyone with risk on the future level of airfares – for example Airlines, Banks/Credit Card Companies, Corporate Travel Managers, etc. The Aero 100 Airfare Benchmark Index tracks daily airfares within the domestic airline market. The Aero 100 delivers financial risk mitigation and protection against constant fluctuation of airline ticket prices by providing the price settling mechanism for Commodity Futures Contracts.
Lufthansa is seeing better-than-expected fuel burn performance during its initial Boeing 747-8 flights and expects to see more significant improvement with the delivery of the 11th aircraft in 2014.
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. 19-21 — 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.
A near breakeven operating performance in April enabled AMR Corp. to maintain its cash balance at about $5.6 billion as it enters a pivotal period of its Chapter 11 reorganization.
Business jet manufacturing is fiercely competitive, operates in a risky and uncertain economic environment and erects exceedingly high barriers to entry, a U.S. government report finds. But while the report allows that foreign makers are gaining ground, it offers no evidence of unfair competition against U.S. airframers.
Turkish Airlines plans to introduce regional jets once Istanbul gets a new airport, according to Chief Commercial Officer Soner Akkurt, who says the airline could greatly improve services to secondary cities and introduce more markets with smaller aircraft. The only reason Turkish does not have regional aircraft is the lack of slots in Istanbul, Akkurt told attendees at an Embraer airline seminar in Istanbul.
The MD-11 aircraft is reaching a milestone: its first retirements. The aircraft due to be retired were operated by World Airways, which is being restructured under parent Global Aviation Holdings’s Chapter 11 filing. Aviation Week fleet data show that seven of Worlds’ MD-11s, two of which were passenger aircraft, are parked.
The FAA is under pressure from lawmakers and government inspectors to provide the specifics of its plan to consolidate facilities during the transition to the NextGen air traffic modernization system.
United Airlines, reacting to the Houston City Council’s approval of a Southwest Airlines plan to begin international service out of William P. Hobby Airport, says it will start cutting routes and capacity this fall at its George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) hub.
Unless the U.S. government exempts the FAA budget from the looming budget cuts, known as sequestration, the NextGen air traffic modernization process could be imperiled, former House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar tells Aviation Week. “The AIP [Airport Improvement Program] and facilities and equipment budgets should be exempt,” Oberstar says. “The operations budget should be 80% exempt.”
Indonesian authorities have recovered the flight data recorder (FDR) of the Russian Superjet regional jet that crashed May 9. The discovery comes 10 days after the cockpit voice recorder was recovered and analyzed, with officials saying there are no indications of a technical fault. The FDR was found about 1 km from the main crash zone in mountainous terrain. Sukhoi says the FDR, which is now with the Indonesian Investigation Commission of the National Committee for Transport Safety, appears undamaged. Analysis of the data has not started.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of May 30, 2012• compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
