Quiport, private concessionaires for Quito Mariscal Sucre Airport, barred five international from the use of boarding ramps at the terminal due to a total of US$480,630 owed by them for service fees in December, say local reports.
Airbus is once again upping its 20-year forecast, with 1,600 more aircraft sales projected than only last year. The market is estimated at US$2.8 trillion over 20 years, with competitors vying for 23,385 passenger airliners and 877 new freighters. The 1,600 aircraft additional units comprise 700 fewer used aircraft to be reinserted into operations and traffic growth to 4.9% from 4.8%, adding 500 units to the outlook, says Laurent Rouaud, Airbus VP-market research and forecasts.
The oneworld alliance yesterday confirmed its members will consolidate their London Heathrow operations to two terminals — three and five — by early 2009, and most minimum connection times between alliance airlines will drop from 90 minutes to 60.
The politically troubled nomination of acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell to be the agency’s chief hit another snag yesterday, when New Jersey’s two senators placed a hold on the nomination, preventing it from coming to the Senate floor for a vote. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez, both Democrats, said they have concerns about “serious safety and traffic issues with the FAA.” Both senators are unhappy with FAA changes to the New York area airspace to ease congestion, which they contend is adding to noise pollution.
Chinese aircraft maker Avic I will set up an airline to fly its regional airliners, a move evidently designed to build experience in supporting the aircraft and establishing their reputation for reliability. The carrier, Xingfu Airlines, meaning Happy Airlines, will have China Eastern Airlines as a 40% shareholder and will buy Chinese regional aircraft. Avic I will appoint the general manager.
Port authority Aviation Director Bill DeCota and Stewart International Airport General Manager Diannae Ehler are in the U.K. this week touting the benefits of the facility for another alternative for direct service between New York and Europe. The airport is hoping that the new open-skies treaty will provide more opportunities.
A winter storm in the Midwest on Feb. 6 caused so many cancellations that systemwide operations were down more than 13%, FAA says. Chicago O’Hare was particularly hard hit, with operations down by 57%, compared with average Wednesdays last year. The airport was down to one runway for much of the day.
Midwest Air Group’s traffic was up 10.2% on 10.2% more capacity in January, as gains in the Midwest Connect operation offset weakness in the Midwest Airlines operation, but the group recorded a load factor of 62.4% for the month because of a dip in loads at both airlines. Midwest Airlines traffic was down 6.1% year over year to 283,907 revenue passenger miles. Seat offer fell 2.5 points from January 2007 to 437,302 available seat miles. The airline logged a 64.9% load factor rate, down 2.5 points from the same month last year.
Total passenger traffic at the nine southeastern airports operated by Mexico’s Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) increased 15.7% year over year in January. Domestic traffic was up 27.9% as all airports except Huatulco reported gains in the month. International traffic was up 9% from the previous year — traffic at Merida fell 15.3%, while Tapachula traffic slid further to 17.6%.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air honored five airports for special achievement during its first annual Air Service Conference held Feb. 5-7. The invitation-only conference was designed as a way for the carrier to meet with contenders for Allegiant service, along with checking in with existing facilities. As a result, the carrier will no longer attend air service-related conferences. Illinois’ Greater Peoria Regional Airport won the “Above and Beyond” award for helping Allegiant get an aircraft back in operation after a severe winter storm last year.
Amadeus Consulting is partnering with Aero Tech Consulting (ACTI) to start a $300,000, year-long research project covering the how the aviation industry adopts new information technology for airport business operations.
The U.K.’s National Air Traffic Services this week selected an Era product for ground vehicle tracking at London Gatwick Airport. Era will provide its Squid vehicle tracking units in support of Gatwick’s Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) which is scheduled to become operational in April. The Squid system incorporates ADS-B transponders that will work within A-SMGCS. They will allow controllers to view a more complete picture of ground movements.
Legislation to extend FAA’s contract and tax authority, which expire at the end of this month, could be introduced in the House of Representatives as early as this week. The House Transportation and Infrastructure and Ways and Means Committees are working on a bill that would extend the FAA’s contracting authority and ability to collect taxes, T&I spokesman Jim Berard said. The two committees could introduce legislation as early as today, he said.
CAE has signed two contracts in India — one to become the managing partner of government-owned Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi flight training academy and a joint-venture agreement with the Airport Authority of India to develop the Rajiv Gandhi National Flying Training Institute.
JetBlue reported its passenger unit revenue rose 10% in January, even though its load factor dropped 0.5 points to 75.6%. Traffic rose 7.2% and capacity grew 8%. Passenger numbers were up 4.9%.
Southwest Airlines has launched its 2008 Adopt-A-Pilot mentorship program. From February through May, more than 800 classes of fifth-graders will be able to adopt Southwest pilots. Using aviation-related activities, hundreds of volunteer pilot mentors will guide students through core subjects, such as science and math, either in classroom visits or by e-mail and postcards when they’re on the job. Adopt-A-Pilot launched in 1997 as a small community outreach program. For more details, visit www.southwest.com/adoptapilot
Air Canada yesterday reported its strongest-ever results for both the fourth quarter and full year 2007, and the airline said signs are positive for the current quarter. The carrier’s net profit for the fourth quarter was C$35 million, a turnaround from a C$144-million net loss the previous year. the full year profit of C$429 million, compared to a net loss of C$74 million in 2006.
Continental, looking to increase capacity without adding flights, this week began using Bombardier Q400s on some Continental Connection services from its hub at Newark Liberty Airport.
Mesa reported double-digit declines in traffic, capacity and loads for January 2008, likely the result of winter weather that hurt the carrier’s operations in the month. “Despite the impact on our operations of severe winter weather, our people all around the country worked hard to provide our passengers with the best possible service,” Mesa Air Group Chairman Jonathan Ornstein said in the traffic release.
The push for consolidation has some industry watchers concerned about the potential effects on regional airlines, but Republic Airways’ Chairman and CEO Bryan Bedford isn’t too worried — in fact, he believes Republic is very well positioned for 2008 and is looking forward “to seeing where consolidation takes us, if it happens at all.”
As expected, the House aviation subcommittee yesterday vowed to restore any funds cut from the Airport Improvement Program by the Bush Administration’s FAA budget request, which slashes the program by $765 million to $2.75 billion. “There is no question that [the AIP program funds] will be restored if the cuts are able to go forward as the administration proposed,” House Aviation Subcommittee Jerry Costello, D-Ill., told The DAILY. The majority of the members of the subcommittee on both sides of the aisle oppose any cuts to the AIP program, he said.
After several months of mulling the reorganization of three of its subsidiaries, the SAS Group has decided to divest only the Spirit Air Cargo Handling unit and keep the other two entities for now. The group has decided to give the SAS Ground Services operations another 18 months to prove itself, says Mats Jansson, SAS president and CEO. The unit, for now, will remain an independent subsidiary with targets to meet to retain that status or else be sold. One of the goalposts is improving the cost base by SKR400 million.
