The Port of Seattle’s Aviation Division in 2006 represented 4.8% of the total air emissions associated with the airport, while the public’s portion was 11.4%, according to a new report on greenhouse gas emissions inventory.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. has selected the members of the Tarmac Delay Task Force, which Secretary Mary Peters announced earlier this week (DAILY, Jan. 23). Heading the task force is Samuel Podberesky, DOT assistant general counsel for aviation enforcement and proceedings. The committee includes a broad selection of airline, airport and union executives and consumer rights advocates, including Kate Hanni, founder of the Coalition for an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights.
U.K. all-business-class airline Silverjet is considering a franchise operation in Dubai. The airline has been approached by several potential investors, CEO Lawrence Hunt revealed in an interview, and the new unit could serve routes from Dubai to India, South Africa or China, he said. Silverjet started operations in early 2007 and currently flies from London Luton to New York and Dubai.
GOL and KLM inked an interline agreement, the fourth the Brazilian carrier has signed with a SkyTeam alliance member since June 2007. GOL has interline agreements with Continental, Delta and Air France and also code shares with SkyTeam associate member Copa. Effective Jan. 17, KLM passengers can buy tickets to GOL’s 60 destinations in Brazil and South America and can have their baggage checked to their final destination when making connections in Brazil.
Airline check-in counters at Hong Kong International Airport now have the capacity to print integrated radio frequency identification (RFID) baggage tags. The new tags have an embedded RFID chip with a barcode that will replace barcode-only baggage tags on an airline-by-airline basis. The airport has used RFID for checked bags since 2005, said a spokeswoman.
Connect Aeromexico, Aeromexico’s commuter subsidiary, last week unveiled units of its new fleet of 27 Embraer NG 50-passenger regional jets at a special event in Guadalajara Miguel Hidalgo Airport,now the home base for 60 daily Connect Aeromexico departures. The carrier serves an expanding network of l4 domestic and seven international points connecting to 300 final destinations in Mexico and abroad.
China Eastern Airlines is still twisting and turning, trying to retain its independence in the face of a bid for control from the parent of Air China. In the latest move, the struggling Shanghai-based carrier has agreed to cooperate with China Southern Airlines in marketing, buying aircraft and ground services, according to the Shanghai Securities News. China Southern is willing to propose China Eastern as a member of the Skyteam alliance, but the two carriers do not propose to invest in each other.
The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which represents Boeing’s engineers, technical and professional workers, has named Ray Goforth, 39, as its executive director as it begins a busy year of contract negotiations. With Boeing coming off three years of record orders, SPEEA members will be seeking wage and benefit improvements. But they’re also eager to see Boeing management pay more attention to their professional views, particularly now that their worries about problems arising in outsourcing work on the 787 have proven accurate.
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly yesterday admitted there is some risk that the airline could break its run of quarterly profits during the first quarter, although he stressed Southwest has plans to create enough revenue to offset rising costs.
Airbus plans to retain significant stakes in the factories it wants to sell this year. According to industry information, the manufacturer will hold on to a 40% stake each in its Varel and Nordenham sites, while parent EADS will keep 40% of the Augsburg plant. In France, Airbus will keep 30% of Saint Nazaire Ville and Meaulte.
Harrell Associates Harrell 100 Family of Airfare Benchmarking Reports Top Carriers, Top Routes ROUTES FREQUENCY CONTENT FORMAT 300 WEEKLY 30,000 MONTHLY EXCEL DATA ELEMENTS DATA CUSTOM REPORTS CURRENT AND ANY COMBINATION OF DATA COMPARABLE YEAR-AGO FOR MORE INFORMATION: [email protected] or call 212-358-1709
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters reinforced the department’s focus on congestion issues by announcing the creation of a Tarmac Delay Task Force, the final membership of which is expected to be announced today. The aim of the task force is to “make sure airlines and airports do a better job coordinating with one another on how to handle lengthy tarmac delays and the unexpected weather events that can strand thousands at airports,” Peters said yesterday in Washington.
Air India on Feb. 8 is launching its second nonstop flight to New York with a Boeing 777-200LR from Delhi to New York Kennedy. It started a nonstop service between Mumbai and New York last August. The carrier chose JFK over Newark because a survey revealed most business travelers prefer to land at JFK, Chairman and Managing Director Vasudevan Thulasidas told The DAILY, adding that he expects the front end of the aircraft to fly full.
Richard Branson is looking at setting up a domestic airline in India. The entrepreneur told reporters that he has sought permission to launch the venture, but he did not give more details. India’s 49% cap on foreign ownership for domestic airlines would have to be reviewed unless Branson teams with local investors. His Virgin Group, together with partners, has launched several airlines, among them Virgin America, Virgin Blue, Virgin Nigeria and Virgin Express, now part of SN Brussels Airlines.
A judge has approved a $130 million airport noise lawsuit brought against Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, removing the final hurdle and allowing the facility to move ahead with soundproofing almost 10,000 homes. The lawsuit was brought by the cities of Minneapolis, Richfield and Eagan, along with the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (DAILY, Oct. 19). The airport has already spent $360 million on noise mitigation efforts, said spokesman Patrick Hogan. The process should be completed by 2014, he added.
British Airways is simplifying how passengers can buy carbon offsets for their flight and expanding its own support of “greening” initiatives. Among the new initiatives BA announced is support for research at Cambridge University to better understand the effects of aviation on the environment aside from carbon dioxide. Although CO2 has been the centerpiece of the pollution debate, other environmental footprint issues of aviation, such as contrails, are less well understand. BA says it hopes the Cambridge research will yield results by 2012.
Spanish airline Air Europa placed an order for eight Boeing 787-8s; Boeing listed the order for an unidentified customer last year. The order also includes purchase rights for an additional eight aircraft. Air Europa was one of the customers for the original version of Airbus’ much-changed A350. It is so far the only airline to opt out of its previous contract and switch to Boeing.
Debt watcher Standard & Poor’s it maintaining an A rating and stable outlook on the U.K.’s Manchester Airports Group (MAG) despite the recent decision by the Dept. for Transport to remove price control regulation for the facility from the Civil Aviation Authority.
The Bush Administration is appointing Lynn Tierney as the next head of communications for FAA. Tierney served as deputy commissioner for the New York Fire Dept. from 1996 to 2002 and was present at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Most recently she was president of the Tribute Center near Ground Zero, and was also head of external affairs for the Arnell Group, a global branding and marketing firm.
In a rare move by a union at Southwest Airlines, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 555 held a news conference yesterday to alert the media to the fact that it has opened contract negotiations with the company. The union and management have yet to discuss pay, and have only discussed staffing, mergers and acquisitions, grievance issues and discrimination policies. The TWU, which represents about 6,800 ramp, operations and freight agents at the airline, is signalling a change in attitude by Southwest employees.
UAL Corp. has seemingly issued a challenge to other airlines to help all continue to improve their revenues and stay ahead of rising fuel costs — raise fares accordingly.
