Air service has returned to normal in Trinidad and Tobago now that the government has issued waivers to the curfew imposed between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. under the limited state of emergency issued Aug. 22. Some late arrivals were not permitted on the first day, but carriers such as American Airlines on Aug. 23 were expecting to operate full schedules. Local operator Caribbean Airlines says none of its flights have been affected. The limited state of emergency is expected to last at least two weeks.
Airport privatization is moving forward in Brazil after a government auction of concession rights to operate the Sao Goncalo de Amarante terminal under construction near Natal. The consortium Inframerica, made up of two South American companies, submitted the winning and highest bid of BRL170 million ($106.4 million), considerably higher than the minimum bid of BRL51.7 million. Inframerica is comprised of Engevix group, an engineering company based in Brazil, and Corporacion America of Argentina.
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For Air Berlin, the clock has started ticking. Its equity has been reduced to €308 million ($443 million) from €505 million at the end of 2010, and its very survival is at stake.
Brazilian operator Grupo TAM has become the 12th airline to interline with New York-based JetBlue Airways. JetBlue’s latest interline agreement (which it favors over other inter-carrier relationships) will connect passengers through New York John F. Kennedy International Airport and Orlando International Airport.
The Air Transport Association plans to file a legal brief in support of Allegiant Air, Spirit Airlines and Southwest Airlines in their U.S. District Court challenge of some of the new U.S. Transportation Department passenger rights rules. The association says the legal challenge “raises important questions about the scope of DOT's power to regulate airline conduct and commercial speech.”
Auckland International Airport is reviving plans to combine its international and domestic terminals and build a second runway, with a timeline for these major development projects to be decided soon. The projects have been on the airport’s master plan for several years, but now the airport intends to bring them to fruition, the airport’s CEO Simon Moutter tells Aviation Week. Preparatory work on a new runway had begun, but was shelved in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis.
Austrian Airlines will not reach its target to achieve an operating profit this year, Chairman Stefan Lauer said on Monday. Lauer is also a member of Lufthansa Group’s executive board and oversees the company’s airline affiliates. Austrian has been undergoing a tough restructuring program, but high fuel prices and a collapse in demand in some of its key markets, such as the Middle East, are making the turnaround even more difficult. Austrian lost €64 million ($92 million) on €949 million in sales in the first half of 2011.
Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs and Statistics, 12 Months Ended December 2010, Regional Jet Aircraft (Pages 1 and 2 of 4) ERJ 135 Manufacturer: Embraer
Passenger traffic at Akron-Canton Airport has broken monthly records in June and July and is on track to top the 8% growth rate recorded in 2010. July’s 154,772 passengers is an all-time record for the 64-year-old airport, situated in northeastern Ohio that bills itself as an alternative to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Passengers increased by 5.4% over July a year ago. Traffic in June also set a record.
Peach Aviation, which will be the first low-cost carrier to launch in Japan, has released its first schedule for domestic routes out of its Osaka Kansai base. Beginning March 1, Peach will fly three roundtrips a day between Osaka Kansai and Sapporo, and four daily flights between Osaka and Fukuoka. This schedule will be in effect through March 24. Peach, a joint venture partly owned by All Nippon Airways, says it has applied to Japanese civil aviation authorities for approval to operate at congested airports.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has registered the brand name Scoot for its new medium- to long-haul carrier with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (Ipos), which is responsible for Singapore-registered trademarks.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department has issued a final rule that updates an earlier proposal on elements of the 100% cargo screening initiative. The final rule goes into effect Sept. 19, the same date public comments are due. The rule governs some fee schedules for the 100 percent cargo screening program. It amends two elements of the rule that were changed after public comments for the interim rule were evaluated.
All Nippon Airways plans to begin regular international service with the Boeing 787 on the Tokyo Haneda-Beijing route in December, and will follow this in January with the launch of the aircraft’s first long-haul route to Frankfurt.
Air Lease Corp., the lessor created by Steven Udvar-Hazy in 2010, has recently purchased and placed 11 Boeing 737s, while reassigning another 737 from Air Berlin to charter operator XL Airways Germany. Of the 11 acquired 737s, two pairs of -800s are being leased to Continental Airlines and Japan’s Skymark Airlines, while two -700 variants are joining Ethiopian Airlines’ fleet.
In initiating Atlanta service Feb. 12, Southwest Airlines is adding just one destination not already served by its AirTran Airways subsidiary: Austin, Texas. And a look at the data for the only current service on that route—operated by Delta Air Lines—makes it easy to see why the market is appealing.
The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to assist Transport Canada’s investigation of the Aug. 20 crash of a Boeing 737-200 Combi charter flight operated by First Air. Flight 6560 crashed around 12:30 p.m. on approach to Resolute Bay Airport in the northern reaches of Nunavut province, near the Arctic. Few details are currently available, but initial reports suggest fog was present when the aircraft crashed into a mountain some 5 mi. (8 km) from the airport.
Delta Air Lines’ drawdown of service is reducing capacity at its hub at Memphis International Airport by 15%, largely in dropping flights to small markets but including nonstop flights to San Diego and San Francisco airports. Larry Cox, president and CEO of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, says Delta officials have assured him that the airline will continue to operate Memphis airport as a regional hub. Delta inherited the hub in its merger with Northwest Airlines, along with Minneapolis/St. Paul and Detroit Metro airports.
Aerospace suppliers will converge on Capitol Hill Sept. 13 from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to push industry agenda items. The Aerospace Industries Association’s Supplier Management Council meets in Washington Sept. 13-16, and the association also will be encouraging members not coming to Washington to meet with elected officials in their respective states at the same time.
Southwest Airlines, which acquired AirTran in May, will initiate service to Atlanta Feb. 12 with 15 daily nonstops to five destinations, most of which also should provide plenty of connecting opportunities.
Qantas and American Airlines have won tentative approval from Australian regulators for a closer transpacific partnership. In its draft decision, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) finds no problems with the joint business agreement (JBA) proposed by the two carriers. The Oneworld alliance partners want to coordinate operations on routes between Australia/New Zealand and the U.S., and on supporting domestic networks. A wide range of activities are covered, including pricing and scheduling decisions.
Kuban Airlines of Krasnodar, Russia, has signed a letter of intent with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. for the purchase of 12 Superjet 100 regional jets. The LOI was signed during the MAKS 2011 air show in Moscow last week.
