Allegiant Air still is considering pricing options that would let it account for the high volatility in the price of jet fuel, even though new Transportation Department (DOT) passenger rights rules forced it to abandon the plan it considered initially.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is exploring a variety of approaches toward a risk-based security system, including a trusted traveler program that could lead to an easier walk through airport checkpoints for some passengers. “At this point, these concepts remain under discussion,” says TSA Administrator John Pistole. “We continue to evaluate a variety of measures to support TSA’s risk-based, intelligence-driven approach that will strengthen security while improving the screening experience.”
Boeing is using its lobbying power to undermine the National Labor Relations Board’s ability to uphold workers’ rights to collective bargaining, says Local 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which prompted the NLRB’s proposal that the company not be allowed to open a $2 billion South Carolina factory to build 787s.
Strong yields and a strict adherence to its growth plan produced an operating margin of almost 24% for Copa Holdings in the first quarter, a result almost unheard of across the rest of the industry. Net income in the March quarter more than doubled to $94.4 million on a 24.7% rise in revenue to $423.1 million and a 3.9% improvement in yields to 16.7 cents. This same result excluding special items rose 30.9% to $82 million.
International Lease Finance Corp.’s cancellation of 10 Airbus A380 orders and the loss of an additional A330-200 push Airbus year-to-date cancellations beyond last year’s level. Going into the year, Airbus was projecting cancellations to be roughly at 2010 levels. The current total is 79 cancellations for the first four months; the 2010 total was 70 cancellations.
Air India has issued a tender for wet-leasing Airbus and Boeing aircraft to meet urgent operational requirements, and to launch new routes. According to a company official, “Air India requires aircraft from amongst narrowbody aircraft A320 series/737NG series, and medium-capacity widebody aircraft 777 series/A330 series aircraft.”
Pinnacle Airlines Corp., the parent company of Pinnacle Airlines, Mesaba Aviation and Colgan Air, reported a $3 million loss in the first quarter. The loss included $5.8 million in special charges for integration, severance and pilot contract implementation, which Pinnacle already had warned would push it to a loss (Aviation Daily, April 28.)
Air Canada trimmed losses by C$93 million (US$96.1 million) in the first three months of the year to C$19 million as higher fares limited the adverse effect of fuel increases, although the carrier has revised capacity growth for the remainder of 2011 to further address rising costs. The 4.2% rise in yields contributed to a 9.3% year-on-year growth in revenue to a little less than C$2.8 billion while traffic grew 5.7%.
The European Aviation Safety Agency is calling on operators of Airbus A320 family aircraft to address issues related to problems with the cargo loading system and cracking fuselage nuts. A May 5 airworthiness directive (AD) addresses a previously identified problem with tie-down points of YZ latches on the cargo loading system of A319s, A320s and A321s, which do not withstand maximum loading requirements and thereby potentially enable unrestrained cargo to cause damage in the forward and aft lower deck cargo holds.
Italian aerospace and defense giant Finmeccanica is entering a new phase aimed at generating stronger financial returns. Just how that will happen is something newly appointed CEO Guiseppe Orsi will try to devise in the coming three months. After a period of expansive growth through acquisitions, Finmeccanica in recent months has worked to rationalize the business by consolidating activities into a few core areas to cut overhead. But the company’s shareholder, the Italian government, is looking for more.
Trax USA, a Miami-based provider of aviation maintenance and engineering software, gained Manila-based Zest Air as a customer for its Trax Maintenance MRO software. Zest Air will implement e4, the latest version of the Trax USA software with more than 20 modules on subjects including material management, finance, technical records and reliability.
Korean Air has finalized deals to buy five Airbus A330-200s and two Boeing 777-300ERs. Aircraft deliveries are due to unfold between 2013 and 2015. List price value of the deal is about $1.6 billion. The A330s will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, as are those already in the airline’s service. Airbus notes the deal brings Korean’s A330 orders to 30 units, of which 23 have been delivered.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air expects to be offering service to Mexico and Canada within two years, the president of the airline’s parent company says, and it could end up offering some service to the northern part of South America as well.
Alaska Airlines’ 36 Transport Workers Union-represented dispatchers have ratified a new four-year contract that becomes amendable March 24, 2015. “This contract is a direct result of the committed input and support of our membership and represents an agreement that was achieved through open, honest conversation between the company and union,” says John Plowman, president of the local TWU chapter.
The return of Mexican carrier Aviacsa after a two-year hiatus has been delayed because the operator has failed to pay debt owed to Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City. Aviacsa intended to resume service this week, but all flights have been halted by Mexican regulators until the money is paid. The latest reports suggest Aviacsa is preparing to pay half the MXN22 million (US$1.9 million) it owes by May 5, and the rest before the week’s end.
The wreckage of the Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 helicopter carrying an Indian cabinet minister and four others was found May 4 after disappearing Saturday morning. There were no survivors. The Indian government issued a statement saying that the chief minister of the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh Dorjee Khandu was among the victims; according to reports, family members identified his body at the crash site. The bodies of the other four occupants have been recovered, according to local reports, but could not be identified immediately.
Airports in India have been put on a heightened state of alert, and the rest of the country is on a general alert, following the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan.
An unspecified issue with legal procedures appears to have stalled completion of Caribbean Airlines’ formal acquisition of Air Jamaica, although media reports from Trinidad and Tobago do not indicate that the deal will collapse. Documentation was to be signed April 30, but this has now been deferred until May 15, say reports. Caribbean Airlines was not available for comment.
MTU Aero Engines plans to build a new facility in Munich in anticipation of brisk production of Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G geared turbofan engines. MTU plans to start construction of the new site this summer and will invest about €20 million ($29 million) in the project. CEO Egon Behle says the existing orders for various engine variants are worth about $700 million for MTU alone. Negotiations on the exact work share on the Airbus A320NEO engine version are to be finalized in time for the Paris air show in mid-June.
Airport operator Dubai Airports projects that Dubai International Airport (DXB) will become the world’s busiest airport for international passengers as early as 2015. Now ranked fourth for international traffic and cargo, DXB is forecast to grow at an average annual rate of 7.2% in the next decade. Dubai International expects 75.3 million total passengers in 2015.
