Grupo TAM’s senior management believes the merger with Chile’s LAN Airlines can be completed in the first quarter of 2012 should it gain the requisite regulatory approvals. CEO Marco Antonio Bologna's comments, made during the company’s second quarter results conference call, reaffirm the carriers’ commitment to closing the deal despite objections from a Chilean passenger rights group and potential lawsuits from South American airlines.
Taiwanese carrier TransAsia Airways is undergoing a massive expansion fueled by the air service liberalization between China and Taiwan, as well as Taiwan’s decision to let TransAsia serve some overseas capitals. In the past, only China Airlines and EVA Air were permitted to serve overseas capital cities, but Taiwan’s government has granted TransAsia permission to serve Bangkok; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Singapore, TransAsia executive assistant to the chairman, William Hsu, told Aviation Week Aug. 10 at Taipei Songshan Airport.
Copa Airlines Colombia plans to focus its growth on international routes, but will not pull out of the domestic market, President Roberto Junguito told Aviation Week in Bogotá. “We have reduced some capacity, but the idea is to keep a domestic network,” Junguito says.
Avianca-TACA plans to retain strong bilateral alliances outside the Star Alliance, even after it joins the group. CEO Fabio Villegas told Aviation Week that Avianca-TACA will retain its code-share agreement with Spanish airline Iberia even though Star has rival Spanair as a member. Villegas says the exemption was negotiated ahead of the invitation to join the alliance. The decision was due to the fact that Spanair’s network is focused on Barcelona, while Avianca-TACA sees Madrid as its biggest gateway to Europe.
Thai Airways has finalized a deal with Airbus to purchase A320 narrowbodies and A350 widebodies purchases. Under the deal, announced in June, Thai will buy four A350-900s and five A320s and lease eight A350-900s and six A320s. The latter are already in the Airbus orderbook. Thai is due to receive its first A350-900 in 2016, with the first owned A320 coming in 2014. The first leased A320 is due next year. In June, Thai Airways also announced plans to buy six boeing 777-300ERs and lease eight 787s.
A group of campaigners has formed in Washington state to persuade Boeing to keep production of the proposed re-engined 737 at Renton following the company’s announcement that it will consider various options before deciding where to build the aircraft in “six to eight months.” The Washington Aerospace Partnership has been created from a group of about 70 business, government and labor leaders.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers was elected to represent the 14,000 or so fleet services and ramp workers at United Continental Holdings. The IAM, which represented some 6,800 such workers at United Airlines, gained 50.1% of the votes against 47.3% by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represented roughly 7,300 Continental Airlines fleet staff.
Tiger Airways Australia may be flying again, but the long-term viability of the carrier remains extremely uncertain. The airline already was a financial drain on the Singapore-based Tiger Airways group before safety problems led to its suspension. Now Tiger will gradually relaunch domestic routes, but airline analysts question how much more patience the group's management will have for the troubled carrier.
The FAA wants to impose $155,000 in civil penalties against American Eagle for allegedly using improper maintenance procedures and operating flights with incorrect weight and balance data.
Click here to view the pdf Denied Boardings, April-June 2011 Denied Boardings Enplaned Involuntary Per 10,000 Passengers Rank Airline Voluntary Invlountary
The Star Alliance has proposed new conditions to induct Air India into the global airline consortium that the Indian government says it cannot accept. “The alliance has recently put forward additional conditions that cannot be accepted,” Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said. He did not elaborate on the new conditions. Air India’s entry into the global pact among 27 airlines was indefinitely put on hold Aug. 1 as its executive board was unable to decide on the induction date.
Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper has capped a multi-nation tour of Latin America by signing open-skies air service accords with Brazil and Mexico. Both deals lift capacity, designation and destination limitations imposed by the previous bilaterals, and according to Transport Canada give full flexibility for airlines from signatories to extend their services to third country markets “should they so choose.” Air Canada and Westjet have welcomed the new arrangements.
Known Crewmember, a new venture to identify pilots and expedite their screening at airport security, began formal tests Tuesday at three Chicago O’Hare International Airport checkpoints.
Even though the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil benchmark price fell to $79 per barrel on Aug. 9, U.S. Gulf Coast Jet Fuel closed at $120.16 per barrel, or a crack spread of $40.84, data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency show. This is the highest premium for jet fuel against WTI since Hurricane Katrina, the Air Transport Association says. “We don’t put crude oil in the airplanes, we put jet fuel in the airplanes,” says ATA chief economist John Heimlich to explain why falling oil prices have not yet benefited the industry.
Virgin Australia signed a broad multi-year Airbus A330 support agreement with SR Technics, with a uniquely streamlined structure made possible by leveraging SR Technics’ corporate siblings’ capabilities and parent Mubadala Aerospace’s capital. The deal includes component maintenance, financing and training to support Virgin Australia’s Airbus A330s—initially covering two aircraft, but set to expand to five in 2013 as the airline’s operations grow.
Aerolineas Argentinas and Delta Air Lines will formally code share on flights through Atlanta, Buenos Aires and Miami by the end of the year in preparation for the South American carrier’s entry into the SkyTeam alliance in 2012. The accord also includes a reciprocal frequent flyer agreement that will start next year. Aerolineas says the deal includes mileage accumulation and redemption rights.
Cash-strapped Air India is entitled to $145 million as partial compensation for delays in delivery of various aircraft ordered by the national flag carrier, says the country’s civil aviation minister, Vayalar Ravi. Ravi cited internal issues at Boeing for causing delays in the delivery of 737-800s and 777s by one to four months. Air India has been losing money since 2007, when it merged with Indian Airlines. High fuel costs and a $15 billion overhang of aircraft orders with Airbus and Boeing have added to the airline’s woes.
The chief financial officer of Airbus’s parent company says a huge order backlog will protect the airframer if economic turmoil throws the U.S. and Europe back into recession. EADS CFO Hans-Peter Ring notes that his company is sitting on orders worth more than $450 billion. That includes a commercial backlog of more than 4,000 jets at Airbus—the equivalent of seven and one-half years of production at current rates.
US Airways dropped to last in domestic on-time performance among the major U.S. carriers in June, which might reflect the escalating dispute between the carrier and its pilots and a purported work slowdown. Transportation Department (DOT) figures released Tuesday show that 73% of the airline’s domestic flights arrived on time, which the DOT defines as within 15 minutes of schedule.
Delta Air Lines will invest $65 million in Aeromexico, gain a seat on its board and begin a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility joint venture with the Mexican carrier under a tentative agreement between the airlines for a “long-term, exclusive commercial alliance.” Delta will make the investment in exchange for ordinary shares in Grupo Aeromexico, made up of treasury stock set aside as part of Aeromexico’s initial public offering in April, subject to approval from Mexican regulators.
Tiger Airways Australia is allowed to fly again, but the carrier will restart operations with a vastly reduced domestic network. Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Agency (CASA) says it has lifted Tiger’s suspension, which has been in place since July 2. CASA determined that the carrier has addressed the range of safety concerns that caused the grounding, although it has put a limit on the number of daily flights it can operate. The lifting of the suspension had already been signaled (Aviation Daily, Aug. 10).
China and Russia are quietly soliciting interest from countries opposed to the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) in moving potentially toward a formal complaint through the International Civil Aviation Ortganization (ICAO), industry sources say. The stakes could be high. In a worst-case scenario, a formal complaint under Article 84 of the Chicago Convention could result in all 27 member states of the EU losing voting rights in ICAO if the body rules against the EU.
