Airlines using Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly are facing a 4.25% increase in fees after Aéroports de Paris proposed the hike to the Economic Advisory Commission; ADP raised fees by 5% in 2006.
Air Pacific and Air New Zealand will code share on ANZ's flights between Nadi and Los Angeles and the carrier's Auckland-Nadi-Los Angeles flights, as well as on Air Pacific's Los Angeles-Nadi service [OST-2006-26720].
Continental joined American in announcing a significant profit for 2006, although it fell just short of achieving a fourth-quarter profit. The $343 million net profit for the full year was a turnaround from the net loss of $68 million recorded last year. The fourth quarter may have been in the red, but the loss was still cut by about 40% to $26 million.
Thai Airways International this year will set up a new wholly owned airline, Royal Orchid Airlines, which will take over all Thai Airways' domestic routes and allow the flag carrier to concentrate on operating and expanding its international network. The plan is a departure from last year's proposal to set up a new domestic airline targeting the business segment of the market.
Air Plus Comet will take over seven transatlantic routes and part of the work force of grounded carrier Air Madrid after a deal between Spain's Ministry of Development (Fomento) and German carrier LTU for the routes and workers fell through.
ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering struck a new seven-year deal with FedEx to convert 87 Boeing 757-200s into freighters. The MRO plans to complete the conversions on a supplemental type certificate owned by ST Aerospace supported by data licensed from Boeing.
The Latin American Air Transport Association (ALTA) yesterday signed a deal with MSP Communications' Misty Pinson to handle public relations for the association. Based in South Florida, Pinson will be responsible for overseeing ALTA's communications throughout North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, including public relations, media relations, corporate communications and other marketing communications activities.
Singapore Airlines yesterday unveiled plans to outsource some of its reservations call centers in four countries -- Australia, New Zealand, U.S. and Canada -- and is considering doing the same in the U.K. as it tries to cut costs and streamline its operation.
Sydney Airport served 2.7 million passengers in December, up 7.2% year over a year and hitting an all-time high, according to numbers released by Sydney Airport Corp. (SAC). Almost 100,000 passengers were processed through the International Terminal in December, while the number of Australian travelers rose 5.8%. SAC reported a 9.9% increase in passengers from the United Kingdom, while other major markets posting rises included China at19.6%; Korea at 13.7%; India at 7.8%; and France at 7.3%.
Continental this May will launch nonstop service between its Newark hub and Athens, Greece, pending regulatory approval. The Boeing 767 flights will fly daily during the summer, while the schedule will shift to a four-times-weekly service during the winter. The U.S. can designate three carriers to serve the New York-Athens market, and Delta already operates service from New York Kennedy [OST-2007-26949].
Shortly after detailing plans to sell its unsecured claim against Northwest, Pinnacle closed on the purchase of Manassas, Va.-based Colgan Air, giving Pinnacle access to three new airline partners.
Virgin America's investors could still garner an 8% return on their outlays even if the airline fails to convince regulators to reverse a tentative decision denying it the right to launch operations.
Mexicana plans to expand its U.S. network as early as April with service to Phoenix from Mexico City and Guadalajara pending regulatory authority. Mexicana would use Airbus A320s or Boeing 757s for the service. Should the carrier win exemptions for the services from the DOT, Mexicana would compete with Aeromexico and US Airways [OST-2007-26967]. Phoenix has been trying to win more international service to the airport.
The industry saw 15 major airports/airport groups privatized in 2006, the second-highest number since 1998, when 21 deals were made, according to a new report from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. "The activity looks set to continue in 2007, although a greater emphasis on secondary trade sales than first-time privatizations is likely," stated David Bentley, author of the Global Airport Privatization report.
Air Asia on Feb. 6 will launch daily Kota Kinabalu-Macau flights. On the following day, the airline will introduce four weekly services on both the Kuching-Penang and Kota Kinabalu-Penang routes. All flights will use Boeing 737-300 aircraft.
Frontier's first market using Embraer 170s flown by Republic Airlines is Denver-Louisville, giving Frontier a presence close to one of Delta's larger hubs at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport 98 miles away. Frontier recently selected Republic to fly 17 -170s from Denver, starting in March. Frontier's current partner, Horizon, currently flies nine Bombardier CRJ-700s from Denver, and the last planes are set to leave Frontier's fleet in December.
American plans to carry Qantas' code on flights between Los Angeles and Orlando, effective April 1. Australia must select Orlando as one of eight points that Australian carriers can serve on a code-share-only basis, and a designation will become available after America West-Qantas code sharing to Phoenix ends on Feb. 28.
Spirit Airlines yesterday named David Lancelot as the new CFO to replace John Severson, who has held the post since 1997. Effective immediately, Lancelot will direct Spirit's finance and accounting organization, which includes treasury, corporate tax, internal audit, financial planning and the controller functions. Lancelot previously was CFO at Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and also worked for Polar Air Cargo and American.
The JAL Group plans to join a government program to test "e-airport" procedures to boost efficiency. The test, to be held between Jan. 30 and March 23, aims to "evaluate the future model" for procedures in which check-in, boarding pass and government immigration control procedures are done at the same time by "utilizing information transmission technology and biometrics technology in airport passenger procedures." The JAL test will be held in Terminal 2 at Tokyo Narita.
Problems over the Christmas and New Year holidays led Milton Zuanazzi, president of Brazilian aviation regulator Anac, to conclude that civil legislation is completely outdated and must be revised in light of today's requirements. Excessive flight cancellations and delays revealed, among other things, that overbooking is not regulated, and fare wars between domestic airlines cannot be regulated based on current legislation.
Singapore's Changi Airports International (CAI) has been named to advise Abu Dhabi International Airport on the planning of its new midfield terminal complex, part of a US$6.8 billion expansion plan. CAI signed a deal in December to operate and manage the airport (DAILY, Dec. 14). Construction on the new terminal, designed to handle 40 million passengers a year, is scheduled to begin in 2010. CAI will help with planning and review work done by other airport clients.
A plan under consideration by Airports of Thailand (AoT) to reopen Don Muang Airport has come under fire by IATA despite support from budget airlines complaining about the high cost to operate at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. Thailand's Transport Minister Admiral Thira Haocharoen said that a decision on the future of Don Muang has not been finalized and that talks on the airport's future will be held toward the end of the month. AoT is seriously considering the move to save money by delaying expansion costs at Suvarnabhumi.
Southwest still has a fuel-cost advantage over the rest of the industry, but this advantage is eroding due to a combination of lower fuel prices and expiring fuel hedges, fourth-quarter results reveal. On the same day that American reported a positive turnaround in the fourth quarter, Southwest announced its net profit shrank by nearly 19% to $57 million -- partly due to gains in jet fuel costs as its hedges wind down. However, the airline still boosted its full-year profit to $499 million, up 3.1% from 2005.
