SAS agreed to increase its Swedish cabin staff salaries by 10.3% over a period of 38 months, after four days of strike that slashed 1,200 flights and affected 90,000 passengers in Stockholm.
Brazil's airline regulator ANAC last week ruled that New Varig has until June 18 to reactivate its now-frozen routes, and warned it would not extend the deadline for the carrier to renew these operations. If it chooses not to do so, ANAC would then auction off the assets. Jornal do Brasil considers this a "blow" for LCC GOL, which bought New Varig in March for $120 million. GOL has yet to comment on ANAC's ruling.
Yapta is in the public beta test phase of an airfare tagging tool that alerts customers when a fare changes. Yapta sends an email alert and the customer then buys the ticket or asks for a refund of the difference if the ticket is already bought. In private beta tests in December, 275 test users could have saved $30,000 or $109 per customer. A Yapta spokesman says, "Airline should actually love us" because the tool drives traffic to their Web sites.
Virgin Atlantic is doubling its capacity to Jamaica from the end of October. The airline will introduce two weekly flights to Kingston in addition to its two weekly frequencies to Montego Bay. Air Jamaica will code-share on the services, having dropped its own London route. Virgin Atlantic plans to use a Boeing 747-400 for the service.
Sibir Airlines S7 Orders 787, formerly Sibir, placed an order for 15 Boeing 787s yesterday. The order includes options for 10 more aircraft. Deliveries are planned to start in 2010.
By: Lori Ranson, Aviation Daily Of the seven continents, Africa is second only to Asia in land mass and population counts. But the similarities end there as Africa's political instability and general lackluster economic performance put the continent far behind Asia in air traffic stimulation and development.
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot ordered 15 additional Superjet 100s, bringing the total number of Sukhoi's new planes it has on order to 30. Deliveries of the latest jets start in May 2011. Recently, Sukhoi executives said the company and its joint-venture partner Alenia plan to open sales offices in Europe, Asia and the U.S. The location of the European office should be unveiled at the Paris Air Show next month.
Residents living near London Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick airports will be able to consult Web sites developed by operator BAA to track the effects aircraft noise may have on their communities. BAA has created three separate sites that allow people to see the route an aircraft takes in relation to the ground. It also allows residents to make more detailed inquiries about aircraft noise.
Workers intent on rescuing Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (DAILY, May 24) capped a week of intensive activities by sponsoring the Patriotic Committee for the Defense of LAB. The group's aim was to collect thousands of signatures for a public petition asking the central government to evaluate consistent actions by workers and directors to relaunch the carrier, and to provide governmental financial and other guarantees needed to complete this process jointly with new private investors.
Aviation organizations have officially launched a new Web site -- www.enviro.aero -- designed to provide information about the industry's efforts on the environmental front. Partners in the new Web site include Airports Council International, the Air Transport Action Group, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization and the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations.
The so-called "radar crisis" in Argentina is escalating with new warnings and charges from international aviation bodies, as well as local pilots, airspace controllers and media (DAILY, May 11.) All parties claim safety in the air has "deteriorated" in many high-traffic areas, such as over metropolitan Buenos Aires. Most recently, the government was sharply criticized for "hiding the problem" and "stonewalling" while it completes the thorny and lengthy transfer of airspace control from military to civilian authorities.
Aviation pioneer Paul "Ed" Yost, inventor of the hot-air balloon, died Monday at his home in Taos, N.M., of natural causes at the age of 87. Yost was responsible for creating the onboard propane-burner system that made longer flights possible, and he patented other features, such as deflation systems, maneuvering vents, and designed the teardrop shape. In 1976, he set 13 world aviation records for distance traveled and amount of time aloft in crossing the Atlantic solo. -JLM
US Airways is offering its pilots a package worth about $122 million per year to unify the separate contracts of its two pre-merger unions, the carrier said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Austrian Airlines on June 1 will implement a new five-zone baggage system that will be tied to destination, not ticket price. Austrian says the new system should help passengers more easily calculate the excess baggage charges before embarking on their trip. The system ranges from Zone 1, which carries a EUR5 charge per kilogram of excess baggage within Austria, to a EUR40 charge per kilogram for Zone 5, mainly Asia and parts of the Middle East.
CommutAir set Aug. 16 as the date it will end Essential Air Service at Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake, N.Y., and Rutland, Vt., as its retires its fleet of Beech 1900D aircraft to make way for the Q200s the carrier will operate as Continental Connection.
As ExpressJet settles into its branded flying, CEO Jim Ream tells shareholders the carrier will remain a supplier to Continental's network for years to come. "We do a very good job for them," he says, noting a key interest for ExpressJet is making Continental as successful as it can. "That's going to be a big part of our future."
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] JUNE 3-4 -- ACC Institute Techniques for Airfield Pavement Maintenance, Repair & Rehabilitation Course, Milwaukee, Wis., 703-683-5900, fax: 703-683-2564, [email protected], www. ACConline.org JUNE 4-6 -- AVIATION WEEK's Defense Suppliers Forum, Washington, D.C., 212.904.2997, email: [email protected], http://www.aviationweek.com/forums
Air Canada Jazz CEO Joseph Randall says regional jet demand in Canada remains strong, pointing out that in some markets, no matter how much fares are lowered, the density is not there to fill a narrowbody aircraft, like the Boeing 737. He says Jazz continues to work with partner Air Canada to look for opportunities to grow.
