United Continental Holdings in March recorded passenger unit revenue growth of 8-9% year-on-year despite load factor declines in every sector, and would have posted higher passenger revenue per available seat miles if not for the financial impact of its transatlantic joint venture with Star Alliance partners.
European airlines operate the largest number of Boeing 737 Classics covered under the new inspection regime recommended by Boeing, followed by carriers in Asia and then North America, an Aviation Week analysis shows. But the fleet is spread so broadly and thinly among carriers that most of them will scarcely be affected, even under the current worst-case scenarios. Aviation Week determined the location of the aircraft (see charts below) by using the Ascend database and the aircraft line number range provided by Boeing.
International Airline Group (IAG), the parent of British Airways and Iberia, is setting up an integrated cargo unit. The division will combine British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo. IAG says that both cargo operations will retain their existing brands, but there will be only one sales contact for both in the various markets. The group argues that Iberia Cargo’s strong presence in Latin America fits well with the BA network in North America, Asia and Africa. According to IAG, the combined entity will be among the 10 largest cargo airlines worldwide.
Data Watch: Top Carriers – Santiago April 1-7, 2011, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMss Airport ASMs Airport Seats Departures Share (mil) Share /Dept. Lan Chile 608 66.1% 120
The Air India board met lenders on Friday and discussed a financial restructuring plan as part of a turnaround strategy to salvage the ailing national carrier. After the meeting, an Air India official said banks were preparing to help the airline service its huge debt of about 400 billion rupees ($9.07 billion). In March, Air India had accepted a corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package prepared by SBI Caps and vetted by global consultancy firm Deloitte. The package was cleared after several rounds of consultations with banks and the government.
The New Zealand government has given the go-ahead for Air New Zealand’s code-share with Etihad Airways, linking two carriers, which have recently formed alliances with Australia’s Virgin Blue Group. Air New Zealand will be able to connect to Etihad's long-haul flights from Australian destinations to Abu Dhabi and beyond to London. Etihad, meanwhile, gets to link to more New Zealand-Australia routes as well as New Zealand domestic flights. The Etihad-Air New Zealand connection was a logical one, since Virgin Blue is a common partner.
A new flight-time and duty-time rule addressing pilot fatigue will be made final in August, says Air Line Pilots Association Executive Administrator Tim Canoll, with a few tweaks here and there, such as to block hours. Not so, says Steve Taylor, FedEx Express VP-regulatory, labor and employment law. He completely disagrees that the rule will go into effect, that it increases safety, that it is based on a cost-benefit analysis and that all carriers should be treated equally.
The U.S. Justice Department on April 8 cleared the way for Google to acquire ITA Software, the country’s most popular and prevalent provider of flight search technology, but only under a set of conditions the online search giant has agreed to meet.
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) April 12-13—Aviation Week MRO Latin America Conference & Exhibition, Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami, www.aviationweek.com/events April 12-13—Aviation Week MRO Military Conference & Exhibition, Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami, www.aviationweek.com/events
Officials at Greater Rockford Airport Authority (GRAA) are firm in their conviction that Rockford International Airport is positioned properly as a key Midwest U.S. hub for cargo and growing passenger services. The departure of two executives recently jolted the GRAA, which put the airport operation temporarily into the hands of 30-year veteran Franz Olson. A UPS hub, Rockford offers growing services from Allegiant Airlines. It is 58 nm from Chicago O’Hare, that much closer to Asia, jokes Olson.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) April 11-13—Navy League Sea AirSpace 2011, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland, www.seaairspace.org April 12-14—Aerial Refueling Systems Advisory Group International’s 2011 Conference, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, 937-431-8106, fax 937-431-8103, www.arsaginc.com
Aerolineas Argentinas by month’s end will start adding 10 more leased Boeing 737-700s as the company continues to revamp its fleet. These latest aircraft are provided by International Lease Finance Corp. under a five-year contract that will add all 10 aircraft by October 2012. These additions will reduce Aerolineas’ average fleet age from 15.6 years to 10.8 years, compared with 2009, the airline notes.
U.S. airlines canceled nearly 5% of their flights in February as they dealt with the impact of severe winter storms, according to the U.S. Transportation Department’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. The 4.9% cancellation rate actually was a bit lower than in February 2010, when the airlines canceled 5.4% because of multiple snowstorms that severely disrupted aviation. But the two-month stretch for the beginning of 2011 is difficult to match in its misery: The January cancellation rate of 3.9% was the highest for January since 2005.
During a U.S. government shutdown, development of the FAA’s NextGen air traffic control modernization system would grind to a halt. That’s just one element of what would stop if Congress fails to meet its midnight Saturday deadline to pass a new spending bill that would keep the government running. And while the bulk of FAA’s employees, 33,550, would continue to provide air traffic control and other essential services, nearly 15,000 won’t be allowed to work–or be paid, according to a 33-page fact sheet issued by the U.S. Transportation Department Friday.
As travel becomes more complicated to book, the industry is seeing more interest by the public in paying for travel advice. A Forrester Research study finds that 28% of travelers answering its poll said they would like to use a good offline travel agent. This is opening the door for online startups, such as Gogobot, to offer travel agent “lite” service.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) delivered 104 aircraft in the first quarter, four fewer than in 2010, reflecting the company’s pull-back on 777 production for the first half of this year. In all, 13 777s were delivered, six fewer than 2010’s higher production rate. After initially pulling back orders in response to the 2008-2009 recession, the company ramped them up again, beginning in June. A company official said the first-quarter activity was on target for expectations.
