Airlines are keeping a watchful eye on oil prices as they skirt the $100-per-barrel mark, but economists say a less obvious worry may be the precipitous fall in demand for air travel as rising energy costs put pressure on discretionary income. This possibility could be further compounded if the U.S. economy tips into recession, as some economists are starting to predict. The possibility of recession itself could be made more real if energy prices remain high and demand for oil rises due to a cold winter in the U.S., economists say.
Iberia has normalized operations and schedules on its daily non-stops between Madrid and Quito. These flights had been suspended, and Guayaquil used as a gateway to Ecuador instead since Nov. 9, when an Iberia Airbus A340-600 landed long at Quito's Mariscal Sucre Airport, 9,000 feet above sea level, and went off the runway. No one was injured, but to remove the aircraft from where it landed, Iberia had to import 17 tons of equipment from the U.S.
Transavia says it is buying seven Boeing 737s and has taken an option for three more of the narrowbodies to modernize its existing fleet of 737s. The Netherlands-based, Air France-KLM low-fare adjunct hopes to phase out older 737s starting in 2009. The first of the new batch of 737s are to be delivered that spring. The rest of the aircraft would be delivered at a rate of two per year through 2012.
Chicago, New York and Seattle would see more cargo service from Russia thanks to new service from Khabarovsk that Aeroflot-Cargo plans to launch. The DC-10 freighters used for the flights to New York Kennedy and Chicago would stopover in Anchorage, with the carrier operating twice weekly to New York and weekly to both Seattle and Chicago [DOT-OST-2007-0072].
Kenya-based JetLink Express has added two CRJ-100s to its fleet, and is looking at flying to Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), Khartoum (Sudan) and Kigali (Rwanda). Incorporated in March 2006, JetLink is an IATA member airline. "Our main objective is provision of air services within the East African and horn of Africa region including southern Sudan, from Kenya," said CEO Elly Aluvale. The airline operates Fokker28s, CRJ-100ERs, DC-9s and MD11s within the East African region.
Talks between the Sri Lankan government and Emirates Airlines over a management contract continue to drag on, and this is putting Sri Lankan Airlines' fleet expansion plans on hold. Sri Lankan Airlines had planned to buy 14 aircraft to bring its fleet up to 30 aircraft by 2013. The aircraft were slated to serve the Australia, East Africa and China markets.
More reliable and efficient journey times for passengers using London Heathrow Airport would benefit travelers and the U.K. economy, said Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly.
Horizon is seeking Transportation Dept. approval to put Qantas' code on flights the carrier operates between Los Angeles and Portland, Ore. The code share would launch shortly after the carrier wins a statement of authorization from DOT [DOT-OST-2007-0070}.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. will not reconsider its Sept. 10 decision that rejected ExpressJet's motion to treat operating data for its independent branded flying operation as confidential. DOT said it could not find "a compelling justification for overturning the original denial" of the motions [DOT-OST-2007-28396].
Cargolux Airlines International is expanding its service to Kazakhstan. After beginning service in August to Almaty, the carrier says starting this week it will also operate to Atyrau, in western Kazakhstan. The service is focused mainly on supporting the need of the oil-drilling sector. The flight to Atyrau goes through Baku and then continues to Shanghai. The Baku-to Atyrau leg is operated in partnership with Azerbaijan's Silk Way Airlines.
Mexicana and JAL in December will launch code sharing between Mexico and Japan via Los Angeles. JAL's code would appear on Mexicana's flights between Monterrey and Los Angeles, which will serve as the transit point and will connect to JAL's Tokyo and Osaka flights. Mexicana needs code-share authority from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to cover the use of Los Angeles as a transfer point [DOT-OST-2007-0074].
U.S. airlines employed 3% more workers in September 2007 than in the same month last year, the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported recently. The bump represents the eighth consecutive increase in full-time employee (FTE) levels from the same month of the previous year. BTS counts two part-time positions as one FTE.
Qantas has joined the growing list of international carriers that have pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix charges for cargo shipments, and the airline has agreed to pay a $61 million fine resulting from a U.S. Justice Dept. investigation.
Air France is headed for an intense period of talks with its cabin crew to renew their contract and avoid another strike before the current labor agreement expires Jan. 2. However, airline officials note they have some wiggle room, because the two sides could extend the existing labor deal until April to buy more time for negotiations.
British Airways will not pursue an all-out fight with Caja Madrid over its planned takeover of Iberia but is keeping an eye on expanding its relationship with the Spanish carrier. BA management yesterday decided it would not exercise its option of buying shares being sold by Iberia core shareholders BBVA and Logista; the pre-emptive rights expired yesterday.
BAA must drastically cut waiting times at security checkpoints or face fines that could total up to GBP75 million under new target average wait times proposed by Britain's Civil Aviation Authority. The CAA is cutting the maximum wait time to 10 minutes at Heathrow and 16 minutes at Gatwick. Britain's largest airports operator says the new benchmark fails to take in account the current security threat facing the U.K.
Swiss International Air Lines has introduced a new daily service between Zurich and Delhi, using an Airbus A330-200 aircraft. Delhi becomes the second destination in India along with Mumbai, and passengers now have a choice of 14 weekly flights between India and Switzerland. Swiss pulled out of Delhi in 2003, when it was faced with a crisis. "Delhi is the first intercontinental destination we are adding to our network," said CEO Christoph Franz.
More low-cost carriers are turning to third-party online distributors for bookings after originally starting with business models that shunned giving away control of their seat inventory.
