DOT Secretary Krakowski Named As Next FAA Chief Operating Officer yesterday confirmed widespread rumors by naming United executive Henry Krakowski as the FAA's new chief operating officer, effective Oct. 1. Industry sources told The DAILY as early as last week that Krakowski was the likely candidate (DAILY, Aug. 24). Peters labeled Krakowski as "the right person to help implement the next generation of aviation technology." In his 30-year career at United, Krakowski was VP-flight operations and VP-corporate safety, security and quality assurance.
Lufthansa and Swiss struck a partnership with myclimate.org to offer their passengers the chance to make donations to the environmental group. The web site has an emissions calculator and outlines guidelines for customer contributions. Lufthansa said donations will fund climate protection projects that focus on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
This year's profit outlook for the global airline industry has improved slightly compared to earlier estimates, but there is a much larger downward swing in the 2008 profit forecast due to higher costs and the potential effect of U.S. credit market problems, the International Air Transport Association says.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA was the lone group to file in opposition to a request by Virgin America to extend Fred Reid's tenure as CEO. The U.S. Transportation Dept. gave parties until yesterday to respond to the carrier's request. Virgin America wants DOT approval to have Reid stay on in his current role rather than step down and consult with the carrier for three months. Originally, DOT said Reid had to step down in November, six months after Virgin America's launch.
Negotiators for US Airways pilots have withdrawn from contract talks with management and former America West pilots and will not attend a scheduled Sept. 24 session unless the East group crewmen receive pay parity with their America West colleagues.
Load factors for U.S. airlines reached all-time highs in June, says the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), which reported system loads of 85.8% and domestic loads of 86.4% for the month. Previous highs of 85% for system load factor and 84.9% for domestic load factor were registered in July 2006. International load factors in June 2007, however, were down 0.7 points to 84.3%.
CSA Czech Airlines shrank its loss for the first half of 2007 to CZK175 million (US$8.85 million), a 77% year-over-year improvement that led the carrier to predict returning to profitability for the full year. The airline's operating profit for the first-half came in at CZK182 million (US$9.2 million). Revenues from passenger flying increased 2.3% to CZK8.05 billion (US$407 million) on increased traffic and improved yields. The airline carried 2.5 million passengers and 10,700 tonnes of cargo in the first half of 2007.
The temporary waiver letting U.S. citizens travel to and from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and destinations throughout the Caribbean with the State Dept.'s official proof of passport application receipt and government-issued photo ID will end at midnight on Sept. 30. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) extension was implemented due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications.
Atlanta Airport remained number one in domestic enplanements for June and the first half of 2007, reports the U.S Transportation Dept.'s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Rounding out the top five for June and the first half of the year were Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Atlanta enplaned 18.8 million in the first half, up 2.1%, while O'Hare handled 15.3 million, down 0.7%. Detroit Metro Airport managed to crack the top 10 during the first half, serving 7.7 million passengers, up 1.1%.
SAS said it will cancel a total of 228 frequencies originating from Denmark and Sweden in the first three days of this week, as a consequence of the grounding of its fleet of Dash Q-400s (DAILY, Sept. 12). The Scandinavian company estimated the grounding and cancellations, required last week by Transport Canada and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) following two successive landing gear failures, will cost the company between SEK10 million -SEK15 million (US$1.5 million-U$2.2 million) per day in lost revenue and cost hikes.
Operations of TAM A319s and A320s are now restricted to the main runway in Rio, and only when it is dry, due to runway changes announced by Brazil Minister of Defense Nelson Jobim. Rio's Congonhas Airport is shortening the other runway by 300 meters to establish an escape area, making it too short for TAM's fleet of Airbus aircraft. When the main runway is wet, there will be weight limitations placed on the aircraft. TAM operates 62 A320s. TAM says there will be immediate changes in the number of flights it offers at the airport.
Lucrative Gulf markets -- once the exclusive realm of public carriers Indian and Air India -- have now been opened for the first time to private Indian carrier Jet Airways and its budget subsidiary Jetlite. Jet will be able to start flying the sector from Jan 1. 2008. The carrier can start flights to Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. Permission for Dubai and Abu Dhabi is being considered. India started liberalizing international routes to include private airlines in 2004, but they were still not permitted to fly the revenue-rich Gulf routes.
Indonesian cargo carrier Megantara Air plans to double its Jakarta-Singapore service to 10 flights a week after acquiring another Boeing 727-200F late next month. Megantara CEO Sofyan Danu Siswantoro said the airline will focus on expanding the service, its only route for the time being, as a result of heavy demand for cargo space from Jakarta to various international destinations via Singapore. Sofyan said Megantara's average load factor has been more than 80% since the carrier started operations on May 29.
Aeromexico subsidiary Aerolitoral will launch service on the Hermosillo-Las Vegas and Culiacan-Phoenix routes in October, pending expedited approval from the U.S. Transportation Dept. The airline would operate twice-weekly flights in each market with either Saab aircraft or other regional jets configured to seat no more than 60 passengers. Aerolitoral serves the U.S. under Aeromexico's AM code [OST-2007-29208].
German anti-trust authorities appear close to approving the cooperation between Lufthansa Cargo and Deutsche Post. Earlier this month the two parties submitted their plan to establish a joint cargo airline to the country's competition authorities (DAILY, Sept. 4).
The Chile-based LAN group of airlines reported a 20.9% jump in system wide traffic in August 2007 over the same month last year, crediting the results to better performance in international and domestic flights. New long-hauls to the U.S., Europe and Asia contributed to improved international figures, while traffic within Chile grew 31.8% for LAN Airlines. Upgraded services by LAN affiliates in Peru and Argentina on medium-hauls and regional flights contributed to overall growth. Systemwide cargo volume increased 5.7% in August.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association says Travel Mart 2007 will proceed as planned Sept. 25-28 in Bali following an earthquake last week that struck Indonesia. Travel Mart is a premiere event in the region, bringing the key travel buyers and suppliers together.
Northwest yesterday announced several management changes, including naming current President of NWA Cargo Jim Friedel as senior VP of strategic planning, with VP-Fleet Planning Dan McDonald reporting to Friedal in a new role as VP-strategy and fleet planning. The carrier promoted VP Passenger Marketing and Sales & CEO of MLT Vacations Jim Cron to senior VP-revenue management, planning and loyalty marketing and CEO of MLT. Managing Director North America Planning Dennis Newman will report to Cron in his new role as VP-domestic planning and scheduling.
The Long Beach City Council has unanimously approved a measure to raise Long Beach Airport's passenger facility charge (PFC) from $3 per passenger to $4.50. The council estimates that the PFC increase will bring in an additional $2.2 million to the airport's annual revenue of $4.1 million. "We will use the money to fund final plans for airport design and terminal improvements, along with rehabilitation projects on existing facilities," said spokeswoman Sharon Diggs-Jackson. [email protected]
Northwest wholly owned subsidiary Compass Airlines plans to build a $9.85 million maintenance facility in Louisville International Airport with three bays to handle its fleet of Embraer 175s. Construction is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2008, and Northwest said the maintenance facility should create about 70 new jobs. Northwest said several locations were considered for the new maintenance base.
The O'Hare Modernization Program won a key victory in its land acquisition effort after the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that OMP could move ahead with the purchase of St. Johannes Cemetery. OMP offered St. John's Evangelical Church in Bensenville, Ill., $630,000 for the cemetery, which is a key part of the effort to relocate Runway 10C-28C (DAILY, April 3, 2006). Opponents charged OMP with violating the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
