JetBlue is considering making some changes to its cabin offerings, including the possibility of buy-on-board products and letting passengers buy middle seats to block other customers from using them at a reduced price.
Aeroports de Paris (ADP) subsidiary ADPi has won the deal to design a new terminal at Kazakhstan's Almaty International Airport. It will take two years to build the new terminal, created after the airport authority revised its master plan in 2006. The glass and wood design will bear the shape of three yurts, traditional tents used by nomadic people in central Asia. The design will allow the addition of new yurts as the airport grows.
Finnair's stake in Norwegian Air Shuttle could grow to 10% under a deal that also transfers ownership of FlyNordic to Norwegian. Norwegian is to take 100% ownership of FlyNordic. In turn, Finnair receives stocks and options. FlyNordic, which carried 1.2 million passengers last year, is Finnair's Swedish subsidiary and a smaller rival to Norwegian Air Shuttle with its 5.1 million travelers.
Airbus is rejecting rumors that Malaysia Airlines wants to cancel its 2004 order for six A380-800s, and Chief Operating Officer-Customer John Leahy told The DAILY his company and the Malaysian flag carrier are working our the new delivery schedule for the six aircraft. Leahy, however, could not say when the first aircraft would be delivered to the airline. "The delivery dates have to be agreeable to both Airbus and MAS. I am certain MAS has no plans to cancel the order," Leahy said.
German engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines said yesterday its first quarter sales rose 12% to EUR640 million (US$873 million). CEO Udo Stark said in a conference call with reporters the increase was mainly due to strong market demand for its MRO offerings. Net profit rose slightly to EUR26.1 million (US$36 million). The company expects its full year profit to rise 15%. Stark, who will step down by yearend, said he will not become a member of MTU's supervisory board.
Boeing's 787 program gained enormous ground yesterday with Air Canada deciding to place 23 additional orders and Virgin Atlantic dealing a blow to Airbus by revealing itself as a new 787 customer. Air Canada is still negotiating final terms with Boeing, but the carrier said it will increase its 787 orders from 14 to 37. The 15 Virgin orders had already been listed on the Boeing backlog but were attributed to an unidentified customer.
Bombardier continues to build momentum in its large Q400 turboprop orderbook, with North American launch customer Horizon Airlines ordering 15 aircraft, and taking options for 20 more. Recently, Bombardier executives pointed to a strong pipeline of potential orders both in the U.S. an abroad (DAILY, April 2).
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey says a new cooperation agreement with the U.S. will help India's aviation industry deal with rapid growth, and she believes a separate safety deal currently being discussed will be an important next step.
Of the four remaining communities receiving federal air service grants in fiscal year 2003 polled by The DAILY, one has no service, while the results for the other three were mixed, but positive overall. New Mexico's Taos Consortium received a $1.4 million grant to help address air service issues in a comprehensive manner, according to its original application. The money was spent to attract and subsidize a commuter airline, said Taos Regional Airport Director Mark Fratrick.
Brazil's Chamber of Representatives is weighing a draft bill that seeks to proscribe overbooking by airlines. The legislation comes at a time when institutions and practices, such as air traffic control and bilateral air agreements, are under fire by government regulators and airlines (DAILY, April 23).
Leasing company Aviation Capital Group yesterday announced it will order 40 new aircraft, comprising mainly narrow bodies and split evenly between Airbus and Boeing. The Boeing portion of the orders includes 15 737s and five 787. These orders were previously attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing's Web site. The 787s will be the first of this type in the ACG portfolio, while the 737 family has proven to be "an excellent leasing asset," said ACG CEO Stephen Hannahs.
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano workers, still struggling for the survival of the airline, (DAILY, April 17), were further distressed by rumors over the weekend that airline President Antonio Chiquie was ready to mortgage their beloved Boeing 767 "Paititi," LAB's flagship and flying symbol.
Aeroflot is expected to use its newly enlarged fleet to expand its presence in India with new flights planned for Kolkata, Bangalore, Amritsar and Ahmedabad from Moscow.
Mexican domestic carrier Aerolitoral, an affiliate of Aeromexico, on May 7 will begin an expansion on Mexico's southern border from the gateway cities in Chiapas to the rest of the country.
Air France and Qantas are expanding their code-sharing agreement, starting next month. So far, code sharing has been done on service to five Australian cities, with connections through Singapore. Now, the agreement is being extended to cover service to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane via Hong Kong. Air France is boosting its Hong Kong service in June, bringing total code-share frequencies between France and Australia to 48, 17 of them through Hong Kong.
Delta earned $155 million from operations in the first quarter, which will be its last full quarter in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the carrier reported yesterday.
Air Asia has been given the approval to operate a low-fare airline terminal (LFAT) at the Penang Airport; a 36-hectare site has been allocated by the Penang state government for the facility.
Emirates on May 1 will increase from daily to 12 weekly flights on the Dubai-Beijing route, which is served with Airbus A340-300 aircraft. The service will become a double-daily offering as of July 1. Emirates launched flights to Beijing last September. The airline also operates a daily service to Shanghai in October 2004 using Boeing 777-300ERs.
Atlanta plans to open its new "end-around" taxiway Thursday, and the airport claims the $42.5 million taxiway will be the first of its type at a U.S. airport. End-around taxiways eliminate the need for arriving flights to cross active runways. About 700 arrivals per day land on the northernmost runway, which will be connected to the new taxiway.
Rome, N.Y.-based MRO Empire Aero Center won follow-up business with Russian carrier Transaero through a one-year deal to complete integration and bridge checks -- ensuring the aircraft are in line with Transaero's operating specs -- for five Boeing 747-300s the carrier agreed to acquire from Japan Airlines last year. Empire won heavy maintenance business from Transaero last year covering the carrier's 747-200s.
