In an annual survey of business travelers, TripAdvisor found that the majority -- 53% -- are most annoyed by flight delays and cancellations for the second year in a row. The survey found that 22% intend to take fewer trips this year, while 18% said they would take more business trips. Nearly half say they often tie leisure time to business trips to take advantage of company-expensed travel. Taking combination business/leisure trip is particularly popular among Americans, with 53% of those surveyed combining trips compared with 28% from the U.K.
Air France and KLM are pursuing targeted capacity increases in the coming months, with the French carrier focused on Latin America, Africa, and Asia and its Dutch partner boosting activity on transatlantic and Middle East routes. The overall effect is that the coming winter season will see Air France-KLM offer 6.2% more long-haul capacity than last year, with 5.2% growth overall.
Air Canada is now allowing customers to pass through security using their PDAs as a paperless boarding pass system. Its mobile check-in service has been enhanced to give customers the option of receiving SMS text messages which they then simply show to airport screening personnel and Air Canada gate agents. The messages act as the boarding pass. Customers with baggage to check do so before going through the screening area.
Linda Marvin resigned as chief financial officer. Marvin will continue in her position through Sept. 30 and will work with the company through Dec. 31 to assist the transition. A replacement has yet to be named.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. rejected American's request to delay a decision about the SkyTeam's application for antitrust immunity (DAILY, Aug. 1) until the European Commission finishes its investigation into the alliance. The Department, however, is seeking more information from the six SkyTeam partners that it says will enable it to establish a procedural schedule to make a decision on the antitrust application.
Malaysia Airlines' winter schedule -- starting Oct. 28 -- shows the carrier is focusing expansion plans on the South Asian and Australian markets, while other routes are being reduced or cut. A fourth weekly frequency will be added on the Kuala Lumpur-Maldives-Colombo and Bangalore routes with both services using a 294-seat Airbus A330-300. Two morning flights will also be offered to Chennai, operating on Thursdays and Sundays using A330-200s and A330-330s respectively, in addition to five evening services.
Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Express say they will commence operations of their new cargo airline in April 2009. The companies announced yesterday that they will initially rely on 11 leased Boeing 777-200LR freighters to launch the business, to be based at the Leipzig airport in eastern Germany. DHL already is shifting some of its operations there and both it and Lufthansa will maintain warehouses at the airport and transship goods.
Inflight satellite broadband provider Row 44 this week announced plans to roll out its system for the Airbus A320 and Embraer 190 in the first half of 2008. The system will be tested on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 in the spring (DAILY, Sept. 19). Yesterday's announcement expands the aircraft supported by Row 44 to include smaller jets, the company said.
After six difficult years, it appears that the world's airlines are now doing a relatively good job of aligning capacity with demand, according to the September Unisys R2A Scorecard, titled Airline Industry Cost Measurement.
Lufthansa has placed a 41-aircraft order for Airbus narrow and widebodies, in part to cover A330 fleet replacements needs for its partner, Swiss. Swiss is replacing nine of 11 A330-200s, and has this time around opted for the larger capacity A330-300 model. Lufthansa already has the -300 in service. The larger aircraft allows Swiss to offer a first class cabin across its long-haul network. The first of the aircraft are to arrive in 2009.
Air Berlin cinched a deal to makes its third acquisition in about a year through its agreement with Thomas Cook to buy Condor. The latest deal follows Air Berlin's purchase of DBA last year and LTU earlier this year. Air Berlin's purchase of LTU strengthened its competition against Lufthansa since LTU flies long-haul routes using Airbus A330s (DAILY, March 28). Air Berlin's purchase of Condor is subject to Lufthansa not exercising a contract preemption right since it owns 24.9% of Condor.
Macquarie Airports and Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) have sold their 48.2% stake in the U.K.'s Birmingham Airport Holdings Ltd. for GBP420 million (US$842.8 million). The partners first floated the idea of selling their stake in the airport back in January (DAILY, Jan. 17). They sold to Airport Groups Investments Ltd., a consortium of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and Victorian Funds Management Corp.
FAA yesterday issued a safety alert for operators regarding idle thrust on Airbus A320 aircraft, citing at least three accidents/incidents on planes dispatched with one thrust reverser deactivated, which is allowed by the master minimum equipment list. The thrust lever corresponding to the engine with deactivated thrust was left in climb position during flare and touchdown, while the max reverse thrust lever position was selected on the engine with the operating thrust reverser.
Southwest is refining its open boarding policy, opting to keep the trademark unassigned seating it has used since its inception. The carrier will keep is A, B, or C groupings, but plans to assign numbers to passengers within those groups.
House lawmakers yesterday passed the massive FAA reauthorization bill, but as expected they tacked on some controversial amendments that could draw a White House veto. The bill passed by a vote of 267-151, and it must now await Senate action and what will likely be an extensive conference process. The bill raises general aviation fuel taxes, although it does not include the wider funding reform sought by the administration and airlines (DAILY, Sept. 19). It also raises spending -- particularly for airports -- much higher than requested by FAA.
Reps. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) and Jon Porter (R-Nev.) intend to introduce legislation that would create a matching grant program to provide as much as $50 million over five years to promote travel to the U.S. Funds would come from the Office of the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The bill has been pushed since the beginning by the Travel Industry Association, and will be made public during TIA's Travel Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., Sept. 26-27.
The Thai Airways board approved a budget of THB400 billion (US$12.6 billion) for a fleet modernization program covering 2008-2017. The plan includes significant aircraft acquisition, and focuses on operating fuel-efficient aircraft and expanding Thai's domestic and international networks. Thai intends to lease or buy 65 aircraft -- 16 long-haul aircraft with a seating capacity of 300-500, 29 medium- to long-haul aircraft seating 250-350 and 20 narrowbodies. The 65 aircraft include six Airbus A380s and eight Airbus A330-300s currently on order.
Chinese research and development firm Guangdong Changsheng Aircraft Design Co. has developed preliminary designs for an airliner family in response to government calls for private participation in China's project to build a new large aircraft. The proposed aircraft are based on two conventional basic types: the CS2010 narrowbody, which is similar to the Airbus A320; and the CS2000 wide body, comparable with the Boeing 767.
AAR is working to improve profits in its maintenance, repair and overhaul business and hopes to restructure a portion of a contract with a customer at its Indianapolis base as part of its goal to improve margins in that business segment.
Weymouth, Mass.-based Sentient Flight Group has named Steven Hankin -- its president and COO since April -- as CEO, effective immediately. Current CEO Greg Campbell will remain as chairman and will help direct the company's corporate strategy and acquisition program. Hankin was CEO of Sentient Jet before it was merged with JetDirect Aviation, where Campbell was CEO.
Cleveland-Hopkins Airport has unveiled a new airline incentive program designed to attract more non-stop and new international service. The city council approved the program and it went into effect a few weeks ago, said Todd Payne, the airport's chief of marketing and air service development. The program was announced just after Continental revealed major expansion plans for Cleveland (DAILY, Sept. 17).
FAA told airlines yesterday it is imposing a new international designation on New York's Kennedy and Newark airports that will require summer schedules to be supplied further in advance, and could signal FAA intentions to call for scheduling meetings among airlines.
