Delta says Zoom erred in citing the Delta/United London route transfer and a similar case involving Northwest as precedent for pendente lite authority (DAILY, March 9) because Zoom's application for the U.K-U.S. authority is "not ripe for consideration." The U.K. government has yet to authorize Zoom for the London-New York services, and the airline has yet to be designated under the Bermuda II agreement, so the application is incomplete, Delta argues
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and her Canadian counterpart, Lawrence Cannon, today will officially sign the new air agreement negotiated between the two nations. The signing will occur at Washington National Airport.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) are adding their support to Virgin America's efforts to win U.S. Transportation Dept. approval of its amended application for U.S. certification. The senators say Virgin has made "considerable changes" to meet DOT concerns, and they ask DOT to approve the application "in a timely manner."
The Air Transport Association is lobbying against FAA's proposal to eliminate "first dollar" war-risk insurance cover for airlines and instead phase in a deductible amount for this coverage. ATA wants to see the current program extended unchanged. The group supports FAA's extension of a third-party liability cap and a prohibition on punitive damages.
Names Ron Olson to succeed Rex Tolschin as general manager of Las Vegas McCarran Airport. Tolschin, who plans to retire, ran the airline's Nevada operation for eight years, four of them at McCarran.
FAA reauthorization and aviation safety are among the top management challenges facing the U.S. Transportation Dept. (DOT) for fiscal year 2007, according to a report from the DOT Inspector General (DOTIG). DOTIG said other areas of note for DOT include defining, developing, and implementing strategies to improve congested conditions; improving acquisition and contract management; protecting, monitoring, and streamlining information technology resources; and strengthening DOT's coordination of research, development, and technology.
IATA chief Giovanni Bisignani applauds the European Union-U.S. draft open-skies agreement as a good first step, but adds, "We lost an opportunity to fundamentally change the industry." He calls for politicians to "think bigger and quickly move forward with the next phase of talks." He also appeals to the EU and the U.S. to hammer out a deal on passenger name record data transfer before the current agreement expires in July, warning that the industry needs "enough time to alter systems and for passengers to be informed."
The European Commission approved Cyprus' plan to back up the restructuring of Cyprus Airways, the 69.6% state-owned flag carrier, saying the aid the state would provide "is not contrary to the common interest." The company's restructuring plan, which calls for divestments and a stark reduction of the work force, "should lead to the long-term viability" of Cyprus Airways, the EC said. Employment fell from 2,100 in 2003 to 1,800 in 2005 and was expected to decline by some 20% last year.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) posted a C$78.8 million (US$66 million) loss in the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, down from a C$118.3 million (US$100.1 million) in 2005. GTAA reported revenue of C$1.1 billion (US$846.9 million) and expenses of C$560.1 million (US$474.3 million), including C$147.6 million (US$125 million) in ground rent paid to the Canadian government.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport will close down its 31-year-old Runway 3R/21L for almost six months, beginning in May for reconstruction. "The south end of the runway, about 2,400 feet, was reconstructed last summer. The northern 7,600 feet remained open for use," said spokesman Michael Conway.
Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling yesterday chose to open its first base outside Spain at Charles de Gaulle Airport, opting for Paris over Rome, Milan and Amsterdam (DAILY, Jan. 22). The airline said it will station three Airbus A320 aircraft in the French capital and start operations from there on May 16 to destinations in Spain and third countries. Vueling started serving Charles de Gaulle in July 2004 and now boasts a 25% market share on the Barcelona-Paris route, 32% on Valencia-Paris and 8% on Madrid-Paris.
The last Delta aircraft that Air Canada Technical Services (ACTS) is maintaining for the carrier is scheduled to leave the ACTS Vancouver facility in April after the MRO opted to terminate the five-year deal signed in 2005. The contract covered 123 Boeing 757s and 767s (DAILY, March 30, 2005). Last September, both sides agreed to amend the deal, which resulted in ACTS maintaining only the 767s, while Delta sent the 757s to Timco. ACTS said it has completed a variety of checks on about 55 757s/767s since the start of the Delta contract.
U.K. startup Zoom is asking the U.S. Transportation Dept. for a pendente lite (while the case is pending) exemption, concerned about potential disputes over the "lawfulness" of its plan to launch sales in the U.K. for London Gatwick-New York Kennedy flights it has yet to win authority for (DAILY, Jan. 25).
Honeywell won new business from Skybus Airlines after the carrier selected the 131-9A Auxiliary Power Unit for its 65 Airbus A319s on order. Honeywell also plans to supply the carrier with a 12-year services support plan for assets and APU maintenance. Honeywell valued the deal at $37 million. Deliveries of the APUs start this year. Skybus aims to secure its FAA certification this spring.
Atlas yesterday reported a fourth-quarter cost reduction outweighed a drop in revenue, resulting in net profit rising $18.2 million to $45.7 million. Revenue for the quarter was $416.7 million, down from $470.9 million a year earlier. Profit dropped for the full year, from $73.9 in 2005 to $59.8 million in 2006. Full-year revenue declined from $1.6 billion to $1.5 billion.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association is pushing a legislative effort to force FAA to return to the bargaining table and modify a contract the agency imposed last year. NATCA says it is gathering strong congressional support to have its measure attached to a larger bill, although the specific vehicle hasn't been identified.
Finnair yesterday became the first of Airbus' customers to confirm its order for the relaunched A350 aircraft, as part of a new order package that also includes A330s or A340s. The airline previously ordered nine A350s, and the new agreement boosts this number to 11. They will be delivered beginning in 2014. Finnair has been renegotiating its Airbus order package, and the deal was expected to include extra aircraft to fill Finnair's growth requirements until the rescheduled A350 deliveries (DAILY, March 5).
