A new low-fare airline to be set up by the Government of Dubai, and based in Dubai, will not be part of the Emirates Group, the airline clarified in a statement.
United Thursday confirmed it was retesting the altitude indicating systems on seven Boeing 747-400s that had undergone heavy checks at Korean Air’s overhaul facility in Busan, Korea, after it was discovered that the equipment used to test the systems was out of calibration. In a brief statement, United said it had voluntarily disclosed to FAA that it was retesting the aircraft and that it had found no issues. United spokespeople could not be reached for further comment.
JetBlue founder David Neeleman, born in Sao Paulo to American parents, is submitting plans to Brazil’s civil aviation regulator Anac for a new low-cost, low-fare airline. Anac has already cleared the legal prerequisites, and Neeleman will submit his business plan, together with an operating certificate to be awarded by airline operations regulator Cheta. Because this paperwork will take several months, the startup could not take off until yearend.
European air traffic growth is showing signs of slowing, with Eurocontrol downgrading its 2008 growth forecast to 4.1%, compared with earlier predictions of a 4.4%-4.5% increase. The open-skies agreement may kick up North Atlantic flows by 7% this year and boost overall European air traffic, but Eurocontrol hasn’t yet incorporated this trend into the 2008 forecast. Factors that could curb growth this year include the softening European economy and high oil prices.
The township of Tinicum, Pa., may not impose a privilege fee on airlines flying out of Philadelphia Airport, according to a ruling by the U.S. Transportation Dept. on the matter.
Virgin America says the release of its Form 41 schedules would put it at a competitive disadvantage against its rivals and is asking the U.S. Transportation Dept. to keep such data under wraps until the company becomes a Group III air carrier. A Group III carrier, under DOT regulations, is classified as an airline taking in more than $1 billion in annual operating revenues.
Hundreds of airports and small communities are at risk of losing a significant amount of air service under the U.S. Transportation Dept.’s proposal to change how congested airports levy and use landing fees, the Regional Airline Association said. Using OAG data, RAA identified 100 airports that are at the greatest risk under the proposal and 450 more that are at significant risk of losing air service. (RAA has posted the breakdown at http://www.raa.org/news/2008-Mar_19-At_Risk_Community_Analysis.xls.)
Correction: Air France-KLM Chairman CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta, responding to Alitalia union reluctance to accept the Air France-KLM takeover offer, implied that the unions could “take it or leave it” but did not use the specific words. A story in The DAILY dated March 20 incorrectly added quotation marks to the phrase.
The European Court of First Instance has rejected a bid by Aer Lingus to force competitor Ryanair to sell its 29.4% stake in the Irish flag carrier in the latest round of the battle between the two carriers.
JetBlue on March 19 said it will make Orlando into its seventh “focus city,” and the carrier plans to create a crew base at the airport and consolidate its gates into one terminal. The airline said the higher status of Orlando within its network reflects the new Caribbean flights it has added there recently, with more to come when Bogota service begins later this year. By May 1, JetBlue will serve 18 destinations from Orlando.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have each avoided a 24-hour strikes scheduled for March 19. Both carriers had expected delays and cancellations to their domestic flights if the strikes had gone ahead (DAILY, March 18).
US Airways may be looking beyond the Airbus A340 for an aircraft to fly its Philadelphia-Beijing route, scheduled for launch in 2009. The airline had been watching the tighter-than-expected A340 market for aircraft it could use on the route until it starts taking delivery of its A350s. However, US Airways is “a lot less interested” in the A340s with fuel prices continuing to climb, says President Scott Kirby. He said US Airways has “no comment yet” on what other aircraft it will use until the A350s arrive.
El Salvador is making strides in boosting tourism to the country. El Salvador-based Grupo TACA carried 151,000 foreign tourists on its flights last year, or 51% of a total of 247,000, and launched joint marketing programs with neighboring Central American countries. Additional routes and frequencies, and various promotional discounted fares by TACA and its affiliates, are helping to keep well-heeled visitors coming.
Talks with the unions of Alitalia to win their approval of Air France’s takeover plans will not extend beyond March 31, warned Air France-KLM Chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta.
Japan’s Civil Aviation College will buy nine Beech Baron G58 twin-engine aircraft as its next-generation trainers for delivery by 2010, subject to approval from its owner, expected in May. The aircraft will replace 20-year-old Beech C90As, whose maintenance is becoming increasingly costly. The college says it chose the type partly because Japan Airlines already uses it for training in the U.S. and partly because it was cheaper to buy and maintain than alternatives.
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The Dutch ticket tax scheduled to enter into force on July 1 this year “is not blatantly in breach” of international law, Roel Paris, a judge in charge of urgency procedures, ruled March 19 in The Hague. The judge rejected complaints lodged by Dutch airports, Dutch travel bureau association ANVR, the Board of Airline Representatives in the Netherlands and Ryanair (DAILY, Feb. 28). ANVR Director Frank Oostdam said that in spite of the adverse urgency ruling, he still believed there were sufficient elements to continue legal proceedings against the tax.
Aviation authorities in Indonesia have grounded budget carrier Adam Air on safety grounds. The grounding amounts to putting out of its misery a carrier that was running out of cash, had lost the use of most of its aircraft after missing lease payments, was struggling to keep up insurance that it needed to keep flying beyond this week and had suffered a string of accidents in its short life, including a major fatal crash.
British Airways increased its stake in Spanish airline Iberia from 10.14% to 13.15%, the airline said in a regulatory filing yesterday. “This purchase reflects the strategic importance we attach to our relationship with Iberia,” BA CEO Willie Walsh said. “We will consider further opportunities to increase our stake.”
BOC Aviation will buy two of Air Canada’s Boeing 777-300ERs and lease them back to the airline for 12 years after their delivery this month and next. It is the first contract between the two companies and expands the North American exposure of the Singapore-based lessor, whose expansion is driven by the powerful financial resources of its owner, Bank of China.
