A Garuda Airlines Boeing 737-400 landing at Adi Sutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta overshot the runway and burst into flames shortly after ramming the facility's fencing yesterday morning. This is the airline's ninth accident since 1974 (see chart below) and the second air disaster in Indonesia in slightly over two months -- an Adam Air 737 crashed into the deep waters off the Makassar Strait on New Year's Day after flying into violent storms (DAILY, Jan. 29). All 96 passengers and six crew perished.
Copa Holdings executives aren't planning to take any of the carrier's Embraer 190s out of service for software upgrades, but still expect to have the latest versions on 75% of the carrier's fleet by the end of May. JetBlue is opting to develop a special modification line to complete about 30 modifications on its Embraer 190s (DAILY, March 7), and signed a short term contract with ExpressJet that calls for the regional to start flights today with four 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145s and continue the service through April.
Eclipse has a new avionics system for its very light jets built in partnership by Innovative Solutions & Support, Chelton Flight Systems, Garmin International, Honeywell and PS Engineering. Dubbed "Avio NG," the system is scheduled for production and delivery this summer. Eclipse plans to retrofit all the 500 variant planes with Avio by the end of the summer. The company recently severed ties with its previous avionics supplier, Avidyne (DAILY, March 7).
U.K. carrier First Choice boosted its Boeing 787 order by converting options for four more aircraft, its third order for the type. First Choice now has 12 787s on order, following earlier deals in August 2005 and September 2006. The carrier is now the largest 787 customer in Europe, Boeing said. The latest order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer.
AirTran is extending its tender offer to Midwest shareholders from midnight tonight to April. As of 5pm March 7, 1,777,638 shares were tendered pursuant to the offer.
Final assembly on China's new regional jet -- the ARJ-21 -- is expected to begin this month, according to news agency Xinhua. The first aircraft likely will be completed this year, followed by first flight in 2008. The Chinese industrial group responsible for the ARJ-21 says there are 71 orders for the aircraft.
Embraer named Bruce Peddle VP-marketing and sales for the U.S., replacing Mark Hale, who will move to the company's Nashville maintenance facility as managing director and chief operating officer. Peddle was based in Singapore during the past four years overseeing Embraer's Asia/Pacific operations. The company appointed Orlando Neto as Peddle's replacement. Alexandre Glock is replacing Neto as VP-marketing and sales in Latin America. The company also named Antonio Campello as VP-programs to replace Mauro Kern, who was previously named executive VP-airline market.
MAS plans to set up a new Penang-based airline to operate to short-haul tourist destinations. Managing Director and CEO Idris Jala said the carrier has submitted an application to the Ministry of Transport for an operating certificate. The venture will initially use three of the nine Fokker F50s previously used for domestic operations in the east Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. The other six F50s were sold to Fly Asian Express.
Delta is using the latest technology for its new baggage drop system at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The system allows passengers to check in at a kiosk and then drop baggage at any Delta baggage drop. Passengers then scan a boarding pass to create baggage tags. The first eight drops opened this week, with another eight opening next week. A total of 32 baggage drops will be available once the refurbishment of the Delta lobby at Hartsfield is completed in April.
In China and elsewhere in the Asia/Pacific region, military ATC officials are working more closely with their civil counterparts to make maximum use of airspace and allow airlines to fly more direct routes. Now, when combat jets aren't active in airspace reserved for military use, airline aircraft are more often cleared to use alternative routes through these formerly closed-off areas.
Sabre Airline Solutions plans to build on its existing customer-centric and customer data capabilities by incorporating customer feedback in information it records for airline customers.
FAA is expected to release its five-year Capital Investment Plan in the next few days. The plan lays out FAA's rationale for allocating funds to current modernization programs, as well as new efforts aimed at developing the Next-Generation Air Transportation System. The CIP is required by Congress. Actual spending levels may be deleted from the public document, but it will include some of FAA's assumptions about changes to air traffic volumes and agency workload.
On-demand startup operator DayJet secured $50 million in additional equity, its third round of financing. Securities were placed with eight institutions, private equity funds and individuals. Some of the equity pledges came from foreign private equity investors. About a year ago, DayJet executives said they'd raised $22 million (DAILY, April 25, 2006) and were in the midst of raising another $135 million.
AirTran management says it is evaluating if the carrier should extend to Midwest shareholders its tender offer that expires at midnight Thursday; the $13.25-per-share offer followed AirTran's initial offer in December, when it proposed to buy Midwest for $11.25 per share.
Federal officials are expected to visit the Airbus Miami Training Center today, inspecting paperwork for the hundreds of non-U.S. students the center takes through maintenance and pilot training each year. Training Center managers aren't precisely sure what the inspectors from the Homeland Security Dept., the Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will be looking for, but they believe the inspectors want to examine visa information. The three agencies are expected to send a total of five inspectors.
ANA yesterday boosted its Boeing 777 orders by another three aircraft, and at the same time announced the sale of three 747-400s to Hong Kong carrier Oasis. The latest deal brings ANA's total orders for the 777-300ER to 17. The carrier already flies eight -300ERs on international long-haul routes. ANA also has 23 747-400s in its domestic and international fleets. As well as the Oasis sale, the airline last July sold six of its -400s to Iceland's Avion Aircraft Trading.
Congress must reauthorize funding for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and enact an increase in user fees as necessary for continued funding of the Airport Improvement Program, according to a new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers. ASCE also supports raising the current $4.50 cap on passenger facility charges and urges Congress to provide continued but separate non-AIP and non-PFC funding for airport security operations.
The U.K. is prepared to give up its Bermuda II advantages -- notably its London Heathrow access restrictions -- "as part of the right multilateral deal," Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said yesterday; but Alexander stopped short of saying whether last week's U.S.-European Union draft aviation agreement is that deal.
Los Angeles World Airports has given a two-year, $600,000 consulting contract to former Executive Director Lydia Kennard. Under the deal, which has a one-year renewal option, Kennard will provide consulting services for the four Los Angeles Airports -- LAX, LA/Ontario, LA/ Palmdale and Van Nuys. The board noted that her "wealth of knowledge and understanding of the facilities planning process" would keep the airports' planning efforts on track.
Air Canada believes its new fare structure is part of the reason for the increases in load factor and traffic that the airline saw in February. Consolidated traffic was up 5.6% on a capacity gain of 3.7%, with load factor rising 1.4 percentage points to 79.6%. Mainline traffic increased 4.5%, as capacity grew 2.8% and load factor rose 1.3 points to 80%. Regional traffic was up 18.5% on a 13.4% capacity gain, and load factor rose 3.3 points to 75.7%.
