JetBlue Airways reached another interline agreement—at least the 17th—this time with Korean Air for service via New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. In the past couple of years, JetBlue has made interline agreements a key strategy for expansion of its customer and revenue base without adding too much cost-increasing complexity.
San Miguel Corp. has confirmed it is in talks with the owner of Philippine Airlines, Lucio Tan, to buy a stake in the carrier, but it denies reports that it has already reached an agreement to buy a 49% stake. San Miguel CFO Ferdinand Constantino tells the Philippine Stock Exchange that talks with Tan are continuing and that no agreement has been reached to buy a 49% stake for $500 million. The reports, which cited undisclosed sources, also said San Miguel would gain management control of PAL.
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.
About 200 flights were canceled at Frankfurt Airport Monday after ground controllers resumed their strike on Sunday night. The 200 or so controllers had interrupted their walkout last week to enter new negotiations with airport operator Fraport AG, but the talks collapsed on Friday. According to the GdF union, the strike will last at least until Thursday. According to Fraport, the ground controllers are demanding a 73% increase in wages. A senior controller guiding aircraft from runway to stand would earn around €86,000 annually, with extra for overtime.
With a new FAA reauthorization act provision mandating the creation of an alternative jet fuel center of excellence, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), is asking the FAA to follow through.
Creating a separate entity for its international operations will open the way for more investment in Virgin Australia, says one of the airline’s senior executives. The move, announced last week, will effectively remove the cap of 49% foreign ownership on Virgin Australia. However, this does not mean another major investor is poised to buy into the airline, says Richard Tanner, group executive responsible for employees. He spoke to Aviation Week during the relaunch of the joint-venture carrier Virgin Samoa in Apia.
India is likely to order its airlines not to participate in the EU emissions trading system (ETS). Incensed over what it sees as the EU’s move to slap carbon emission charges on airlines using its airspace, India also is considering the possibility of reciprocal measures, such as mandating EU carriers to submit flight details and other data, which may adversely affect airlines and entities operating from Europe.
Detail design of the Comac C919 narrowbody airliner is going ahead without immediate participation by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which is declining to become involved until its certification processes win endorsement from the FAA, possibly late this year.
Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs and Statistics, 12 Months Ended June 2011, Jet Aircraft Page 11 of 11 DC-10-30 Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas
The airline markets of India and Africa, while radically different in most ways, have one key element in common: both are in transition with significant upsides for the industry, one industry observer says.
The future of financially troubled Air Zimbabwe is in doubt after the carrier’s top executive confirmed the airline’s return to service has been suspended indefinitely. Air Zimbabwe was grounded after employees stopped working over a pay dispute that dates to July. Local reports say more than $35 million is owed in back pay. A resolution apparently was reached last week, leading Acting CEO Innocent Mavhunga to announce a phased return to service starting Feb. 20.
The U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) says it understands why an airline’s one-way fares will vary for outbound and return flights on the same route, but the department is warning airlines that there are limits to how much variation it will tolerate.
FAA is proposing additional training, type ratings and new experience requirements for pilots to serve as a captain or first officer for Part 121 air carrier operations. The proposal follows the 2009 Colgan Air crash outside of Buffalo, N.Y., that raised concerns about current training and experience requirements for Part 121 pilots.
Efforts to commercialize algae-derived renewable fuels are to receive a $14 million boost from the U.S. Energy Dept., which aims to fund projects to improve the sustainability and accelerate the availability of algal-based biofuels. The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) is seeking proposals from small businesses, universities and national laboratories to modify existing facilities into long-term test-beds for new production processes to commercialize algal biofuels.
AMR Corp. has decided to drop the remaining 18 ATR 72s in its inventory, a move that in 2013 will end turboprop service for the U.S. operator. The airline entered its Chapter 11 reorganization in late November with 38 leased ATR 72s in its fleet, but within weeks AMR had announced plans to drop 21 from service before the end of January. These 64- to 66-seat aircraft, which were based at the carrier’s Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) hub, were replaced by smaller Embraer regional jets from American Eagle Airlines’ fleet.
