Aeroflot once again denied rumors that it wants to pull out of the privatization bid for Alitalia but said the price demanded by the Italian state for a stake of at least 39.9% in the ailing flag carrier is too high. "We are not satisfied with the current [status] regarding the price," said an Aeroflot spokeswoman. "We do not want to buy Alitalia at any price," she added.
Delta is talking to Boeing about a potential order for 787s as the carrier continues to shift its focus to international routes. The carrier held preliminary discussions regarding the 787 during the past few days, Delta Chief Operating Officer James Whitehurst told The DAILY at the Paris Air Show yesterday. Any decision on 787 orders would come by the end of the year, he said.
Airbus spillled the most ink on the opening day of the Paris Air Show yesterday by signing 339 firm orders and commitments, highlighted by US Airways' decision to stick with the A350 and also buy 60 A320 family aircraft.
Saudi Arabian Airlines has signed a multi-year agreement with Worldspan for technology assistance with e-ticketing and advanced distribution. The agreement will allow the airline to offer e-ticketing worldwide, participate in interline e-ticketing agreements, support those processes with ground-handlers and improve customer service. Saudi Arabian will use the GDS's ETDBase, a platform that allows it to store and process e-tickets globally from any GDS, travel agent, airline with similar capabilities or its own internal system.
Standard & Poor's has slapped a 'BBB' long- and 'A-2' short-term corporate credit ratings on Italian airport operator Aeroporti di Roma SpA (AdR) and put it on CreditWatch with negative implications. The debt watcher also put a BBB rating on EUR391.4 million (US$522.4 million) bank facilities and the EUR65 million (US$86.7 million) unwrapped notes issued by Romulus Finance S.r.l. and placed them on CreditWatch negative.
Andrew Nocella, US Airways senior VP-scheduling, planning and alliances, tells employees the carrier has no plans for international flying from JFK or transcon flights from that airport to Los Angeles. "The NYC-LAX market has too much capacity today, and we expect it to be unprofitable for most airlines," Nocella says, adding, "If we could operate the route from LaGuardia, then we would consider adding it in the future." In terms of international service, Nocella notes US Airways is busy growing its international service from Philadelphia.
International Aero Engines (IAE) won an engine order and aftermarket support deal with Hainan Airlines worth $540 million. The deal covers IAE V2500s for 20 Airbus A319s and includes the powerplant's "Select" aftermarket support package. IAE also cinched a deal with China Eastern Airlines for V2500s to power 39 A320s. The order combined with the aftermarket support agreement is valued at US$800 million. -LR
The controversy over plans to build an alternate facility to Mexico City Airport (DAILY, June 13) took an unexpected turn late last week when the government of Mexico's Federal District (GDF) told the Dept. of Transportation it was ready to invest US$900 million to build a third runway that would increase the airport's capacity by 23%. The runway would be completed in a year and a half.
Unexpectedly strong demand for the Boeing 787 has led Kawasaki Heavy Industries to consider building a second plant. The Japanese company, which builds one-piece forward fuselage barrels for the 787, stresses that it is only drawing up contingency plans that would depend on Boeing's future sales success. Japanese daily business newspaper Nikkei says the extra plant would double Kawasaki Heavy's capacity to 14 shipsets a month.
BAE Systems, based in Nashua, N.H., has received SAFETY Act designation from the Dept. of Homeland Security for its Jeteye aircraft missile defense system, designed to protect commercial airliners against infrared-guided missiles.
Lufthansa and Egyptair agreed to code-share on all of their flights between Germany and Egypt. The deal becomes effective for the next winter timetable. Egypt is an important holiday destination for Germans. The carriers plan beyond code shares in North Africa and Europe. -JF
As of press time Monday, House lawmakers had not yet introduced their version of FAA reauthorization legislation. Senior Democrats on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week were targeting Monday for the release of reauthorization bill (DAILY, June 18). The introduction of the bill has been held up by a debate over labor contract negotiating rules, and whether the existing controller contract should be reopened. If this issue is resolved, the bill is expected to have bipartisan support.
Bombardier still has yet to formally launch its CSeries aircraft, but the airframer did strike a supplier deal with China's AVIC I if the aircraft becomes a reality. Previously, Bombardier has said a final decision regarding the CSeries isn't necessary until 2008 (DAILY, March 29). At that time, the company had spent about US$100 million on the aircraft.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation's decision last week to disapprove some and uphold other fees charged by Los Angeles World Airports that were disputed by 28 airlines was hailed by both sides as a victory.
Thai Airways-owned budget carrier Nok Air launched its first international flight to Bangalore, India, hoping to tap into the Indian penchant for shopping. Indian visitors to Thailand are among the world's highest spenders on shopping. Nok Air is linking up with Thailand's The Mall Group, which operates some of Bangkok's most popular department stores, to offer its passengers from Bangalore exclusive shopping discounts of up to 50%.
Continental and China Southern this week finalized a deal that will set up a strategic partnership between the carriers, a prerequisite for China Southern's SkyTeam ascension.
WestJet President Sean Durfy says the carrier's goal over the next 18 months is to drive the its ex-fuel cost per available seat mile (CASM) down to the lowest level of all airlines in North America. The carrier's CASM ex-fuel for the first quarter was 9.14 Canadian cents.
Malaysia-based AirAsia's long-haul airline AirAsia X plans to launch its first flight to Amritsar in North India in the third quarter of 2008, when it starts to receive its 15 Airbus A330s. Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes, addressing CAPA's Low Cost Symposium in Mumbai, said other destinations on his list include Kolkata and Cochin. Fernandes told The DAILY he had a meeting scheduled with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to get landing rights.
Wolfgang Kurth and Helmut Weixler will be joint managing directors of German low-fare airline DBA. The two were named to replace Peter Wojahn and Martin Gauss. Kurth is the former CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Express. Weixler, an Airbus A330/A340 captain, served as VP-operations at Etihad Airways from 2004 onward and was in a similar function before at LTU.
