British Airways on Friday was optimistic it could ramp up its flight schedule at Heathrow Airport as freezing fog dissipated; the airline planned to put widebody jets on many of its short-haul routes over the weekend to help clear the backlog of stranded passengers.
Pinnacle reached a much-anticipated agreement with Northwest that lifts entrenched constraints on the regional carrier's pursuit of outside business and spurs a $377.5 million unsecured claim for Pinnacle in Northwest's bankruptcy proceedings. The fate of Northwest's regional jet partner became foggy earlier this year when Northwest issued a request for proposal for airlines to bid on flying up to 126 50- and 76-seat regional jets. Pinnacle flies 124 jets for Northwest.
Mexican airport operator ASUR reported that CEO Kjeld Binger has resigned to take a position with another company. Binger also stepped down from ASUR's partner, Copenhagen Airports. Inversiones y Tecnicas Aeroportuarias, ASUR's strategic partner, "will continue to supply technical assistance" as it has over the past seven years and will provide candidates for the position of ASUR's CEO.
30 Years Ago Dec. 27, 1976 -- Efforts by Braniff International to fly the Concorde between Washington and Dallas/Fort Worth may be hampered by legalities, says FAA Administrator John McLucas, as the Concorde would have to receive both FAA certification and U.S. registration. FAA lawyers are working to decide if the SST can be operated legally by the carrier, although "right now it looks as though it cannot," McLucas said. 20 Years Ago
Korean Air last week announced plans to start twice-weekly, scheduled all-cargo service to Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport on Jan. 25, which may be a precursor to passenger flights to the city.
Mesa followed through on its recent predictions of striking a deal with a Chinese carrier after gaining approval from regulatory authorities in China to develop a joint venture with Shenzhen Airlines. Last month, Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein said the airline was holding serious discussions with two Chinese airlines for a possible launch in the second half of 2007 (DAILY, Nov. 27).
By Robert W. Mann, Jr., President of R.W. Mann & Company, Inc. Much has been written (and will be) about the history of airline mergers to suggest that mergers in the present industry environment -- such as the US Airways-Delta proposal -- cannot work. Students of airline history pointing exclusively to the carcasses of failed mergers fail to acknowledge evolutionary trends marking the prospect for future success.
The sale price of Raytheon Aircraft (RAC) finalized yesterday is close to the amount the parent company tried to get for the business in 1999 before taking RAC off the market at the end of 2000. Raytheon unveiled plans to sell RAC to Goldman Sachs affiliate GS Capital Partners and Canadian investment firm Onex Corporation for $3.3 billion. DAILY affiliate The Weekly Of Business Aviation reported earlier this year that Raytheon's asking price for RAC about seven years ago was in the $3 billion-$4 billion range, but no takers emerged (DAILY, July 31).
SkyWest yesterday won its second deal for new regional flying within the last month, after it emerged as the victor in the heated competition to fly 50-seat aircraft for Midwest Airlines.
Bangkok-based low-fare airline Thai Air Asia will introduce three weekly Boeing 737-300 flights to the popular Malaysian beach resort of Langkawi starting Jan. 6. Langkawi will be the airline's 10th international destination.
Congestion at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is already prompting the Thai government to consider reviving a plan to reopen the city's former international airport in Don Muang early next year. A decision to reopen Don Muang will be made within two weeks, said Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um. He said Suvarnabhumi, which opened for operations in September, is already congested and has reached its passenger capacity of 45 million.
The forces of nature are expected to continue to wreak havoc at major airports on both sides of the Atlantic today, with fog the culprit at London Heathrow and snow causing headaches at Denver.
Spirit on Jan. 9 will end its Washington National-Detroit service, claiming it was unable to "match its competitors' capacity offerings and schedules" because of "access constraints" at National Airport. December schedule data shows Spirit getting trounced by rivals Northwest and US Airways in the market. Spirit has daily service on the route, versus Northwest's average offering of nine daily flights and three daily services operated by US Airways. Spirit will return to the U.S. Transportation Dept.
The Star Alliance yesterday decided to remove the "old" Varig from the group, as the company no longer has a broad network to offer passengers flying on partner airlines.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. fined charter carrier Southeast Airlines $500,000 for the improper maintenance of escrow accounts and improper handling of charter funds, and banned CEO Thomas Kolfenbach from involvement in any air carrier until 2014.
Comair is allowed to impose concessions on pilots Dec. 30 thanks to a new bankruptcy court ruling. The carrier needs those concessions to reverse an $8 million rise in pilot costs, which take effect Jan. 1. Comair pilots have voted to authorize a strike, but the airline is asking the court to grant an injunction.
Boeing looks as if it will fall just short of breaking its annual record order this year, but barring a last-minute miracle, the manufacturer is set to easily outstrip Airbus annual orders. Boeing recorded another 38 new orders in the week ending Dec. 20, giving it a net order total of 904. Through the end of November, Airbus logged 635 orders. Last year, Boeing achieved 1,002 net orders, easily beating its previous record of 877 combined orders for Boeing and McDonnell Douglas in 1988.
US Airways executives kept the war of words and numbers with Delta alive yesterday by accusing Delta of making misleading and incorrect statements about the merger proposal.
Brazil's civil aviation regulator Anac issued operating licenses to five fledgling carriers, among them Sao Paulo-based "new" Varig or VRG Linhas Aereas. The other four newly licensed carriers are Master Top, which will operate initially on the Sao Paulo-Manaus route and possibly expand internationally at a later date; Porto Alegre's NHT Linhas Aereas, which will fly in the South; Sete Linhas Aereas, which aims to serve Western, Central and Southeastern destinations; and Sao Paulo-based Air Minas, which will operate in the Southeast.
Fresh from finalizing concession deals with three labor groups and winning $24 million in debtor-in-possession financing, Mesaba revealed yesterday it is in talks with Northwest about being acquired by its lone major partner.
Former American CEO Don Carty this week was named vice chairman and CFO of Dell, effective Jan. 1. Carty has been a member of the Dell board since 1992, and for much of that time has served as chairman of the audit committee. "Don has had a long association with the company and we are delighted that he is joining our senior leadership team," said Chairman Michael Dell. Carty succeeds James Schneider, who recently agreed to become executive chairman of the board of Frontier Bancshares Inc.
