Airport operator BAA has agreed to financial reporting requirements for Aberdeen Airport as part of an agreement with the U.K.’s Competition Commission that requires BAA to obtain immensely detailed data on airport and airline operations. A lack of U.K. airport competition forced BAA’s divestment last year of Gatwick Airport and is requiring BAA to sell London Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports. Aberdeen is being treated separately by the commission because of its remote location.
In the midst of the political and financial uncertainty of the last five years, aerospace companies increased spending in one key area: Washington lobbyists. The air transport industry spent $51.6 million on lobbying in 2005, but by 2010, that amount shot up to $88.7 million. Similarly, the defense aerospace industry went from spending $32.2 million in 2005 on lobbying to $59.4 million by the end of the decade.
A significant fuel hedge gain and solid revenue growth helped Seattle-based Alaska Air Group reverse industry trends by recording an increased net profit in the first quarter. The $74.2 million net income posted by the operator compares to a $5.3 million profit recorded in the same period last year. The company recorded a more than two-fold increase in profits to $29.5 million from the $13.1 million that was generated in 2010.
Branson Airport has teamed with the local chamber of commerce and a tourism district in Missouri to develop a $680,000 marketing campaign to promote nonstop AirTran Airways service from Chicago to the entertainment community. The airport matched a $250,000 contribution from the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce that will pay for television advertising in the Chicago area. It is contributing an $80,000-$100,000 investment by the Tourism Community Enhancement District for a radio campaign in Houston.
Thailand’s cabinet has granted approval for national carrier Thai Airways International to expand its fleet, and has plans to operate its first freighter.
Boeing will begin sending its first 747-8 Freighter test aircraft to its Global Services & Support site in San Antonio, Texas, next month as it winds down the flight testing in anticipation of certification and first delivery to launch customer Cargolux. That event is expected in July. Refurbishment of all five test airplanes is expected to take a year and will be performed by Boeing Defense Space & Security employees on contract to the Commercial Airplanes unit.
US Airways filed an antitrust lawsuit against global distribution system provider Sabre on April 21, just nine days after American Airlines filed a similar lawsuit against GDS provider Travelport. The filing of a second lawsuit comes less than two months after US Airways signed a new distribution agreement with Sabre, but US Airways now depicts that deal as being reached under coercion.
Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) is all set to get a new name. According to sources in the Karnataka government, the airport will be called Kempe Gowda International after the chieftain of Bangalore City.
Tiger Airways Australia is experiencing an extremely rocky start to the Easter holiday period, with news of regulators’ safety concerns being followed by flight cancellations. Details emerged this week of a request by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority for Tiger to respond to questions over various safety procedures. In a show cause order, the carrier was given 21 days to address the queries.
The fight over whether cargo pilots should be exempt from new fatigue rules wages on. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman sent a letter to Capitol Hill earlier this week encouraging one set of standards, and on Thursday the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) joined the NTSB in supporting standard regulations across all airlines.
Southwest Airlines expects the Justice Department to clear the way for its acquisition of AirTran Airways by May 2, which is also the date on which the country’s largest low-cost carrier expects to close the deal, Southwest Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly said April 21.
Austrian Airlines on June 8 is scheduled to return to Baghdad 21 years after war forced the carrier’s departure. The three-weekly flights, served nonstop from Vienna International Airport with Airbus narrowbodies, will be Austrian’s second to Iraq, adding to a nonstop to Erbil in northern Iraq launched in December 2006.
A strong first quarter showing despite turbulent market conditions is affirming Etihad’s confidence it will achieve its “break-even” financial target for the full year. Airline CEO James Hogan also says a profitable 2012 remains in sight.
Australian carrier Strategic Airlines has revealed plans to enter the U.S. market, which is likely to involve flights to Hawaii from either Melbourne or Brisbane.
American Airlines may have posted another first quarter loss, but the carrier’s management is confident an improved revenue environment, continued cost cutting and a strategic philosophy based on key “cornerstone” markets will eventually produce positive returns.
Pet Airways is expanding its network to include St. Louis and several points in Texas, even as the pets-only carrier continues to search for ways to turn a profit. The Delray Beach, Fla.-based carrier says it will begin service this summer to St. Louis, Houston, Austin and Dallas—bringing its total number of destinations to 14.
Australia’s Virgin Blue is in advanced discussions with Hawaiian Airlines about forming a code-share partnership between the two carriers. A spokeswoman for Virgin Blue confirms that while there is no agreement yet, talks are underway about code-sharing on Hawaiian’s flights from Sydney to Honolulu. This would be a significant upgrade to the interline agreement they currently have.
New Zealand regulators are dropping their price-fixing case against six Air New Zealand executives, but court proceedings will continue against the airline itself, as well as eight other carriers. The NZ Commerce Commission (NZCC) says excluding the executives is part of its pre-trial strategy to “streamline and focus the case on those airlines with large turnover in New Zealand markets.” The commission is also dropping Garuda Indonesia from the case for the same reason.
The National Labor Relations Board’s acting general counsel Lafe Solomon has asked the board to hear a complaint lodged a year ago by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 751 in Seattle that Boeing violated federal labor law by building an alternate 787 final assembly line in North Charleston, S.C. The IAM alleges that Boeing’s 2009 decision to open the second plant was in direct retaliation to a two-month strike by the IAM earlier that year.
Labor leaders representing 14 unions at eight Oneworld carriers revealed the formation of a new group yesterday to collaborate on collective bargaining issues and other areas of concern surrounding global airline alliances.
