The Transportation Security Administration is moving ahead with plans to spend $544 million for checked baggage screening — including $50 million earmarked for small airports — under the 9/11 bill, said Mike Golden, one of the agency’s assistant administrators and chief technology officer.
Smaller communities will have to get more aggressive with efforts, including financial incentives, to compete for new service and keep existing service as airlines slash capacity in the wake of continued rising fuel costs. Airports have seen the trend first-hand of airlines pulling down capacity, said Joseph Pickering, an air service development consultant for Mead & Hunt at the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) annual meeting.
Hearing Date: July 31, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. Objection Deadline: July 14, 2008 at 4:00 p.m In re Ampex Corporation, et al., Debtors. Chapter 11 Case No. 08-11094 (AJG) (Jointly Administered)
The on-time performance of scheduled flights at 10 U.K. airports fell four percentage points to 68% between January and March, according to a new report from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Birmingham, along with London Luton, Gatwick and Stansted, showed improvements in punctuality year over year during the quarter. Birmingham was up one percentage point to 78%; Luton was up five percentage points to 76%, Gatwick was up four percentage points to 72% and at Stansted was up two percentage points to 80%.
The U.S. should pursue market-based mechanisms, such as cap-and-trade, to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, two recent reports find. Even though the Lieberman-Warner bill, which proposed just such a system, fizzled in the Senate earlier this month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report on climate change that said most of the panelists on the study favored cap-and-trade to lessen emissions.
Alaska Air Group has announced four promotions from within its management ranks to newly created positions. With the promotions, Jay Schaefer and Ben Minicucci go from staff VPs at Alaska Airlines to VP-finance and Seattle hub operations, respectively, while Tom O’Grady moves from staff VP-commercial and regulatory law to chief compliance officer and deputy general counsel for Alaska Air Group. Dan Russo was elevated from director to VP-marketing and communications at Alaska Air’s regional unit Horizon Air. -
The number of domestic passengers flying in first class, business class or full-fare coach on U.S. airlines has stagnated despite a significant increase in overall traffic, the Stanford Transportation Group reported yesterday in its biennial review of U.S. domestic premium passenger purchases. The results showed the number of premium trips fell from about 20% of overall domestic airline travel on commercial carriers in 2000 to less than 10% last year, with the number of premium trips “stalled” at 41 million — almost the same number as in 2005.
Avionics-maker Rockwell Collins reports that operations are normal in its home base of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, despite Cedar River flood waters that inundated large sections of the city’s downtown. The company employs 8,600 people, and its main campus is located in a hilly area north of the downtown. The plant was not hit by the floodwaters, although a number of employees were affected, a spokeswoman said. Only one company building, which houses 70-80 engineers and support staff, is located downtown and had to be evacuated. It has water in the basement, not the main offices.
FAA will lift the flight caps at Chicago O'Hare when they expire on Oct. 31, one month after the new runway opens, Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell announced yesterday at the airport. The agency also will designate O'Hare an IATA Level 2 airport, which will require carriers to submit schedules six months in advance, Sturgell told reporters.
Traffic at SkyWest, Great Lakes, Air Wisconsin and Midwest declined last month on increased capacity in a sluggish start to the summer travel season. Air Wisconsin fared better than its counterparts. Flying as US Airways Express, the carrier saw its loads slip 0.7 percentage points from the previous year to 72.6%. Capacity was down 1.3% to 264 million available seat miles but revenue passenger miles still dipped 2.2% to nearly 192 million passenger miles.
Brazilian carrier TAM is continuing to strengthen its connection to Star Alliance with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Swiss International Airlines to establish a code share and integrate frequent flyer benefits. The deal comes less than one week after TAM signed a similar accord with Star member Air Canada and a little over a year since an MOU was brokered with Swiss’ sister carrier and Star Alliance anchor Lufthansa.
Threatened strikes at subsidiaries of ANA group and Japan Airlines Corp. could disrupt domestic air travel in Japan this week. Both airlines have issued statements warning of possible cancellations on June 18, and Japan Airlines has forewarned that the possible labor action could also affect June 19 flights operated by its Japan Air Commuter unit.
New Orleans Louis Armstrong Airport will reach 100% of its pre-Katrina flight levels within 18 months despite current airline capacity cuts. The airport, currently at 80% of pre-Katrina levels, is expected to handle 9 million passengers in 2009.
By 2011, up to 59% of the U.S. controller work force will have less than five years’ experience, according to the Government Accountability Office. The current share is about a quarter with less than five years’ experience. This is due to a controller retirement spike, and an associated boost in new hires. GAO says the higher ratio of new hires will mean fewer experienced controllers will be available for on-the-job instruction.
AirTran parent AirTran Holdings, Inc. appointed VP-Finance and Treasurer Arne Haak to the positions of senior VP-finance, treasurer and CFO and elected Geoffrey Crowley, founder of Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp., to the board.
Adam Air, an Indonesian airline that stopped flying in March amid problems ranging from insolvency to accusations of unsafe operations and financial wrongdoing, is now formally bankrupt. Managers had hoped to find a new financial backer despite the improbability of anyone being interested in the business.
Spirit Airlines is terminating its ticket processing agreement with the Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC), effective June 16, now that it has switched to a new reservations system. The airline said it needed to upgrade its distribution system to prepare for growth. Its old reservations system was fine for a smaller carrier, but “we needed something to take us to the next level,” a spokeswoman said. She added that it had no problems with ARC but needed to upgrade its functionality, as well as save money.
Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and MASwings have become the latest carriers to offer travelers the chance to buy carbon offsets. The carrier will also allow staff to participate in the program. The proceeds from the offsets will be placed into a trust fund managed by the government’s Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). FRIM will then award funds to U.N.-sanctioned forest conservation projects in Malaysia designed to cut the impact of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere.
Boeing will release a new price list in the coming weeks. The annual update to its aircraft list pricing is still under review, but a final announcement should be forthcoming this month or in early July, says VP Marketing Randy Tinseth. The manufacturer is also preparing to release its annual market forecast next month at the Farnborough Air Show.
The Air Transport Association’s chief economist says there is evidence that jet fuel prices — now at $4 a gallon — may go even higher in 2009, when airlines will have less room to cut expenses; by then, they will be more exposed with lighter hedge positions.
