BAA’s effort to hold on to London Stansted Airport suffered another setback as the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal dismissed the airport operator’s attempts to have overturned a call to divest itself of the facility.
German air traffic control provider DFS opted to replace the entire executive board by the end of this year. The surprise decision was made by the supervisory board. While Managing Director Dieter Kaden and Director-Operations Ralph Riedle planned to retire by year-end, Director-Finance and Human Resources Jens Bergmann was expected to stay. Contrary to earlier plans, the board will continue to have three members. The human resources function will not be merged with the operations positions, as initially expected.
GE yesterday made the first flight test of the improved GEnx-1B version capable of meeting the 787 fuel burn specification at its Victorville, Calif., site. The GEnx-1B Performance Improvement Package (PIP2) is due to be certified for icing by the end of February and will complete FAR 33 engine certification in June or July. The PIP2 engine flying today on GE’s Boeing 747 flying testbed will make about 26 flights as part of the certification effort, the engine maker says.
AMR Corp. is shedding 13,000 jobs under a restructuring plan that is seeking some $2 billion in annual cost savings and a further $1 billion in improved sales. The cost cutting includes more than $1.25 billion from labor, while the remaining $750 million or so will come from debt restructuring, grounding of older aircraft and revised supplier contracts, AMR CEO Tom Horton tells staff in a memorandum issued yesterday.
The civil unrest and political changes in Egypt have hurt Egyptair’s MRO business, especially base maintenance. Hisham Nasser, vice chairman and accountable manager of Egyptair Maintenance & Engineering, tells Aviation Week that the decline in business is due mainly to the fact that its parent airline, which generates 70-80% of its work, has posted reduced international traffic. In addition, “It has been difficult to attract new customers,” he says.
A group of investors today will meet with Mexico’s Transport Minister to discuss the potential purchase of Mexicana de Aviacion, which has been grounded since August 2010 after filing for court protection from its creditors. The investors, working under the name MedAtlantica, have convinced the airline’s bankruptcy judge they have $415 million deposited in a trust, a move that allows the judge to refer the offer to the Mexican authorities for review.
Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe says he is not yet in discussions with any other company, following his announcement that he will leave the carrier at the end of this year. Despite media speculation that he has been offered a job heading another international airline, Fyfe stresses that this is not the case. He does not plan to retire, but says he is not sure what he will do next. It is “too early to have committed myself to anything now,” he told reporters during a teleconference.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.’s (PBGC) Director Josh Gotbaum is dismissing claims by American parent AMR Corp. that it met its legal obligations in a recent pension payment, and he again called on the operator to retain its four defined benefit pension plans. The claims, made yesterday during a news conference in Washington, came a day before American Airlines is scheduled to present to its unions and Congress a cost-cutting plan that is expected to include an overhaul of its pensions as well as a major restructuring of its maintenance operation.
Singapore-based Tiger Airways had hoped that Indonesian affiliate Mandala Airlines would resume flight operations this month, a year after suspending all service, but now it looks like it will be April before the carrier will fly again. The low-cost carrier originally hoped Mandala would receive its air operator certificate (AOC) in time to resume operations in January, but now confirms Mandala has yet to receive regulatory permission to fly.
Klaus-Dieter Scheurle, a state secretary in Germany’s transport ministry, is the top candidate to become CEO of German air traffic control agency DFS in 2013, industry sources tell Aviation Week. His appointment could be decided in the next few weeks. Choosing Scheurle, a member of the conservative ruling party CSU, is one of three options. An internal candidate also is being considered, as is someone from outside the industry and politics.
Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza, undeterred by an indignant letter from the U.S. Transportation Department’s general counsel, is keeping up his very public attack on the department for a new rule forcing airlines to include all government-imposed taxes and fees in their advertised fares. But the war of words is not all about winning a public relations battle or putting pressure on the Obama administration or Congress, where one legislator—Rep. Tom Grayson (R-Ga.)—plans to introduce a bill on Feb. 1 to overturn the department’s new rule.
Ryanair is trying to determine whether the demise of Spanair offers near-term opportunities, but is looking to Central Europe for longer-term growth, which could put even more pressure on already struggling carriers in the region, such as Hungary’s Malev. Ryanair already has started discussions with authorities about adding aircraft at Barcelona El Prat Airport, according to CEO Michael O’Leary, who says Spanair’s collapse into bankruptcy is “very good for us.”
Lufthansa Technik Malta is installing its third new first-class cabin in a Lufthansa Airbus A340-600. The airline plans to convert to the luxury cabins in its 24 A340-600s by 2015.
U.S. House and Senate lawmakers yesterday reached an agreement to pass the FAA reauthorization bill, providing $15.9 billion annually through the end of fiscal 2015. Negotiations reached a major breakthrough Jan. 20, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) came to an agreement over a labor rules issue. And lawmakers hailed the deal, which will set timetables and requirements for the NextGen air traffic modernization system.
The government backers of Antiguan carrier LIAT have approved a reorganization plan that will renew the carrier’s fleet while shrinking its network and payroll. Few details are being disclosed beyond general confirmation that “certain steps for effecting the stabilization of the company” will include a reduced schedule, more marketing and promotions in “a number of markets,” improved efficiencies and “targeted staff reductions aimed at reining in escalating recurrent costs.”
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, London Heathrow-Washington Dulles Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, London Heathrow-Washington Dulles United British Airways
U.S. government “reregulation” of airline marketing practices “will have no limit” if judges accept the Transportation Department’s legal justification for imposing new rules on fare advertising, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air argue in a Jan. 27 court filing.
The CEO of Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific, Lance Gokongwei, says he is optimistic that International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety concerns about the Philippines’ aviation oversight will be resolved by year-end.
