With no competing applications submitted, Colgan Air will keep a hold on Essential Air Service at Altoona and Johnstown in southwestern Pennsylvania. The carrier will fly 18 weekly nonstops on the Altoona-Washington Dulles and Johnstown-Pittsburgh routes as US Airways Express, with a combined annual subsidy rate of $2.36 million that takes effect June 1 [OST-2002-11446, -11451].
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is teaming with the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority of India, the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the U.S. Departments of State, Transport and Commerce and FAA for a U.S.-India Aviation Partnership Summit in New Delhi, April 23-25. USTDA says it hopes to establish a public-private Aviation Cooperation Program structured on the ACP between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. approved a request The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to give foreign carriers more incentive to serve the island through the carrot of ex- panded authority; however, DOT declared that carriers from Australia, China and Japan and the U.K. are ineligible for such incentives.
Virgin America executives are countering claims by the carrier's opponents that Virgin Group still makes up the bulk of the company's financing. American, in its response to Virgin America's most recent filing to reverse the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s tentative rejection of its application, pointed out that Virgin Group so far has supplied 96% of financing to the San Francisco-based startup (DAILY, Feb. 20).
Jamaica's Ministry of Health is opening health desks at the Norman Manley and Sangster International airports during the International Cricket Council's Cricket World Cup 2007, which begins in March. The games will be played in eight stadiums throughout the Caribbean, including Jamaica, and is expected to attract heavy crowds from around the world to the region.
Pinnacle could incur some penalties under its current air services agreement with Northwest after cancellations from storms in the Northeast and high levels of pilot attrition, management warns. Company CEO Phil Trenary told analysts yesterday the attrition rates are the "highest we've ever seen."
ExpressJet this week detailed its route plans from five airports where the carrier is starting its branded service this spring. Details are in the table below. All flights are nonstop, except those specifically marked one-stop. Destinations marked with a star were previously announced.
U.S. and European Union negotiators resumed open-skies talks in Brussels Monday, and negotiations are expected to continue through March 2. Negotiations were opened by Matthias Ruete, European Commission director-general for transport and energy, and the EU's chief negotiator is Daniel Calleja, EC director of aviation. The U.S. team is led by John Byerly, State Dept's deputy assistant secretary for transportation affairs. Details of the talks were not available at press time. -MU
EasyJet in June will launch daily service between Brussels and Geneva and will double the frequency in September, the first indications of a possible growth spurt for the airline out of Brussels.
GECAS forged a deal with AirAsia to finance and manage spare parts for the carrier's Boeing 34 Boeing 737-300s. The companies did not disclose terms of the transaction. Carrier CEO Tony Fernandez said having GECAS manage the 737 inventory would make Air Asia's transition to its new Airbus A320 fleet easier. AirAsia recently added 100 A320 orders to a previous order for the same number of aircraft. -LR
Delta CEO Jerry Grinstein tells employees that "we have to grow Asia, and I don't mean exclusively China; however, we will get the award to fly to Shanghai in 2007 and will start flying in 2008, initially out of Atlanta." He also points out that in five to six years, Delta will consider creating a hub for Asia at Los Angeles.
BAA parent Ferrovial posted a EUR1.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) profit in the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, a whopping 242.8% hike from 2005. The Spanish construction conglomerate's revenue jump 48.5% to EUR12.3 billion (US$16.2 billion). It noted that activities outside Spain accounted for 60% of revenues and 72% of EBITDA. The figure includes the purchase of BAA in June and the sale of the company's real estate division.
Employees at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport have become the latest to be subject to random screening by the Transportation Security Administration.
Spirit this week won authority from the U.S. Transportation Dept. for its planned services to Lima and Chicalayo in Peru and Port-of-Spain in Trinidad & Tobago. Turnaround time between the application submission and DOT decisions: 10 days. The flights will launch on May 1 [OST-2007-27364, -27365].
Airbus will have to come up with a convincing A350 proposal by the time of the June Paris Air Show, if the manufacturer wants to keep Qatar Airways as a launch customer.
Iberia's shares dropped more than 5% yesterday after the airline announced worsened results for the December quarter. The airline recorded a EUR9.5 million (US$12.57 million) net loss, up from EUR5.9 million a year earlier. Sales rose 7.8% to EUR1.31 billion (US$1.73 billion). Iberia attributed the losses to higher costs, particularly for fuel. At a news conference, CEO Fernando Conte declined comment on industry speculation that the airline was heading toward a merger with Lufthansa. -JF
The U.S. Transportation Dept. is taking proposals from carriers interested in flying Essential Air Service at the Kodiak Eleven -- Alitak, Amook Bay, Kitoi Bay, Moser Bay, Olga Bay, Port Bailer, Port Williams, Seal Bay, Uganik, West Point and Zacahr Bay -- in Alaska. DOT had considered terminating EAS at Port Bailey and Zacahr Bay but reconsidered after receiving objections from the communities, which depend on the service for mail and passenger delivery. The next two-year term will start May 1 [OST-2000-6945].
Mexicana's new flights to Phoenix from Mexico City and Guadalajara (DAILY, Jan. 19) won U.S. Transportation Dept. approval. The carrier is eyeing an April launch of service.
JetBlue awarded MTU Aero Engines a US$2.2 billion (EUR1.7 billion) contract on Feb. 26, which brings the airline's contracts with MTU to US$3.2 billion (EUR2.4 billion) total value. This is MTU Aero Engines' largest maintenance contract. JetBlue signed an MRO contract with MTU for close to 400 IAE V2500 engines in June 2005. Yesterday's contract extension calls for 116 of the V2500 engines to be upgraded to the SelectOne standard, starting in 2009. The SelectOne version includes fuel consumption improvements and lower maintenance costs. -Lee Ann Tegtmeier
US Airways is applying for authority to code share with America West partners EVA Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Royal Jordanian, which will help to operationally advance the almost one-and-a-half-year-old merger between the two U.S. carriers.
