Two systems suppliers -- Hamilton Sundstrand and a Crane Aerospace/GE Aviation team -- are the latest stumbling blocks for Boeing’s 787 flight-test program remaining on track. Attention hasn’t been focused on systems suppliers because parts and management issues among the 787’s airframe makers have been the big reason the program has fallen behind schedule by at least 15 months.
A bill making flight crews eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) coverage passed the House by an overwhelming majority. H.R. 2744, the "Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act," adds crews to the FMLA and provides new formulas to calculate the hours they work to be eligible for FMLA coverage. The bill, introduced by Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) last year, passed by 402-9 on May 20. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee is considering a similar bill, S. 2059, introduced by New York Democrat Sen. Hillary Clinton in September.
EADS affiliate Socata says it is close to launching a new twin-engined light aircraft, if it can wrap up financing and come up with a firm business plan, and expects to decide early next year whether to go ahead. CEO Jean-Michel Leonard says Socata has identified a market of more than 1,000 units for the new 6-8 passenger aircraft. Drawing heavily on new technologies, notably an all-composite fuselage developed in the Fuscomp ground-demonstrator program, the plane would be significantly bigger than the existing TBM 850 single-engine turboprop.
US Airways is seeking permission to delay its Philadelphia-Beijing flight one year to spring 2010 because of current fuel costs. The U.S. DOT has approved a similar request by United.
Note to Readers: In observance of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday, Aviation DAILY will not publish an issue dated Monday, May 26. The next issue will be dated Tuesday, May 27.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. Thursday finalized its tentative decision (DAILY, April 10) to grant the antitrust immunity that will let SkyTeam members Delta, Northwest, Air France, Alitalia, Czech Airlines and KLM coordinate their transatlantic fares, services and capacity as if they were a single carrier in that market. The approval marks the first time the DOT has granted immunity to two major U.S. carriers within the same alliance.
The latest oil-price spike and reduced passenger volume prompted Finnair management to warn its financial returns will come in lower than first thought. “With the current outlook, we can assume that the operational result for January-June and therefore the full year will fall short of last year’s levels,” says Jukka Hienonen, the airline’s president and CEO. The airline says that despite its hedging strategy, its fuel bill will rise to $600 million, or around 25% of revenue. The fuel bill would also be up $160 million over last year’s costs.
In an indicator of what is likely to become a growing financial chasm between Southwest and most of the rest of the U.S. airline industry, Southwest Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly told company shareholders that current fuel prices should not prevent Southwest from building on its string of 68 consecutive quarterly profits.
Croatia Airlines has taken delivery of the first of four Bombardier Q400 turboprops it ordered in June 2007. The aircraft will be joined by a second Q400 in June, while the final two are set for delivery in 2009’s second quarter, said a Bombardier spokesman.
All Nippon Airways and South Korea’s Asiana Airlines are deepening their already close relationship with more code-sharing. The airlines, which own small shares in each other, will cooperate on 10 of All Nippon’s domestic routes, served by 100 flights a week, Asiana says. The two companies already have close operational links. They agreed last year to buy fuel jointly and to help each other out with spare parts.
Jeffrey Shane has returned to Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson as a partner to work on aviation and surface transportation after leaving in 2001 for public service.
Hainan Airlines Group’s Grand China Express regional unit has taken delivery of the first Embraer E-Jet to operate on the mainland. The May 20 E-190 delivery came six days after Chinese authorities certified the aircraft and the larger E-195.
Denver-based Frontier isn’t worried about Southwest’s plans to boost service there this summer, a Frontier spokesman told The DAILY, asserting Southwest typically takes market share from other Denver rivals rather than Frontier, thanks to strong hometown customer loyalty. “We feel very comfortable competing with them,” he said. Frontier just added one more daily flight to Indianapolis and will add one daily flight to both its San Francisco and Omaha routes in June.
Airbus last month booked 25 aircraft cancellations, with USAirways decision to drop 12 orders for A318s the single largest net loss. USAirways will still take three A318s, all of which remain to be delivered.
British Airways dodged a bullet, with the British Airline Pilots’ Association giving up on a pilots strike over BA’s creation of the OpenSkies transatlantic subsidiary. BALPA had threatened a pilot walkout over BA’s contract rules for OpenSkies flight crew, which differ from those for regular BA pilots. BA argues that European Union law bars BALPA pilots from striking over labor rules that apply in a different country – OpenSkies operations avoid the U.K. and are starting with flights between Paris Orly and New York JFK.
The U.S. Transportation Dept.’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics will decide on Virgin America’s request for confidential treatment of its Form 41 schedules by the end of June, says a BTS spokesman. Several carriers have been pushing BTS for a quick decision since Virgin America made the request last March, claiming the process lets carriers game the system by granting de facto confidentiality. Decisions on similar requests from Republic Airlines and Shuttle America are also expected to be handed down in June.
Argentina’s Transport Ministry, acting on airline complaints about record-breaking fuel and labor-cost hikes costs this week, authorized an 18% across-the-board increase in domestic airfares, the second adjustment in as many months.
U.S. regulators fined United Airlines nearly $200,000 for unsafe work practices at its Chicago O’Hare hub. The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is penalizing United for repeated violations stemming from an probe launched in November 2007. OSHA’s $192,500 fine includes $112,000 for 39 “serious violations” including improper storage of flammable and corrosive liquids, and failure to conduct an asbestos survey.
British Airways’ OpenSkies operation has released pricing for its daily Boeing 757 service from Paris to New York, just one week after winning U.S. Transportation Dept. approval.
Clarification A story in The DAILY May 21 on premium traffic falling in March should have read that premium traffic fell by its largest margin since 2003, not that it fell for the first time since 2003.
LAN subsidiary LAN Cargo is about to expand to Colombia with a new affiliate of its own, LAN Cargo Colombia, and is completing paperwork with Bogota authorities. Colombia is now positioned as Latin America’s largest air cargo market in exports to the U.S., at some 200,000 annual tons. LAN Cargo Colombia should expand this market even further to the U.S. and beyond to Europe with its fleet of Boeing 767-300 Freighters. The Chilean all-cargo carrier has similar operations in Brazil and Mexico as part of a network of 75 destinations.
Sri Lanka’s government-owned budget carrier Mihin Air, burdened with financial problems since it started operations last year, will merge with SriLankan Airlines, newly appointed SriLankan Airlines CEO Manoj Vaas Gunawardena told a local daily. Mihin operated scheduled services to Trivandrum, Tiruchirapalli in India, Dubai, Male, Bangkok and Singapore. Its second Airbus A321 was reclaimed this year following default in payments, and the airline grounded itself earlier this month.
U.S. airlines may have employed more workers in March 2008 than in March 2007, but data collected and compiled by the U.S. Transportation Dept. show that U.S. airline industry workforce growth has slowed from a high point last year, and some 3,500 full-time equivalent employees were lost between February and March of this year.
