Southwest's 0.23-cent year-over-year increase in first-quarter unit costs came half from fuel and half from maintenance, and the latter is by far the faster-growing at 23.4%, the carrier says in an SEC filing. The number of airframe inspections and the cost per inspection each increased under a new maintenance program for Boeing 737-300s and -500s adopted in 2006, said Southwest, and the cost impact will continue for "the next two to three years."
Delta's plan to serve the Salt Lake City-Mazatlan market with year-round service has changed, as delays in winning approvals from Mexico hampered operational transitions between Connection carriers Shuttle America and Skywest.
ExpressJet continued its branded flying roll-out on Monday, launching service from five airports -- Colorado Springs, Fresno, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Jacksonville. Schedules show that ExpressJet has no competition on the flights it launched from those airports. But that's not the case in all of ExpressJet's new markets. Horizon has stepped up competition with ExpressJet on the Boise-San Diego, Spokane-Sacramento and Spokane-San Diego routes (DAILY, April 4).
Air Jamaica has decided to outsource Air Jamaica Vacations to The Mark Travel Corporation of Milwaukee, Wis., effective Aug. 1. Mark Travel already manages brands such as United Vacations, Midwest Airlines Vacations, Funjet Vacations and Spirit Vacations. Air Jamaica Vacations will be managed from Orlando, Fla. Air Jamaica executives say the travel packages will have the same options they do now under new management, and nothing will change in appearance to the consumer or the travel agent. -JLM
Electronic flight bags are proliferating on the flight decks of airline aircraft, with affordable Class 2 systems that fit into docking stations in the cockpit for use in all phases of flight proving particularly popular. The popularity of Class 2 Systems is expected to increase as FAA launches an initiative to certify these devices with GPS so they can display "own ship" position on taxiways and runways. This will help pilots see and avoid runway incursions, and several avionics companies are working with FAA to participate in this type of certification.
American is launching a trial of personal media players in all cabins on a selected number of MD-80 flights, and is also introducing this technology in premium cabins on all transcontinental flights. The MD-80 trial began yesterday, and is expected to continue through Aug. 31. Eight daily flights between Los Angeles and Chicago will be used for the test. Economy passengers will be able to rent the personal media players, while the devices will be provided free in the premium cabins.
All-business-class airline MAXjet Airways is making a major leadership change with the hiring of a new chairman, CFO, chief operating officer and VP-people services. The board of directors has appointed board member and Extra Space Storage CEO Kenneth Woolley as chairman, replacing Richard Sharp. Woolley was an early investor in JetBlue and an early investor in MAXjet.
Malaysia Airlines will set up a new subsidiary to operate the rural air services (RAS) and Fokker 50 routes in the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak following the government's decision to return the operations of Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) to the flag carrier. MAS Managing Director and CEO Idris Jala said it has to be a win-win solution when the government transfers RAS back to MAS.
Bombardier added about 200 aircraft and $23 billion in potential revenue in the latest update to its annual market forecast. The outlook, stretching from 2007 to 2026, sees 11,200 aircraft sold in the 20- to 149-seat range, worth about $393 billion. There was no fundamental adjustment in the outlook, notes Michael McAdoo, VP-strategy and business development.
American is stepping up competition with ExpressJet in Raleigh by offering double frequent flyer miles on American Eagle flights to the ExpressJet markets of Jacksonville, Kansas and Louisville. American Eagle launched flights from Raleigh to the three cities yesterday. ExpressJet is rolling out its flights from Raleigh to New Orleans, San Antonio, Louisville, Kansas City, Birmingham and Jacksonville from May 7 through June 12. American's double miles offer is valid for travel from May 1 to July 31. -LR
Northwest this week reported a first-quarter pre-tax profit -- excluding reorganization costs -- of $100 million, which CEO Doug Steenland said was consistent with the airline's bankruptcy re-emergence business plan.
US Airways and Singapore Airlines plan to implement their new code-sharing agreement on June 1, pending regulatory approval. The carriers put the final signatures on the deal late last month. Under the agreement, Singapore's code would initially appear on US Airways flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco to both Phoenix and Las Vegas, while US Air's code would be carried on SIA's flights between Singapore and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Manchester (U.K), Zurich, Brunei, Jakarta and Bali [OST-2007-28084].
Continental will be the first U.S. carrier to use the Boeing Class 3 Electronic Flight Bag on its 777s, having it installed in new deliveries and also as a retrofit. Boeing recently delivered to Continental the second 777-200ERs equipped with the Class 3 EFB. The first was delivered in March. The EFB will be retrofitted on three other new 777s. The Class 3 EFB is certified for all phases of operations in the air and on the ground. It is integrated into aircraft avionics, and provides digital versions charts and manuals.
During the U.S.-European Union summit yesterday, leaders from both sides signed the first stage of the open-skies agreement, part of a larger transatlantic economic integration plan. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters represented the U.S. Jacques Barrot, European Commission vice president for transportation affairs, and Wolfgang Tiefensee, EU transport council president, led the European delegation. -MU
Airlines are beginning to study alternative forms of payment as the shift from using travel agencies -- and in some cases GDSs -- toward more online sales is increasing operating costs because of rising credit card merchant fees.
Air China reported on the weekend that its net profit for the first quarter increased to RMB403 million (US$52.3 million), driven partly by strong increases in international traffic and higher fares.
Delta emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy 19 months after entering restructured as a lower-cost carrier, a more diverse international network, a new brand and a stronger focus on customer service. "Before we went into Ch. 11, Delta didn't have a good balance sheet, had high costs and too much focus on domestic, short-haul markets," said CEO Jerry Grinstein. "But Delta is now a fierce competitor in a tough industry, and we are confident that we will reclaim our rightful place as an industry leader."
Palm Springs Aviation Director Richard Walsh was terminated from his position on April 24 by City Manager David Ready, who cited "different" management styles in local press reports. Ready has made Craig Toms, who currently oversees operations, the acting airport manager. The situation appears to have come to a head over Ready's decision to hire a city-level executive director to oversee the airport and ostensibly be Walsh's new boss.
The latest round of aviation talks between Chinese and U.S. government officials did not yield the open-skies breakthrough the U.S. was hoping for, although there is still hope that a new agreement can be reached before this month's Strategic Economic Dialogue in Washington.
The new Delta board will have its first meeting in May, and choosing a new CEO is at the top of the agenda, says current CEO Jerry Grinstein. "It's hard to speculate, but I hope they can choose someone within 60 days," he told The DAILY.
International passenger traffic jumped 7.8% in March from March 2006, the largest monthly increase in a year, IATA reports. For the first quarter, international passenger traffic was up 7%. "The story of passenger traffic is based on strong economies driving the demand to travel for both business and leisure markets," said IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani.
Pinnacle continues to add partners to its cadre after winning new business from Delta to fly 16 CRJ-900s as a Connection carrier. The Delta deal follows an agreement Pinnacle Airlines Corp. struck with Continental earlier this year for its newly acquired Colgan subsidiary to fly Q400s from Newark, starting in early 2008.
