The budget terminal at Singapore Changi Airport is getting a US$7.2 million upgrade that will increase capacity from 2.7 million passengers to 7 million a year. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) created the budget terminal to offer airlines a low-cost operation option. The expansion, scheduled from July 2008 to early 2009, will boost the floor area of the terminal from 25,000 square meters to 28,700 square meters.
With competitive pressures in the Spanish market growing, Spanair is tweaking its cabin offering to try to set itself apart from rivals and generate incrementally more revenue. Under the Spaniarx4 name, the airline has as launched a four-class domestic service offering ranging from regular economy to business class. Wedged between the low-end and high-end price points are the Avant and Economy Plus service.
US Airways Express operator Air Wisconsin’s revenue passenger miles increased 8.7% in February, furthering growth the carrier registered in January. Air Wisconsin generated some 159.4 million revenue passenger miles on 6.5% more capacity, or 235.67 million available passenger seat miles. The result was a 1.4-percentage-point improvement from February 2007 load factor to 67.6%.
The chairmen of the two House panels that oversee the Dept. of Homeland Security’s funding say the Bush Administration’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget request isn’t big enough and they intend to increase it. Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), who chairs the Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) agree that the White House did not ask for enough money to fund the Transportation Security Administration and other DHS agencies.
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Aeroflot is leasing 10 Airbus A330-200s from AerCap, with deliveries to take place between November of this year and April 2010. The deal builds on a lease agreement the two parties entered in October covering six A320s. AerCap ordered 20 A330s from Airbus in December 2006 and then added to the commitment in March with a further 10 aircraft owing to strong demand. Aeroflot says it plans to use the aircraft on flights to Asia and the Far East. Rolls-Royce Trent 700s will be used to power the Aeroflot widebodies.
El Al is negotiating with Boeing regarding an order for four 777-200 aircraft and expects to make a final decision by yearend; deliveries could begin in 2012. The planes would be used on U.S. routes, the airline said. CEO Haim Romano noted the carrier is “enthusiastic” about growing its fleet in line with its 2010 Plan.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has name Douglas Hofsass as its new general manager of the Commercial Airports Security Division in its Transportation Sector Network Management. In his new position, Hofsass will work with airports across the country to build security networks and develop policies and programs. He was the federal security director at New York LaGuardia Airport for the past two years, where he also directed security operations at Long Island MacArthur Airport, Westchester County Airport and the Manhattan heliports.
Aer Lingus has been able to bolster its operational performance, increasing fleet utilization and lowering unit costs. In announcing preliminary 2007 results, CEO Dermot Mannion notes that “despite soaring oil prices and an increasingly competitive marketplace, operating profits remained strong in 2007 and were better than expectations.” The operating profit came in at EUR88.5 million.
Continental is teaming with Boeing and GE to conduct a biofuels demonstration flight next year, although the companies have not yet decided what fuel sources they will use.
The SAS Group is warning that its first-quarter financial performance will fall short, with the airline group unable to offset high fuel costs and falling yields fast enough to meet targets. Although year-over-year traffic and load factor were up in February, the yield during the past month is expected to be 3%-6% below 2007 results. That comes on top of a 2% yield decline in January. Passenger numbers were up last month in part due to the additional, leap-year travel day.
Southwest yesterday returned to its active roster all of the 38 Boeing 737s it had temporarily grounded for inspections, and the carrier reported its flight schedule was back to normal. The inspections began March 12, and by 9 p.m. EDT that day the carrier had examined and cleared 28 of the 38 737s it had grounded. The remainder was finished by yesterday morning. A spokeswoman told The DAILY that if any repair requirements were discovered, they were minor. Another five aircraft included in the snap inspections were already offline for routine maintenance.
Czech Airlines plans to boost operations in Prague-Slovakia market, which it says has grown solidly in a year’s time. More than 213,000 passengers flew on CSA flights between Prague and Slovakia in 2007, up 4% from 2006. The airline operated 3,200 flights between the countries, close to 10% growth year over year, while cargo carriage was up 11.5% year over year.
The on-demand air taxi market soon will not be able to keep pace with demand, small aircraft manufacturers and air taxi operators say, and this segment of the industry will be expanding worldwide. Linear Air, based in Concord, Mass., is the latest carrier to join Richard Branson’s new venture — Virgin Charter Marketplace. Linear Air said yesterday it will offer its services to Virgin’s customers in the U.S. Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, and in eastern Canada.
Airports operator BAA has agreed to sell its World Duty Free Europe Ltd. to Italy’s Autogrill S.p.A. for GBP546.6 million (US$1.1 billion). BAA sold the unit as part of an ongoing effort to shed what it calls “non-core assets.” The airports operator will use the proceeds to repay the debt of Airport Development and Investment Ltd., the company created by Spain’s Ferrovial. Autogrill, parent of HMSHost and Alpha Airports, will operate duty-free stores at BAA’s seven U.K. airports under a 12-year deal.
IATA yesterday echoed major airlines in criticizing the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority for allowing large increases in passenger charge caps at London airports (DAILY, March 12). IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani, a regular opponent of airport and ATC fee increases, described airport operator BAA as an “out-of-control monopoly” and CAA as a “weak” and “phantom” regulator. He called for the various reviews of BAA that are under way to recommend “an ambitious agenda for change.”
WestJet plans to launch a new nonstop route between Calgary and Newark, N.J., which the carrier says will be the first time a Canadian airline has linked these airports. The seasonal daily flights will begin June 2.
Air Berlin shares fell by as much as 11% yesterday after the airline announced a sharp drop in profitability for 2007. The carrier’s operating profit declined from EUR64.2 million in 2006 to EUR21.5 million (US$33 million), and net profit was down from EUR50.1 million to EUR11 million (US$17 million), while revenues increased from EUR1.58 billion to EUR2.54 billion (US$39.36 billion).
Nav Canada says it will expand its automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) program to cover its East Coast transatlantic approaches, and has awarded a contract extension to Sensis Corp. to provide the required systems. ADS-B ground-based transceivers will be deployed along the Labrador and Baffin Island coasts of Canada, which Nav Canada says will provide “enhanced surveillance of transatlantic air traffic.” Nav Canada handles by far the majority of westbound transatlantic flights.
Italian carrier Air One says its first flights to the U.S. — from Milan to Chicago and Boston, starting in June — will be much needed if Alitalia follows through on plans to scale down operations (DAILY, Sept. 6).
Lufthansa expects its profit to improve further this year, as the airline is aiming at becoming Europe’s most profitable network carrier. The continent’s second-largest airline yesterday said it has reached a net profit of EUR1.4 billion (US$2.2 billion) on sales of EUR22.4 billion (US$34.8 billion), an improvement of 63.1% from last year. The operating margin was 6.9%, above Air France-KLM’s, but still below British Airways.’ Its net profit reached EUR1.6 billion (US$2.49 billion).
Chinese aircraft group Avic 1 is sending 150 engineers to Britain’s Cranfield University to study commercial airframe and engine design. In three groups spread over three years, the engineers will develop a design for a 130-seat airliner — just as an exercise, not to put it into production. Cranfield’s Professor John Fielding chose the aircraft size, so that part of the course doesn’t say anything about specific Chinese ambitions.
Lessor CIT Aerospace yesterday announced an order with Airbus for 15 new A320 family aircraft and five A330s. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2011 and continue through 2014. CIT has ordered 189 aircraft from Airbus, of which 93 have been delivered. The total comprises 152 A320s, 30 A330s, and seven A350s.
Singapore Airlines, starting March 30, will increase capacity to Delhi by 24% with the addition of two weekly flights using a Boeing 777-200, taking its weekly flights to India to 57. SIA’s regional subsidiary SilkAir also operates an additional 15 flights to three smaller destinations.“Our aim is to step up the flights from New Delhi to double daily in the near future,” said C.W. Foo, general manager-India.
