The Air Transport Association Friday last week announced that Douglas Steenland, Northwest Airlines president and CEO, has been elected to serve a two-year term as the chairman of the association’s board of directors. Steenland’s tenure follows American Airlines chief Gerard Arpey’s stint in the position. ATA President James May yesterday thanked Arpey for his service, adding, “We look forward to Doug’s leadership in continuing to advance the public’s interest in a robust, dynamically structured aviation system.”
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport has maintained its position as the world’s busiest airport, according to preliminary statistics released by FAA. The airport went from 976,447 operations in 2006 to 994,466 in 2007, up 1.8%. Rounding out the top three are Chicago O’Hare, from 958,643 in 2006 to 935,000, down 2.4%; and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, 702,722 in 2006 to 686,711, down 2.3%.
FAA paid almost $4.7 million in bonuses between October 2005 and September 2007, according to data obtained by the controllers union. FAA paid former COO Russell Chew a cash bonus in February last year that topped $44,000, according to data the National Air Traffic Controllers Union obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The data, which list all cash bonuses over $5,000, show that other senior managers also received five-figure bonuses.
Steve Wallach issued a call to arms to all United pilots last week as he took over as Master Executive Council chairman of the carrier’s Air Line Pilots Association unit. Vowing to begin the fight to “take back what was stolen from pilots,” Wallach issued personal attacks against UAL Chairman Glenn Tilton and other executives, and asked for unity among pilots to prepare for the inevitable – United’s merger with another carrier.
The Dept. of Homeland Security has formally signed a $29 million contract with BAE Systems and partner American Airlines to test an infrared missile defense system on scheduled passenger flights, but a leading industry groups thinks it’s a bad idea. As previously reported (DAILY, Dec. 11), the contract, announced Friday, Jan. 4, calls for installing BAE’s JetEye infrared laser jamming device on up to three of American’s aircraft making scheduled flights across the U.S. The contract runs through April 2009.
Continental saw its unit revenue increase 5.5%-6.5% in December, but a leading analyst believes the first signs of demand weakness are evident in the airline’s latest report.
The Air Transport Association predicts an industry-wide profit of $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion this year, possibly the first time the U.S. airline industry has reported three consecutive profitable years in eight years. The industry will be profitable despite rising fuel and non-fuel expenses and a softening economy, ATA chief economist John Heimlich noted in the 2008 Economic Outlook. Passenger and cargo revenue strength will continue to sustain the industry this year, the report said.
Texas Aviation Services named founder and long-time CEO Carl “Woody” Woodard chairman emeritus. Woodard formally retired on Dec. 31 but will remain with the company in a consulting role.
Turkish Airlines plans to launch a low-fare subsidiary this year. The company said in a regulatory filing last Friday that the new entity will be based on a Boeing 737-400 operation. The as-yet-unnamed carrier will be based in the country’s capital, Ankara. Turkish Airlines plans to launch 10 new routes this year, mainly to European destinations to position itself against a growing number of low-fare carriers that enter the Turkish market.
Mesa last week named Jorn Bates as its new chief operating officer, one of several senior management changes Mesa announced simultaneously. Bates joined Mesa Air Group in January 2007, serving as VP-East Coast operations and then president of Freedom Air. He previously worked at Delta for 15 years in various management roles. Joe Serratelli is also coming to Mesa from Delta. He will be COO for Freedom, after more than 25 years at Delta. Serratelli and Bates will both report to Mesa Air Group COO Michael Lotz.
The Joint Planning and Development Office plans to unveil the latest version of its air traffic control transformation timeline to industry stakeholders on Feb. 15, followed by a more complete version in the summer. The Integrated Work Plan outlines how the U.S. will move to the model envisioned by the JPDO. In addition, the JPDO board members are scheduled to meet Jan. 11, and the senior policy committee on Jan. 16.
30 Years Ago Jan. 11, 1978 – BCAL Chairman Adam Thomson called on the U.S. government to re-evaluate its policy of “the lower the fare, the better,” or airlines will suffer “severe injury” and “some carriers inevitably will drop by the wayside.” Thomson said “low fares, yes – but not at any price.” 20 Years Ago
Brazil’s GOL saw its group-wide load factor increase slightly in December after significant increases in capacity and traffic. Consolidated system traffic rose 55.7% on a 53.8% capacity increase, resulting in load factor lifting 0.9 points to 68.3%. The largest increases were in international operations, where traffic was up 215.7% on a 218.1% capacity hike; however, load factor dropped 0.4 points to 56.2%. Load factors were much healthier on the domestic side, growing 3.5 points to 72.4%. Traffic rose 37.6%, with capacity rising 31.1%.
Finnair will start a share buy-back program, starting no earlier than Feb. 5, when the carrier posts annual results. The purchase of up to 600,000 shares will end no later than April 1. The purchase was approved during the last annual general meeting. Shares are being used to support the group’s incentive program covering 2007-2009.
Travelers enter the new year with “sober acquiescence” of the frustrations experienced while traveling, says the latest quarterly index from travel insurance firm AccessAmerica. The aggregated hassle factor was down to 3.9 out of a possible 10, and 41% said airport security/passport/border crossing issues were their largest frustration. One in five of those surveyed said they plan to travel more in 2008.
Alaska Airlines last week made two senior appointments, naming Gary Beck as VP-flight operations and Elizabeth Ryan managing director for labor relations. Beck comes to Alaska from Delta, where he was senior VP-flight operations and chief pilot. He was also CEO of the Delta Connection Academy, a pilot training organization in Orlando, Fla. During a 20-year tenure at Delta, Beck held several senior operations posts. He is a captain on the Boeing 727, 757 and 767 aircraft. Beck replaces Kevin Finan, who retired from Alaska last month.
FAA has approved UPS’s application to fly advanced ADS-B operations at Louisville, including the first satellite-guided merging and spacing during approaches in the U.S.
Boeing last week announced a record tally of 1,413 commercial aircraft orders for 2007, thanks to a late flurry of large orders, although it will not be clear until next week whether the U.S. airframer has beaten the Airbus total for the year.
Kazakhstan’s national airline, Air Astana, Friday announced it has chosen Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines for the three Boeing 787-8s it has on firm order. The deal is valued at US$90 million at list prices, and deliveries are expected to begin in 2016. Air Astana has three 787s on firm order, and has options to buy a further three, the airline said in a statement.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) JAN. 16-18 — ACI-NA Insurance & Risk Management Conference, Coral Springs Marriott Hotel, Golf Club & Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 954-753-5598 or 800-311-8018, www.aci-na.org/ asp/meetingdetail.asp?art=1552 JAN. 17 — Wings Club Luncheon featuring Robert Genise, CEO, DAE Capital, Yale Club, New York, 212-867-1770, e-mail: [email protected].
Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, is retiring because of family health issues at the end of 2008. Peterson, who sits on the Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee, is the 18th Republican in the House to decide against seeking re-election in November. Four Democrats, including Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), have also announced their retirement from the House.
