The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is putting out another request for proposal to redevelop the old TWA terminal at JFK Airport. "We're asking our procurement department to solicit input from those who didn't submit proposals so we can reassess the program," says William DeCota, director of aviation. "The new JetBlue terminal opens in the last quarter of 2008 ... we hope to have the TWA RFP concluded, a team selected and plans in place by the time it opens."
Virgin America executives are giving the aiRES reservation system a much-needed vote of confidence, after another of aiRES's customers opted out earlier this year and a decision about the system's future with another customer is pending.
Airlines and airports need to plan for handling passenger service disruptions the same way they do for events such as emergency planning and snow removal, according to findings from a workshop recently hosted by Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
On Wednesday it was made public that a fourth group of investors led by major Mexican bank Invex had requested clearance from federal antitrust regulator CFC to participate with other bidders in an initial public offering for AeroMexico later this year.
Air France-KLM is looking at investment opportunities with both Alitalia and Iberia, but uncertainty surrounding Alitalia and Iberia's decision to put itself up for bid in a strong airline stock market could affect decisions by Air France-KLM and ultimately other bidders, said AF-KLM Group Vice Chairman Leo van Wijk.
Elected former American Airlines executive Thomas Kiernan and Robert Milbourne, president and CEO of The Columbus Partnership, to its board of directors.
The Indian government may approve fleet additions for Air India by yearend, according to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. Patel was quoted by a national news wire as saying if Air India completes its fleet planning by the end of November, "we can give in-principle approval by December."
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport was able to attract new KLM service to Amsterdam Schiphol after 10 years of wooing the carrier. The new service, using an Airbus A330, begins March 30, 2008. "The DFW region is one of the country's fastest-growing economic areas, and we don't have a lot of non-stop service to Europe," said Joe Lopano, the airport's executive VP for marketing. "KLM is an excellent brand we had been missing."
Lufthansa Technik's completion center signed two letters of commitment with undisclosed customers for two Airbus A330-200s. The MRO is performing the completions in Hamburg, with the first arriving in the beginning of 2008 followed by the second aircraft for the end of 2009.
Iran Air is likely to be privatized sometime after March 2008 following the Iranian parliament's ratification of a bill to privatize both Iran Air and regional subsidiary Iran Air Tour. The airline recently purchased five Russian-made TU-204s. U.S. sanctions forbid U.S. manufacturers from selling aircraft, parts or equipment to Iranian carriers.
A bill has been introduced in the House by Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) that would require airlines to offer a "child-safe viewing area" to prevent children from watching violent videos in-flight.
Austrian Airlines is searching for two new members to add to its Board of Management after the Supervisory Board voted the airline should be managed in the future by four people instead of two. Currently, the Board of management consists of CEO Alfred Ötsch and CFO Thomas Kleibl. Austrian is now looking for both a commercial and operations division board member, with these positions to be filled within four weeks.
European Union transport ministers are likely to approve formal aviation talks with Canada at their Oct. 2 meeting in Luxembourg. They are expected to grant the European Commission a negotiating brief aimed at creating an open aviation area between the EU and Canada. The intention is to lift market restrictions and harmonize regulations, with more extensive liberalization than is included in the EU/US air services agreement due to enter into force on March 30, 2008.
Delta's two-month-old Under The Wing' blog is part of the carrier's Web 2.0 strategy to add value for customers by widening the aperture for passenger information, said Josh Weiss, managing director of Delta.com. The Web 2.0 strategy is part of Delta's efforts to relaunch and rebrand itself after emerging from Chapter 11, said Weiss. "We wanted to know what our customers wanted and we had to figure out how to let them know we were listening," he explained. "We found that you can't do that without putting an evolving presence online to engage people."
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) OCT. 17-18 -- MRO Asia 2007 Conference & Exhibition, Shanghai, China OCT. 29-31 -- A&D Programs, Phoenix NOV. 6-8 -- MRO Europe, Milan NOV. 7-8 -- MRO Europe 2007 Conference & Exhibition, Fiera Milano Congressi, Milan, Italy NOV. 28-29 -- A&D Finance Conference, New York, N.Y.
US Airways today rolls out a new selection of fresh meals and upgraded snack options. The carrier says menus should change every two months giving customers a substantial increase in variety. In an employee update the carrier notes the price of the new meals will increase from the current $5 to $7. The boost, US Airways says, is a result of higher-quality ingredients and the addition of a side such as fresh grapes or kettle chips.
Brazil's Varig, now owned by Gol with the official name of VRG Linhas Aereas, says it will roll out a slate of international flights over the next six months. Between now and April, Varig will start operating from Sao Paulo (Guarulhos) to Mexico City, Montevideo, Bogota, London, Santiago (Chile), Madrid, Miami and New York, the airline said. Five daily Buenos Aires flights will begin shortly, and long term plans include Los Angeles Japan and China.
President Bush is expected to sign a Continuing Resolution that would fund FAA through Nov.16. The CR was approved last week by the House and Senate. The current fiscal year appropriation expires Sept. 30.
Comair's ALPA union leaders tell members in an update that they're working with management to provide a "simple, user friendly solution" to ensure the carrier meets FAA requirements in a rule designed to prevent flap failures on CRJ200s. ALPA says Comair will have a solution "well in advance" of the severe cold weather conditions that FAA says cause the problem.
Senators and military leaders are pushing to authorize the Defense Department to guarantee a higher minimum level of "peacetime" - presumably meaning no declaration of war by Congress - business for Civil Reserve Airlift Fleet (CRAF) participants.
