U.S. scheduled service airlines employed 1.9% more workers in June 2011 than in June 2010, marking the seventh consecutive month in which the number has increased and the third straight in which the increase has been about 2%. But the airlines still are employing nearly 7% fewer people than they did four years ago. The Transportation Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), which tracks employment levels, bases the numbers on full-time equivalent (FTE) employment. FTE calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
SAS Group’s new CEO Rickard Gustafson will launch a “new strategic approach” for the Scandinavian airline in the fall, after the carrier posted its best quarterly results since 2008.
Caribbean Airlines’ Chairman George Nicholas has unexpectedly resigned his position, and not even the airline’s owner—the Trinidad and Tobago government—is divulging the reason.
Republic Airways and its Frontier Airlines subsidiary are asking a court to quickly dismiss a lawsuit by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that the carriers say is threatening Republic’s effort to raise $70 million in critically needed financing for Frontier by Sept. 30.
Boeing has signed a cooperative agreement with Basel Aero Co., which operates Sochi International Airport in Russia, and Moscow State University aimed at increasing the efficiency and capacity of Russian airports.
Saab has formally completed its acquisition of Syracuse, N.Y.-based Sensis Corp. following a review by U.S. regulators. Sensis will now become Saab Sensis Corp., and will continue operations as a subsidiary within the Saab Group. The deal was scrutinized by the U.S. Trade Commission and the Committee on Foreign Investment, according to Saab. The deal, initially worth about $155 million, was first announced on June 29.
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.
Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways will have to delay the integration of their route systems by three months because Southwest will have to divert its “limited technology resources” if the Transportation Department is allowed to proceed with its plan to implement a new full-fare advertising rule on Jan. 24, Southwest Chief Marketing Officer Dave Ridley says in a court filing by the low-cost carrier.
JetBlue Airways pilots have again rejected unionization, this time with 58% voting against representation by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The pilots at the New York-based low-cost carrier previously rejected representation by an independently formed union—the JetBlue Pilots Association. That election took place in early 2009 under the former National Mediation Board rules in which any pilot who did not vote effectively was counted as a “no” vote, and only 595 of the 1,937 eligible voters cast ballots for representation by that union, or about 31%.
Premium international air travel rose by 6.4% in June, but growth is expected to slow in the coming months, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says in its June Premium Traffic Monitor. According to IATA, economy travel was up by 4.8% in the period. The association believes the lower rates reflect slower world trade growth and weakening business confidence. The fact that economy travel did not recede is seen as an indication that it is less impacted by high fuel prices than many expected.
Denver International is joining a handful of airports offering an online system that tracks flights and establishes a means to identify candidate aircraft for noise complaints.
The U.S. Navy will be a willing customer for the nation’s nascent biofuel industry as part of a White House initiative to kick-start the alternative energy sector. The Navy Department, which includes the Marine Corps, will partner with the Energy and Agriculture departments to equally share a $510 million investment over three years—half the private sector’s cost—to develop so-called “drop-in” aviation and marine biofuels, which can be used with existing fuels to power military and commercial vehicles.
A massive narrowbody order by Qantas will be used to push further into lucrative Asian markets, with this growth to be channeled through the group’s Jetstar subsidiary as well as two startup carriers in major Asian cities. Qantas announced it will acquire up to 110 Airbus A320 aircraft—including 78 A320NEOs (new engine option)—as part of a sweeping international transformation plan unveiled Aug. 16.
Qantas and Japan Airlines confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in the aviation industry when they announced details of a low-cost carrier joint venture in Japan yesterday. The new carrier will be called Jetstar Japan, which will begin operations by the end of 2012. The joint venture will include the two airlines as well as Mitsubishi Corp. It will have an initial fleet of three Airbus A320s, but will grow to 24 A320s within a few years, says Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce.
Boeing will officially complete flight tests for FAA Part 25 type certification of the Rolls-Royce-powered 787 this week, clearing the way for deliveries to start next month. The company says it is preparing a statement to announce the formal completion of tests “once all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed,” while flight test sources indicate that with the exception of a few remaining engine ground tests this week, all the baseline work is essentially done.
Royal Jordanian’s CEO Hussein Dabas says the company has faced “big challenges” in the first half of the year because of high oil prices and the political unrest in the Middle East, but the airline is seeing an upward trend in traffic and profitability.
Australia’s Tiger Airways is preparing to resume flying on a second route following the lifting of the carrier’s operating suspension last week. Tiger is restoring its Melbourne-Brisbane route beginning Aug. 18 after reintroducing its Sydney-Melbourne service on Aug. 12. The carrier is “resuming Australian domestic services gradually,” and regulators are only allowing it 18 sectors per day during August.
