Freight carrier ABX won exemptions to operate cargo flights between Los Angeles, Guadalajara and Mexico City. The flights will operate daily, though ABX said it may increase LAX-GDL service or reduce Mexico City service based on demand. The U.S. Transportation Dept. put a condition on the award restricting the launch of Guadalajara flights until Oct. 26, when an additional designation to serve the market became available [DOT-OST-2007-29318, -29319]. [email protected]
Long security wait times and screening processes at Denver International Airport can cause passengers to risk missing flights, and forces airlines to suffer increased costs after holding flights to board those who checked in on time but were delayed going through screening, according to a letter from the Colorado congressional delegation. The Transportation Security Administration need to take immediate steps to improve the security situation at Denver, the delegation wrote to Administrator Kip Hawley.
Indonesia's Lion Air wants to mimic regional rivals AirAsia, Tiger Airways and Jetstar by setting up subsidiaries in neighboring countries to skirt national market access restrictions. It named Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bangladesh as likely homes for affiliates, which could be new or established carriers.
Aerolineas Argentinas returned to Paraguay after a long absence with the Oct. 22 launch of daily frequencies to Asuncion from Ezeiza International and/or urban Aeroparque in Buenos Aires. Flights stop over in Corrientes and Resistencia in northern Argentina and use Boeing 737-200s and Airbus 310-300s. [email protected]
An Airbus Corporate Jet was delivered on Nov. 1 to Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, who had ordered it for his wife's 44th birthday. Ambani is worth US$62 billion and recently became the world's richest man, surpassing Bill Gates. The UB Group, one of India's largest companies and the parent company of Kingfisher Airlines, acquired the first ACJ in India last
Allegiant Travel Company CEO Maurice Gallagher says high fuel prices have "imposed capacity discipline the industry lacked for many years. It is rationing growth." Legacy airlines trimming domestic capacity and low-cost carriers scaling back "is good for us," he notes, since Allegiant's potential competitors appear to be focused on internal issues and not on the carrier's success.
Appointed David Peller as regional VP-EMEA and India, Christian Gossel as business development director-EMEA and named Venkat Chandramoleshwar country manager-India.
House aviation subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) wants to know what the Transportation Dept., major airlines and airport officials are doing to prepare for the fall/winter holiday travel season. He's scheduled a subcommittee hearing on the issue Nov. 15.
The U.K. Transportation Dept. proposes to rethink the way slots are allocated at congested airports in an effort to reduce aviation's greenhouse gas emissions. In a study presented to Parliament last week, the department said it would "consider whether emissions might be reduced if the allocation of newly created slots for takeoff and landing could be designed to reflect the environmental performance of aircraft."
Airport passenger and freight traffic rose 6.1% and 2.2% year over year in September, according to statistics from Airports Council International (ACI). Passenger growth in the first three quarters of 2007 is at 5.5%. International traffic regionally and worldwide drove growth in September, up 7.9% The Middle East region was the leader in international passenger traffic, up 17.1% to 5.3 million. On the domestic traffic side, the African region was up 14.1% to 2.2 million.
Moscow will lift the ban on Lufthansa Cargo's overflights of Russian airspace, at least until Nov. 15, following talks with German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee. Until then, Lufthansa Cargo can cross Russian airspace to get to its Astana base in Kazakhstan. Russia is trying to force Lufthansa Cargo to use Krasnojarsk as a base, but Tiefensee says the infrastructure for the airport needs upgrading first to permit all-weather operations.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] NOV. 5-8 -- Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association: TechNet Asia-Pacific 2007 Conference & Expo; Honolulu, HI, 703-631-6238, e-mail: [email protected], www. afcea.org/calendar NOV. 5-8 -- ACI-NA 2007 Airport Concessions Conference, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, 312-726-7500, www.aci-na.org/asp/meetingdetail.asp?art=1445
You can now register online for AVIATION WEEK events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) NOV. 6-8 -- MRO Europe, Milan NOV. 7-8 -- AVIATION WEEK: MRO Europe 2007 Conference & Exhibition, Milan., 212-904-3225; www.aviationweek.com/ conferences NOV. 28-29 -- A&D Finance Conference, New York, N.Y. APRIL 15-17, 2008 -- MRO/MRO Military North America, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
LAN CARGO wants its U.S. foreign carrier permit amended so that it may carry cargo both on scheduled and charter flights from Chile to points beyond the U.S. LAN CARGO says the amendment will give it the full flexibility that is contemplated by the open-skies and multilateral liberalization accords for carriers signed by Chile and the United States [DOT-OST-2007- 0023]. [email protected]
Italian carrier Eurofly was fined $20,000 by the U.S. Transportation Dept. for failing to file its disability related complaint reports for 2004-2006 by their respective due dates. In its defense, The carrier said it was unaware that it was required to report such information to the department due to the size of its operation and lack of presence in the U.S. market in 2004. It operated 12 charter flights to the U.S. that year and had no U.S. staff on hand to receive DOT notifications about the report.
Americans are booking more international trips at higher prices this holiday season, and are placing their bookings further in advance than last year, according to Travelocity. The travel portal says that based on its bookings, international trips are up 22% from last year's holiday season. American are averaging a booking window of 65 days in advance for a domestic trip this year and more than 100 days in advance for international flights. Travelocity says this means fewer travelers are playing the "price waiting game," hoping to watch fares drop.
Named Brad Thomann senior VP and chief operating officer and appointed Greg Bowlin to replace Kevin Collins as senior VP-business and general aviation.
Named Brian Delauter to federal security director for Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport and seven other airports in Georgia and South Carolina.
Eurofly of Italy could soon see a EUR52 million capital infusion from its main shareholder, Meridiana, to transition from a charter operator to a scheduled carrier. This is double the original commitment. The airline suffered a EUR10.4 million net loss in the first nine months.
Anchorage Airport -- the main U.S. gateway for Asia air cargo -- is seeing "good, steady growth" in freight volume this year, an airport official tells The DAILY. Cargo operations are up about 5.5% from 2006. This year, two new carriers have begun cargo service to the U.S. through Anchorage -- Shanghai Cargo and Yangtze River Express. This gives Anchorage 33 cargo carriers flying international routes, with another seven serving Alaska or interstate markets.
Boeing will be more careful with future design-and-build contracts, especially for major airframe structures, according to the former general manager of the 787 program.
Six Michigan men of Arab descent are suing American for racial discrimination due to an incident on a flight in San Diego in August. The lawsuit claims an American flight was turned back to the gate at San Diego Airport on Aug. 28, "at the behest" of the aircraft crew. The men's lawyer said they were escorted off the flight, then "segregated and detained." The suit alleges "racial profiling, false imprisonment and a violation of civil rights." The men were returning home after conducting consulting work with U.S. troops bound for Iraq.
