Brazilian carrier GOL wants to expand to longer-haul routes and integrate its fleet with affiliate Varig’s through a combination of operational and financial leasing of aircraft. Low-cost carrier GOL is upgrading its offerings, such as mobile phone check-in and a “Fly Easier” program that allows passengers to pay in installments, while VRG Linhas Aereas, which supports the Varig brand, just signed up for the SabreSonic Solution to improve revenues and enhance the customer experience.
Flight Options selected Tony Ferrante to become VP-sales-East, Rusty Hood to become VP and general counsel and Ralph Knull to be VP-human resources and labor relations.
Brazilian carrier Oceanair plans its debut in the U.S. market with Sao Paulo-Los Angeles services, while its Colombian affiliate Avianca is eyeing a June launch of flights to Washington. Oceanair’s daily Boeing 767 services to Los Angeles would be the carrier’s second international offering behind flights to Mexico City.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson and Memphis airports held on to their top spots on Airports Council International’s (ACI) lists on passenger and cargo traffic in 2007 among more than 870 facilities surveyed worldwide. Hartsfield’s passenger traffic was up 5.3% to 89.3 million, while Memphis cargo traffic rose 4% to 3.8 million metric tons.
Singapore Airlines hasn’t given up on the idea of taking a stake in China Eastern Airlines, as well as becoming its strategic partner and management guru. S/A carrier says it is still in talks with China Eastern, but China Eastern must decide when to put the issue back to shareholders, who rejected an earlier offer.
Green Globe International, Inc. , owner of the Green Globe brand that specializes in sustainable travel and tourism, appointed Bradley Cox to its board and as chief operating officer of Green Globe International.
U.S. scheduled passenger airlines registered their 12th straight month of growth in full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels in January, employing 3.4% more workers in the month than in January 2007, the U.S. Transportation Dept.’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported. BTS’ FTE calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
ITT Corp. plans to begin site acceptance testing of the automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B) system it is developing for the FAA in the Miami area in May, and expects to achieve initial operational capability by September.
Northwest plans to reduce its cargo capacity by three Boeing 747 freighters, bringing it to 11 aircraft. Long term, the carrier plans to analyze any freighter re-fleeting decisions, said CFO David Davis.
Brazilian Defense Minister and civil aviation head Nelson Jobim, in São Paulo last week to meet with business leaders of Brazil’s booming megalopolis, exhorted them to invest in turning Viracopos Airport into the mammoth project recently outlined by airport regulator Infraero (DAILY, March 17).
Italian tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, who is running for premiership in Italy’s upcoming general elections, said he would veto Air France-KLM’s takeover of Alitalia after his victory.
Aloha Airgroup Inc. is moving quickly to secure a financing deal to keep Aloha Airlines operating after filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection petition as it blamed Mesa Air Group for predatory pricing.
U.S. airlines flying to Europe will see their peak summer fares rise by 10% from last summer, and will top $1,200 as the average roundtrip ticket price in June and July, according to a Farecast.com’s summer forecast. The April-May and September-October shoulder seasons should see fares drop to about $800 on average.
A next-generation air traffic control system will do a lot of good for managing congestion and delays, but a change in how the system is used will be key to making it work to its fullest, said JetBlue President and COO Russ Chew.
Worldspan is slowly winning back some of the Expedia business it lost when the two had a falling-out before Worldspan was bought by Travelport. Expedia’s pullout caused Worldspan’s adjusted net revenue to drop 12% in the fourth quarter to $148 million. At the same time, Galileo, also owned by Travelport, saw revenues rise 1% to $350 million. In January, Expedia bookings using Worldspan began flowing in from Germany and Italy, and Travelport expects other markets to come on-line throughout the year.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport has begun moving airlines into its new Terminal 2 in a two-phase process to prepare for the facility’s opening, scheduled March 26. In Phase 1, 15 airlines – including five members of the oneworld alliance – will move on March 26. Phase 2 will have 18 airlines – including eight members of the Star alliance – moving on April 29.
Lower RASM reported by airlines in February is a warning sign that momentum will continue to fall by quarter, warned Morgan Stanley analyst William Greene. Having Easter in March should boost RASM, a poor March report would suggest a sharper and more concerning slowdown. “But with slowing U.S. GDP growth already evident in many industries, we’re highly skeptical that airlines can sustain recent RASM growth. As such, we believe airlines will feel a much sharper slowdown in RASM trends beginning post-1Q08,” he wrote.
The National Mediation Board has authorized an election for possible representation of Delta’s flight attendants by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
FAA believes it will be able to attract more military veterans to become air-traffic controllers due to new G.I. Bill qualification rules. Beginning this spring, veterans and their dependents training to be controllers can qualify for educational funding through the G.I. Bill. The agency says it took nearly two years to gain approval from the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
Frontier has reached an agreement to sell two A319s and two A318s to VTB leasing, which will place them with Rossiya Airlines. Frontier had already announced in January that it would be selling four of its aircraft to adjust to a new capacity growth plan. Frontier still plans to take delivery of larger Airbus A320s, meaning its capacity will grow 3%-5% in its 2009 fiscal year. The sale to VTB shows Frontier is “on track to achieve those revised growth numbers,” the airline said. After the sale, Frontier will have 47 A319s and nine A318s.
