The House last night was expected to vote on a standalone bill that would raise the retirement age for commercial pilots from 60 to 65, a vote that would splinter off the pilot age provisions in the FAA reauthorization bill, currently stalled in the Senate.
The Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) have signed new agreements with China as part of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) meeting in Beijing this week.
Soaring jet fuel prices are taking a bite out of airline profits. Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl projects a collective $59 million loss for U.S. network and low-cost carriers in the fourth quarter. He's also lowered his full-year industry profit estimate by $400 million, to $3.5 billion. Carriers have been able to pass through fuel price increases on most international routes, but are recouping just 30%-40% of the higher costs on more competitive domestic routes, Neidl says.
An optimistic GOL foresees continued improvement in traffic and expects that the addition of new aircraft will bring down costs, the company said in its outlook for 2008, despite declines in margins and revenues it expects for the fourth quarter and full-year 2007.
By Pat Murphy, Gerchick-Murphy Associates Eight years ago DOT awarded JetBlue 75 slots at JFK, and the airline launched service. The reasons for DOT's unique 1999 decision were numerous, but generally can be grouped under two circumstances: struggling low-cost carrier competition, and minor JFK congestion.
Alitalia's board of directors will convene tomorrow to consider the three non-binding proposals it has in hand from potential buyers. The preferred bidder, with whom detailed takeover talks would take place, is expected to be selected at that time.
The chairman of US Airways' pilots union, Jack Stephan, says that US Airways management is attempting to intimidate pilots who have used sick time by pursuing disciplinary action, and are treating pilots "like third-grade school children."
Civil aviation authorities from Chile and the Dominican Republic last week signed a bilateral air transport agreement providing reciprocal open-skies for passenger traffic. Jorge Frei, CEO of Chile’s civil aviation board (JAT) told El Mostrador the agreement opens many options for air carriers to expand services in both countries within an entirely open and flexible framework resulting in better services and lower fares.
CIT Aerospace yesterday announced a deal that will see the leasing company purchase 15 737-800s from Ryanair. Deliveries of the aircraft will begin in 2008 and end in 2009. All the aircraft are committed to future leases, and CIT said they will help it “continue to meet customer demand” for -800s. These aircraft are equipped with CFM-56-7B24 engines, and they also have winglets. CIT already has 41 Boeing Next-Generation 737s in its fleet, and has an additional 10 on order for delivery in 2010 and 2011.
European Union Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot and Greek transport minister Costis Hatzidakis both believe that Olympic Airlines may walk in the footsteps of Sabena, the defunct Belgian flag carrier that went into liquidation in November 2001 and was later recreated, with public and private capital, at a smaller scale, under the name SN Brussels Airlines.
Midwest Airlines parent Midwest Air Group said it has complied with a request from the U.S. Justice Dept. for additional information regarding its pending acquisition by TPG Capital and Northwest. Additionally, Midwest, TPG and Northwest also agreed they would not close the deal before Jan. 31 without Justice Dept. approval.
Austrian Airlines has appointed Peter Malanik chief operations officer, effective Jan. 1, and Andreas Bierwirth chief commercial officer, effective April 1. Bierwirth has been VP of marketing for Lufthansa Passage. Malanik has been at Austrian since 1985, currently as executive VP and general secretary responsible for international relations and alliances, legal affairs and human resources and organization. They will join the four-member Board of Management.
The process for West Coast airports wanting to provide mutual aid to facilities during disasters will be a much smoother process now that guidelines have been established. The Western Airports Disaster Operations Group (WESTDOG) was created after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, said Mark Crosby, chief of public safety and security for Portland International Airport. Representatives from 21 airports, along with representatives from Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) and the federal government recently met in San Diego to finalize plans.
Correction: Continental is seeking seven weekly U.S.-Colombia frequencies that become effective next year to offer double-daily service on the Houston-Bogota route next October (DAILY, Dec. 10). The DAILY in error misstated that it would use the frequencies to offer daily service. The airline also told the U.S. Transportation Dept. it was flexible about the start date for double-daily service, telling DOT it would be “prepared to institute its proposed services using frequencies that become available” April 1 or Oct. 1.
Maxjet yesterday moved to reassure customers and financial markets that its suspension of trading will not affect operations or the company’s viability. The company said it is “operating all flights and has no plans to change its schedule.” Maxjet CEO Bill Stockbridge said advance bookings “remain strong,” and he stressed the carrier’s high on-time performance. “We look forward to serving our customers during the busy Christmas season, in 2008 and beyond,” Stockbridge said.
Berjaya Air is buying four ATR 72-500s under a $74 million contract, the aircraft maker says. The deal was announced over the summer and has now been firmed up. Aircraft deliveries are to take place in 2009 and 2010. The carrier plans to operate a 72-seat cabin configuration in the aircraft replacing 48-seat Dash 7s. The higher seat-count also is allowing Berjaya Air to expand capacity.
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The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded BAE Systems and American a $29 million contract to test laser jammer technology on scheduled commercial airline flights as a defense against shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile attacks, the department confirmed yesterday. The contract calls for installing BAE’s JetEye infrared laser jamming device on project partner American’s aircraft making scheduled flights across the U.S. The contract runs through April 2009.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is moving ahead with efforts to enhance airport employee screening first unveiled in April, according to Administrator Kip Hawley during an editorial roundtable with The DAILY.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is looking at a range of technologies to help screen commercial cargo carried on passenger aircraft, the agency’s chief technology officer said yesterday (Monday). ‘There is no single technology that’s going to satisfy the cargo screening requirement,” Michael Golden, the TSA’s assistant administrator for Operational Process and Technology told an airport security conference.
Hawaiian traffic jumped 11.9% on 7% more capacity in November, compared to November 2006. The airline transported 587,688 passengers in the month, 11.9% more than the previous year, while load factor improved 3.9 percentage points to 88.9%. Year-to-date traffic is up 17.3%, seat offer 15.7% and loads up 1.3 points to 87.9%.
