Southwest said yesterday it will suspend three workers in connection with aircraft inspection lapses that last week prompted FAA to propose a $10.2 million fine against the airline. The workers are being placed on administrative leave and are “cooperating with the [internal] investigation” into the circumstances surrounding the tardy inspections of Boeing 737s. Previous Southwest responses to the growing controversy had stressed that safety was never compromised.
Air France-KLM will present its formal bid for Alitalia to the management of the Italian carrier on Thursday, March 14. The Air France-KLM board of directors approved the offer yesterday. The offer is contingent on numerous factors, in particular commitment from labor groups to make a success of the takeover. Air France-KLM management reiterated that the deal would strengthen the Alitalia brand name.
U.S. airlines may have received a five-year reprieve from scrambling to find enough pilots because of the recent lifting of the Age 60 mandatory retirement rule, but the pilot shortage will soon catch up. The shortage may be more acute and imminent at the regional airline and instructor level, but it will creep up — and quickly — to major airlines, which need to start planning now and considering new programs, such as paying for training, to bring more pilots into the pool, panelists said at yesterday’s FAA Forecast Conference.
If Airbus loses its World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute with Boeing over launch subsidies for commercial aircraft development, its parent, EADS, can’t pass on any fines or penalties to the Northrop Grumman/EADS Air Force tanker contract, the Pentagon’s top procurement official says.
Giving private investors access to equity shares in state-owned airport regulator Infraero does not mean privatization of current long-term concessions but rather access to stakes in the company through the Sao Paulo stock market (Bovespa), said presidential Chief of Staff Dilma Rouseff.
Eclipse Aviation is on target to deliver one Eclipse 500 very light jet per day by the end of March, and two per day by the fourth quarter; it has delivered 37 so far this year. The U.S. is by far the largest market, with only 22% of bookings being outside the U.S. However, the company says Western and Eastern Europe are hot, and it sees India, Australia and China as growth markets. By 2010, half of its customers will be international, predicts Matt Brown, director of brand management at Eclipse.
Mexico’s airports in February continued to report traffic improvement thanks to stronger domestic traffic, while international traffic recovery seems to be skipping the country’s interior.
The U.K.’s Home Office wants to start issuing identity cards to airport workers as part of an effort to eventually provide cards for all U.K. citizens.
Korean Air and Uzbekistan Airways recently signed a letter of intent (LOI) that, among others, would see the carriers working together to get the Central Asian carrier into the SkyTeam alliance as an associate member.
Pemco World Air Services initially will focus its move into the Boeing 767 passenger-to-freighter conversion market on the Boeing 767-300, but it does not rule out converting -200s as well, Kevin Casey, president of Pemco’s Conversions Division, said yesterday. Casey also said there is a conversion market for both the 767-300 standard-range and extended-range versions. Pemco announced Monday that it is offering Boeing 767 conversions and that it has acquired Wagner Aeronautical, Inc., a California-based conversion engineering firm, as part its strategy.
The European Commission said it raided “a number” of international airlines yesterday “on suspicion that the carriers may have operated an illegal cartel on long-haul passenger flights.”
High fuel costs will likely drive down British Airways operating margins in the next fiscal year, although the company is building its assumptions on more conservative fuel price estimates than IATA’s. The outlook for the 2008/09 year is “more difficult than in previous years,” says BA CFOKeith Williams. The underlying assumption is “a sharp slowdown in the U.S. and the U.K.” with a more moderate slowdown in Asia and Europe. BA already has seen some weakness in non-premium traffic and expects more of that to materialize.
U.S. travel seems to be on the up and up — some 23.9 million overseas travelers visited the U.S., up 10% from the 21.7 million arrivals logged in 2006, according to Commerce Dept. figures cited by the Travel Industry Association. TIA says overseas travel to the U.S. is down some 2 million visitors from 2000 to 2007 and suggests the dip is a result of the U.S. not keeping pace with post-Sept. 11 worldwide travel trends.
Polar Air Cargo won a weekly U.S.-Hong Kong fifth-freedom all-cargo frequency that will enable the carrier to operate between Hong Kong and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates [DOT-OST-2008-0083]. The cargo carrier currently flies six weekly services between Los Angeles and Hong Kong — four of the flights stopover at Seoul Incheon.
The U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will allow price caps at London Heathrow and Stansted airports to rise by 23.5% and 21%, respectively, despite opposition from the top five airlines serving both facilities. The agency was under pressure from airports operator BAA to allow the price cap hike to fund future development. But the top five airlines serving the airports — British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, BMI, Ryanair and EasyJet — claim that the increased prices exceed what is needed to spend to upgrade facilities.
Sharjah-based budget Air Arabia is adding its 11th destination in India and 39th globally to New Delhi, beginning March 31, four times a week, and daily starting May Air Arabia runs the largest destination network in India of any Middle East-based carrier. “New Delhi is one of the most vital financial centers in the South Asia region.…Air Arabia demonstrates its unmatched commitment to India, especially on behalf of the significant Indian expatriate population in the UAE and wider Gulf region. AK Nizar, Head of Commercial Dept., Air Arabia.
The European commission has formally ordered the Italian government to recoup a total of EUR450 million in interest-free loans to Italian aerospace manufacturers in support of 17 R&D programs.
Jet Airways “will join an alliance,” the carrier’s chairman, Naresh Goyal, says. The decision, however, is not due anytime soon — Goyal is looking at merger activity in the U.S. first before making a decision, he told The DAILY at the ITB travel fair in Berlin. Goyal did not rule out joining the Star Alliance, which has invited Air India as a new member (DAILY, Dec. 14). Goyal supports the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, which he describes as “a very good thing. I believe in consolidation which brings some sense in pricing.”
Four more airlines will move into the new Terminal 3 at Singapore Changi Airport on March 28. Joining Singapore Airlines in the terminal will be China Eastern Airlines, Jet Airways, Qatar Airways and United Airlines. The airport is currently conducting trials at the new terminal to prepare carriers for the move.
Frontier saw its yield drop in February, but unit revenue still climbed 5.6% during the month, based on a solid load factor gain. Mainline traffic was up 18.1% on a 7.5% capacity hike, resulting in load factor growing seven points to 77.8%. Yields dropped 3.9%. Subsidiary Lynx reported a load factor of 58.2% for February.
Pemco World Air Services on Monday said it is offering Boeing 767 passenger to freighter conversions and that it has acquired Wagner Aeronautical, Inc., a California-based conversion engineering firm, as part its strategy.
