Air France regional carrier Airlinair ordered a new ATR 72-500 to complement its all-ATR fleet. ATR, which valued the deal at US$17 million, plans to deliver the plane to Airlinair in 2009. The airframer noted it was the first new ATR bought by Airlinair. The carrier flies 11 ATR 42-500s, four ATR 72-200s, a single ATR 72-210 and one ATR 72-500.
Delta has selected the regional carriers that will fly up to 143 regional jets in its network but won't make a formal announcement regarding those deals, opting to let the regional airlines detail the agreements on their own. Requests for bids were sent to regional airlines in August. The flying covered up to 50 new 76-seat planes, 43 70-seat planes, of which 27 are currently flown by Comair, and 50 jets with 50 seats.
An industry consortium last month released performance targets for the air traffic system of the future, including halving the ATM cost per flight by 2020. The consortium of 30 companies and organizations -- including airlines -- issued the report as the second deliverable under its contract with the European Commission and Eurocontrol. This contract comprises the definition phase of the ATM modernization effort that is a crucial part of the Single European Sky process.
French startup L'Avion today plans to start all-business-class operations between Paris Orly and Newark. L'Avion will operate six weekly frequencies with Boeing 757-200s leased from Lufthansa in a 90-seat configuration. Roundtrip fares range from EUR1,600 to EUR 3,000 (US$3,935), and the airline claims its lowest fares are half of what traditional carriers charge.
US Airways' expected fourth-quarter profit will likely be "the exception rather than the rule," says JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker. US Airways' income in the quarter "stands in sharp contrast to loss expectations at Alaska, American and Continental," Baker says. Depending on the final financial toll of the recent Denver snowstorms, United may also be looking at a loss, he predicts.
A Boeing 737-400 operated by Indonesian low-fare airline Adam Air crashed in a remote mountainous terrain in Sulawesi Island in a violent storm on Monday, and the 96 passengers and six crewmembers aboard the flights are believed to have perished in the accident.
New pilots union head John Prater this week gave another warning that the days of contract concessions are over, and he also stressed the need for more collaborative action across all airline units.
The European Commission is expected to present proposals to curb soaring airport charges at the end of January, said an EU source. The EC is no longer expected to take a hard-line stance, with a systematic capping of charges (DAILY, Nov. 22). As well, the proposed directive is not expected to address the issue of financing airport security.
The TACA group is beefing up its schedule to cope with higher holiday demand. The six-times-weekly service between El Salvador and Lima will get three additional frequencies to allow for quicker connections from Washington, New York and Los Angeles to South American destinations. El Salvador-Los Angeles frequencies have been increased to 20 per week, with four daily nonstops on Wednesday and Sunday, and the offer between Los Angeles and Guatemala has been increased by 12 weekly frequencies.
The future European ATM system must be able to handle 27% more traffic than 2005 levels by 2011, and 73% more by 2020, says an industry coalition charged with creating an ATM master plan. Such a system could cost providers and users more than EUR22 billion (US$29 billion) through 2020, of which 60% would be avionics and 40% ground equipment.
Virgin America last week finished its flight-proving runs, the last formal step in the FAA certification process, but the carrier is still waiting for a show-cause order from the U.S. Transportation Dept., which may be issued as early as this week.
American last week applied to the U.S. Transportation Dept. to code share with Royal Jordanian, one of the carriers expected to join the oneworld alliance next year. The American proposal would see Jordanian place its code on 15 American domestic routes out of the New York-Kennedy and Chicago O'Hare hubs. American would put its code on Jordanian flights to Amman from Chicago, New York, London, Paris and Frankfurt. Jordanian flights from Amman to Dubai and Aqaba, Jordan would also be covered by the code share.
American last week revealed plans to further boost its operations out of St. Louis Airport next year, adding capacity to four routes by replacing regional jets with MD-80s. The extra capacity will be added from April 10 and will see American putting another 459 seats into the St. Louis market. This is in addition to an extra MD-80 flight between St. Louis and Dallas/Fort Worth that will be introduced in January.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Rodriguez Zapatero told a special joint parliamentary session the crisis generated by the suspension of Air Madrid is due to the airline's failure to honor legal obligations (DAILY, Dec. 19), countering criticism from the head of the opposition party that the government aided the carrier's downfall.
Ecuador's Icaro Express last week opened a new era of economic and social border integration between Ecuador and neighbor Peru with a flight from Cuenca to Piura. Authorities from both countries hailed this as the beginning of a new era of friendly cooperation and profitable development in this large and potentially rich area. Initial routes would be between Cuenca, Machala, Coca and Mecas in Ecuador and Tumbes, Piura, Cajamarca and Jaen in Peru. Airlines from both countries are expected to announce soon their participation in this joint program. -LZ
China Southern Airlines picked International Aero Engines to supply its V2500 engines for 50 Airbus A320s. The carrier also signed a V2500Select aftermarket deal with IAE. Both elements combined should generate about US$1.35 billion for IAE.
Qantas last week confirmed its previous commitment to buy another eight Airbus A380 aircraft. The airline had announced its intention to buy these aircraft in October, following an earlier order for 12 A380s. Airbus also signed firm A380 orders with Singapore this week, which was considered a vote of confidence in the beleaguered program.
It's déjà vu all over again for Aer Lingus and Delta, which is using Aer Lingus' application to renew authority for U.S.-Ireland routes to push for the end of the Shannon stopover requirement. Delta and Aer Lingus last battled over Aer Lingus renewals in May 2005. Continental joined Delta in opposing the renewals, as both suggested DOT use the application to protest the lack of progress in liberalizing the air services environment in Ireland and the U.K. (DAILY, May 11, 2005).
FAA plans to publish a temporary slot rule for New York LaGuardia Airport that will keep existing hourly rates in place, but will tweak some of the slot restrictions until a more permanent rule can be created for LaGuardia. The agency is issuing the rule to prevent congestion at LaGuardia after the high-density rule (HDR) expires Jan. 1. FAA is working to finish its longer-term rule to handle LaGuardia congestion, but needs an interim fix in the meantime. The interim rule will expire no more than 90 days after the FAA introduces its permanent rule.
DVB Bank picked Jon Skirrow, currently with BAE Systems, to head its new Aviation Asset Management business effective Jan. 1. Two of Skirrow's colleagues from BAE -- Toby Iles and Nick Moore -- are also joining the DVB team. Paul Nolan, who launched the team at DVB five years ago, rounds out the team. Skirrow will report directly to DVB's Head of Global Aviation David Goring-Thomas.
US Airways and the Transport Workers Union last week reached a deal on a single contract for flight dispatchers. The agreement transitions former America West dispatchers to the labor agreement covering pre-merger US Airways dispatchers. There was also an interim training agreement reached outlining terms under which employees will be trained in anticipation of a single FAA operating certificate in mid-2007.
More than three years after its creation, the Dept. of Homeland Security still needs comprehensive acquisition guidance and oversight, according to the department's inspector general. More certified program managers, comprehensive department-wide procurement management standards, greater independent analysis and review, and better defined technical requirements to avoid wasting time and money are among the needed measures, DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner said in a report issued Dec. 21.
