AAR followed through on plans to detail part of is regional jet maintenance strategy this month, buying Hot Springs, Ark.-based Reebaire, which should supply AAR with about four and one-half additional lines of regional jet maintenance capacity.
Carsten Spohr yesterday took over as CEO of Lufthansa Cargo. The 40-year old Airbus A320 captain was previously executive VP-services and human resources at Lufthansa Passenger Airlines. He is succeeded by Karl Ulrich Garnadt, who before ran Lufthansa's Munich hub.
Airbus yesterday announced two major orders for its new A330-200 freighter, from India's Flyington Freighters and U.S.-based Intrepid Aviation Group. Flyington became the first cargo airline to order the A330-200F, after signing a deal for six aircraft. The first will be delivered in the second half of 2009. Meanwhile, Intrepid signed a letter-of-intent to buy 20 A330-200Fs, with first delivery slated for early 2010.
The U.K.'s Birmingham International Airport may be up on the sale block as owners Dublin Airport Authority and Macquarie Airports Group test the waters for industry interest. Europe has been experiencing a rush to sell airports in the past few years, including London City Airport, Budapest Airport, Leeds-Bradford and Bristol. DAA and Macquarie currently each hold 24.125% interest in Birmingham International. The sale is being spurred by MAG, which wants to focus on other investments and take advantage of a demand for airports.
Verified Identity Pass has received the green light from the Transportation Security Administration to handle enrollment and verification services as part of the national rollout of the Clear Registered Traveler program.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to establish an unmanned aircraft system pilot program along the nation's border with Canada, headquartered in Grand Forks, N.D., by the end of the government's current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
General Electric plans to give its security and detection business a boost by creating a new joint venture deal with Smiths Group, as both companies believe the sector still has room to grow.
By: Adrian Schofield, Aviation Daily One of the features of the post-2001 airline environment in the U.S. has been the blurring of the boundaries between the traditional airline categories, and this trend shows every sign of continuing. Analysis of third-quarter cost data shows that while network carrier costs continue to decline, low-cost carrier costs are creeping upward -- and some LCCs have effectively elevated themselves out of this category entirely.
Airbus plans to consolidate single-aisle production at its Hamburg plant, French media reported earlier this week. Louis Gallois, CEO of both EADS and Airbus, is said to have told French union representatives that Airbus plans to close the Airbus A320 final assembly line in Toulouse by 2013 and will move all the work to Hamburg. EADS and Airbus declined comment.
Already faced with resistance from some unions over pension plan changes, British Airways now faces the possibility of a strike over a long-running dispute regarding cabin crew work rules. More than 8,000 -- or 96% -- of the BA employees represented by the Transport & General Workers Union voted in favor of a strike, with only 330 voting against; however, no strike dates have been announced, and talks between the airline and union are expected to continue.
An extensive 279-page study compiled by British air transport consultant Mott MacDonald for the European Commission's Directorate-General Transport and Energy (DG TREN) supports the liberalization of secondary airport slot trading in the European Union.
The Indonesian government will take severe action against airline CEOs and majority stakeholders should the carrier fail to comply with safety regulations, including not adhering to the maintenance schedules set out by aircraft manufacturers.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) JAN. 21-24 -- NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference, Phoenix, Ariz., www.nbaa.org JAN. 27 -- Airline Pilot Job Fair hosted by AIR, Inc., Dallas, Texas Sheraton Grand Hotel @ DFW., 1-800-JET-JOBS (538-5627), www.jet-jobs.com, email: Customer Service at [email protected].
Aeromexico will not seek to renew its Mexico City-Cleveland exemption, which will expire on Feb. 10. The airline expected to initiate service in the market last April but the flights were never launched [OST-2006-23510].
IATA has notified six member airlines they are subject to termination procedures after having failed by the end of last year to commit to an IATA Operational Safety Audit. Director General Giovanni Bisignani sent out six such letters, but adds that "the remaining -- nearly 98% [of members] -- are on board: 133 airlines have been audited and the rest are contracted to be audited in the next 12 months." The next major milestone for IOSA is yearend, when all members must have undergone an audit.
The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday plans to hold a hearing on aviation security. More specifically, the committee will review the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Also on Wednesday, the House Transportation Committee will meet to consider committee rules and subcommittee assignments.
You can now register online for AVIATION WEEK events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) FEB. 14-15 -- Defense Technology & Requirements Conference, National Press Club, Washington, D.C. APRIL 17-19 -- MRO 2007 Conference & Exhibition, Cobb Galleria, Atlanta, Ga.
A combined US Airways-Delta balance sheet will look "very, very good versus" the Delta standalone balance sheet because it has much higher earnings, claims US Airways CEO Doug Parker. "The absolute level of debt doesn't mean anything in terms of one company versus another," he says, giving General Electric as an example. GE has $400 billion of debt that is rated "AAA" because the company earned a lot of money. "What matters is the ability to service the debt," Parker says.
