Spanish low-cost carrier Clickair plans to debut at London Heathrow on Thursday, flying Airbus A320s daily to Seville and Valencia under code share with Iberia. The airline also plans to start flights from Berlin and Barcelona on Feb. 1. Flights to Dublin, Frankfurt, Basel and Amsterdam are set to begin March 1. Clickair starts new flights as Spanish low-cost rival Vueling prepares to name a European base outside Spain by month end (DAILY, Jan. 22). Potential cities for the base are Paris, Rome, Milan and Amsterdam. -LR
AirTran has already added more cities so far in 2007 than in all of 2006, and executives hint more new destinations are in the offing. The carrier previously detailed plans to start flights to five new cities this year -- Newburgh, N.Y.; Daytona Beach; Phoenix; San Diego and St. Louis. It added two -- White Plains, N.Y., and Seattle -- in 2006.
Frontier filed for authority to operate service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Mazatlan, Mexico. The market is currently unserved by U.S. carriers despite the existence of three designations. Frontier's service would launch in June and operate two to three times weekly in the peak season. The airline said it would initially use its 132-seat Airbus A319s on the route but later could use the other aircraft in its fleet [OST-2007-27033]. -ARS
Switzerland has made "significant progress" in improving aviation safety management since the Uberlingen mid-air accident in 2002, although there is "still need for further action in certain areas," according to an audit by Dutch aerospace research institute NLR. The Swiss government last year invited NLR to conduct the audit to assess progress on implementing a set of 28 safety recommendations made in 2003 -- also by NLR. The Safir project was established to implement the NLR recommendations.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. selected Colgan Air to succeed RegionsAir in operating Essential Air Service in three West Virginia markets (DAILY, Nov. 20). Colgan Air, flying as US Airways Express, will receive a combined annual subsidy of $2,421,914 for EAS at Parkersburg, Morgantown and Clarksburg/Fairmont in West Virginia. The Saab 340 flights between Parkersburg and Pittsburgh will operate nonstop, while Clarksburg/Fairmont and Morgantown would be served together (DAILY, Jan. 10).
Names Debra Engel federal security director for South Carolina's Charleston, Hilton Head Island and Myrtle Beach airports and Tim Lewis federal security director for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International and Key West International.
All recent signs from the Administration, including a speech last week by DOT Secretary Mary Peters, point to "higher taxes or user fees -- or both -- for general aviation" in the FAA reauthorization proposal, AOPA tells members. "I've got to tell you, general aviation should be very concerned, based on what I heard [in Peters' speech]," says AOPA Executive VP-government affairs Andy Cebula.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) JAN. 29-30 -- SMi: Future MRO in Civil Aviation, London, +44 (0) 20 7827 6000, fax: +44 (0) 20 7827 6001, email: [email protected] FEB. 1 -- ABA Forum on Air & Space Law, Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, Washington, www.abanet.org/forums/airspace
Although British Airways cabin crew are expected to strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, the ripple effect will cause transatlantic cancellations throughout most of this week, the airline says. Most flights scheduled to arrive at London Heathrow from North America on Thursday will be canceled, although flights to North America will operate as planned. There will also be "a few selected" cancellations of North America-Heathrow flights on Friday due to crew or aircraft being out of position.
Frontier CEO Jeff Potter says Mexico continues to serve as key element of the carrier's diversification strategy. He notes Frontier flies to Mexico from five to six U.S. cities other than Denver, and it expects that number to grow.
Raising the U.S. pilot retirement age from 60 to 65 will reduce total retirements by about 3,800 in the next five years, says airline hiring consultant Kit Darby of AIR, Inc. FAA is expected to decide soon whether to raise the U.S. retirement age to match new ICAO standards. Separately, AIR, Inc. forecasts more than 8,500 U.S. pilots will be hired in 2007, including 2,760 by major carriers.
Despite a Midwest board recommendation to reject its bid, AirTran CFO Stan Gadek says the carrier will do "whatever it takes to complete the transaction." AirTran can alter its offer anytime before the Feb. 8 expiration date or extend the cutoff date. The carrier legally must disclose the number of shares tendered after that deadline.
FAA is imposing temporary flight restrictions over Miami next Sunday for the Superbowl. No general aviation flights will be allowed to enter lower airspace within 10 nautical miles of Dolphin Stadium between 4 p.m. and midnight. Authorized emergency or federal aircraft will be allowed, as will scheduled passenger, charter or cargo flights meeting TSA standards. Special rules will also apply to GA flights within a 30-nm outer ring.
Myanmar private airline Air Bagan will launch its first international flight on April 2 with the start of twice-weekly Yangon-Mandalay-Kunming flights. The following day, the Yangon-based carrier will introduce three weekly flights to Bangkok and Singapore. It plans to add Siem Reap in Cambodia later this year with the purchase of a Fokker 100 and the lease of another Airbus A310, which the carrier is using for the Yangon-Mandalay-Kunming flights.
After American Delta and US Airways argued Virgin America should submit more information to clarify language in its revised application to the U.S. Transportation Dept., Virgin America told DOT late last week it would supply the data early this week.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is inviting her Canadian and Mexican counterparts to Tucson, Ariz., in March for a trilateral meeting on transportation issues, including opening markets for U.S. airlines. DOT also plans a "major mission" to Latin America in the near future, and Peters expects to travel to Beijing and Shanghai in April to discuss "opening doors for U.S. transportation companies to compete in that rapidly developing markets," she says.
United is testing separate lines for check-in and boarding for its best customers flying out of San Francisco Airport as part of its ongoing program of customer service initiatives.
Germany's Condor this coming summer will offer long-haul flights from Barcelona and Madrid to Punta Cana and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Cancun, Mexico; Varadero, Cuba, and Salvador (Bahia), Brazil. "We'll be offering vacationers from Barcelona and Madrid easy access to Latin America's finest resort destinations," said Condor Marketing Director-Spain Carsten Sasse.
