Comair pilots have sold an $82 million bankruptcy claim they negotiated in their tentative deal Comair/Delta management for about $61 million. The claim was sold to investors with the understanding that it is contingent on the ratification on the tentative deal between Comair management and pilots.
Bombardier continues to build its CRJ-900 base in Europe after logging its seventh customer for the plane with Adria Airways ordering two of the aircraft. Executives of the Slovenian carrier noted the -900 gave it the flexibility to stretch capacity beyond 50 seats and replace Airbus A320s where passenger loads are not strong enough to support that aircraft. -LR
Gulf Air expects to suffer schedule delays in the coming days as it undergoes safety inspection checks of its Boeing 767 fleet. A maintenance check on one of the aircraft showed unexpected levels of corrosion, prompting the airline to undertake a more far reaching, fleet-wide review. Gulf Air uses the 767 mainly on routes to the Indian subcontinent and the Far East.
Delta plans to replace flying from Los Angeles and Salt Lake City currently operated by Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) with ExpressJet service, starting in June.
JAL is considering increasing its Boeing 777 and 787 orders as the carrier looks to reduce its reliance on its large -- and expensive -- 747 fleet. One of the airline's main goals is to replace 747s with smaller aircraft on many long-haul routes, said JAL CEO Haruka Nishimatsu in Tokyo yesterday. This process has already begun, and by boosting its 777 and 787 orders, JAL would ensure the move away from 747s continues.
Porter Airlines wants approval from U.S. regulators to start flights between Toronto City Center and Newark April 7. The carrier debuted flights from the airport in October, offering 10 daily roundtrips between Toronto and Ottawa on weekday, and two on the weekends. Four daily flights between Toronto and Montreal started in December and grew to nine last month after the carrier took delivery of its fourth aircraft. Porter uses 70-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprops on all its flights.
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) has created the Preferred Travelers Program (PTP), a pay-to-play twist on Registered Travel (RT) for passengers flying out of Jacksonville International Airport that will eventually include a dedicated VIP lounge. For an annual membership ranging from $149 to $349 per year -- which includes the RT fee -- passengers can get extra convenience and amenities at three additional levels, explained Rosa Beckett, who handles special projects for JAA.
An ICAO study group met with airport and airline representatives in Montreal this week to tackle standardizing rules for carrying duty-free liquids. The Secretariat Study Group on the Carriage and Screening of Liquids, Gels and Aerosols is looking into technical specifications on a uniform policy, said spokesman Denis Chagnon, and will recommend actions for the ICAO Council's consideration.
Oneworld carriers are considering new ways to use the alliance to cut costs, including ambitious concepts like joint inventories for aircraft parts. The oneworld members combined have as much as $5 billion tied up in parts inventories at their maintenance facilities, said alliance Managing Partner John McCulloch. If the airlines agreed to common specifications for some parts, they could co-locate stockpiles in some parts of the world. This would reduce the inventory that each carrier would have to buy.
Ohio-based E.S. Wagner Co. LLC beat two other rivals for the right to handle the grading and drainage for a planned third runway at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The company bid $43.6 million to handle the contract, budgeted at $76.4 million, said airport planner Jack Christine. The total project budget is $237.4 million, he added. The airport won a $124 million grant last December to build the third runway (DAILY, Dec. 20). The grading and drainage is scheduled to begin in March for a February 2010 opening.
JetBlue is re-entering the Santo Domingo market after pulling out in 2005 with the launch of two daily flights from JFK in May. The carrier faced challenges during its previous stint in Santo Domingo, including heavy baggage carried by outbound New York passengers and distribution obstacles in Santo Domingo. At that time, many residents didn't have credit cards or use computers said Ken Hassard Communications Director for the Santo Domingo airport Aerodom.
A solid market niche and strong liquidity led debt-watcher Fitch Ratings to affirm high ratings on $1.2 billion worth of Chicago Midway International Airport's bonds.
DOT Inspector General Calvin Scovel III's office will investigate recent incidents of departure delays that stranded passengers on taxiways, focusing on JetBlue's Feb. 14 incidents at New York JFK and American in December at Austin.
AirAsia posted strong profits in what it dubbed the "first true quarter of fair market competition with no subsidies," posting earnings before taxes that were 80% ahead of year-earlier results.
Finishing the integration of merger partners US Airways and America West was portrayed as a not-to-worry item when US Airways was trying to take over Delta, but the spin is different in US Airways' annual report to the SEC. The integration "has been and will continue to be costly, complex and time-consuming," the carrier says, and management's attention may be "diverted from ongoing operational matters or other strategic opportunities."
The City of Alamogordo is threatening to bar Mesa from landing any aircraft at Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Airport starting April 1, as it pursues a contract dispute with the airline.
Virgin Nigeria is citing the pending application of Nigeria's Bellview Airlines (DAILY, Feb. 5) for a foreign carrier permit to ask regulators for a second look at its own filing, which after 15 months is still pending before the U.S. Transportation Dept. (DAILY, Dec. 27, 2005).
FAA extended by 45 days, through April 16, the comment period for a sweeping repair-stations rulemaking. Comments were due today, but the Aeronautical Repair Station Association asked Jan. 26 for a 90-day extension, through June 1, so it could collect information from members. Noting that it had allowed a 90-day comment period in the first place, FAA said a 45-day extension should be enough.
Airbus is expected to announce it will slip development of the A380 freighter. The airframer's final customer for the type, UPS, told Airbus recently it wants to delay its order by many years (DAILY, Feb. 26). As a result, Airbus will make an "industrial decision" soon on what to do, says Airbus CEO Louis Gallois.
