The International Air Transport Association notes that Indonesia is ahead of the industry average with 95.5% e-ticketing usage, and is “well positioned” to meet IATA’s June 1 goal for 100% e-ticketing. The industry-wide e-ticketing rate is 93%. Russian lags significantly at 54%, and Africa and the Middle East regions also behind at 83% and 84%, respectively.
30 Years Ago Feb. 27, 1978 – The U.S. and Japan were unable to resolve their differences over proposed operations charges at the new Tokyo Narita Airport, and the U.S. may charge JAL more to land its planes in the U.S. Japan wants to charge $6.6K to land a 747 at Narita -- to do the same at both Haneda and JFK costs $3K, while the fee at LAX is a little more than $1K. 20 Years Ago
The U.S. Transportation Dept. last week awarded AirTran and Spirit the right to operate new daily flights from Washington National Airport. Spirit will use the new authority to fly a daily roundtrip to either Jacksonville or Milwaukee, and Spirit intends to fly to Fort Lauderdale. The services must begin by May 3. DOT said it selected AirTran and Spirit’s applications because they would offer the “greatest competitive benefits.” Not only are they low-cost carriers, they would also offer more seats than competing carriers, DOT said.
Spring break travel is shifting to the U.S. from the Caribbean because of the weak economy, Kayak.com data finds. Miami is the top choice, followed by Las Vegas. However, only 10.8% said the price of flights is causing travelers to drive instead.
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) MARCH 4 — Laureates, Washington, D.C. MARCH 12-13 — Aircraft Data, Phoenix, Ariz. APRIL 15-17 — MRO/MRO Military/AVIATION WEEK’s Interiors, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. SEPT. 23 — Green Aviation, Madrid, Spain
Inspectors for Transport Canada are getting a new format for their credentials. The new credentials include a photo identification card, a certificate of designation and any accompanying badges or stamps. The cards will identify inspectors as government officials with designated powers to perform certain duties. They will also be equipped with state-of-the-art security features that meet standard security requirements, as necessary.
Grupo Aeroportuario del Sur CFO Adolfo Castro anticipates some traffic leakage at Cancun once the new Riviera Maya Airport opens. “Once the new airport is open, Cancun airport traffic will suffer, as some of the traffic going to Playa del Carmen will go to the new airport because of location,” he tells analysts. “How many locations will use the new airport? I don’t know and I don’t have an estimate, but it could be 20% of Cancun’s passenger traffic.”
Boeing is adamant it is committed to the shorter-haul 787-300, in reaction to reports that it is studying canceling the variant to focus on getting the delayed 787-800 back on track. So far, it has only 30 orders from ANA and 13 from JAL for the 787-3. Boeing does acknowledge that engineering resources are being diverted from other development efforts, including the stretched 787-9, to resolve problems on the 787-8. The company declines to comment on possibile follow-on delays to 787 family members that are set for entry into service in 2010.
Northwest’s Master Executive Council (MEC) met Friday and plans to meet again today in Bloomington, Minn., in a closed session to discuss the confidential briefing it received on Monday concerning a merger. The MEC told its members of the Air Line Pilots Association that it is receiving daily updates to the “status of our situation.” The team that has been chosen by the company to explore a merger is one that continues to represent the best interests of the pilots, the MEC has determined.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) MARCH 4 — ATCA’s FAA Budget Briefing to Industry, Marriott Fairview Park, Falls Church, Va., 703-299-2430, http://www.atca.org/faabudgetbrief2008.asp MARCH 7 — Wings Club “Luncheon on the Road” featuring Willie Walsh, CEO British Airways, Westin Dublin Hotel, Dublin, Ireland, 212-867-1770, e-mail: [email protected]
The Asia/Pacific’s homeland security market earned revenues of $20.5 billion in 2007 and is estimated to reach $36.2 billion in 2014, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan.
JetBlue is continuing its 2008 summer expansion by introducing a daily nonstop between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, beginning May 1. This will be JetBlue’s sixth destination from Salt Lake City.
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The European Union has begun talks with Montenegro on eventual visa-free travel between the Balkan state and the EU. Montenegro and the EU have had a liberalized visa system in place since the beginning of this year. The aim is to move toward full visa-free travel for all Montenegrins to the EU. The EU has pledged to continue supporting Montenegro financially and politically in order to reach this goal.
Continental says it has reached agreements to acquire winter slots at London Heathrow, and it expects to pay $93 million for them this year. Last year, Continental said it was paying $130 million for Heathrow slots. The carrier is scheduled next month to launch two twice-daily flights to Heathrow from its Newark and Houston hubs. Continental says it is still looking for additional slots at Heathrow.
The Travel Industry Association (TIA) is throwing its energy behind seeing the Travel Promotion Act passed by Congress. The bill, introduced last fall, is out of committee, but is stalled due to a hold placed on it by Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), TIA President Roger Dow said last week. TIA is working with Coburn’s office to have the hold removed, Dow said. The bill is central to reversing the slide in overseas visitors to the U.S.
Qantas is seeing “no significant dampening” in demand in most of its markets, particularly in the Australian domestic and outbound markets. Exceptions, however, are the U.K. and Japanese markets, where there has been “some softening.” The carrier expects to see profits increase 40% for its 2007/2008 fiscal year. For the first half of its fiscal year through Dec. 31, the airline saw a net profit of A$618 million (US$571.1 million).
A new company formed by former Orbitz executives is selling a new online fraud prevention solution to the airline industry that promises to save millions of dollars in credit card losses.
The first meeting of the Group on International Climate Change (GIACC) will take place Feb. 25-27 at the ICAO headquarters in Montreal. GIACC was established last fall after the 36th ICAO General Assembly to study ways to reduce civil aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions. The first meeting will be restricted to delegations from 15 members, with equitable representation from the developed and the developing world, ICAO says on its Web site.
Austrian Airlines reported above-average passenger growth of 8.1% in January as it continues its focus on Eastern Europe after reducing its presence in several long-haul markets.
