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.
London Heathrow Airport needs a third runway to keep up with European competitors, including Amsterdam Schiphol, according to a new report released by the U.K. Dept. for Transport.
Airlines should not be subject to the mandates of S.2191, "America's Climate Security Act" currently before the Senate, as the bill takes "the wrong approach for [the] industry," ATA President James May wrote last week in a letter to Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.). Applying the bill to commercial aviation "simply is unnecessary," May wrote, arguing that as an industry, airlines are focused on reducing fuel burn, which translates into reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the industry has improved fuel efficiency 103% since 1978, May wrote.
Deals with KLM, TAP Portugal and China are adding to the Airbus order book, but the aircraftmaker also is continuing its struggle with the fall in the dollar. In recent days, KLM has said it would buy two further airbus A330-200s, bringing its fleet to 12 aircraft, and TAP Portugal agreed to take 12 A350XWBs; it had previously planned to buy 10 of the smaller A350s. TAP also says it plans to order eight more A320s, intended to expand the airline's short- and medium-haul network.
The summer of 2007 was a record-breaking season for international travel to the U.S., reported the U.S. Commerce Dept.'s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI) -- 14. 3 million visitors spent 15% more during the summer 2007 than in 2006, or $30.7 billion. Figures released last week show that some 5.3 million international travelers visited the U.S. in August 2007, up 15% from the same month last year. Those visitors spent $10.3 billion in the month, up 14.2% year over year.
JetBlue would compete with Delta on the Orlando-Cancun route next spring, per a filing with the U.S. Transportation Dept. for exemption authority needed to launch the service. JetBlue would begin operations during the spring break travel season in March, and would use its Embraer 190s on the route. Spirit and Xtra Airways are also designated to serve the route, but are not providing scheduled service, JetBlue said [DOT-OST-2007-0071]. The carrier also offers flights to Cancun from New York and Boston. [email protected]
The European Commission is hoping to win over German resistance to Galileo, the European Global Navigation Satellite System, at a meeting of European transport ministers on Nov. 29 in Brussels.
Amadeus signed a one-year, renewable agreement with the United Nation's World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to jointly develop programs related to studies and analyses of the global tourism sector. Amadeus will supply the UNWTO with information it collects on travel bookings and origin and destination traffic to help the UNWTO forecast tourism to various regions. An Amadeus spokeswoman said the data are information the GDS has already collected, which will now be shared with the UNWTO. This is a non-financial agreement.
Asia/Pacific airlines recorded a US$124 billion operating revenue with US$5 billion as operating profit, reports the Malaysia-based Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. The region had 570 million passengers traveling, 385 million of them on domestic and 185 million on international routes. AAPA forecasts travel within the region will grow more than 6% next year. Asia/Pacific global market share stood at 27% of global passenger traffic and 42% of global cargo traffic.
Prague-Ruzyne Airport has become the first to test the new EMILI 1 liquids detection equipment at its security checkpoints. EMILI 1, created by Emisens, is based on principles of microwave fast detectors, said spokeswoman Eva Krejci. "The detector will be now tested only as additional equipment independently, so this will not compromise or influence our standard security control procedures," she said.
Virgin America has named David Cush as its new CEO, effective. Dec. 10, replacing Fred Reid, who was required by the U.S. Transportation Dept. to leave the airline for competition reasons in order to receive its operating certificate. Cush is a former senior VP-global sales for American Airlines, and during his 20 years there also served as VP of the St. Louis hub and VP-international planning and global alliances. He also has served as chief operating officer of Aerolineas Argentinas.
Korean Air will start a budget airline in May with an unconventional fleet of three Airbus A300s and two Boeing 737s and plans to turn it into Asia's largest no-frills carrier. The new company is the third South Korean budget airline to be announced in a month, following the Nov. 5 statement by Singapore's Tiger Airways that it would start a franchisee in the country and barely a week after local turboprop operator Jeju Air said it planned to step up to 737 no-frills operations.
The Air France-KLM Group's first-half operating income reached a new high, driven by strong growth across its passenger segment, including positive financial performance on its Asian network.
Consorcio Aeromexico, now controlled by new investors that include Banamex, is capitalizing on new synergies to recover former market share and finish 2007 with 14%; it projects 7.1% growth for next year, according to local reports.
U.K. carrier BMI is not the source of the London Heathrow slot that its alliance partner US Airways obtained for its proposed Philadelphia flights, a spokeswoman for BMI says. US Airways is still deciding whether the Heathrow flight will replace one of its two existing seasonal flights between London Gatwick and Philadelphia.
Barring any unforeseen calamities, ratings agency Standard & Poor's sees no near-term ratings changes for airlines despite ever-escalating fuel costs. Profits remain healthy in the sector due to "other, more favorable industry conditions," S&P said. (S&P, like The DAILY, is a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies).
Indonesia's Sriwijaya Airlines plans to fly to Singapore and Malaysia from Medan, Surabaya and Makassar. The company expects to receive two Boeing 737-300s and two 737-400s from lessor AWAS next month.
The European Parliament is at odds with a council representing member states on who should pay for key measures of aircraft security, and during a conciliation session last week, failed to reach a compromise. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) continued stressing that member states should bear the costs of air travel security and should shoulder the costs if security costs increase. Furthermore, MEPs said the cost of security measures should be more clearly indicated on passengers' tickets.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] NOV. 20 - European Aviation Club luncheon featuring Leo Van Wijk, Vice-chairman Air France-KLM, Hotel Bristol Stephanie, Brussels, e-mail: [email protected] NOV. 27-28 - AVIATION WEEK Forums: VLJ West, San Diego, 212-904-2997, e-mail: [email protected]
Hong Kong International Airport saw passenger and cargo volumes rise more than 7% year over year in October. Passenger traffic reached 4.1 million, up 7.1% from October 2006. Cargo throughput and air traffic movements grew 7.6% and 5.8%, respectively, to 353,000 tons and 25,830 movements during the month, reported HKIA. For the 12 months ended Oct. 31, 2007, the airport handled 47.1 million passengers, up 7.4%. The airport handled 3.7 million tons of cargo and 292,740 air traffic movements, up 4.4% and 5% from last year, respectively.
Virgin America is attracting criticism from airline industry groups after the airline urged FAA to give special treatment to new-entrant carriers during proposed capacity regulation at New York Kennedy Airport.
The U.K. Dept. for Transport's list of companies certified as approved security providers by Transport Security is being updated in preparation for airports being given the green light to lift current one-bag carry-on limits, effective Jan. 7, 2008. Transec's list of 28 approved providers includes British Airways and SAS.
