BOC Aviation will support the Comac C919 airliner as part of an agreement between the manufacturer and the lessor’s owner, Bank of China, aimed partly at getting the aircraft into service with foreign airlines.
Australia’s Strategic Airlines has confirmed in a U.S. Transportation Department filing that its proposed U.S. route will be from Brisbane to Honolulu. When the carrier asked Australian regulators in April for permission to operate a U.S. route, it was not specific about the city-pair; however, there were strong signals it was considering Hawaii from Melbourne or Brisbane (Aviation Daily, April 22). Strategic plans to serve the Honolulu route with Airbus A330-200s.
Korean Air will launch Airbus A380 operations on June 17. The aircraft was ceremonially delivered in May, although Airbus and Korean were still working out technical issues, so the aircraft did not formally fly to South Korea until June 2. The first flight will be to Tokyo, with the aircraft returning to Seoul to depart again on the same day to Hong Kong. Korean is due to receive 10 A380s, five this year and five more before 2015.
Data Watch: Top Carriers-Jeddah, June 1-7, 2011, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Airport ASMs Airport Seats Departures Share (mil) Share /Dept. Saudi Arabian 769 19.7% 136
US Airways in May posted an 11% year-on-year rise in passenger unit revenue and a record load factor of 85.2% on a 4.5% gain in capacity and 7.6% improvement in traffic. These results follow a particularly good 2010, when May produced a then-record 82.9% load and 18% growth in unit revenue on 1.7% more supply. Latin America produced the largest load factor gain in May, growing 7.7 percentage points to 82.7%, although this was achieved on a 10.3% cut in available seat miles and just 1.1% less traffic.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has slashed its 2011 profit forecast for the global airline industry by more than half to $4 billion.
The two largest U.S. carriers altered their checked baggage fees and policies June 1, including a hike in the amount they charge for checking a second bag on international flights.
The truce between Sabre and American Airlines ended June 1 not with a whimper, but a bang. The largest global distribution system (GDS) provider in the U.S. market filed a petition with the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth June 1 to intervene as a defendant in American’s lawsuit alleging antitrust violations by GDS provider Travelport. Sabre also filed a counterclaim alleging American is violating antitrust law to force travel agents and corporate travel purchasers to sign up for direct connections to American’s internal reservations system.
The first quarter of 2012 is the estimated date that Southwest Airlines-branded planes could start flying into Atlanta, says CEO Gary Kelly. “This fall is the earliest you could see changes as we begin the connection of the two route networks. We’ve said that we hope to have a single operating certificate by the first quarter of 2012, and that’s when the physical transition would take place, bringing down AirTran flights and bringing up Southwest flights.”
The pace of civil aviation reform in Indonesia and the Philippines is too slow, much to the annoyance of the airlines in those countries, says Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
Airbus is abandoning its A320 and A321 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion program, saying demand for the airliner version means there is not adequate supply for a conversion program.
The U.S. Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is considering an hours-of-service rule to limit the duty days of truck drivers. In light of a nationwide trucker shortage, logistics expert David Ross of Stifel Nicolaus says this rulemaking proceeding should be watched closely by the air industry for its potential impact on shipments (49 CFR Part 395).
“Le CSeries est mort enterré, selon Airbus,” proclaimed the May 31 edition of a Montreal newspaper. Translation: “The CSeries is dead and buried, according to Airbus.” The headline was based on comments made by Airbus CEO Tom Enders to a French magazine about Bombardier’s fledgling 110- to 149-seat jet. Airbus executives have been claiming for months that their company’s introduction of a new engine option (NEO) for the A320 narrowbody voids the business case for the CSeries.
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
Brazil is seeking private partners to run three of the nation’s airports as a step to prepare for the crush of 1 million visitors expected to attend the 2014 World Cup. The government plans to issue tenders in the coming months that will privatize the airports in Brasilia, Viracopos and Ghuarulhos. Infraero, the nation’s infrastructure authority, will retain 49% interest in the facilities. Private investors will be offered the opportunity to invest in Specific Purpose Societies that would operate the airports as concessions.
Aeromexico’s international expansion includes the July 4 launch of nonstop service between the carrier’s hub at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City and Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport. The airline will serve the city-pair daily with Boeing 737s.
