After losing 12 CRJ-700s to SkyWest late last year, Comair won new flying from parent Delta after reaching a deal to fly 14 CRJ-900s Delta ordered from Bombardier. The 14 aircraft order is in addition to the 30-plane deal Delta reached with Bombardier earlier this year. Mesa and Pinnacle are flying those aircraft under the Delta banner.
Alitalia shares took a dive on May 24 at the Milan stock exchange after the airline's board decided to write down the value of the fleet by EUR197 million, bringing total net losses for 2006 to EUR626 million (US$841 million).
Air Jamaica won authority from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to introduce new service between Barbados and Fort Lauderdale (DAILY, May 14). The flights will launch June 24 with Airbus A320s operating three times weekly, on Sunday, Monday and Thursday [OST-2007-28221].
Japan Asia Airways plans to carry American's code on its flights from Tokyo Narita to Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, starting July 1, pending regulatory approval. The airline is asking for indefinite code-share authority because it may carry the AA code on other flights in the future under American's code-share deal with JAA parent JAL [OST-2007-28286].
U.S. airlines are already looking at how they can take advantage of the new U.S. China aviation deal, and are eyeing still-scarce flights that will be available through 2009. The agreement allows a new U.S. carrier to be designated for the China market this year, as well as a single daily flight that will likely go to this new entrant. These rights were previously scheduled to be awarded in 2008 (DAILY, May 24). The next new-entrant opportunity would be in 2009.
The European Commission should complete a rule on Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication soon, and a final draft should be ready for review by the end of June. Details of the rule are still being ironed out, but all existing aircraft should be retrofitted by about 2014. Roughly 350 airline aircraft equipped for CPDLC are already using it when flying in Maastricht Upper Area Control Center for controller hand-offs and for clearances to climb or descend.
The recently approved U.S.-European Union open-skies aviation treaty represents a significant opportunity for European airports with spare capacity and strong alliances, says a report from debt watcher Standard & Poor's. "Paris, Amsterdam, and Madrid airports should be able to catch part of the additional traffic that will no doubt result from the treaty," said analyst Alexandre de Lestrange. "Frankfurt and Heathrow are not likely to benefit until they can operate new terminals or runways and accommodate additional traffic, though."
Allegiant Air's parent is issuing 3.9 million shares of its common stock priced at $31.75, with 3.7 million of those shares being sold by stockholders and 155,715 by Allegiant. Underwriters have a 30-day option to buy an additional 592,500 shares of the company's common stock to cover overallotments.
Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air extended its contract with Gate Gourment by two years, opting to stick with the catering company after concluding a bidding process. The original contract between the two companies was for three years.
Leasing company Avion added two more orders for the new freighter version of the Airbus A330-200, at the same time confirming earlier commitments for six of the aircraft. The order increase was prompted by a new leasing deal between Icelandair Cargo and Avion for four A330-200Fs. Deliveries to Avion will begin in 2010, and no engine choice has been announced yet.
Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste's (ASUR) board recommended that Fernando Chico Pardo's bid to take 42.625% of ASUR's capital stock (DAILY, April 2) should proceed, after concluding that the MXN56 price per share included in his bid was a fair deal for shareholders. Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transportation, Federal Competition Commission and Banking and Security Commission previously approved the bid, which helped it win the nod of ASUR's board.
India's air cargo traffic is increasing at a torrid pace, and the government's planning commission expects double-digit growth to continue through 2012, a study says. India's total air cargo traffic is estimated to grow 14.65% in 2006-2007 from 2005-2006, a study by Research and Markets shows. The government estimates that air cargo could continue to rise by a compound annual growth rate of 11.5% through 2012.
AirTran Airways ordered 15 Boeing 737-700s for delivery in 2011 and 2012 to add to its current collection of 45 of the type. The order brings AirTran's total 737-700 orders to 115. "AirTran Airways is committed to our long-range growth plan, and this order will provide the needed aircraft that will allow the airline to move forward with our strategic expansion while maintaining our business model of providing affordable, high-quality air travel through 2012," says Joe Leonard, AirTran's chairman and CEO.
The executive board of the Air Line Pilots Association this week voted unanimously to approve the merger with the Capital Cargo Crewmembers Association. The agreement will go into effect on June 1 with the full transfer of representational rights to ALPA. CCCA's members voted on May 1 to merge with the pilots' union.
Priceline is doing some free advertising for the airlines with a new Frugal 15 list of the top airlines deals for summer travel. Priceline points out that the 1,706-mile roundtrip between Washington and Orlando would cost $267 in gasoline at $3.10 per gallon, and take 26 hours by car, whereas it has an air deal for $123 roundtrip that would take two hours each way. Users can sample deals to more than 60 U.S. and 70 international points by clicking on the "browse top deals" box.
Eclipse Aviation partner ETIRC Aviation Europe has placed a firm order for 120 Eclipse 500 very light jets plus 60 options. The value of the order announced May 23 at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exposition in Geneva was not disclosed; the list price of the VLJ is $1.52 million in June 2006 dollars.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. is closing its Dockets Operations office from May 25-29 as part of the move to its new headquarters in the southeast quadrant of Washington (DAILY, March 23). During the move, dockets can be viewed and submitted electronically at http://dms.dot.gov. The office will reopen on May 30 at the new facility, where it will be housed in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the West Building.
By: Michael Mecham Boeing's opening of the 787 final assembly line in Building 40-26 is a strange site. Even though fuselage join is half completed and wings are ready to be mated on the first aircraft, the 385,000-square-foot assembly bay is mostly empty. That's because the tools used to position and align wings and fuselage sections are mobile, so when they're not needed they are simply rolled out of the way.
Singapore Airlines' purchase of 15%-25% of a recapitalized China Eastern should be announced before the end of the week, giving the Southeast Asian carrier excellent access to the booming Chinese market through connections with the country's third-largest carrier. An infusion of Chinese government capital and Singaporean capital and management know-how will also ensure the survival of an independent China Eastern, which is almost broke after repeated heavy losses.
International passenger prescreening among government agencies must be strengthened and aligned to avoid duplicate efforts and higher costs, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
US Airways has dropped the $25 fee to receive a confirmed standby seat for an earlier flight on the same day of travel for its frequent flyer program members. Dividend Miles Preferred members told the airline the fee was a "nuisance," and US Airways has agreed to drop it, says Travis Christ, vice president of sales and marketing. -JLM
Aeroflot and its partner, Italian bank UniCredit, have secured sufficient loans from international banks to finance the acquisition of Alitalia, Aeroflot CEO Valery Okulov said in an interview with Russian daily Vremia Novostei. Okulov said his consortium's strategic development plan for Alitalia includes the acquisition of Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional aircraft, whose first test flights are scheduled in September. -MT
Embraer's Bruce Peddle said about 30% of North American routes served by narrowbody aircraft run load factors lower than 75%. The DAILY yesterday reported an incorrect load factor percentage (DAILY, May 23).
