The Transportation Security Administration this week launched a blog, titled “Evolution of Security,” that aims to let travelers voice their ideas, concerns and comments on transportation security.
A Boeing 737 of Indonesia’s Merpati Airlines carrying 141 passengers has hit a cow on landing at an incompletely fenced airport. No one was hurt — except the cow, which died when it was struck by the aircraft’s left engine. The engine was damaged in the Monday incident at Mopah airport in Papua, the Indonesian province on New Guinea. Only 1,500 meters of the airport’s 7,000-meter perimeter is fenced, says the manager of the facility.
ICAO experts in operations and marketing Hector Rios and Jorge Cordoba arrived in La Paz this week to help state-owned Boliviana de Aviacion (BoA) set up technical and administrative infrastructure for its planned takeoff in three months (DAILY, Jan. 25.). Separately, local analysts were intrigued by a release from China’s Ministry of Trade that two Chinese-made, 60-passenger Xinzhou-60 turboprops would soon be flying commercially for a “South American airline,” possibly BoA.
Environment Canada is testing a short-term weather forecasting system at that could give airport and airline officials more accurate weather forecasting. The Canadian Airport Nowcasting Project (CAN-Now) operates at Toronto Pearson Airport. Funding for the project began in April 2006 and is due to end in fall 2009.
A sweeping global warming bill being considered by the Senate could have major repercussions for the airline industry by calling for a study of aviation’s share of greenhouse gas emissions, potentially leading to more dramatic measures.
Last year’s strong increase in international traffic will probably not be repeated this year, with a December growth slowdown pointing to a wider trend, according to new data released by the International Air Transport Association yesterday. International traffic grew by 7.4% in 2007, up considerably from the 5.9% gain in 2006. However, the December increase was just 6.7%, after a 9.3% rise in November. “This step down reflects the impact of rising prices and economic uncertainty that grew more acute in December,” IATA said.
The reality of sustained high fuel prices and resulting urgent need for less domestic capacity supports the case for consolidation in 2008 largely among legacy carriers, which comprise some 55% of industry revenue, according to a Raymond James report.
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly yesterday stressed the airline will not be left out in the cold if industry consolidation occurs, and he also reinforced the importance of adding international code-share partners to meet revenue growth targets.
EasyJet is running a trial to provide upgraded services for business travelers. Under EasyJet Plus, flyers would pay up to GPB80 (US$161.97) to be able to board the aircraft first and have a dedicated check-in line.
JetBlue and Aer Lingus are today scheduled to reveal new details of their proposed marketing tie-up. The two carriers have been talking for months about plans to link their Web sites.
Changi Airports International has been chosen to manage Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd Airport. The deal, between Saudi Arabia’s General Administration of Civil Aviation and CAI, is expected to close in two months. King Fahd, in the eastern half of the country, is the world’s largest airport in terms of land, covering 780 square kilometers, said CAI. The project is CAI’s second in the Middle East, said CEO Chow Kok Fong. -
Air Onehas filed an appeal with the Italian Regional Administration Court of Lazio to have the government’s decision overruled to name Air France-KLM as the preferred bidder in takeover talks with Alitalia. Air One was the losing bidder.
Air Astana, flag carrier of the Republic of Kazakhstan, achieved record growth during 2007, with available seat kilometers up by 42% from 2006 despite spiralling fuel costs. Passengers carried increased 46% to 2.13 million, with associated revenue up 48% for the year. The growth was partially attributed to its fleet that increased to 18 aircraft during 2007 following the delivery of two Boeing 767-300ERs, two Airbus A320s and two A321s.
Richard Branson signals he plans to enter the Russian airline market. Talks are under way with two or three potential partner airlines, he tells the Russia Forum investment conference in Moscow. Partnerships could be announced within three months. However, Deputy Transport Minister Boris Korol stresses that ownership levels would be an issue, and that non-Russian airlines would not be allowed to serve domestic routes.
Etihad Airways, one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world, appears to be stepping back and taking a more measured approach to sustainability and revenue management. Although its executives say the airline has no plans to slow its growth, the new management team — put in place in October 2006 to lead the now four-year-old airline — has developed a road map to achieve breakeven by 2010. Along the way are new ideas to better market the product, adjust the fleet, manage yields and improve flight operations.
Bolivia’s ministry of public works and transport regulator last week decided airline regulator DGAC will draft and implement the legal and operational framework to regulate charter flights in Bolivia.
Singapore Airlines says it will launch Airbus A380 service on the Singapore-London route, beginning March 18, after taking delivery of its third A380 in mid-March. London will be Singapore’s second A380 destination after Sydney.
Singapore has concluded three bilateral Open Skies Agreements (OSAs) with Denmark, Norway and Sweden, lifting most restrictions on air traffic. The accords “are even more liberal than conventional OSAs, as they provide for unlimited ‘hubbing’ rights for cargo airlines of Singapore and the Scandinavian countries,” boasted the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Unlimited seventh-freedom rights enable Singapore freight carriers to station aircraft anywhere in Scandinavia and operate international routes from there without restrictions and vice versa.
Aeropostal/Alas de Venezuela owner Nelson Ramiz named 11-year veteran chairman of the board Abelardo Valino as new president and CEO of the airline and immediately tasked him with responding to criticisms levied by Venezuela civil aviation regulator INAC.
The average airfare for domestic travel in the U.S. in the third quarter was $328, down 0.8% from 2006 and up 0.7% from the second quarter, reports the U.S. Transportation Dept.’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
GOL and Varig parent GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. intends to buy back up to 5.5 million of the company’s preferred shares, or 8.8% of the total number of outstanding shares in the market, as part of a share repurchase program. The goal of the buyback is “to capture an important potential for value creations due to the current price” of GOL shares, the company said. The shares would be held in treasury and subsequently resold or canceled without reducing GOL’s capital, the company noted.
