The European parliament supported the draft European Union/U.S. air agreement in this week's plenary session in Strasbourg but believes the accord is still too favorable for the U.S.
New Malaysian low-fare airline Firefly will start operations on April 2. The Penang-based carrier is a wholly owned subsidiary carrier of Malaysia Airlines. Firefly will initially operate two Fokker -50s to four domestic destinations -- Kuantan, Kuala Terenggganu, Langkawi and Kota Baru -- and internationally to Phuket and Koh Samui in Thailand. The routes are not operated by any of the country's five airlines. Minister for Transport Chan Kong Choy believes Firefly's operations will boost tourist arrivals in Malaysia.
US Airways executives want to reach deals with labor groups this year but stress that they won't agree to terms that would create competitive disadvantages for the carrier. Airline CEO Doug Parker told reporters earlier this week at the company's headquarters in Tempe, Ariz., that management had offered pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and fleet service employees the better of the two previous separate contracts at America West and US Airways.
Virgin America this week made the final push in its bid to U.S. Transportation Dept. authority to launch operations, stressing the "sweeping" changes it made to silence citizenship doubters and the competition benefits of the its planned low-cost service for U.S. travelers.
Alitalia in 30 days will begin carrying the code of SkyTeam partner Continental on its flights between Milan and Budapest. The airline currently operates three daily flights from Milan Malpensa to Budapest and four daily flights from Milan Linate via Rome Fiumicino Airport [OST-2004-19210].
Mesa subsidiary Air Midwest will retain the Essential Air Service market of Franklin/Oil City, Pa., thanks to a service proposal that went unopposed before the U.S. Transportation Dept. Mesa for more than a decade has provided EAS for the communities. The carrier will receive an annual subsidy of $741,346, from April 1 to March 31, 2009, to operate 12 nonstop roundtrips between Franklin and Pittsburgh, the hub of code-share partner US Airways. Beech 1900Ds seating 19 will be used in the market [OST-1997-2523]. -ARS
The Asia/Pacific airport financing market is poised for growth, largely led by the fast-track growth of low-fare carriers and the large number of airport expansion and modernization programs, according to a new report by Frost & Sullivan.
Philippine Airlines yesterday ordered two Boeing 777-300ERs, with purchase rights for another two. The new additions will let the airline expand its direct flights to the U.S., the carrier said. PAL also signed a letter of intent with GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) to lease two 777-300ER aircraft. The airline already flies five 747-400s and three 737-300s and -400s. PAL's network encompasses 24 foreign and 18 domestic destinations. -AS
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, a carrier carving out a place for itself in the niche of low-fare international air travel, this week got the green light from U.S. authorities to launch new service to Oakland and Chicago (DAILY, Feb. 9). Boeing 747 service to Oakland would start June 1, while flights to Chicago would come on line later [OST-2007-27248].
U.K. airports handled 235 million passengers in 2006, up nearly 3% year over year, according to statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Passenger traffic at the five main London airports -- Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City -- grew by 2% to 137 million passengers. The biggest increases were at Stansted, up by 1.7 million, and Gatwick, up by 1.4 million.
Four more major U.S. airports are expected to reach their pre-2001 records for flight numbers within the next few years, joining the 18 already at this mark, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said yesterday.
Airbus will soon receive some good news for its relaunched A350 program, with two major orders likely to emerge. Aeroflot is expected to announce an order for 22 A350s within the next few weeks, and the carrier is also expected to order 10-15 A330s under a lease agreement. Aeroflot executives said they have cooled on Boeing's competing proposal for 787s. Qatar is also likely to confirm as many as 80 A350 orders sometime in June. This would be about 20 more than the total the carrier previously had on order. -AS
Northwest has amended its debtor-in-possession financing to reduce its interest rate by 0.5% and eliminate minimum credit-rating and collateral-coverage thresholds that would have increased the interest rate by 1% if breached.
The U.K.'s Norwich Airport will begin charging an airport development fee (ADF) to fund a five-year, GBP18 million (US$34.8 million) investment package in its infrastructure and facilities.
United CEO Glenn Tilton says he supports the U.S./EU aviation liberalization agreement despite the fact that it may allow more competition in the crucial London Heathrow market. The first stage agreement "may not be perfect," but it marks an important step in international liberalization. He called for U.S. and Chinese negotiators to target a similar opening of the Chinese aviation market.
Emirates got the nod from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to carry SAS' code on the Gothenburg, Sweden-New York segment of Emirates' Dubai-New York cargo flights (DAILY, March 6). The carriers plan to start the code share on March 25 [OST-2007-27427].
FAA's annual aviation forecast shows that airlines are keeping a tighter lid on capacity than the agency expected, while growth in other indicators, such as load factor and yield, is beating earlier projections. The agency believes U.S. system capacity will rise by 2.8% this year, down from previous forecasts of 4.6% growth. Capacity actually shrank by 0.2% last year -- versus FAA's prediction of a 0.9% rise -- although both numbers are obviously close to flat. The new estimates are part of FAA's 2007 Aerospace Forecast that was released yesterday.
Aeroports de Paris saw net profits drop 16% to EUR152.1 million in 2006, from EUR179.9 million in 2005. ADP's profits rose almost 20% to EUR200.6 million, from EUR167.7 million in 2005, after restating for non-recurring items related to the company's initial public offering.
FAA's latest update of its Operational Evolution Plan will significantly expand the plan's scope, going further into the future and encompassing the entire system as well as just the busiest airports, agency head Marion Blakey says. Instead of covering the next 10 years, it will extend through 2025. FAA officials are already aligning the Fiscal 2009 budget request with the new OEP.
Delta is opposing SAA's attempt to renew exemptions for U.S. service in a bid to get South Africa to approve the use of its entire Boeing 767 fleet for its Atlanta-Johannesburg flights.
