Air France-KLM Chairman and CEO Jean Cyril Spinetta resigned from Alitalia's board yesterday, prompting more uncertainty about developments at Alitalia. "Since the Italian government has launched a tender for offers for the capital of Alitalia, and given that Air France is a commercial partner of Alitalia, [Air France's] chairman can no longer be a member of the board," Air France-KLM said. Spinetta had been a board member since 2002, when both carriers signed a cross-ownership and commercial agreement. The French-Dutch carrier owns 2% of Alitalia.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will not roll out Secure Flight, its computerized airline passenger screening program, until sometime in 2008, TSA Administrator Kip Hawley told Congress yesterday. To avoid duplication and errors that have barred some innocent travelers from boarding aircraft, TSA is reviewing the No-Fly list, a government watch list of known and suspected terrorists. "We will shortly conclude a case-by-case review of every name on the No-Fly list," Hawley told the Senate Commerce Committee.
The White House last week nominated David Gribbin, IV, to be the new U.S. Transportation Dept. general counsel. Gribbin currently serves as division director of Macquarie Holdings, Inc. Previously, he was chief counsel of the Federal Highway Administration. Earlier in his career, he was director of public sector business development at Koch Industries, Inc. If Gribbin's nomination is approved by the Senate, he would replace Rosalind Knapp, acting general counsel.
Spanish airline associations Aceta and Aeca crticized the Spanish government -- the ministry of development (Fomento), in particular -- for sponsoring a deal that would transfer some of Air Madrid's transatlantic routes to German carrier LTU (DAILY, Jan. 12)
Virgin America yesterday revealed significant changes to its structure and investor agreements as part of its final plea to the U.S. Transportation Dept. to reverse its tentative rejection and allow the carrier to get off the ground.
Management at Lan Argentina and unions representing the airline's administrative and service employees are meeting in government-sponsored talks aimed at inking a new collective contract. Employees last week staged a short-lived wildcat strike at Aeroparque Airport in downtown Buenos Aires after management withdrew its offer of a US$100 salary bonus retroactive to last November while the new collective salary scale is being approved. Both parties expect this issue to be resolved when talks resume. -LZ
Efforts to hire extra security workers at Edinburgh Airport have brought passenger wait times down even after the implementation of tighter regulations in November 2006. Airport figures show that 98% of passengers are getting through security in less than 10 minutes, and 94% are waiting less than 5 minutes at security. The airport credits parent BAA for making promised investments in increased security (DAILY, Nov. 16).
The JAL Group yesterday said it plans to expand service across many international routes, starting in March, followed by the launch of a domestic first-class product later in the year.
American turned in a small fourth-quarter profit to confirm what Wall St. has been predicting for months -- the airline's first profitable full year since 2000. The fourth-quarter net profit of $17 million was a good turnaround from the $600 million loss recorded in the same quarter of 2005. For the full year, American posted a net profit of $231 million, a $1.1 billion improvement from the $857 million net loss in 2005.
Airbus expects to secure more than 200 firm orders for its relaunched A350, Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy told reporters in Paris yesterday. The figure will include most of the 100 firm orders Airbus received for the original version of the aircraft. Leahy said he does not anticipate a significant number of the original A350 customers to cancel their orders.
In the wake of losses and fierce competition, Thai Airways International plans to replace its nonstop Airbus 340-500 flights to New York and Los Angeles with one-stop services. Starting April 2, the New York service will operate via Beijing and Los Angeles flight via Taipei. Both flights, which operate five times weekly, will use either the A340-600 or the Boeing 777-200ER. Thai Airways President Apinan Sumanaseni said the change in the airline's North America operations is part of a network revamp.
Spain's Air Europa on March 26 will inaugurate four weekly nonstop services from Madrid to Buenos Aires. The flights will operate on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday with Airbus A330-200s. The airline is offering introductory one-way fares of US$830 in Economy and US$1,300 in Business.
Maxjet plans to suspend service from London Stansted to Washington Dulles until May 24 as it shifts capacity to its Las Vegas and New York routes. Washington is a weaker route in the winter, but Las Vegas is stronger, which led to the shift and the decision to add a third weekly flight on the Las Vegas route on March 10. The carrier expects to add two more Boeing 767s to its fleet in April, which will help with the summer demand and lead to the return of the Washington route.
Peruvian airport authority and regulator Corpac last week revealed plans to invest $7 million in upgrading infrastructure at minor regional airports in Huanuco, Tacna, Yurimaguas and Andahuas. Specific projects include construction of rescue and fire fighting stations at Huanuco and Tacna, plus fenced-off areas at others.
The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure that will almost triple airline fees at Terminals 1, 3 and 6 at Los Angeles Airport despite heavy carrier opposition. Los Angeles World Airports' board of directors passed the fee increase, which covers rent and maintenance, in early January (DAILY, Jan. 5). LAWA justified the fee increase, saying airlines have paid only a fraction of the costs associated with the passenger terminals and noting that airlines had not been charged costs related to security.
Embraer's total 2006 deliveries of 130 aircraft were five shy of a previous revised delivery forecast released by the airframer in October (DAILY, Oct. 9).
Emirates is putting increased pressure on Airbus to compensate adequately for the delayed deliveries of the A380. Emirates Airline President Tim Clark said in interviews yesterday that talks about compensation would start within the next few weeks. The company has calculated a number that the delay has cost in terms of lost revenues and growth.
Virgin America today plans to make a final push to change the minds of the critics at the U.S. Transportation Dept. after its application was tentatively rejected last month. The carrier will file its response to DOT's show cause order, and CEO Fred Reid will be in New York to launch a "Let VA Fly" public relations campaign. The last-ditch blitz today will also feature new details of the airline's inflight product.
