Virgin America is “actively pursuing” interlining and code-sharing deals with international carriers, although pro-rate terms could become a sticking point, CFO Bob Dana says. Dana won’t confirm potential partners, but hints at Virgin Atlantic and the Virgin Blue Group’s V Australia, slated to start Sydney-Los Angeles service in December.
Look for Boeing to move its 787 static fatigue test aircraft off the final assembly line in Everett, Wash., this week. That event will make way for ZA004, the fourth flight test airplane, to move into final assembly by early July.
In what is little more than a formality, Star Alliance’s chief executive board unanimously voted to invite Continental to join the global alliance. The June 19 offer came one day after Continental and United unveiled an extensive partnership program that includes the Houston carrier’s membership in Star (DAILY, June 20) and the establishment of a revenue-sharing joint venture with alliance members Air Canada and Lufthansa.
US Airways Senior VP-Technical Operations Hal Heule will retire at the end of September. VP-Technical Services David Seymour will assume Heule’s day-to-day responsibilities and report to Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom, effective immediately.
Virgin America (VX), set on expanding operations to Chicago O’Hare and New York Kennedy, fiercely opposes moves by some airlines to set aside the use-it-or-lose-it rule on slots at constrained airports. AirTran, American, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways want FAA to waive the minimum slot use requirement at Washington National, Chicago O’Hare and the three major New York area airports for the upcoming winter season (DAILY, June 16). They say the waivers will give carriers the flexibility to adjust operations in the face of spiraling fuel costs.
Korean Airlines will inaugurate nonstop flights from Seoul, South Korea, to Mexico City next year, using Boeing 777-200ERs, Cancun’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (OVC) announced last week at the conclusion of its tourist promotion tour of the Far East.
The Business Travel Coalition intends to release a report today, which a House panel will also highlight in a hearing this week, warning of the local and regional fallout from failed airlines in light of U.S. carriers’ weakened state.
Gemini Air Cargo, a privately owned operator of DC-10-30 and MD-11 freighters, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection less than two years after emerging from a similarly secured restructuring. The Washington Dulles-based company in a June 18 message to staff says rising fuel costs and faltering military and ACMI demand caused it to request legal protection against its creditors.
A new Western Canada low-cost carrier modeled after Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air aims to start service late in the third quarter with one narrowbody aircraft and plans to expand its operations to six aircraft by year’s end, the startup’s CFO and VP-finance said June 18.
Continental and United plan a collaboration that could see the two carriers integrate many of their business functions, including procurement, and see the Houston-based carrier leave SkyTeam for the larger Star Alliance.
United is hoping that doubling the frequencies and downgrading to 30-seat turboprops will help jumpstart its Los Angeles/Palmdale-San Francisco service. The service started a year ago with two daily flights using a 50-seat regional jet, but the flights have struggled, averaging loads between 30% and 42%. The new turboprop flights, using Embraer Brasilias, will begin in September, said spokesman Jeff Kovick.
European Union transport ministers last week allowed the European commission to launch talks aimed at creating a fully liberalized “Open Aviation Area” with Australia and New Zealand. More than 2 million passengers travel between the EU and Australia annually – half of them on direct flights – reports the EC. “This makes Australia one of the largest long-distance air transport markets for the European Union,” commented the European Commission. Annual passenger numbers on routes between the EU and New Zealand exceed 640,000.
BOC Aviation will lease two new CFM56-powered Airbus A319-100 aircraft to CSA Czech Airlines, with deliveries set for 2009 and 2010. Both aircraft are on long-term leases. Lubos Cerny, CSA VP-economics, said CSA Czech Airlines first worked with BOC Aviation in 2005, when it leased two A320 aircraft. “We are pleased to have BOC Aviation supporting our fleet expansion program this time,” says Cerny. “These new aircraft will serve our priority routes, especially within Central and Eastern Europe.”
Almost 60% of more than 1,000 analysts say energy prices are not in a bubble, and they expect oil prices to settle to about $120 a barrel, according to a new UBS survey.
Air Berlin will park 14 short- and medium-haul aircraft and reassign some long-haul aircraft, starting with the winter schedule, to cut operating costs with a total 10% capacity reduction. On the long-haul side, the carrier will move three Airbus A330-300s from long-range routes to medium-haul operations, with Nuremberg as the likely base. Long-haul capacity is being reduced 30%.
The U.S. airline trend to lean more on higher fuel surcharges and fees to increase their revenue, rather than big hikes in base fares, is taking a toll on some of their most important customers: corporations.
The European Parliament this week overwhelmingly confirmed Antonio Tajani as European Union transport commissioner (DAILY, May 21). Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted 507 in favor with 53 against and 64 abstentions, brushing aside doubts that had initially arisen about the candidacy of Tajani, a close ally of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi. “I shall act independently of any national, local, political or economic influence,” pledged the new commissioner, who has been a Forza Italia MEP since 1994.
Continental and Aeromexico this week won additional operating authority from the U.S. Transportation Dept. for the U.S.-Mexico market. Continental got the green light for its plan to offer seasonal Houston-Queretaro flights. The weekly service, which the carrier will operate with its own aircraft or those of Connection carrier ExpressJet, is expected to launch in December. The offer will expand to daily flights in the peak season [DOT-OST-2008-0171].
Bombardier aims to offer Q400 operators a more cost-effective MRO program with “Smart Services” and its component repair and exchange program, a new cost-per-flight-hour support option for aircraft components. The airframer hopes to leverage its experience with its Smart Parts program, under which it provides cost-per-flight-hour parts support, repair and overhaul for more than 900 business aircraft, to introduce a similar program for the regional market.
