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.
The O’Hare Modernization Program (OMP) had to develop its own green design and construction standards for construction projects, since the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) only had Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards in place for vertical construction, said executive director Rosemarie Andolino.
Lawmakers called expanding the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) "crucially important" last week at a hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs European subcommittee, music to the ears of the travel industry. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), chairman of the subcommittee on Europe, said the VWP is an important "security, economic, cultural and diplomatic tool for the United States," adding that it is "critical to providing greater security for Americans and our allies in the post 9/11 world."
Marsans president Gonzalo Pascual earlier this month started negotiations with Argentinean tycoon Juan Carlos Lopez Mena on the sale of equity shares in Aerolineas Argentinas, and talks are both secretive and slow. Lopez Mena is the head of Buquebus, a major South American river shipping conglomerate.
Continental Airlines has disposed of its remaining stake in Copa Airlines. In a statement yesterday the Panamanian carrier said Continental had sold its last 4.38 million shares in the Central American company for $149.8 million, or $35.75 a share. The sale was underwritten by Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank.
FAA gave four grants totaling almost $10 million to Dayton International Airport for infrastructure projects. The airport will use a $2 million grant to build a new service road, designed to enhance safety by eliminating the need for service vehicles to cross the runways. Another $4 million will improve the safety area for Runway 06R/24L, bringing it in compliance with FAA design standards.
Herb Kelleher, who officially stepped down as Southwest executive chairman yesterday, thinks the financial straits created by skyrocketing fuel prices and the troubled economy are “daunting and even perilous.” Kelleher, who has seen a lot happen in the U.S. airline industry since he helped found Southwest more than 35 years ago and led it to continuous prosperity, told The DAILY “I think this is the biggest threat the industry has experienced during my participation in it,”
Indian start-up Star Aviation plans to launch services next year with a fleet of Embraer E-jets just ordered by parent company ETA Star Group. ETA Star, which is part of a larger Dubai-based conglomerate, placed a firm order for seven E-170 jets, Embraer revealed yesterday, adding that deliveries will start next year. The firm order is valued at $220.5 million at list price. If ETA’s three E-170 options and purchase rights for five aircraft from the E-Jet family are confirmed, this list value rises to $472.5 million, Embraer says.
Other major U.S. airlines are likely to make additional capacity cuts, following word yesterday from American announcing the largest capacity cut of any of the U.S. carriers for what is shaping up as a savage fourth quarter.
The Airbus A350XWB is heavier than targeted, says a German press report. Financial daily Handelsblatt reported that the current A350XWB weight exceeds targets by eight tons. Airbus confirmed the A350 is currently overweight but said steps are being taken to cut the weight and fulfill performance guarantees to customers.
Slovak low-fare airline Sky Europe is opening a fourth base in Kosice, Slovakia. The airline will base one of its 15 Boeing 737s there and add a route to Manchester to five routes already operated from the airport. Bratislava-based Sky Europe has been struggling financially for some time and recently cut capacity at Vienna airport, one of its other three bases. In Vienna, Austrian Airlines is aggressively fighting the carrier on prices, much like local low-fare rival FlyNiki
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to promote mutual cooperation of civil aviation between the two organizations. With demand for air travel rising, the Indian government is pushing airport development for 35 non-metro airports. A recent move has also liberalized its policy on greenfield airports by allowing building of airports within a distance of 150 kilometers from an existing airport.
Oil prices have risen so high they threaten to choke off demand for new aircraft as financially battered airlines hunker down in survival mode. Conventional wisdom has held that more expensive oil bolsters demand for new aircraft by encouraging carriers to replace their older gas guzzlers with new jets that are less costly to operate. But with crude hitting a record $133 a barrel on Wednesday, a London-based team of Credit Suisse analysts concludes that prices have passed the tipping point from being a stimulant of aircraft demand to being a drag.
