Frontier subsidiary Lynx Aviation tentatively won its interstate operations certificate from the U.S. Transportation Dept. on May 4. The department stressed that it found Lynx fit for operations with 10 aircraft, and that any bid to expand operations beyond the 10 aircraft should be preceded by a 45-day notice [OST-2007-27074]. Lynx will fly its Bombardier Q400 turboprops on a mix of Frontier's new and existing markets (DAILY, April 13). -ARS
New Zealand's Auckland Airport says it will be the first in Australasia to operate a Category IIIB landing and lighting system, which is expected to be operational by May 2008. The airport hopes this will cut down fog-related delays - Auckland has to divert flights due to fog up to 11 days a year.
American Airlines reported a 3.3% decline in April revenue passenger miles to 11.5 billion, ranging from a 10.6% drop in traffic in the Pacific to the only increase - a 2.8% rise in traffic to Latin America.
The European Commission has decided to further investigate Travelport's proposed acquisition of the Worldspan global distribution system, which will merge it with Travelport's Galileo GDS. The EC is concerned about anticompetitive situations in Europe. Travelport says there are now many alternative distribution channels. It should know, it owns several - Orbitz, Gulliver's Travel Associates, ebookers, Cheaptickets and more. The company says it still expects the deal to close in the third quarter.
Republic Airways Holdings CEO Bryan Bedford says it is important to note the trend toward larger regional jets is still in its early stages. "Only half of the legacy carriers have achieved enough scope relief to allow them to deploy regional jets of up 76 seats in their network," Bedford notes, adding, "Their competitors are surely aware of the significant disadvantage they face as a result."
Airline competition in Brazil should become "more rational" following GOL's purchase of New Varig in March (DAILY, March 29), TAM Brazil President Marco Antonio Bologna told reporters, adding that "there should be less predatory competition based on airfares." If capacity increases due to new aircraft delivered to GOL or TAM, the market need not be afraid of "fare wars," he said.
Two U.S. airports expect to wrap up trials for the Homeland Security Dept. this year showing how explosives detection systems can screen air cargo, while a third airport finishes tests on sensors that can find stowaways on all-cargo aircraft. The Air Cargo Explosives Detection Pilot Program (ACEDPP) was launched by HSD in June 2006, and the fiscal 2006 appropriations bill that started it calls for completion by the end of this year, according to Doug Bauer, a HSD program manager.
You can now register online for AVIATION WEEK events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) OCT. 17-18 -- MRO Asia 2007 Conference & Exhibition, Shanghai, China NOV. 7-8 -- MRO Europe 2007 Conference & Exhibition, Fiera Milano Congressi, Milan, Italy NOV. 28-29 -- A&D Finance Conference, New York, N.Y.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. last week formally invited European Union carriers to apply for authority to operate services to the U.S. under the new U.S.-EU air transport agreement. The authority will take effect on March 30, 2008. The department is launching the process now "to facilitate a smooth transition to the new regime..."
The Travel Industry Association of America believes the federal government needs to do more to inform the public of the new Western Hemisphere Initiative following disappointing results of a public survey.
Acknowledging the growing importance of environmental issues in aerospace businesses, Boeing said Friday it has established a company-wide Environment, Health and Safety organization and named a 23-year company veteran, Mary Armstrong, to be its VP. Citing Boeing's concern with "environmental performance of our products and services" and compliance with environmental regulations, CEO Jim McNerney said the new organization will develop an integrated strategic plan for the company, also encompassing its work with suppliers and customers.
Debt-watcher Fitch Ratings has rated $91 million in Massport revenue bonds at AA, citing Boston Logan's long-standing role as New England's primary international gateway airport and a stable and diverse mix of domestic and foreign flag airlines, augmented by the increasing presence of low-cost carriers.
LAN beat La Polar, manufacturers of metal products, and Entel, international telephone and internet operators, in a recent survey of analysts and brokers of the Santiago Stock Exchange about their choice blue-chip securities over the coming months. Investors and traders were swayed by LAN's solid growth program and sustained increases in passenger traffic.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says FAA must improve its procedures for dealing with hazardous workplace conditions after some New York air traffic controllers became ill last month when carbon monoxide fumes leaked into a ventilation system.
Alaska Air Group saw traffic fall 2% in April, while its capacity rose by 4.2%, leading load factor to decrease to 76.9%. The airline's revenue passenger miles totaled 1.5 billion, while its available seat miles rose to 1.9 billion. For the first four months of the year, RPMs totaled 5.9 billion, a 0.3% increase from the 5.567 billion recorded a year earlier. ASMs during that period rose 3.2% to 7.7 billion, and load factor was 72.8%, down from 74.9%.
The Senate Commerce Committee appears to be targeting the week of May 14 for the markup of its FAA reauthorization bill, with staffers confirming it will not be on this week's agenda. The markup is expected to occur in executive session, since the committee has already heard from a wide range of witnesses during previous hearings. Commerce and aviation subcommittee leaders want to get the bill to the Senate floor by June, to avoid the annual appropriations logjam.
While U.S. airports begin to add registered traveler (RT) programs, Canada's government appears to be no closer to implementing its own program despite the wishes of the country's airports and airlines.
US Airways has reached a final agreement with the Transport Workers Union on how to transition pre-merger America West employees who served as flight crew training instructors to the contract that covers pre-merger US Airways employees. The agreement affects 88 employees. The airline also signed a contract in April with TWU-represented flight simulator engineers. Last year, it signed unified agreements with the Airline Customer Service Employee Association and the TWU for dispatchers.
Boeing yesterday revealed that it received 49 unidentified 737 orders during the week through May 1, with the orders believed to have come from more than one carrier. The new orders boosted Boeing's 737 orders for the year to 106, now only slightly behind the 119 orders received for the 787 so far. Orders for the 737 were relatively slow at the start of the year but have roared back strongly in the past few months.
The Allied Pilots Association (APA) yesterday brandished the executive bonus issue as the union proposed a hefty wage increase, in the opening salvoes of what promises to be a fierce contract negotiation. APA presented American with a proposal for a 30.5% immediate pay raise for pilots, as well as 5% annual raises thereafter. This would result in an average 17% increase over three years, the union said. In addition, pilots would receive a signing bonus equal to 15% of their pay over the duration of the negotiations.
