Southwest’s board of directors tapped CEO Gary Kelly to become board chairman. Kelly will add president to his title upon the July 15 expiration of Colleen Barrett’s employment contract. The board also named Executive VP-Ron Ricks to succeed Barrett as corporate secretary.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) MAY 27-29 — Shared Vision of Aviation Safety Conference, Omni Hotel, San Diego, 856-667-6770 ext. 163, www.aqp-foqa.com/Conferences/2008/index.html MAY 31 — Airline Pilot Job Fair hosted by AIR, Inc., Atlanta, Ga., 800-538-5627, e-mail: [email protected], www.jet-jobs.com
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) believes it is time for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to consider its request for a standard aviation employee ID card to help speed employee screening.
Other major airlines are likely to follow American’s lead in dramatically ramping up capacity cut targets, says Oliver Wyman Partner Andrew Watterson. “At $125 [per barrel] oil, there is a lot of demand that is now uneconomical to serve,” Watterson says. “While the exact percentage reduction will vary according to each airline’s cost structure, the incentive to reduce capacity will pull along the rest of the industry.”
Colombian carrier Aires forecasts carrying 1.2 million passengers and generating $100 million net profits this year as it plots its international expansion. The airline plans to launch service from five Colombian gateways to Fort Lauderdale and New York, which will require a $480 million investment in 20 new Canadian Dash 8s for medium hauls and either Boeing or Airbus aircraft for longer hauls.
London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 will handle 75% of all British Airways’ flights when the carrier completes the next phase of its shift to the now-infamous terminal. The latest phase, which starts June 5, is the introduction of long-haul flights to T5. When completed, it will see 75% of all flights but only 55% of passengers move through the terminal.
AirTran Airways President and CEO Bob Fornaro will assume the Chairman’s role being vacated by Joe Leonard on June 1. Leonard had previously announced that he would retire his chairmanship after the company’s May 21 annual board meeting. From 1999 to 2007, Leonard served as Chairman and CEO while Fornaro held the dual roles of President and CFO. Fornaro assumed the CEO responsibilities in November.
Fully licensed Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) plans to relaunch at the end of May but may have to do so without its flagship aircraft. Before the carrier’s troubles “Paititi,” a Boeing 737-300 now considered a symbol of the workers’ two-year struggle to rescue the company, had been in heavy maintenance in Brazil. Paititi was brought back to the U.S. by its original leasing company CSDS Aircraft, which also paid the $2.5 million maintenance bill.
Airlines last week joined the chorus of groups calling on the government to create a comprehensive U.S. energy policy to soften the effects of stratospheric oil prices.
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) SEPT. 23 — Green Aviation, Madrid, Spain SEPT. 24-25 — MRO Europe, Madrid Spain OCT. 15-16 — MRO Asia, Singapore NOV. 18-19 — Aerospace & Defense Finance, New York, N.Y.
Boeing has promoted Elizabeth Lund to vice president of product development for the manufacturer’s Commercial Airplanes division. Lund, who has been the company’s director of 777 manufacturing since 2005, fills the VP role vacated when Todd Zarfos recently became VP of engineering for the 747/767/777 lines. The new VP will be responsible for the primary design of new and derivative aircraft and systems, environmental performance strategy, research and development, and product strategy at Commercial Airplanes and Phantom Works.
Ryanair is expanding its priority boarding charge to customers who check in via the Web. Those customers had been getting priority boarding for free as an inducement to check in online, but as of June 3 they’ll have to pay the same amount as customers who check in at the airport: EUR5 ($7.78). Customers also can pay for priority boarding when they book the flight.
Only three months ago 10 of the 12 major passenger airlines were hiring flight crew. Now, pilot hiring has come to a screeching halt with the latest spike in fuel prices, the impact of the age 65 retirement rule and talk of a recession, notes Lou Smith, president of FLTops.com, a career service for professional pilots. Recruiter attendance at FLTops.com’s most recent pilot career conference, held in Las Vegas May 16, dropped more than 50%. The buzz on the street is to expect more furloughs at many airlines.
Southwest, noting that other major airlines are charging for everything from checking bags and calling reservations to onboard snacks, is seizing on industry changes as a chance for some positive public relations. It is running ads and enjoying stories in national press touting its free services. Says CEO and Chairman Gary Kelly, “We don’t nickel-and-dime our customers.”
SAS Group has requested a 10% reduction from its suppliers on all goods and services provided to the Scandinavian company. The request, which was revealed in an SAS statement issued May 23, comes as airlines around the world attempt to limit the adverse effects of record fuel prices.
Even though Ireland’s High Court dismissed Ryanair’s lawsuit over Irish regulators’ price caps at Dublin Airport, the carrier is applauding the court’s finding of “ambiguity” in the Commission for Aviation Regulation’s (CAR) process.
Air New Zealand is warning that the threat of a major work disruption by its mechanics could jeopardize MRO contracts its TechOps unit has with Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin Blue. On May 15 Air NZ’s more than 1,000 engineers rejected a pay offer and said they “have voted to escalate their industrial action,” and on May 20 noted that Air NZ had challenged a strike notice. Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union members have refused all overtime work since May 9.
The U.S. Transportation Dept., perhaps sniffing change in the air, issued guidance to carriers on the disclosure of baggage policies and fees for checked baggage.
Brazil’s TAM in July will launch new long-haul service between Sao Paulo and Havana, Cuba, to cater to the growing numbers of Cuba-bound Brazilian tourists. The airline is partnering with major Brazilian tour operator Sanchat for the services, which will be operated weekly with 200-seat Boeing 767-300s. Official statistics show 12,165 Brazilian vacationers flew to Cuba in 2007, compared to 92,120 Mexicans and 37,922 Argentineans. But TAM is betting on the size of the Brazilian market to steadily develop its new route to the Caribbean via Havana.
April Air Transport Association revenue data signal a worrying downward trend in U.S. passenger demand, Morgan Stanley analysts believe. Mainline domestic unit revenue was up by 2.9% in April, but the month-to-month decline was much higher than usual, Morgan Stanley says. Domestic revenue fell 11.2% from March to April, versus a 5.2% historical average drop.
The U.S. and Japan return to the negotiating table June 3-4 in Washington, aiming to inch closer to the fully liberalized air services agreement set out in 1998. The two countries expect to build on the liberalization hammered out in September, John Byerly, deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation affairs, told The DAILY, calling the June talks a “first round of discussions” toward a fully liberalized air-services agreement.
Commercial flights will have access to restricted military airspace off the U.S. East Coast during the long Memorial Day weekend, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said yesterday. The military is making four routes available to commercial traffic from 6 p.m. today through 7 a.m. on May 27, Peters said. DOT first negotiated opening the airspace during holiday periods with the Defense Dept. last year, during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday rushes.
