A lawsuit to block the transfer of authority for the Dulles Toll Road to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has been filed in Richmond Circuit Court by two local men.
American plans to accelerate its recall of furloughed pilots this year, the Allied Pilots Association says. Beginning with the group scheduled to return March 7, the airline plans to recall 20 pilots per month, the union says.
Northwest on Friday filed its plan of reorganization with the bankruptcy court but left out a disclosure statement, which has most of the details about its funding and business plan.
Fare hikes - such as those tried by United and American last week -- boost confidence that U.S. airlines will see a unit revenue gain of about 3% this year, says JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker. On the cost side, jet fuel spot prices of $1.62/gallon -- with another 10 cents added for airline final cost -- are well below earlier predictions of close to $2, Baker noted. However, the forward curve "remains an upward sloping one," so a 2007 spot price of $1.71 is likely.
Continental last week announced a $71 million contribution to its pension plans, which the carrier said exceeded the minimum funding requirement. Continental has contributed nearly $1.2 billion to its pension plans since 2002.
Australian carrier Regional Express (REX) is considering setting up an internal Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) after completing a similar audit last year in conjunction with Australian safety authorities and a collaborative at the University of Texas.
TAM this week received IATA Operational Safety Audit Registration, which is an international safety certification. "According to best governance standards, the Flight Safety department is totally independent from other areas of the company, responding directly to the CEO," said TAM CEO Marco Antonio Bologna. The IOSA program was launched in 2003 and is recognized as a global standard for airline operational safety management. The IOSA Audit comprises more than 700 standards in eight operational areas of an airline. -SL
Funding for inline baggage screening equipment, strengthening explosive detection equipment at security checkpoints and inspecting all cargo that goes aboard passenger aircraft are measures approved in bill H.R.1, which passed the House of Representatives Jan. 9. The bill, which included recommendations from the 9/11 Commission that have yet to be implemented was part of a House push to pass legislation during the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress, as promised by Democrats.
Raising the stakes in its bid for Midwest Airlines was a key element in AirTran's strategy planning, the carrier's chief operating officer said as the airline continues its attempts to bypass Midwest's management to forge a merger between the two airlines. AirTran has made a tender offer to Midwest's shareholders for $13.25 per share, split between $6.625 in cash and 0.5884 shares of AirTran stock. In December, when AirTran declared its intent to merge with Midwest, it offered $11.25 a share.
The commuter carrier authority granted to U.S business jet operator Executive Jet Management (EJM) this week was revoked by the U.S. Transportation Dept., after the company told DOT in November that it was relinquishing the authority [OST-2005-20492]. EJM initially planned to operate scheduled service as a commuter carrier between White Plains, New York, and Chicago and Los Angeles (DAILY, March 8, 2005).
The U.K.'s National Air Traffic Services has won a contract to train Romania's air traffic controllers. NATS said it won the contract "against strong European competition." The first students will begin training at the end of this month at the NATS training center in Bournemouth. Romania joined the European Union on Jan. 1, and is expected to see rapid traffic growth. Controllers from ROMATSA -- the nation's ATC provider -- are being trained in the efficient use of airspace capacity to help accommodate this traffic growth. -AS
BMI Regional this week unveiled an expansion plan to start this summer thanks to the addition of four new Embraer ERJ-145s. When the new planes are added, the carrier will have a fleet of 20 aircraft. The new aircraft will be used to support new daily flights from Edinburgh to Zurich. The carrier also will add flights from Aberdeen and the Norwegian city of Kristiansand. New links will also be created from Leeds Bradford Airport when BMI Regional launches a daily service to Copenhagen. All the new flights will start March 26.
Local news reports say Spain has revived a plan to provide for the transfer of Air Madrid's transatlantic routes to German carrier LTU. The deal is a trade, of sorts -- in return for the routes LTU would absorb 568 Air Madrid employees. LTU would fly Air Madrid's routes to Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Peru for a time but would later aim to create its own company.
United States and European Union representatives will hold another round of talks in Washington the week of Feb. 5 "to examine and discuss proposals" aiming at a comprehensive EU-U.S. air transport agreement, said the European Commission. Both sides met on Jan. 10-11 in Brussels, their first contact since the U.S. Transportation Dept., feeling pressure from lawmakers and airlines, shelved a proposed rule aimed at relaxing U.S. airline ownership rules (DAILY, Dec. 6). This week's talks failed to generate any substantial progress.
The U.S. Secretary of State is now authorized to "secure, remove or eliminate" man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), small arms and light weapons outside the U.S. that pose a proliferation threat, according to a bill signed by President Bush into law Jan. 11. Other targeted weapons entail stockpiled munitions, abandoned ordnance and various conventional weapons, including tactical missile systems, as well as related equipment and facilities.
Aircraft components supplier TransDigm Group announced a deal to acquire Aviation Technologies Inc. (ATI), a Seattle-based supplier of aircraft interior products, for $430 million in cash. ATI has 600 employees in the U.S. and Malaysia and posted revenues of $105 million last year. The deal, which is expected to close within two months, marks the first major acquisition by TransDigm since the Cleveland company went public in March 2006.
Because of observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Aviation DAILY will not publish an issue dated Jan. 15. The next issue will be dated Jan. 16.
The European Union's proposal to extend its Emissions Trading Scheme to aviation is "unlawful" and "unworkable," according to John Byerly, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation. The EU last month proposed that all flights to and from the EU will be subject to ETS by 2012; ETS will apply to intra-EU flights from 2011. When the proposal was first released, the U.S. warned that the plan could run afoul of international agreements (DAILY, Dec. 21).
The U.S. airline industry may be enjoying a welcome break from high fuel prices, but airlines have been warning investors not to get too excited about fourth-quarter results as tough operating conditions are expected to keep a lid on profits.
Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet recently converted 10 Airbus A320 options to firm orders. The aircraft were part of an order for 10 A320s plus 10 options placed at the Paris Air Show in June 2005. Interjet is based at Toluca Airport near Mexico City and recently celebrated its first anniversary of scheduled service in the Mexican domestic market.
