The cockpit crew’s incompetence caused the 2004 crash of a Flash Airlines Boeing 737-300, concluded a report drawn up by four French independent experts. The report, handed over earlier this month to a French prosecution judge, also exonerates the manufacturer of the 737, which fell into the Red Sea shortly after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh Airport on Jan. 3, 2004 (DAILY, Jan. 7, 2004). One hundred forty-eight people died on board Flight 604.
During negotiations last week in Washington, the U.S. and Russia agreed to changes to their air service agreement, allowing more overflights for U.S. carriers and lifting the charter restrictions for both countries, a senior State Dept. official told The DAILY. Delegations from both countries updated the annexes to the 1994 Air Transport Agreement and will return to the table later this year to discuss further code-sharing opportunites, said John Byerly, deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation affairs.
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has reached a settlement with some of the airlines in its fight to raise fees at Los Angeles Airport. Delta, Northwest, American, Continental and United were covered under the settlement, airlines that have long-term leases at LAX going back to 1984, LAWA COO Steve Martin told The DAILY.
AerCap believes strong aircraft and engine lease activity will allow the company to beat fourth-quarter earnings-per-share estimates, and management notes the next two years also look bright. Klaus Heinemann, CEO for the Dutch aircraft lessor, says that “our transactions in the fourth quarter and full year [of] 2007 show that the current market for aircraft assets remains strong.”
Cargo carrier ABX Air is awaiting U.S. Transportation Dept. exemptions to operate cargo flights to the Bolivian cities of La Paz, Oruro, Cochabamba, Sucre, Santa Cruz, Robore and Puerto Suarez from Miami. [DOT-OST-2008-0021].
Spanish investment fund Inversiones Hemisferio, the largest shareholder of low-cost carrier Vueling Airlines, confirmed talks about a possible merger between Vueling and Clickair, an Iberia affiliate.
AeroLogic, the new cargo airline launched by Lufthansa Cargo and DHL, will start scheduled services in April 2009, the two companies revealed at a news conference this week in Frankfurt. The airline will start its operation with a fleet of two Boeing 777-200LR freighters. The joint venture was announced last year and replaces an existing cooperation agreement of the same name. Lufthansa Cargo has been operating the equivalent of seven MD-11s on behalf of DHL, but that agreement is now superseded by the dedicated airline.
Cape Air on Feb. 12 will launch three daily flights between the New York communities of Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake and Boston,. The carrier was selected by the U.S. Transportation Dept. earlier this month to operate Essential Air Service in the markets. Cape Air is picking up the market from Big Sky, which in late December announced plans to cease flying (DAILY, Jan. 2). The only carrier to submit a proposal for service, Cape Air will receive subsidy from DOT to operate the service through Feb. 12, 2009 [DOT-OST-2003-14783].
Northwest Airlines said that despite continued higher fuel prices, the carrier will continue to see revenue grow and strong demand in its bookings. The airline paid $2.35 per gallon for fuel — its single largest expense — up 42 cents year over year, and forecast that costs in 2008 would be $2.57 per gallon, excluding taxes. CFO Dave Davis said the carrier had previously hedged about 50% of its fuel exposure for the quarter, using a combination of collars and swaps.
JetBlue yesterday cut its capacity guidance for this year, and announced it will sell more A320s than it orignally planned. The carrier said it will grow capacity by 5%-8% this year, down from earlier guidance of 6%-9% growth. JetBlue will plans to sell six A320s, four more than previously announced. Three will be sold in the second quarter, one in the third quarter, and two in the fourth quarter.
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Delta late in February will begin to carry the code of SkyTeam partner Korean on its flights between Atlanta and Dayton, Ohio, and Buenos Aires. The traffic beyond Korean’s U.S. gateways will be on a blind-sector basis only, the carriers said [DOT-OST-2003-14367].
Even if the ownership and control rules were relaxed, Air France-KLM would have no interest in investing in a U.S. carrier, Leo van Wijk, the airline’s vice chairman and chairman of the SkyTeam alliance, said yesterday in Washington. Instead, Air France-KLM sees more promise in such relationships as the joint-venture agreement it has with Northwest, van Wijk said. He further noted that Air France-KLM is also not interested in setting up a low-cost carrier or other airline in the U.S.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is still negotiating with Boeing and Airbus for widebodies and narrowbodies, but it will not be making an announcement at the upcoming Singapore Air Show. CEO James Hogan says the board will likely take until mid-year to decide, and any order will be for at least 50 aircraft to cover Etihad’s needs until 2020. U.S. expansion beyond the New York Kennedy gateway will be announced in 2009 and could be to Chicago, Washington or Atlanta.
American is adding another Mexico route to its network, launching a daily nonstop flight between Dallas/Fort Worth and Tampico. The flights will be operated by American Eagle, using 44-seat Embraer ERJ-140s, and begins April 7. The new route means American will serve 15 cities in Mexico from DFW, including eight operated by Eagle. DFW notes this will be its 40th international destination and the seventh added during the past 12 months.
AirTran’s introduction of six new flights from Milwaukee reflects the airport’s growing importance in the airline’s network as both a connecting hub and a catchment for local traffic, a senior executive says.
Travel delays remain a problem for business travelers and more than 80% feel that airlines should provide them a sliding scale refund if flights are late, according to a new survey from New Jersey-based corporate travel management company Directravel. Directravel surveyed 356 respondents and asked 12 questions about their feelings on flight delays. The survey found that 83% of respondents felt that a delay of up to 30 minutes was acceptable, while 45% were upset by and 46% felt that delays of over one hour were completely unacceptable.
A Ryanair advertisement showing Nicolas Sarkozy and girlfriend Carla Bruni is “unacceptable,” said a spokesman for the French president, and the French executive is “considering all possible legal steps” in reaction to the ad. Bruni is depicted in the newspaper advertisement as saying, “With Ryanair, all my family can come to my wedding.”
