Although the FAA has missed a near-term milestone for deploying its new en-route air traffic control system, the agency says it will still make major progress by the end of December. The en-route automation modernization (ERAM) program has been plagued by high-profile cost and timetable overruns (see related story). ERAM is to be the backbone system at 20 en route ATC centers, and an essential precursor to many NextGen technologies.
Filipino-Chinese businessman Alfredo Yao plans to sell a minority stake in his Philippine carrier Zest Airways to China’s Hainan Airlines. Yao told reporters in Manila that he signed a memorandum of understanding with Hainan Airlines on the sidelines of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III’s visit to China in September.
More than half of all airline travelers passing through six of the world’s leading airline hubs are carrying smartphones, according to an new survey released Oct. 4. The SITA-Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service Survey questioned travelers passing through international airports in Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Frankfurt, Atlanta, Mumbai and Sao Paulo. All but one of them—Abu Dhabi—also were included in the 2010 survey.
Canada’s WestJet Airlines reported a load factor of 74.7% in the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from 75.5% a year earlier as a 6.9% increase in passengers failed to keep pace with an 8% capacity increase. National Bank Financial analyst Cameron Doerksen says the results suggest that demand may be softening, though forward bookings remain healthy.
Boeing is working with Lion Air to implement satellite-based approaches at Indonesian airports. In conjunction with Indonesian aviation authorities, Boeing and Lion are introducing required navigation performance-authorization required (RNP AR) approaches at the “terrain-challenged” airports of Ambon and Manado. Validation flights have been performed to test the procedures. Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen designed, charted, and helped certify the RNP procedures.
All Nippon Airways has finally confirmed Jan. 21 as the launch date of Boeing 787-8 nonstop service between Tokyo Haneda and Frankfurt. The service, disclosed by the airline in August (Aviation Daily, Aug. 24), will use ANA’s first operational 787 to serve the city-pair three times a week; service will increase to daily Feb. 1, however, when the carrier’s second 787 starts revenue service.
Boeing has extended a long-term agreement with titanium supplier Allegheny Technologies to run through the end of 2018. The extension covers value-added titanium mill products and provides opportunity for greater use of Allegheny’s highly engineered titanium cast and forged products. ATI notes that Boeing’s production rates are expected to see robust increases during the period of the agreement.
The FAA has charged Boeing with conducting further research into how required navigation performance (RNP) can increase air traffic management efficiency. The $3.1 million project comes under the broader SE2020 contract, which was established by the FAA to assign NextGen work to aerospace companies.
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.
The Indonesian air force may hold the keys to how successful the partnership between Airbus Military and PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) in military and commercial aircraft turns out. The two parties agreed during the summer to build on their long-standing relationship to help revive Indonesia’s aerospace ambitions. Now, more concrete details have been finalized, with Airbus Military, for instance, offering PTDI the chance to market and co-produce the C295 tactical transport as long as the Indonesian government buys the aircraft as its Fokker 27 replacement.
Delta Air Lines has launched new free inflight Wi-Fi options with a dual purpose: to make money from the activities people engage in once they are connected and to encourage more people to sign up for the pay-for-access content.
Boeing disclosed that Ethiopian Airlines has placed an order for four Boeing 777 freighters, making it the first African airline customer for the freighter. The order, valued at $1.1 billion at list prices, had been counted on Boeing’s website but was listed as being from an unidentified customer. Ethiopian was also the first African carrier to order the Boeing 787 and the first to fly the 777-200LR.
U.S. lawmakers are trying to pin down the impact of cost overruns and schedule delays on the Next Generation air traffic modernization effort—particularly coming as they do during a time of government-wide budget cuts. The U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General reiterates that a fundamental precursor of NextGen—known as En Route Automation Modernization—will be half of a billion dollars over budget. The IG believes it will be up to six years behind schedule.
Vision Airlines is adding service from two small communities to Florida leisure destinations as the low-cost carrier tinkers with and re-grows its network. Vision says it will begin twice-weekly service Dec. 19 from Champaign, Ill., to Punta Gorda/Fort Myers via Punta Gorda Airport, and from Clarksburg, W.Va., to Orlando Sanford. The low-frequency service between a small community and a U.S. leisure destination is in keeping with the Allegiant Air business model that Vision says it is—in part—trying to emulate.
Air Baltic’s CEO Bertold Flick announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down as CEO of the Latvian airline. The move was long expected and is part of an agreement by the two major shareholders to increase the airline’s capital by more than €150 million ($199.7 million). Under the deal, the previous shareholder agreement will be terminated with majority control of the airline management reverted to the Latvian government from minority shareholder Baltic Aviation Systems (BAS).
LAN Airlines plans to begin using advanced performance-based navigation approaches at Lima International Airport by the end of this year, and the carrier says these are likely to be the first such procedures operated by the Boeing 787.
Beginning this month, FAA inspectors will have to wait two years after they leave the agency before they can take certain industry jobs. While the new “cooling-off” period—imposed through a recent rulemaking—will only affect a limited number of agency employees, it closes another chapter in the spring 2008 controversy surrounding Southwest Airlines management of airworthiness directives (ADs).
Rep. Jerry Costello (Ill.), the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure aviation subcommittee, will not run for re-election next fall. “It has been a privilege and an honor to serve in the U.S. Congress for the past 23 years,” Costello says in a statement. “However, I said when I was elected in 1988 and many times since that I did not intend to stay in Congress forever as I had other interests that I wanted to pursue.”
Star Alliance has selected B/E Aerospace to develop the common architecture for a long-haul economy-class seat for its members. The joint procurement program, which has been under development for several years (Aviation Daily, Jan. 9, 2010), will create a base and advance variant of the seat. Carbon-fiber components will be used to reduce weight, Aviation Week was previously told.
GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes has purchased all the shares in domestic low-cost rival Webjet Linhas Aereas. The acquisition of 100% of Webjet’s stock cost BRL70 million ($37 million), says GOL, although the assumption of debt could price the entire acquisition at more than BRL300 million.
