Etihad Airways plans to defer deliveries of its Airbus A380s. "You need the maturity to absorb that kind of aircraft," CEO James Hogan told The DAILY. "For us, it's huge step." Hogan confirmed that "we are in discussions with Airbus at the moment in regards to whether we take it or defer it." But Etihad does not consider canceling its order: "At a given time, we need that type of aircraft." The Abu Dhabi-based carrier has a firm order for four aircraft. -JF
Indonesia has no plans to bring charges against any party in connection with the March 7 crash of a Garuda Boeing 737-400 at Yogyarkarta Adi Sucipto Airport. Tatang Kurniadi, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Committee, said the "investigation into the Garuda crash is to determine what caused it and not to blame any party. After the investigations are completed, our aim is to enhance safety measures and, if required, correct any problems that may have surfaced as a result of the crash."
Airlines are feeling the pressure of meeting IATA guidelines to become 100% e-ticket compliant by the end of this year, says Amadeus, which has signed up 19 new airlines to its ticketing platform in the past six months. "Becoming compliant by the end of 2007 is putting a lot of pressure on the e-ticket responsible teams within the airlines, as well as across the industry," says Lone Koch, e-ticket project manager of Cimber Air, which has just signed up to use Amadeus' ticketing platform.
The European Union's prediction of a 50% increase in transatlantic aviation business after open skies may be optimistic, the latest Unisys R2A Scorecard says.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) thinks the Senate might have too much on its plate when it comes to FAA legislation. He raises the possibility of extending the FAA's current authorization while the Senate considers new reauthorization plans, the Fiscal 2008 budget and confirming a new FAA administrator. Stevens says he hopes that can be avoided but "as a practical matter, there's some serious problems there...I'm not sure that we won't end up with just what we did before, which is a two-year extension until we worked it out," he tells an FAA budget hearing.
Northwest's creditors overwhelmingly approved the reorganization plan through which the carrier intends to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. Reporting an unofficial tally of voting, which ended May 7, Northwest said 96.9% of the creditors who voted, representing 98.4% of the dollar value of claims being voted, approved the plan. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York is scheduled to conduct a hearing on the plan Wednesday.
The U.S. Transportation Dept.'s Inspector General yesterday detailed timetable and cost concerns with FAA's crucial airport surface surveillance program. IG Calvin Scovel's statement to Senate appropriators revealed that his office is preparing a report on the airport surface detection equipment -- Model X (ASDE-X) program, and this report will be delivered later this year. In general, this program "is at risk of not meeting its current cost and schedule plans to deliver all 35 ASDE-X systems by 2011," Scovel said.
The foreign air carrier permit tentatively awarded to Ethiopian Airlines in March (DAILY, March 9) was finalized this week by the U.S. Transportation Dept. The carrier waited nine years to win the authority, and instead used its exemptions to hold out service to the U.S. [OST-1998-3727]. -ARS
Worldspan has signed two of Brazil's leading air travel consolidators -- Sua Viagem and Confianca -- to five-year agreements, making all of their airline products and services available to Worldspan travel agents. Sua Viagem, formerly known as Selltour, has 40 airlines in its inventory. Confianca founded West Central Tour Operator in 1992 to manage the consolidator business of American Airlines and Aerolineas Argentinas. -JLM
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) has sued the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) over the agency's loss of a hard drive that contained personal data on more than 100,000 employees.
EasyJet managed to cut its loss for the first half of its 2007 financial year. The airline recorded a pre-tax loss of GBP17 million (US$33.9 million) for the six-month period ended March 31, down from GBP40 million a year earlier. The airline's shares, nevertheless, took a further dive yesterday, dropping more than 5% after falling 8% last year. In an interview with The DAILY, CEO Andrew Harrison attributed the drop to profit taking and concerns about weaker yields in the third quarter.
Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co. (BAAC) officials expect to achieve FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency certification of the BA609 civil tiltrotor in 2010, followed by first customer deliveries in 2011. BAAC reports signing purchase agreements for 70 of the combination helicopter/airplane aircraft from 40 customers. If the program remains on track, Michael Cuppernull, managing director of BAAC, expects FAA and EASA pilots would begin flying the BA609 in 2010.
Airports look at registered traveler programs as a way to offer an extra benefit to customers and as a new revenue opportunity, said officials this week at the American Association of Airport Executives' RT conference.
The Greater Washington Aviation Open (GWAO) raised $127,000 this week for the Corporate Angel Network's program to fly cancer patients on corporate jets for free within the U.S. for treatment. The GWAO has supported the program for 19 years. Next year's open, co-hosted by Aviation Week, will be held on May 5.
Southwest's CEO Gary Kelly believes the most pertinent route for the carrier to tap international markets is through code-sharing deals, but eventually the airline should have the technology to fly its own metal in those areas if it becomes a relevant option.
ExpressJet management gives only a cautious assessment of the company's newly branded flying, noting loads reflect the thin nature of the markets the carrier has entered. Flights to ExpressJet's 24 communities and 55 city-pairs started in April, and the roll-out continues through this month.
The largest U.S. airlines encountered operational difficulties in the first quarter because of winter storms that caused overall on-time arrivals to fall to 71.4% on average, according to the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s Air Travel Consumer Report.
The European Commission is extending its investigation into Ryanair's bid on Aer Lingus until July 4 after Ryanair sent the European Union competition watchdog additional information addressing its concerns. The probe was previously extended by one month until June 13 (DAILY, Feb. 23). A decision was initially expected by May 11.
House lawmakers yesterday expressed concerns about FAA's plan to contract out the operation of a new satellite navigation system, and the slow progress of the Joint Planning and Development Office in producing plans for the next-generation ATC system.
Airlines are going after travel insurance as a new ancillary service to sell. According to Sabre Airline Solutions, having the functionality to upsell by adding insurance is "the hot request" from airlines right now. Americans spent $1.3 billion last year on travel insurance, which has tripled since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association. Some travel agencies, in fact, make more than half of their profits from the commissions paid by insurance companies.
