Pilots wanting to relocate to India and China will be in high demand inthe next 10 years. Chinese aviation officials believe the country will need 1,900-2,000 more pilots a year for the next 10 years. India is expected to need up to 900 pilots per year. In addition, Airbus has identified a handful of countries that could emerge as thriving aviation markets in the next few years — Brazil, Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Indonesia and Argentina.
The operators of San Diego International airport believe the U.S. Transportation Dept.’s bid to relieve congestion through its new pricing scheme (DAILY, Jan. 15) may have a discriminatory effect on low-cost carriers, and they urge DOT to find “solutions that are fundamentally fair and effective.”
The Air Transport Association is seizing on a recent government report to highlight its calls for business jet operators to pay more of the cost of the U.S. ATC system.
Senate lawmakers are following the example of their House colleagues by weighing in on the highly publicized aircraft inspection lapses by Southwest and some FAA employees. Senate aviation subcommittee Chair John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) plans an oversight hearing in the first week of April focusing on FAA safety programs in general and the Southwest controversy in particular. The House panel will meet April 3.
Some airline industry observers believe FAA’s forecast of a strong rebound in traffic growth in FY2009 — after a significant slowdown in FY2008 – might be overly optimistic. The Air Transport Association, for example, says FAA’s traffic expectations for FY2009 “may be a bit aggressive” in light of higher fuel prices and signs of a recession. “While some of the actions by government may soften the fiscal 2008 impact, they could push the influence of a slowing economy into fiscal 2009,” says ATA Chief Economist John Heimlich.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) MARCH 17-19 — SpeedNews 22nd Annual Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference, Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, Calif., 310-595-9405 MARCH 17-20 — National Air Transportation Association, 2008 Annual Convention/FBO Leadership Conference, Dallas, Texas, 703-845-9000, e-mail: [email protected]
Saying they have lost all patience with the US Airways/America West merger, the America West portion of the Air Line Pilots Association at US Airways has requested separate contract negotiations with the airline. US Airways, however, is declining the request to negotiate separately. A spokeswoman told The DAILY, “We believe it is in the best interest of US Airways, as well as our employees, to focus on joint negotiations for a single labor agreement. We are ready to meet with both of our pilot groups to jointly negotiate one single contract.”
FAA believes the number of commercial aircraft in the U.S. fleet will grow to 12,202 by 2025, increasing at an average rate of 2.5% from the 2007 level of 7,816. The fleet will see a net gain of 92 aircraft this year and 80 in 2009 — with almost all the growth generated by low-cost carriers.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James Hoffa says he has had several “candid” conversations with Sen. Barack Obama, and that he is the right presidential candidate to protect union members. “He will join us in our commitment to rebuild our nation’s transportation infrastructure and will make appointments that make sense — people who will protect workers.” Hoffa says Obama understands that America needs fair trade policies.
On March 28, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. at the offices of Keating Muething and Klekamp PLL, One East Fourth Street, Suite 1400, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, National City Commercial Capital Company, LLC (“National City”) shall sell at public auction in a single lot or in parcels one Fairchild-Dornier Model 328-300 Aircraft and two Pratt and Whitney Model 306C Aircraft Engines described below, subject to terms, conditions and restrictions to be provided upon request.
Qantas last week announced expansion on its main transpacific routes to the U.S., with one of the changes giving Brisbane daily service to Los Angeles. Two new weekly flights on the Brisbane route will be added March 27 and April 1, and an additional weekly Sydney-LAX flight on March 30. Qantas is also introducing another Honolulu-Sydney flight per week.
On March 28, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. at the offices of Keating Muething and Klekamp PLL, One East Fourth Street, Suite 1400, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, National City Commercial Capital Company, LLC (“National City”) shall sell at public auction in a single lot or in parcels one Boeing Model 737-200 Aircraft and two Pratt and Whitney model JT8D-7 Aircraft Engines described below, subject to terms, conditions and restrictions to be provided upon request.
The trend of healthy unit revenue growth many U.S. majors are seeing is likely to “stall across the industry in the face of softer demand,” probably first on domestic routes and then in international markets, says Standard & Poor’s analyst Philp Baggaley. He notes that airline liquidity, “while adequate in the near term, could come under pressure in a prolonged or worse-than-expected deterioration in airline industry conditions.”
Aeroports de Paris reported net profits rose 12.9% to EUR239 million (US$374.1 million) for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, driven by strong passenger growth, robust retail and real estate revenues and expansion of its subsidiary businesses.
Qantas announced its former regular Sydney-Buenos Aires service would be re-established by yearend with three weekly nonstops operated with double-aisle aircraft yet to be determined. A major link between South America and Australasia from 1998 to 2002, the service was suspended after Sept. 11, 2001, and replaced with a code-sharing agreement with LAN.
Colombia’s Avianca is slated to take over management of Brazilian carrier Ocean Air, which may eventually operate under the Avianca brand, one of several changes on tap for the Synergy Aerospace carrier.
The prospects for any Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations bills being passed in calendar year 2008 are not good, according to panelists at the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE)-Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) spring legislative conference.
U.S. airlines recorded an overall on-time rate of 72.4% in January 2008, down from 73.1% in January 2007 but up from the 64.3% rate reported in December 2007. The on-time arrival performance was the fifth-worst showing by U.S. airlines in 14 years, the U.S. Transportation Dept. noted.
Brazil’s federal government and the state of Sao Paulo are working together to upgrade Viracopos International, one of three major airports now serving Sao Paulo.
Mexican low-cost carrier VivaAerobus, which will begin serving Austin, Texas, from Monterrey and Cancun on May 1, is eyeing two more U.S. destinations — Las Vegas and Gary, Ind. The airline is proposing daily service between Monterrey and Gary, as well as Monterrey and Las Vegas. Also on the table are three weekly Veracruz-Austin services and four weekly Puerto Vallarta-Austin flights. All would be operated nonstop with VivaAerobus’ Boeing 737-800s [DOT-OST-2008-0095].
Shareholders in New Zealand’s Auckland Airport have given the green light to a partial takeover bid by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). When the CPPIB offer deadline expired Thursday, shareholders representing 62.5% of airport shares had accepted the offer. CPPIB is seeking 39.2% of shares. In a separate ballot, 57.7% of shareholders who voted approved the acceptance of the partial takeover.
China Southern is pushing Beijing to bring the country’s big-three airlines, including itself, under a single state holding company. The proposal is sure to attract opposition from some elements of the government. Chairman Liu Shaoyong also says the government should get moving with a plan to recapitalize the airlines, and he adds that China Southern itself is hoping for 30 billion to 40 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion to $5.6 billion) in new capital.
China, reacting to a foiled terrorist attempt to destroy an aircraft in flight with a gasoline fire, will ban domestic passengers from carrying liquids. The civil aviation administration will also step up security checks at airports, opening more bags for inspection, and it will forbid airlines from operating express security lanes. There will also be tight checks on vehicles entering the secure zones of airports.
