European Union governments will not have to finance the security measures implemented at EU airports, according to a compromise hammered out this week by the European parliament and the EU council of ministers in a so-called “conciliation procedure” about new draft rules on aviation security. The European parliament initially echoed concerns voiced by the industry and wanted governments to pay for all security upgrades that supplement basic measures (DAILY, April 26).
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters yesterday ended months of speculation about New York airspace reform by announcing peak-hour flight caps at JFK and Newark and raising the specter of slot auctions for any new capacity generated at the two airports. Peters also announced the creation of an executive-level DOT position in New York to oversee operational improvements in the New York airspace — a position some in the industry are already calling the “New York airspace tsar.”
The decision on selecting the preferred bidder for Alitalia was postponed again, and the troubled airline’s board of directors decided to reconvene on Dec. 21 to continue its appraisal of the rival bids.
The FL Group has sold 15 million shares in Finnair, reducing its holdings in the finish carrier to 12.40% from above 15%. The transaction represented a divestiture of 11.7% of its holding, says the FL Group. The company says it is part of a broader strategy to reduce its exposure to the aviation sector. FL Group and the Finish government owned a combined 80% of Finnair before the selldown. In addition to the core holding, affiliated FL Trading holds another 0.29%.
Lockheed Martin is running a simulation in a research laboratory in Rockville, Md., to show how System Wide Information Management (SWIM) technology can transform air traffic control nationwide. The simulation was demonstrated for Aviation Daily on Dec. 11.
The Southern California Regional Airport Authority (SCRAA) in late January will unveil results of a survey designed to define its mission going forward. SCRAA was revitalized in March by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and charged with finding regional solutions to take pressure off Los Angeles International Airport. The authority was originally created in 1984, but was deactivated almost 20 years later.
Debt watcher Fitch has given an F1 rating for up to $80 million in commercial paper notes for the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District Airport Facilities.
Iberia added three weekly frequencies to its current twice-daily Madrid-Buenos Aires service, all operated with 352-seat Airbus A340-600s configured for 52 in Business Plus and the rest in Economy. A pioneer in Spain-Argentina air services since 1946, Iberia now becomes the leader in long-hauls from Madrid with three daily flights to Buenos Aires on some days of the week, followed by Sao Paulo and Mexico City.
A report by Colombian Air Transport Association (Atac) says that higher taxes, more surcharges for spiraling fuel costs and other local costs are closing the gap between Colombia’s historically lower airfares and those of other countries.
EADS’ board of directors is meeting today to decide on the long-standing plans of selling up to six Airbus factories (DAILY, Oct. 9). Even on Tuesday, the decision was still open according to industry sources. While EADS CEO Louis Gallois and Airbus CEO Thomas Enders were heavily arguing in favor of selling, the board appeared to be leaning toward shelving the idea. The decline of the dollar has made the business case for investors even more difficult, as Airbus wants to pay its new suppliers in dollars to shed the currency risk.
U.K.-based Astraeus has applied for a foreign carrier permit and corresponding exemption that will enable it to fly services from the U.S. to European Union countries once the U.S.-European Union open-skies deal takes effect on March 30, 2008. The airline currently flies from London and Manchester to several destinations in Africa, as well as to Kazakhstan, France and Egypt. Astraeus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northern Travel Holding, which also owns Copenhagen-based Sterling Airlines [DOT-OST-2007-0098].
Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines has begun taking over a 200,000-square-foot maintenance hangar that was abandoned by Delta in April 2006 as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. ASA is moving its headquarters into the facility, said spokeswoman Kate Modulo. “We’re also using it for line maintenance, and we’re already using it for overnight maintenance,” she said. “We will start moving employees into the facility in the first quarter of 2008, to be completed by April.”
Germany’s Fraport AG has won government approval to build a fourth runway at Frankfurt Airport. Fraport Chairman Wilhelm Bender signed the final agreement with Alois Rhiel, the Hesse minister of economics, transport and state development, calling it “an important step on the road to Frankfurt Airport’s urgently needed expansion.” The runway is scheduled to open by 2012. The airports operator has long complained that the lack of a new runway has hurt its position among European hub airports, including Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Gulfstream International Airlines parent Gulfstream International Group last week launched an initial public offering that saw the company offering 800,000 shares of common stock at US$8.00 per share. The airline’s common stock will trade on AMEX under the ticker symbol “GIA.”
Skybus this week won from the U.S. Transportation Dept. exemption authority to serve the Columbus-Freeport market three weekly Airbus A319 services that the carrier said it was offering “as a result of a specific request from the government of the Bahamas.” Freeport would be Skybus’ second destination in the Bahamas, as the carrier won an exemption to fly to Nassau in July [DOT-OST-2007-28587].
The European Court of Justice yesterday ruled that the U.K. and Ireland may not participate in establishing standards for biometrics and security features in Schengen-area passports. The two countries are not part of the 15-member Schengen visa-free area, and so the Court ruled that the U.K. and Ireland may not participate in Schengen rulemaking. The U.K. informed the Council of the European Union that it was to take part in establishing rules and standards for biometrics in passports.
After much opposition from the American Society of Travel Agents to rising fees, the Airlines Reporting Corp. has decided to split the collection of the fixed-fee portion of its new annual administrative fees. ARC will collect $150 in January and the balance in July. Other annual and quarterly fees remain as approved by the ARC board on Dec. 6. ARC says it will publish the final collection schedule in the first week of January.
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters today is expected to announce proposals to ease the New York airspace congestion issue. At the same event, Peters plans to outline steps the department, airlines and airports are taking to prevent excessive delays during the upcoming holiday travel period. Peters will be speaking at the FAA command center.
International passenger traffic in Venezuela has grown so far this year by 15% from 2006 to an estimated total 1,820,000 passengers, the Venezuelan Airline Association (ALAV) reported. ALAV President Humberto Figueras also noted that, contrary to previous years, load factors in 2007 have not been seasonal and instead have sustained high levels all year. However, he admitted that industry-wide bottlenecks still pose problems at Carnival, Easter Week, Christmas and New Year’s.
