British Airways said it is gradually bringing its domestic and short-haul flights at Terminal 5 to their full planned schedule in the wake of a horror start to its operation at the new terminal. Yesterday, BA said long-haul flights into T5 were operating as planned, but there were still some domestic and short-haul European cancellations. Yesterday, 340 of the planned 394 flights were planned to operate from T5, with 342 flights today and Wednesday. Flights at Terminals 1 and 4 are operating normally, BA said.
The FL Group has sold the remaining 12.69% it held in Finnair, the investment group announced yesterday. The transaction, covering 16.25 million shares, netted EUR114 million. The leaves FL Group with a loss of EUR14.2 million associated with the divestiture, booked in the first quarter.
US Airways plans to move forward this year with plans to update and refurbish its aircraft interiors into a single product, said CEO Doug Parker at the 17th annual Phoenix Sky Harbor International Aviation Symposium. “We’ve dedicated significant capital to make the interiors look the way we want,” he said.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is one step closer to designing the airport security checkpoint of the future as it unveiled a demonstration at Washington National Airport that will eventually be introduced at other facilities.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) APRIL 8-14 — Experimental Aircraft Association Sun ‘n’ Fun Fly-In, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, Lakeland, Fla., 920-426-4800. APRIL 14-17 — 2008 Aviation Maintenance Conference, Tulsa Marriott Southern Hills, Tulsa, Okla., 410-266-2008
30 Years Ago April 3, 1978 -- Lamar Muse resigned as president of Southwest after he tried a “power play” and lost the last round in a series of disagreements with board member and major shareholder Rollin King. Muse offered few comments but did say King “wanted from the outset to be CEO and worked diligently to get me out of the way.” 20 Years Ago
Israel’s El Al is continuing to improve its financial performance despite cost challenges and growing competition, reporting a US$31.7 million profit for 2007, compared with a loss of about the same size in the previous year. El Al said its 2007 revenue was up 16% to US$1.93 billion. The airline had to contend with “a steep upsurge in competition” as well as high fuel prices and “geopolitical conditions worldwide.” Airline executives said El Al is still on track with its 2010 strategic plan.
Rising fuel costs could accelerate the use of parts manufacturer approval (PMA) parts in Asia/Pacific as operators in the region seek ways to cut expenditures, according to Frost & Sullivan’s “Strategic Analysis of Asia/Pacific PMA Parts Market” report. “Although the penetration of PMA parts is still low when compared to other regions, such as North America and Europe, rising aircraft operating costs are expected to ignite the penetration of PMA parts in the Asia/Pacific region,” said Syahril Shariff, a consulting analyst for the company.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Pratt & Whitney have launched the MRJ regional jet and its GTF geared turbofan engine, marking a renewed Japanese attempt to break into commercial aircraft and the arrival of a potentially revolutionary engine. First delivery is planned in 2013, as previously stated by All Nippon when it ordered the 90-seat MRJ90 version of the aircraft, although the airline thinks it might get its first unit in early 2014. A shorter version with about 70 seats, the MRJ70, is also offered.
American, Delta, Spirit and US Airways are criticizing the U.S. Transportation Dept.’s tentative award of seven U.S.-Colombia frequencies to Continental, with some suggesting the carrier is not using the authority it has and could upgauge aircraft to meet demand in the market. The carriers are hoping to sway DOT to re-award the frequencies. Such a move would have the potential to boost service to be operated by Delta and Spirit or would result in the addition of a new carrier -- US Airways -- to the U.S.-Colombia market.
The current market for aircraft leasing remains strong even though there are signs lease values peaked in 2007, says Standard & Poor’s in its latest rating report of International Lease Finance Corp. Lease rates have “strengthened materially” in the past three years, and there are still shortages of popular models and multi-year production wait-times, S&P notes.
The first aircraft for British Airways’ OpenSkies subsidiary is in the process of being refitted, the airline says. Winglets are being added to the Boeing 757, and the cabin is being configured for 82 seats divided between business, premium economy and economy classes. The business class will have 24 lie-flat beds. The subsidiary will launch flights this summer, with a second aircraft joining OpenSkies later this year.
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) APRIL 15-17 — MRO/MRO Military/AVIATION WEEK’s Interiors, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 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.
Aeropostal’s fleet problems date back to when Nelson Ramiz still owned the airline and used Falcon Air, one of its affiliates, to supply aircraft for charters, according to new information reported in El Universal.
China’s Avic 1 ARJ21 regional jet has joined the crowd of delayed commercial aircraft projects, with its first flight deferred from this month, the scheduled period, to September. Supplier delays are to blame, the company says, without naming the responsible companies.
Ryanair, citing oil prices over US$100 a barrel and the end of its US$68-per-barrel fuel hedges as of April 1, said it is freezing the pay of its senior management for the year unless oil prices fall and it “can see some prospect of profits being increased.”
Brazilian and Chinese tourism ministers met in Peiping last week to discuss transportation services for large numbers of Brazilians attending the Summer Olympics to be held there this year. Brazil’s minister of tourism, Marta Suplicy, and Chinese counterpart Du Jiang also considered the needs and preferences of regular tourists from both countries, and agreed on early approval of designated carriers and flights to fit the future needs and preferences of business and leisure travelers from both countries.
The Transportation Security Administration selected Daniel Liddell to become the federal security director (FSD) for Syracuse (N.Y.) Hancock International Airport (SYR). He will oversee all TSA operations at Syracuse Hancock and spoke operations at the Binghamton, Ithaca, Watertown, Ogdensburg, Massena and Rome airports.
Construction of Panama City, Fla.'s new greenfield airport is underway and back on schedule for a May 2010 opening date, even after the airport authority fended off moves by environmental groups earlier this year to stop the construction.
Priceline.com is relocting Adrian Currie, chairman of Agoda.com, to New Zealand to develop priceline.com’s business in the Asia/Pacific region. The company also named Erik Wienk CFO of Booking.com.
Qantas is increasing services to Western Australian mining towns enjoying the global minerals boom led by the surging Chinese economy. The airline will add five weekly services from Perth, the state capital, to Port Hedland, an important center for the iron ore industry, plus three to Broome and two to Newman. Boeing 737s will replace 717s on services to Karratha and Kalgoorlie, the latter a key gold mining town. The state of Western Australia is about four times as big as Texas.
