Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris wants U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) approval to provide service between Mexico City and Chicago until—or if—Mexicana de Aviacion is revived and returns to the route.
Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International—North America, tells the newly formed Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that airports can do their own financing if the federal government removed funding restrictions.
Practical alternatives to Halon, an ozone-depleting hydrocarbon used for fire-extinguishing systems in cockpits, engines, lavatories and cargo holds, are still a few decades away from mass development.
A 23.4% year-on-year rise in second quarter revenue to COP1.6 billion ($904.9 million) produced a COP2 million net income for AviancaTaca Holdings, a COP15.7 million improvement on the loss recorded in the same period last year.
Washington Dulles, Orlando Sanford International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airports have the longest security wait times in the U.S. at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints, according to the website FareCompare. The average wait time at Dulles is 31 min., followed by Orlando and Fort Lauderdale at 30 min. each. Wait times at Salt Lake City and Honolulu airports were calculated at 25 min., followed by New York John F. Kennedy at 21 min. and Las Vegas McCarran at 20 min.
Thailand’s newly appointed transport minister has said publicly that he has no plans to replace Thai Airways International’s president and that he also supports, in principle, the national carrier’s plans to establish a low-cost carrier in partnership with Singapore’s Tiger Airways.
Jet Airways, India’s largest airline by market share, plans to change its business model by increasing domestic, low-fare flights, responding to a trend already evident in the Indian market. The carrier is looking to increase its local low-fare capacity to 80-85% of total domestic flights from the current 72%, Chief Commercial Officer Sudheer Raghavan says.
The California Senate and State Assembly have passed unanimously a resolution that asks the U.S. Congress to extend relief from the federal alternative minimum taxes for airport private activity bonds. Without the continued relief, granted by Congress in 2009 and 2010, California airports will face a hardship attracting support for bonds and ultimately to finance needed infrastructure projects, says Alan Murphy, president of the California Airports Council.
Ilyushin Finance has finalized a deal for Russian MS-21 narrowbodies and also opted to power the aircraft with Pratt & Whitney PW1400G geared turbofan engines. The order, announced at the Moscow Air Show (MAKS), is firm for 28 MS-21-300s, with options for 22 more. The list price for the deal is $2.2 billion. Deliveries are slated to take place between 2019 and 2022.
Sukhoi expects to book 25 more Superjet 100 regional jet orders at the Moscow air show (MAKS), adding impetus to a planned production ramp up. The company expects to close MAKS 2011 this week with 57 orders after completing tentative agreements with airlines in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that still have to be finalized.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plans to establish a new full-service carrier called Sapphire, and in a separate development, will end the jet operations of its low-cost carrier Firefly and reposition the airline as a full-service turboprop operator. Firefly Managing Director Eddy Leong told Singapore daily The Sun that Firefly’s Boeing 737s will be transferred to Sapphire, a new short-haul, full-service carrier MAS is establishing, which will be managed by Firefly. He says Firefly will become a full-service turboprop operator.
Air Berlin CEO Joachim Hunold said Thursday he plans to step down at the end of the month and will be replaced on an interim basis by Hartmut Mehdorn, former CEO of German railway Deutsche Bahn and previous executive board member at Airbus. Hunold said he wanted to give way for a successor who could push through the new restructuring program, called Shape and Size.
A plan by Qantas to assign new aircraft to Jetstar and Asian joint ventures while cutting back international mainline operations is set to intensify the carrier’s bitter fight with its unions, some of which are considering strike action.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport has unveiled the first Bombardier PHX Sky Train car that will be among 18 cars in the first phase of the electric-powered, center-rail passenger transportation system. Bombardier began shipping cars this month. They are being assembled into two- and three-car trains which will connect passengers and visitors from the regional METRO light rail station, an east parking lot and Terminal 4, scheduled for opening in early 2013. The plan is to serve all terminals by 2015 and the Sky Harbor Rental Car Center by 2020.
American Airlines’ senior management believes last month’s order for at least 460 Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies not only affirms the airline’s commitment to sustained profitability, but also the job security of its employees.
Sukhoi has added 10 more Superjet 100 regional jets to its order book, with a commitment from Moscow-based passenger and cargo charter provider Gazpromavia. The deal comes a day after Sukhoi finalized a previously announced contract with Indonesian carrier PT Sky Aviation for 12 of the RJs. Superjet officials now project a market for at least 1,000 of the aircraft, with the bulk being sold outside Russia or former Soviet states.
Finnair Engine Services has signed a four-year engine maintenance and repair agreement with Russian operator Rossiya Airlines. The deal is worth about €30 million ($43 million), says Jari Soukka, Finnair Technical Services’ sales manager. The agreement will cover scheduled maintenance for 22 of Rossiya’s CFM International CFM56-5B engines, which power the airline’s Airbus A319s and A320s. Many of these engines are coming into Finnair’s Helsinki engine facility for their second shop visit, says Soukka.
Air Canada and United Continental Holdings argue that Canada’s competition regulator “fundamentally misconceives” the nature of the airline industry in its attempt to halt a transborder joint venture between the two carriers. The Competition Commissioner is claiming the joint venture amounts to a merger of the airlines’ operations and so breaches several laws, notably foreign ownership (Aviation Daily, June 29).
Boeing confirms it officially completed flight testing for type certification of the Rolls-Royce-powered 787-8 on Aug. 13. The manufacturer expects to achieve joint FAA/European EASA certification by the end of August, clearing the way for the first delivery to launch customer All Nippon in late September.
Airbus has signed a memorandum of understanding with Transaero to sell eight A320NEO (new engine option) airliners, making it the first deal for the singe-aisle in Russia. What is more, it is the first deal with Transaero for Airbus, which Airbus Executive VP for Europe, Asia and the Pacific Christopher Buckley says is “important for us” given the airline’s status as one of Russia’s largest carriers.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) set a template for partnership in the future growth of the company after the IAM approved the company’s five-year contract offer on Aug. 6, says HBC Chairman and CEO Bill Boisture. The contract, approved by 69% of IAM voters, marks a turnaround from the contentious negotiations and contract rejection that the company faced last fall.
