British Airways, looking to take advantage of open-skies agreement between the European Union and the U.S., is considering an all-premium traffic operation from points in the EU to the U.S. BA would equip aircraft with a premium economy and business-class cabin. The airline recently applied for rights to operate from EU points to the U.S. once the open-skies agreement is in place.
Management at Pinnacle Airlines Corp. believes the Bombardier 76-seat Q400 turboprop will be a cornerstone of its growth,and predicts the company will win Q400 flying from other major airline partners. The company ordered 15 of the aircraft earlier this year and took conditional orders for 10 additional planes, plus options on another 20. Pinnacle's Colgan Air subsidiary will fly the aircraft for Continental from Newark, starting in December.
House lawmakers are now likely to introduce their version of FAA reauthorization legislation in early June, congressional sources tell The DAILY. Democrats on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee had been hoping to get the bill out this month (DAILY, May 3). It is not yet clear whether this will be a bipartisan bill like the version introduced in the Senate recently.
Former Sterling Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Stefan Vilner was named CEO of newly setup executive jet provider JetBird. JetBird is one of a handful of startups planning to enter the evolving air taxi market. Vilner joins the company roughly two years before JetBird will take delivery of its first aircraft -- it has placed an order for 100 Embraer Phenoms.
A May 17 near collision on the runway of Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport spurred increased concern about faulty radars and other ATC systems in Argentina. In the incident, a Lan Chile aircraft was forced to abort takeoff to avoid collision with a Mexicana plane being towed by a tractor. "This was a close call attributable to human error, but it is impossible for our fellow workers to function under such heavy pressure," labor leader Cesar Salas said on behalf of Argentina's flight controllers union.
Royal Jordanian on June 20 will begin carrying the code of oneworld partner American on its flights between Amman and Detroit. Royal Jordanian is reinstating the route after eight months with two weekly flights. It first began flying the route in June 2005.
The Airport Group Investments Ltd. has bought a 48.25% stake in the U.K.'s Birmingham International Airport from partners Macquarie Airports Group and Aer Rianta International for GPB420 million (US$827 million). The group is a limited company owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Victorian Funds Management Corporation. Once the transaction is completed, the West Midlands Districts Council will keep its 49% stake in the airport, while an employee share trust will hold the remaining 2.75%.
AirTran Airways has reached a tentative agreement with the National Pilots' Association over a four-year collective bargaining agreement. The agreement still needs the approval of NPA's board of directors and then be ratified by the membership in the next 30 days. If ratified, it will take effect July 1, and will become amendable on June 30, 2011. The NPA represents about 1,500 pilots at AirTran.
Washington National Airport could see more transcontinental flights under an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill approved by the Senate Commerce Committee last week. The airport's beyond-perimeter slots would rise by 12 to 36, while within perimeter slots would go up by eight to 28 under the amendment introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.).
The Malaysian government will reduce passenger airport tax for all international flights departing from low-cost carrier terminals (LCCT) throughout the country, and Transport Minister Chang Kong Choy said an announcement would be made at the end of the month. Travelers pay MYR35 (US$10.32) from LCCT and MYR45 (US$13.27) from the main terminal.
Southeast Asian budget carriers are stepping up efforts at getting extra revenue by selling add-on products and services. Malaysia's AirAsia, which does not allocate seats, has begun letting passengers join priority boarding groups by paying a fee. Such passengers board ahead of the others and thereby get the best seats. The charge has been set at an introductory rate of around $6 per one-way flight, although it varies from country to country, depending on currency.
Royal Jordanian Airlines placed an order for two Boeing 787-8s, CEO Samer Majali said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum for the Middle East in Jordan. He plans to order two more of the type before yearend and lease eight 787s. Royal Jordanian, a member of the oneworld alliance since earlier this year, is using the 787 as a replacement for its Airbus A310s and A340-300s. -JF
Austrian Airlines has launched a new service for its Business Class passengers anywhere in Europe that will connect them to its long-haul flights by flying them on business jets.
China Southern will launch at least seven international flights this year as part of a new emphasis on building up services to other countries to support and exploit its domestic network, China's largest. Most of the new services will also take advantage of the location of China Southern's Guangzhou hub as the most convenient gateway into China for cities south of the country. The company has previously taken a fairly conservative approach to international expansion.
Airbus and Boeing are both using the annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition to highlight recent sales successes for the corporate jet versions of their airline offerings, including a significant new U.S. order for Airbus.
The signature of the agreement between the European Union and Russia to end a long dispute on Siberian overflight charges was postponed at the request of Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin. The accord, hammered out in November 2006, was scheduled to be signed on the sidelines of last week's EU-Russia summit in Samara for implementation in September (DAILY, March 28), but Levitin said the internal rati- fication process in Russia could not be completed on time.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. fined Comair $75,000 for contract of carriage violations stemming from a December 2004 incident that resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights at the peak of holiday travel.
The combination of protest actions by air traffic controllers and Alitalia cabin staff will oblige the ailing Italian flag carrier to cancel 394 flights today and is reviving questions about chronic government meddling in airline management.
Strikes by some Lan Argentina employees at Buenos Aires' Aeroparque Airport earlier this week will continue, union leaders say, as negotiations with management did not progress to their liking. Strikes on May 14-15 by about 500 Lan Argentina workers at Aeroparque Airport caused 17 domestic flights to be canceled. Ninety percent of some 2,000 inconvenienced passengers were reassigned to Aerolineas Argentinas, and 10% were reimbursed for their tickets.
Air Greenland will offer flights to Baltimore (BWI) from May 24 through Aug. 30 from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, offering the only direct service to the U.S. The airline will offer flights every Thursday between those dates, and every Monday from June 11 through Aug. 20. The airline will use boeing 757s on the five-hour flight. It currently serves only Copenhagen as an international destination.
