The U.S.-Canada open-skies agreement is on track to be implemented earlier next year thanks to a tentative U.S. Transportation Dept. decision yesterday to approve antitrust immunity between United, Air Canada and several other Star Alliance partners.
The European Aviation Safety Agency is taking steps to develop and alter rules that govern building and use of replacement parts, or parts manufacturer approval parts. Various stakeholders have supplied EASA with information of PMA part use, the agency said, and how that use could affect EASA. That information, coupled with "the current state of negotiations" between the U.S. and the European Union regarding a future bilateral agreement, is driving the agency's review.
WestJet's executive VP-People Matthew Handford resigned last week, with a planned exit from the airline during the first quarter. Hanford joined WestJet in 2005. The airline has logged many changes to its executive team this year, including the departure of long-time CFO Sandy Campbell and the exit of VP Operations Tim Moran. In September, Sean Durfy was named president. -LR
CSA Czech Airlines could cut its work force by an additional 10%, if it can sell its cargo and catering units. The deals could be finalized in the first quarter of 2007, the company said yesterday. -JF
Singapore Airlines in November posted a 10.1% increase in systemwide passenger traffic, which was far more than the 2.8% capacity increase. As a result, systemwide passenger load factor improved by 5.3 percentage points to 80.2%. The number of passengers carried also rose by 11.8% from the same month last year to a record 1.58 million. The capacity increase is due to additional flights on existing routes to Taipei, Penang, Adelaide, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The carrier also started new flights Karachi, Lahore, Moscow, Abu Dhabi, Milan and Barcelona.
U.S. Transportation Dept. officials have persuaded the Chinese government to resume open-skies talks, with a round of negotiations expected in late January. Aviation liberalization was one of many issues on the agenda at last week's Strategic Economic Dialogue in Beijing. Although no specific open-skies negotiations occurred, DOT representatives were able to use the SED process to convince high-level Chinese officials of the benefits of an open-skies deal.
EasyJet will introduce three new routes from its Edinburgh base in the spring of 2007, the airline said yesterday. The carrier will fly daily to Madrid and Milan as well as twice weekly to Palma. The new flights are equivalent to a 10% capacity increase in Edinburgh. The Madrid service will be launched on Feb. 21 while the Milan flight will take off for the first time on May 21. The Palma route will launch on May 5. -JF
Former Dragonair CEO Stanley Hui Hon-chung has been appointed CEO of the Hong Kong Airport Authority, which oversees Honk Kong International Airport (HKIA). Hui, who takes over Feb. 1, 2007, will be responsible for the overall operation of HKIA and implement the airport's strategic plan, which focuses on maintaining the airport's competitiveness and contribution to Hong Kong's economic development.
Lufthansa is targeting an operating profit of EUR1 billion in its 2008 financial year, Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber told the company's in-house magazine "Der Lufthanseat." According to Mayrhuber, the airline achieved EUR1.13 billion in annual cost cuts by the end of September. The cost reduction program is aiming for EUR1.2 billion in cost cuts by yearend. -JF
Air New Zealand is introducing three new domestic routes and adding capacity on others, aided by its recent decision to buy three more Bombardier Q300s for its Air Nelson subsidiary. Next October, Air NZ will launch Invercargill-Wellington and New Plymouth-Christchurch direct flights, and will begin Tauranga-Christchurch flights in December. Capacity will be added to the Dunedin-Wellington and Queenstown-Wellington flights by using 66-seat ATR 72s on these routes.
After performing one-off projects for Allegiant Air over the last six months American Airlines won a four-year, $30 million deal with the carrier to supply heavy maintenance and other services for the carrier's 24 McDonnell Douglas MD-80s.
German airline operator TUI Group last week announced an order for 41 Boeing aircraft, worth more than $3.6 billion. TUI did not specify what type of aircraft have been ordered, but they will be delivered starting in 2010. These aircraft will be used to replace leased aircraft, TUI said. The company already has 24 Boeing narrow-bodies on order.
Delta today plans to file its reorganization plan with the bankruptcy court, sources tell The DAILY. Executives for several months have promised the plan by December, but the details will be under intense scrutiny as Delta management works to ward off a proposed US Airways merger. Sources say the plan was tweaked after the US Airways proposal was unveiled.
Qantas plans to boost capacity by more than 60% on its Sydney-San Francisco route, and from March 26 will have five weekly flights between the cities. Currently, nonstop flights from San Francisco operate on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Monday and Saturday flights will now be added. "Since last March, when we relaunched Qantas flights [from Sydney] to San Francisco, we have received a very positive response from business and destination travelers," the airline said.
German ATC organization Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) is taking another large consolidation step by relocating its Berlin-based controllers to the Bremen center. DFS switched control of airspace below 7,500 feet from Berlin to Bremen at midnight Friday. The move means all air traffic in East Germany is controlled from three centers -- Bremen, Karlsruhe and Munich.
The struggle for survival by domestic airlines in Peru is not "a cause for surprise," aviation writer Fernando Cheverria tells El Comercio, because daily seat offer (16,000) far exceeds demand (7,500), meaning average load factors remain under 50%.
Spain's Civil Aviation Department (AC) responded to international low-cost carrier Air Madrid's "unilateral and irresponsible" decision to suspend operations by suspending the carrier's operating license with immediate effect. AC General Director Manuel Bautista said the suspension would be enforced until Air Madrid "solves its many ongoing problems, including safety."
Northwest is not likely to detail its full regional jet strategy before Jan. 12 after it extended a deadline to that date to possibly resolve a long-standing payment issue with regional partner Pinnacle over $21 million in aircraft deposits. The issue has dragged on since March 15, the original due date for the payment. Northwest believes the terms of its sublease deal mandate the payment for aircraft security depositis. Northwest claims this is a stipulation of the agreement under which Pinnacle paid off a note to Northwest in February (DAILY, March 7).
