Aeromexico on April 26 won authority from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to serve the Guadalajara-New York (Kennedy) route with three weekly nonstop flights. The service is expected to launch on May 7 (DAILY, April 23).
The Dept. of Homeland Security needs to develop a risk-based security strategy for inbound air cargo arriving from overseas, a congressional watchdog report recommended yesterday. The Government Accountability Office also said two DHS agencies with responsibilities for securing air cargo need to communicate with each other better and analyze the security practices of the air cargo industry and foreign governments to see if any procedures are applicable to the U.S.
Plans to integrate operations and finances at Medellin's downtown Olaya Herrera Airport with those of Jose Maria Cordoba International in Rionegro seemed ready for implementation, after months of off-and-on negotiations between Colombian bureaucrats, politicians and lobbyists.
Qantas is buying a 30% stake in Vietnam's second-largest carrier, Pacific Airlines, under an investment agreement signed with the State Capital Investment Corp. Qantas intends to help develop a new business plan for the carrier, which operates a fleet of single-class Boeing 737-400s within Vietnam and to Taiwan. The Australian press reported the purchase is worth about $41.5 million. "We will be actively involved in the ongoing management of the company through board representation and key management appointments," says Qantas CFO Peter Gregg.
The U.S. and the European Union are hammering out an accord for "green transatlantic flights," with the hopes that this deal can be made public in mid-June, top EU officials said.
The sale of 75% of Uruguay's Pluna to the Leadgate Group is back on track and should be confirmed next month, DAILY affiliate Latin America & Caribbean reports.
Miami International Airport has partnered with the Disney Institute to provide customer service training to 300 employees under its new Concierge MIA program. Aviation Director Jose Abreu made management changes in October 2006 that included putting customer service under operations, said Dickie Davis, the airport's terminal operations director. "Jose then met with me and asked me to put together a holistic approach to improve customer service," she said.
FAA last week awarded production certification to Eclipse Aviation for the company's Eclipse 500 jet, which should let the company increase production rates. The Eclipse 500 received its type certification last fall, allowing production to begin. The production certificate, however, will allow Eclipse to build the aircraft with a reduced level of FAA oversight, according to an agency official. -AS
TAP Air Portugal and Brazil's TAM have signed a memorandum of understanding to code share and partner on their frequent flyer programs. TAM will sell flights on TAP in Portugal, and TAP will sell flights on TAM in Brazil. The two will expand the code share to include international flights upon government approval.
Airbus still hasn't decided about pushing its A320 narrowbody production rate to 40 aircraft per month, reasoning any uptick needs to be sustainable for about 24 months. Rates reached 32 per month in January and are on schedule to rise to 34 a month in March 2008 and 36 per month in December of that year. The airframer continues to say that pushing the build rate to 38-40 per month is under consideration.
Cape Air was reselected by the U.S. Transportation Dept. to operate essential air service for an additional two years at Mayaguez and Ponce in Puerto Rico. The airline will connect both communities to San Juan with five weekly nonstop roundtrips during the peak season and three weekly nonstop roundtrips during the off-peak season. Cape Air will use nine-seat Cessna 402s on both routes.
Airbus is expected to bring an A380 to Indian cities Mumbai and New Delhi from May 7 to 10 for Kingfisher Airlines' second anniversary celebrations. Kingfisher is owned by United Breweries Group, and has ordered five A380s with an option for five more. Mumbai airport "is perfectly capable of handling the A380 now ... and by the time the aircraft are delivered and begin flying to India, we will have a new terminal with special facilities for parking and handling the large number of passengers," an airport spokesman said.
Singapore Airlines' future growth in Canada is being hurt by a bilateral agreement that only allows it to operate three flights a week out of Vancouver, says Campbell Wilson, the carrier's VP-Canada. "We operate out of Vancouver with 90%-plus capacity, but Singapore and Canadian airports lose when passengers have to transfer to the country via U.S. airports like San Francisco and Los Angeles," Wilson says.
Nigerian carrier Arik Air has signed a deal with Boeing that will launch the new carrier's widebody fleet. Boeing last week announced that Arik has ordered three 787-9s, two 777-200LRs, and two 777-300ERs. The orders were previously attributed to unidentified customers. Arik is the fourth African carrier to order the 787, and also the fourth to purchase the 777, Boeing said.
Named T. Jay Salmen, president of Petters Aviation, to serve as interim CEO after the resignation of Shaun Nugent. Salmen will continue as vice chairman of the board of directors.
Embraer will bear the cost of modifications being performed on JetBlue's 190s to improve reliability. Airline CEO David Neeleman says Embraer paying for the work is related to JetBlue's status as the aircraft's launch customer. Neeleman notes JetBlue has seen better results from the 190s in the past few weeks.
Airline distribution costs -- in many cases -- are being replaced with even higher credit card fees, according to a Unisys study. This unintended consequence has been hard to track as merchant fees vary by card issuer, geography and other negotiated conditions. In one example, however, a EUR5,000 (US$6,821) ticket that incurs EUR3-EUR13 in GDS fees costs an airline EUR100-EUR150 in merchant fees. Unisys cites Northwest as saying it pays twice as much credit card fees as GDS fees.
Air France-KLM and Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk during the week of April 30 will begin talks about the future ownership structure of their 50/50 joint venture, Dutch leisure and freight carrier Martinair. KLM is believed to be coveting its partner's stake. Martinair CEO Arie Verberk said a number of other potential buyers are equally interested in Maersk's 50% holding, but they also want a piece of KLM's stake to constitute a majority interest -- and KLM is refusing to sell.
Congress will have to make some "difficult decisions" if it intends to sustain the essential air service program amid the ever-changing climate of the aviation industry and federal spending constraints, the Government Accountability Office told the House aviation subcommittee in testimony released on April 25.
House Transportation Ranking Member John Mica (R-Fla.) last week renewed his attacks against the Airbus A380, claiming a new government report proves that the A380 will disrupt operations at U.S. airports -- an interpretation disputed by Airbus.
Pittsburgh airport has become the latest to join a pilot program that allows registered guests at the Hyatt Hotel to visit food and retail concessions beyond the sterile security area.
