Inflight entertainment on board aircraft has become more much reliable in the past few years because the chips, memory and processing capabilities have vastly improved. Despite this leap, airlines are not rushing to install it. “The million-dollar question is, do we put IFE throughout the aircraft or do we expect people to bring their own devices, like iPad, on board,” says Scott Gunnufson, Rockwell Collins’ VP and general manager-service solutions. “This is a big decision point that the industry has to work through.”
American Airlines, mirroring initiatives at rivals such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, will split its economy class in two, with the front of the main cabin offering increased legroom. Dubbed Main Cabin Extra, the new product will provide 4-6 in. (10-15 cm) in additional pitch, depending on fleet type, and priority boarding for a fee ranging from $8 to $108 a segment. The new cabin will mean a net reduction of one row from each aircraft, says American, although again this will vary depending on the aircraft type.
Negotiations between Mexico’s transport regulator and a group of investors interested in reviving Mexicana de Aviacion have reached an impasse over the issue of a new operating certificate. The stalemate highlights concern on both sides, with Mexico’s Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) worried that the investors have yet to move $300 million into the airline or finalize creditor payments and exit its bankruptcy reorganization, and Med Atlantica anxious that there are no guarantees the airline will be allowed to resume service.
Singapore is scrapping its budget terminal after only six years of operation and is replacing it with a new, larger terminal that will cater to low-cost carriers. The budget terminal opened in 2006, but Singapore’s Changi Airport Group (CAG) says the terminal is closing on Sept. 25, so it can be demolished and replaced with a new one that is expected to be ready by 2017.
Jet Aviation , Zurich, named Gary Dolski VP and general manager of its maintenance, repair and overhaul and fixed-base operation facility in Singapore.
With the president again proposing to charge a $100-per-flight tax in his budget request to Congress, lawmakers are again mobilizing to say no. The leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) and Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), circulated a letter to President Barack Obama, which scored 195 signatures. “Imposing a $100-per-flight fee on commercial and general aviation is the wrong approach, and we respectfully request that you abandon this idea once and for all,” the lawmakers write.
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) March 7—54th Annual Laureate Awards, Washington, D.C. March 13-14—Innovation Supply Chain Showcase, Orlando, Fla. April 3-5—MRO Americas 2012 Conference & Exhibition, Dallas April 3-5—MRO Military Conference & Exhibition, Dallas May 23—MRO Regional (Eastern Europe, Baltics and Russia) Conference & Exhibition, Vilnius, Lithuania
Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) massive loss for 2011 is largely a result of higher fuel costs and a write-down in the value of its assets. MAS says it incurred a loss of 2.52 billion ringgit ($838 million) for the year, compared with a profit of 237 million ringgit in 2010. Operating revenue rose 5% to 13.7 billion ringgit, but operating expenses soared 21% to 16.2 billion ringgit. A significant proportion of the losses was posted in the fourth quarter.
Plans for Thai AirAsia’s initial public offering (IPO) have moved ahead, with the carrier’s controlling shareholder, Thailand’s Asia Aviation Co., filing an application to the country’s Securities & Exchange Commission requesting approval for the IPO. In the filing, Asia Aviation says it plans to sell 750 million new shares with a par value of 10 satang each (one-third of one U.S. cent). Ten satang is also equivalent to one-tenth of a Thai baht. There are no details on when the IPO will occur, but it is widely anticipated it will be this month or next.
A German court ordered Frankfurt ground controllers to end their strike and return to work immediately. The court ruled that the strike was illegal for formal reasons and that ground controllers could resume the strike based on different demands. The same court late on Tuesday also declared illegal a planned supporting strike by air traffic controllers that would have halted all flight operations in Frankfurt on Wednesday morning.
Republic Airways Holdings plans to pressure its Embraer ERJ-145 maintenance and parts suppliers into lowering their charges or face the prospect of the carrier parking more of its aircraft, says Chairman and CEO Bryan Bedford.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of Feb. 29, 2012• compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
FlightSafety Foundation President and CEO William R. Voss is to be presented the first "Leading Edge" award by the Washington branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) on Thursday, March 8. The award will be presented to Voss for "leadership and achievements [that] have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace technology and safety between North America and Europe," according to RAeS.
An Ohio congressman is considering legislation that would pressure the FAA to act faster on integrating unmanned aerial vehicles into civilian airspace.
The Aerospace Industries Association, unlike Airlines For America, is urging lawmakers to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. The Obama administration has made exports a cornerstone of its trade and economic policy, but the battle over Ex-Im Bank has split the aerospace industry.
ST Aerospace San Antonio’s new VIP interiors and modifications business is setting its sights on customers outside its U.S. market. “I think the exchange rate between the U.S. and euro makes it attractive to have the work done in the U.S.,” says Ron Soret, general manager of completions at ST Aerospace San Antonio, which recently rebranded its VIP interiors and modifications business, Aeria Luxury Interiors.
A new study prepared for Airports Council International-North America finds that the airport industry drove $1.2 trillion in economic activity in 2010, which translates into 7% of U.S. GDP.
Brussels Airlines is making major changes to its leadership team, with the scheduled retirement in June of Co-CEO Michel Meyfroidt. The other co-CEO, Bernard Gustin, will have the post to himself. The carrier named Peter Kranich, 55, as chief operating officer and Jan de Raeymaeker, 34, CFO. Meyfroidt has been in charge of the operations and finance departments.
Austrian Airlines plans to replace Chief Commercial Officer Andreas Bierwirth, industry sources tell Aviation Week. The decision, made by the board of directors, is expected to be announced today. Bierwirth has been a member of the executive board since 2008. He ran Austrian as co-CEO with Peter Malanik for two interim periods while the airline was looking for a new, permanent CEO. Former Star Alliance executive Jaan Albrecht was named CEO late last year, and Bierwirth returned to his CCO position.
GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, which has curtailed domestic capacity growth for 2012, could add two daily services to the U.S. and a daily flight to Venezuela this year. While the expansion plan still is preliminary, GOL confirms it has approached Brazil’s civil aviation authority, the ANAC, about a total of 21 frequencies to the two countries. The airline, however, notes that to formalize any route application it must identify the city-pairs it wants to serve, along with frequency, fleet and technical data.
Global Aviation Holdings, parent company of World Airways and North American Airlines, by April 22, will need to come up with a business plan that is satisfactory to its debtor-in-possession (DIP) lenders, according to terms of DIP financing that received interim approval from a New York bankruptcy court on Feb. 28. It also must rationalize its fleet by April 22—it already filed for court permission to reject 17 of its 30 leases—and either reach, or make “sufficient” progress toward reaching, a cost-cutting agreement with its unions by May 22.
