Bilateral aviation safety agreements (BASAs) can lower the cost of certifying Part 145 repair stations in foreign countries by up to three times, according to a new report from aerospace consultant AeroStrategy and the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA).
In the lead-up to this week’s Paris air show, International Lease Finance Corp. CEO Henri Courpron is touting the lessor’s 114 lease commitments signed this year. In addition to these new agreements, ILFC year-to-date also ordered 100 Airbus A320NEO (new engine option) aircraft and 33 Boeing 737-800s. The lessor has secured several financing agreements and credit facilities that put it in a better position financially, Courpron says. “Airlines are acknowledging ILFC’s financial strength and the appeal of our portfolio and order book,” he notes.
Mexican airline Interjet, also known as ABC Aerolineas, is seeking about $300 million from an initial public offering scheduled for early next month. Most of the funds from the issue to both domestic and foreign investors, which will place close to 32.6% of the company on the open market, will be used for corporate expenditure although part will go to the carrier’s owner the Aleman Group.
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
SAS’s Helsinki-based subsidiary Blue1 will cull the five Avro RJ-85s remaining in its fleet and focus on operating only Boeing 717s as part of an overhaul of its network that will target business traffic to neighboring Nordic countries, while ending “a number” of European destinations, says SAS.
US Airways has reached a tentative four-year labor contract with the Transport Workers Union, which represents 164 flight dispatchers at the Tempe, Ariz.-based carrier. The airline, which still must resolve an acrimonious relationship with its pilots, notes that if ratified this will be the second accord with its dispatchers since the 2005 reverse acquisition of America West Airlines and US Airways. A vote is expected in the coming weeks; if ratified, the agreement will extend through June 2015.
Air France-KLM CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon insists that the carrier’s upcoming decision on an order for 100 long-haul aircraft will not be affected by political pressure in France to select Airbus. Speaking at a June 16 event in Washington, Gourgeon acknowledged political “noise” at home over the pending decision. Pressure has come from French lawmakers to choose the Airbus A350 over the Boeing 787, and last week the country’s export minister called Gourgeon in to discuss the issue.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) June 20-23—Airports Council International-NA Marketing and Communications and JumpStart Conference, Cleveland, www.aci-na.org/conferences/ June 20-26—Paris Air Show, Le Bourget, France, www.paris-air-show.com/en/index/contact-us June 21—International Aviation Club Meeting featuring Joachim Hunold, CEO Air Berlin, Washington, 202-508-8937, [email protected]
GoAir, one of India’s low-cost airlines, has placed a $7.2 billion order with Airbus for 72 A320NEO (new engine option) aircraft as part of its expansion plans to meet the demands of the country’s booming travel sector. “These are all firm orders and the deliveries will start in 2015. The new aircraft will join the fleet over the next five to seven years,” says GoAir Managing Director Jeh Wadia. The airline will add about 12 to 15 aircraft every year from 2015. The formal acquisition agreement will be signed during this week’s Paris air show.
FAA is proposing slightly more than $1 million in civil penalties against United Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines. The operators each have 30 days to respond in the unrelated cases. According to an FAA statement released June 17, the agency is proposing to assess a $584,375 civil penalty against United for allegedly violating FAA and U.S. Transportation Department regulations that require random drug and alcohol testing of safety-sensitive employees, a category that includes flight crew members.
Shenzhen-based cargo carrier Jade Cargo International. Ltd. signed a nine-year heavy maintenance deal with Ameco Beijing for its fleet of six Boeing 747-400 extended-range freighters. Ameco Beijing, a joint venture of Air China Ltd. and Lufthansa, will perform the work in its Boeing 747 painting and overhaul hangar at Beijing Capital International Airport. The facility opened in October 2009.
Colombia’s Avianca has received its fourth consecutive two-year certification for the International Air Transport Association’s Operational Safety Audit. “Full compliance with the established requirements for obtaining the IOSA World Safety Registry accredits the quality of the processes that support air operations, and shows the commitment and professionalism of the Avianca team to put safety as a prerequisite and at the forefront of all our actions,” says President Fabio Villegas Ramirez.
Looming budget cuts could impact the FAA’s plans to speed the implementation of fuel-saving performance-based navigation flight procedures under its Nav Lean program, an agency official warns. The Nav Lean program was launched in response to criticism from airlines and other operators that it takes too long for FAA to develop and approve more-efficient required navigation performance (RNP) procedures.
Frontier Airlines pilots overwhelmingly ratified an amended collective bargaining agreement that includes significant cost-cutting, but the deal is just one part of a life-saving restructuring of the low-cost carrier by parent company Republic Airways.
Next week’s anticipated order bonanza at the Paris air show will help underscore increasing production rates Airbus, Boeing and others are embarking on, but several big industrial questions will take longer to answer.
The estimated $669 million cost of the FAA’s bargaining agreement with air traffic controllers in 2009 may need an update to avoid increases that have plagued the administration in the past, the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General audit warns. The findings drew a response from the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who asked for the audit.
Air Baltic’s two main shareholders have entered into an increasingly bitter, turbulent and public fight over control of Latvia’s main airline. The government is accusing management of neglecting company interests in important decisions, while management, led by CEO Bertolt Flick, says the state wants to sell the airline at all costs.
Ukrainian billionaire entrepreneur Igor Kolomoisky is about to create a large regional, low-cost airline in Scandinavia, as a takeover of financially struggling Cimber Sterling of Denmark is nearing completion. Mansvell Enterprises, a Cyprus-based entity in which Kolomoisky holds a 75% stake, signed a term sheet with the current owners of Cimber Sterling that would see the new investor take over a 66.7% stake in the airline through a capital increase.
Bombardier may not announce any marquee orders for its CSeries aircraft at the Paris air show, but several smaller orders could be possible, says National Bank Financial analyst Cameron Doerksen. It remains unclear whether Qatar Airways, which began hinting at a CSeries order last year, will come through. More pressing for Bombardier, however, could be orders to shore up the shrinking backlogs for its Q400 and regional jets, he says.
