For all that JetBlue Airways could do with the eight slots pairs it has acquired at both Washington Reagan National Airport and New York LaGuardia Airport, the most intriguing—and perhaps most daunting for Delta Air Lines and US Airways—is starting a shuttle-like service among Boston, New York and Washington. The effects on fares could be dramatic, but might not be too damaging to Delta and US Airways in the long run, an Aviation Week analysis of the markets using Oliver Wyman’s PlaneStats.com shows.
Click here to view the pdf Denied Boardings, July - September 2011 Denied Boardings Enplaned Involuntary Per 10,000 Passengers Rank Airline Voluntary Invlountary Passen
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) Feb. 1-2—MRO Middle East 2012, Dubai, United Arab Emirates March 7—54th Annual Laureate Awards, Washington March 13-14—Innovation Supply Chain Showcase, Orlando, Fla. April 3-5—MRO Americas 2012, Dallas April 3-5—MRO Military Conference & Exhibition, Dallas Nov. 29-Dec. 1—Certification Together-AeroConseil, Toulouse
The Transportation Security Administration is pushing to release the long-awaited final repair station security rule in the next couple of weeks. The rule still has not undergone formal Office of Management and Budget review, so the release would require coordination between the two agencies. The movement on the rule, which had appeared stalled for a number of months and has been in the works for seven years, follows a letter sent late last month by 22 aviation companies and associations urging Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to release it by yearend.
Following the lead of Singapore-based rival Jetstar Asia, Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) new medium-haul carrier Scoot will focus its initial service on the Australia and China markets. Scoot last week said its first destination will be Sydney, but the airline did not provide further details on the service, other than to say that it will start sometime in mid-2012 and that tickets will go on sale in the first quarter of 2012. Scoot will launch operations with a fleet of four Boeing 777-200s.
As a result of its Chapter 11 reorganization filing last week, AMR Corp. has suspended its American Eagle Airlines’ divestiture and is likely to reject a “Plan B” proposed by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) that limits aircraft retirements for the next eight years.
The European Commission (EC) and Russia have agreed on a revised plan for Russian overflights. According to a statement by the EC, any charges for aircraft flying over Russian airspace must be cost-related and transparent from 2014. The agreement becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2012, following Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization.
Talks on the FAA reauthorization bill have been whittled down to about four key issues that congressional leadership will address, say the leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The FAA-led Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) has unveiled a tool designed to help bridge the gap between feedstock providers and fuel producers as it strives to develop a supply chain for sustainable aviation biofuels.
The U.S. Trade Representative is studying steps the European Union (EU) says it has taken to comply with last spring’s World Trade Organization (WTO) determination that certain EU subsidies to Airbus are illegal under international trade rules. The U.S., the EU, Boeing and Airbus all weighed in on the matter, but the report detailing the steps Europe is taking had not been made public by Thursday evening. The EU’s deadline for complying with the ruling was Thursday.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of March 18, 2011• compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
A series of events, most of them outside of airline control, contributed to the lengthy tarmac delays at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Conn., on Oct. 29, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt says. But that does not mean that the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT), which says it is investigating delays involving JetBlue Airways and potentially other carriers, is ruling out hefty fines against any carriers that were involved.
Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) is asking that airlines be required to inform an airport when it is listed as a diversion location in the airlines’ operations specifications, says Deborah McElroy, the organization’s executive VP for policy and external affairs. In its Nov. 30 issue, Aviation Daily incorrectly described ACI-NA's position in a story about a flight diversions forum hosted by the U.S. Transportation Department and FAA.
United Continental Holdings is contemplating an Airbus A380 order, and while a final deal will take some time, Airbus expects the U.S. airline to adopt the double-decker for its extensive Asian network. Airbus Chief Operating Officer-Customer John Leahy, speaking with Aviation Week yesterday after a market forecast presentation in Washington, asserted that United President and CEO Jeffery Smisek has changed his previously held view that the widebody was inappropriate for U.S. operators and now saw possibilities for the A380 in the new United fleet.
FAA-funded research into alternative fuels has been boosted by award of contracts totaling $8 million to develop drop-in jet fuel from new sources, evaluate how biofuels affect engine durability and develop guidelines for quality control and sustainability. The research will improve a variety of fuels from different feedstock sources, such as sugar cane, woodchips, switchgrass and pyrolysis oils, says FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, addressing the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) general meeting yesterday in Washington.
The Latvian government has bought back almost all of the outstanding shares of Air Baltic, effectively taking full control of the airline. The state purchased a 47.2% stake for the nominal value of LVL224,453 ($432,000). The shares were held by Baltic Aviation Systems (BAS), the company set up by former CEO Berthold Flick, but which were deposited as a security at Krajbanka.
In mixed news for General Electric, the FAA has awarded 330-minute extended range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) for the GEnx-1B-powered Boeing 787, but Boeing has confirmed that aircraft certification will slide into 2012.
A labor issue that has held up progress on the FAA reauthorization bill could soon be resolved. The House version of the FAA bill contains a contentious provision that would overturn a rule of the National Mediation Board (NMB) to make it more difficult for airline workers to unionize. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee plans to introduce legislation that would change the NMB rule in a different way, so that unions could be dissolved just as easily as they are created.
Boeing is optimistic of gaining FAA certification in the next few weeks for the first 787 capable of flying long-haul international routes following completion of flight tests of the improved Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 “Package B” engines on Nov. 28. The upgraded engine, tested on 787 ZA004, is designed to bring performance to within 1% of Boeing’s original specification and will be rated at 70,000 lbs. thrust for delivery of the first long-range 787-8 version for All Nippon Airways (ANA).
A preliminary report by Polish accident investigators into the wheels-up landing of a LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767-300 Nov. 1 at Warsaw Okecie Airport hints that the crew may have missed an open circuit breaker that disabled the back-up mechanism for lowering the landing gear.
