Brazilian carrier Azul is seeking regulatory approval to start operations to Sinop in the western state of Mato Grosso. The airline plans to operate six weekly flights (Sunday to Friday) between the city and its hub at Sao Paulo Viracopos-Campinas International Airport with a stopover in Cuiaba, Mato Grosso’s capital. Azul says it will serve the market with Embraer E-Jets, starting Sept. 15 if its application is approved.
Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano is offering more details on the new Air Service Incentive Program (ASIP). ASIP, introduced on June 20, is designed to bring in new service from passenger and cargo airlines to targeted domestic and international destinations (Aviation Daily, June 22).
All Nippon Airways (ANA) plans to offer one long-haul flight with Boeing 787s by March, adding to domestic services that will begin when the first aircraft arrives, which the manufacturer says will be in August or September.
Aircraft penetrating a super-cooled cloud can produce ice crystals, and their wake turbulence can punch holes or establish canals inside cloud formations, a study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has found. As a result, airports may be getting a bit more precipitation as snow or rain.
The change of government in Thailand will have implications for Thailand’s airline industry. The Puea Thai Party’s landslide victory over the royalist-backed Democrat Party is good news for Thai AirAsia and bad news for Thai Airways International and its partner, Tiger Airways. It could also spell trouble for Nok Air, a carrier that has links to the Thai monarchy.
Aer Lingus is highlighting a push into leisure markets for this winter’s schedule. The new routes include three for Cork Airport, starting with the Oct. 30 inauguration of weekly service to Las Palmas in Spain’s Canary Islands. The airline also plans to add a three-weekly service between Cork and Barcelona, as well as a twice-weekly flight to Rome.
U.S. airports are on track to collect $2.69 billion in passenger facility charges in 2011, a slight decrease from the $2.71 billion collected last year, the FAA says. The agency has approved collection of PFCs at 384 airports, including 99 of the top 100 facilities, to defray the cost of airport projects. Most are approved to collect $4.50 per passenger.
Delta Air Lines is slightly behind schedule on delivering its newly modified Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, but it says that the first aircraft in this, “the mother of all modifications,” underwent flight tests last week. The airline needs to do some more work on plumbing and laying up laminates, but it expects the first delivery of the new cabin by Aug. 1.
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 European Union (EU) is trying to regulate non-EU airline greenhouse gas emissions at airports and in the skies of non-EU countries, attorneys for the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), United Continental Airlines and American Airlines argued Tuesday before the European Court of Justice.
Australian aviation regulators have temporarily grounded Tiger Airways Australia due to safety concerns. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) issued the suspension with immediate effect from July 2 and will extend it at least until July 9. Beyond that date, CASA must ask for court approval to continue the suspension. “If the Federal Court supports CASA’s application, the court can continue the suspension for a period of time, which will allow CASA to finalize investigations into the safety matters,” the regulator says in a statement.
The agreement between the FAA and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) to help reduce controller on-the-job fatigue “does not preclude napping during break time,” a NATCA leader confirmed July 5. As reported in Aviation Daily’s July 5 issue, the agreement seemed to leave the door open for break-time naps without addressing the issue specifically. The agreement says controllers can use break periods to “rejuvenate their mental acuity.”
The US Airways accusation of an antitrust conspiracy among global distribution system providers is a desperate and vacuous claim, manufacturing sinister motives and trying to cast pro-competitive or independently rational contractual terms and actions as evidence of collusion, Sabre says.
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge Clifford Anderson has rejected Boeing’s motion that he dismiss the case challenging the company’s decision to build a second 787 final assembly factory in South Carolina.
You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact: Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) Sept. 12—A&D Finance Europe, London Sept. 14-15—MRO for Aircraft & Engine Leasing, Dublin Sept. 26—Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum, Zurich Sept. 27-29—MRO Europe 2011, Madrid Sept. 28—MRO Military Europe, Madrid Oct. 20-21—MRO IT, Chicago Oct. 24-26—A&D Programs, Phoenix
As the spot price of jet kerosene has dropped 60 cents per gallon since April, airline costs have fallen by $8 billion on an annualized basis, says JP Morgan’s Jamie Baker. That should cushion airlines if a slowdown in economic growth causes demand for air travel to weaken.
