British Airways new transatlantic OpenSkies venture received its Air Operators Certificate on May 8, according to OpenSkies chief Dale Moss. The AOC approval followed successful completion of proving flight with an inspector from the British Civil Aviation Authority on board. The flight was routed over North Scotland and over Iceland to demonstrate oceanic flight procedures.
The Greater Washington Aviation Open (GWAO), an aviation and aerospace charity event held in Washington, raised a record $140,000 during its annual golf and tennis tournament May 5. The total amount donated by the group to the Corporate Angel Network is now nearly $1.4 million. The charity assists cancer patients with transportation to treatment facilities by using empty seats on business aircraft donated by companies. It has assisted more than 28,000 patients with their transportation.
Bombardier is still keen to launch the Q400X, a 90-seat stretch version of its Q400 turboprop, but concerns about overburdening its supply chain have so far caused the Canadian aircraft maker to hold off from launching the program. The business case for the aircraft is clear, says a Bombardier official, but there is concern engine supplier Pratt & Whitney Canada and others could be swamped because Bombardier and others are ramping up output across the board. The 1,000 naut. mi.
Senate aides say Congress will likely have to pass another extension of FAA’s funding authority after lawmakers failed to reach agreement on reauthorizing legislation last week. FAA program and taxing authority, which expired Oct. 1, 2007, has been extended four times — the latest extension ends June 30. Republicans would like the extension to run through the end of the current fiscal year: Sept. 30, 2008.
Orbitz, in hopes of driving more domestic bookings this year, is planning to launch new functionality and an ad campaign for its domestic sites. The value of domestic gross bookings fell 6% in the first quarter to $2.4 billion as the number of transactions fell at a faster rate than price increases. For air only, revenues totaled $95 million, down $4 million from first quarter of 2007, while worldwide air bookings were down 1% to $2.1 billion.
It appears that FAA is bringing the independent office created to oversee ATC modernization back into the agency fold. According to an agency Web site, FAA has established a new position that will be responsible for modernization planning — including the efforts of the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO). Vicki Cox will take on the new role of FAA’s senior VP for NextGen and operations planning.
Cargo carrier Atlas on May 8 downgraded its 2008 profit estimate due to rising fuel prices, but the cargo carrier expects to almost eliminate its exposure to fuel price increases from October thanks to its new deal with DHL.
The issues that plagued the opening of London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 will not hurt the chances of a third runway being built at the facility, says British Airways CEO Willie Walsh. “What it has done is brought firmly into focus the importance of Heathrow to the U.K. economy,” he tells the House of Commons Transport Committee. “And people will do what is necessary to ensure that we have an efficient international hub airport that we can all be proud of.”
Intelsat and Panasonic Avionics have signed a multi-year service agreement that is being promoted as the genus of a new generation for inflight broadband access. The deal combines Intelsats’ system of 53 satellites with Panasonic’s connectivity platform eXConnect. Panasonic for several years has touted this platform as the replacement to Boeing failed Connexion service, which the U.S. manufacturer disbanded in late 2006, citing low demand.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. rejected a bid by AirTran to shift to Milwaukee two of the slots its uses to serve Fort Myers, Fla., from Washington National Airport. The airline will have to continue operating the slots to Fort Myers or two other Florida markets or lose the slots. AirTran’s plan was to suspend the Fort Myers service from May 21 to Nov. 1 and instead operate daily service to Milwaukee. Service to Fort Myers would resume in November, when the carrier claimed demand for the market would return.
British Airways and BAA have agreed Terminal 5 will be ready to accept further long-haul flights in June, but they still haven’t spelled out an exact readjusted timetable for how airlines at London Heathrow will be shifted to allow for modernization of the airport. BA and the airport authority put moves into T5 on hold due to serious startup problems at the terminal in March. But the decision rankled other airlines, which were prepared to move into space vacated by BA.
Japan Airlines has posted its first annual profit in three years, saying its bottom line for the year to March 31 was in the black by a scant JPY16.9 billion (US$164 million) after tax, compared with a loss of JPY16.3 billion a year earlier. Operating profit was JPY90.0 billion, only 4.0% of the year’s revenue, JPY2,230.4 billion. The revenue figure was 3.1% on a year earlier, mostly because a former subsidiary was no longer consolidated in the group’s accounts.
The U.S. and European Union this week will formally start talks on the second phase of their open-skies agreement. Europeans fear, though, that serious progress will not come until after U.S. presidential elections in November, with European airline officials skeptical much will be accomplished even beyond that. Among the issues on the agenda are Europe’s desire to open up U.S. airline ownership rules and more freedom on wet-leasing; the U.S. wants to deal with some of Europe’s emissions policies and emerging slot restrictions.
Boeing is telling some of its 787 customers that deliveries could be delayed as much as 30 months, according to Air Canada President and CEO Montie Brewer, who vows to seek compensation for the delay. The Canadian carrier now expects to take delivery of the first of its 37 787s no earlier than the first quarter 2012, at least 24 months, but possibly as much as 30 months, later than initially planned.
30 Years May 11, 1978 — North Central Airlines pilots, defying national union President J.J. O’Donnell, began flying a route regularly served by only Northwest, which is shut down because of a pilot strike. A North Central pilot rejected claims of strike-breaking because North Central applied for — and expected to receive — authority to fly the route last year. 20 Years
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. and Saab Aerotech intend to sign an agreement under which Saab will provide support services for the Mitsubishi regional jet (MRJ), officials from both companies announced at the Regional Airline Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis.
EuroManx on Friday closed down operations. The Isle of Man carrier was in business for about five years, but operations in the past six months become more challenging with fuel price increases and lower passenger numbers, EuroManx said. FlyBe stepped in to assist stranded passengers. But the airline also said it was looking to VLM Airlines to help out on the London City-Isle of Man route; Flybe’s London-to-Isle of Man network operates from Luton and Gatwick.
United Airlines’ systemwide traffic in April fell 6.2% year-on-year to 9.28 billion RPMs on a 2.1% decline in capacity to 11.52 billion ASMs. The softening demand was due primarily to a 9.5%, or 574 million RPM, dip in domestic traffic to 5.49 billion RPMs. This domestic tightening came on a 6.5% reduction in United’s U.S. capacity to 6.56 billion ASMs.
It’s looking like Continental soon will sell its 4.4 million shares and 10% stake in Panamanian carrier Copa for what JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker estimates could come to $160 million, and Baker is telling investors to expect other airlines to also unload any non-core assets they can in the coming months. “The bottom line is that all airline management teams need to raise capital now or down the road to survive outside of Chapter 11, assuming sustained current jet kero levels, without even factoring in a recession,” Baker said.
The Amtrak reauthorization bill introduced in the House last week takes the first steps toward building a high-speed rail connection between New York and Washington, which lawmakers say will help alleviate airline delays throughout the system. The bill calls for the U.S. Transportation Dept. to begin soliciting proposals to build a high-speed link. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) earlier defined "high-speed" as "120 miles per hour at a minimum" (DAILY, May 7).
Freight carrier Heavylift has bought Ozjet, an Australian specialist airline that operates four Boeing 737s on charter and scheduled services. Ozjet tried to fly as an all-business airline in 2005, targeting the extremely busy route between Melbourne and Sydney.
German airports operator Fraport AG is blaming a 32.9% drop in profits in the first quarter — to EUR24.5 million (US$37.8 million) — on a one-time windfall it realized from the lease of the Frankfurt Airrail Center. Group operating results were up 1.1% to EUR115.4 million (US$178.3 million), while revenue was down 5.9% to EUR528.2 million (US$816.3 million). The drop was attributed to revenue of EUR57.6 million (US$88.9 million) generated in the previous year by the Airrail Center finance lease.
