US Airways has been banned from selling alcohol to passengers in the air or on the ground in New Mexico by the state's Regulation and Licensing Department.
The latest figures from the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s Bureau of Transportation Statistics show the country's airlines are on track to carry a record number of passengers this year if growth continues at its current rate.
Americans are buying more travel insurance, and airlines are taking a small but growing slice of those profits, according to the US Travel Insurance Association. In 2006, $1.3 billion was spent on insurance in the U.S., with online sales by agents, airlines and brokers doubling from 2004 to 2006. Travelers to the Caribbean were most likely to purchase insurance.
American Eagle, pending regulatory approval, will launch daily nonstop service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Tampico, Mexico, next April. American Eagle would use 44-seat Embraer 140s and 50-seat 145s for the services to the city, a major oil exporting center on the northeastern coast of Mexico, but the carrier is seeking broader exemption authority in case it decides to use 70-seat CRJ-90s on the route. No other U.S. airline serves the route [DOT-OST-2007-0061].
U.K. MP Ruth Kelly is expected this week to unveil the results of an analysis of the passenger experience at London Heathrow Airport. The report compiles data on how the airport performs in handling customers, and the results will be used to develop ideas to improve the travel process at facilities across the U.K.
Panama's economy is gaining from the torrid growth of the country's air transport sector and the resulting uptick in tourism and travel, and beefing up Panama's connectivity to the world's air transport system would help diversify the country's economy, an IATA economic report shows.
The so-called East and West pilot groups at US Airways -- which are operating under separate contracts and separate seniority lists -- met last Friday for the first time since an independent arbitrator attempted to merge their seniority lists on May 3.
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Some 21.5 million international visitors traveled to the U.S. in the first half of the 2007, up 8% from the same period in the previous year, the Commerce Dept.'s Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI) said. Data collected by OTTI shows that overseas arrivals, which exclude Canada and Mexico, increased 8% to 10.8 million in the first half. Those arrivals are up from the low recorded in 2003 but still 12% down from 2000, when overseas arrivals stood at a little more than 12 million.
Air France is suing Ryanair for "slanderous accusations" after the low-cost carrier complained to the European Commission of fuel surcharges announced almost simultaneously by Lufthansa, Air France and Swiss. The French carrier said it would seek damages in a case lodged with Tribunal de Grande Instance in Bobigny, near Paris.
Alitalia has restructured its senior management, eliminating the business and corporate coordination department that was being run by Giancarlo Schisano; he now heads the newly created Passenger and Cargo Division, and reports directly to President Maurizio Prato. Vittorio Mazza, who heads the Administration, Finance & Control Dept., also becomes a direct report to Prato. Ousted is Giancarlo Zeni, who ran Marketing & Business Strategies; he's being replaced by Andrea Stolfa, who was in charge of Planning & Development at the Production division.
Virgin America is making minor adjustments to its schedule to support its aircraft modification lines. Previously, the airline was aiming to have 12 aircraft operating by the end of this month (DAILY, Sept. 28). The carrier currently has 10 aircraft in service. "Because we undertake extensive, multi-million dollar modifications of all our new Airbus aircraft, we've run into some unanticipated supply chain disruptions that have slightly delayed the delivery of new aircraft," a carrier spokeswoman explained.
Existing airport X-ray machines could be adapted to detect weapons and liquids with new technology being tested by Montreal-based OptoSecurity. The OptoScreener technology handles two functions, said Mark Scott, security adviser for the company. "It can identify objects, and we focused it on weapons like handguns and knives. It can also identify liquids without opening containers," he explained. "OptoScreener uses image analysis to interpret X-ray signals. We use a database of weapons and liquids that can be customized and modified."
The European Commission is proposing a partial deregulation that would introduce pricing freedom on the European global distribution system (GDS) market.
With Embraer nearing its goal of reaching a 14 aircraft per month production rate on the 170/190 regional jet family, the aircraft maker is considering pushing output further. But there is concern within the company about being too aggressive. One Embraer executive points out it is much easier to ramp up than ramp back down if the industry hits a crisis point, and that consideration is giving management pause.
Continental yesterday revealed details of the new London Heathrow service the carrier has been hinting at for months, with two daily flights from both its Houston and Newark hubs. The four Heathrow flights will begin March 29. Some of the flights are being switched from Gatwick, but some are brand new. From both Houston and Newark, Continental will be adding an extra flight to the London-area airports.
To counter the threat to aircraft from explosives hidden in liquids, TSA is purchasing 600 more bottle-screening devices, the agency's chief told Congress yesterday. TSA Administrator Kip Hawley informed the House Oversight and Government Operations Committee that his agency has completed field testing of hand-held bottled liquid scanning devices at six airports and is deploying 200 of them at a cost of about $3.5 million. TSA plans to buy another 600 in Fiscal 2008, Hawley said.
The airline incentives program at Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood Airport has been suspended temporarily while officials decide how future efforts should be operated. The incentives have been stopped as a result of too much airport congestion, said Steve Belleme, the facility's business development manager. "It was getting especially crowded on the international side," he said. "On the one hand, we offered incentives that gave us flights to more places. But on the other side, our Customs lines became too long."
Global premium traffic growth slowed to 2.6% in September, down from 5.3% in August but about even with the year-to-date increase of 2.4%, the International Air Transport Association says. The high growth rate in August was inflated by weakness in the same month last year, when premium traffic was affected by U.K. security issues. This favorable comparison was not as noticeable in September, IATA said.
A group of investors close to Spanish billionaire Alicia Koplowitz plans to make a formal bid for Iberia in the next few weeks, the group said yesterday. The group plans to offer a purchase price of EUR3.60-3.90 (US$ 5.26-US$5.70) a share, valuing the airline at up to EUR3.7 billion (US$5.4 billion). The bidders include Gala Capital Partners Equity, Omega Capital, Inver-Avante and Bilbao Biskaia Kutxa, among others. They have analyzed Iberia's finances for the past four weeks. Iberia shares rose about 5%.
Southwest and the City of Chicago Aviation Department have inked a preliminary deal that would allow the privatization of Midway Airport to move forward. The Chicago Dept. of Aviation filed an application for Midway to participate in the FAA's Airport Privatization Pilot Program in September 2006 (DAILY, Sept. 19, 2006). But the privatization effort had stalled after Southwest and other airlines expressed concern about how their operations would be affected (DAILY, April 5).
Alitalia managed to curbs its losses in the third quarter and is now expected to identify a buyer by the end of the month, as its board of directors is scheduled to examine candidates' proposals at its Nov. 20 meeting in Rome.
China Southern yesterday officially became the 11th full member of the SkyTeam alliance. The airline has been working toward full membership since inking an MOU in 2004 (DAILY, Aug. 26, 2004), signing code-share deals and implementing frequent flyer mileage and lounge reciprocity agreements with other alliance members. The carrier's addition could not come at a better time -- the 2008 Olympic Games are right around the corner (DAILY, Sept. 28).
