Indonesian civil aviation officials last week launched a trial of an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system, and will consider introducing the system nationwide to improve coverage of its airspace.
Civil aviation officials from the Dominican Republic and Argentina met last week in Santo Domingo to sign a bilateral agreement that will bolster commercial traffic and promote trade and vacation travel between the two countries. At least two Argentine airlines would be designated to operate passenger and cargo services. The Dominican Republic has reciprocal rights for operations to Argentina.
The Italian government would prefer to give "Italy its flag carrier back," rather that merging it with Air France, said Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi.
Turkish charter cargo carrier Kuzu won both its foreign carrier permit and charter exemption authority from the U.S. Transportation Dept. (DAILY, Oct. 5). The airline operates wet-lease freighter services for carriers like Turkish Airlines and China Eastern and is owned by Turkey's Kuzu Construction Group [OST-2006-25940, -25946].
SAA won from the U.S. Transportation Dept. exemption authority for its planned Johannesburg-Chicago service (DAILY, Dec. 4). The four weekly flights will operate via Dakar, and SAA slated the service for a May 2007 start [OST-2006-26485].
Senior FAA official James Washington was recently elected to the board of the Air Traffic Control Association as the currently only FAA representative on the ATCA board. Washington is the VP-acquisition and business services for FAA's Air Traffic Organization, and will serve a one-year term on the ATCA board as a director-at-large. Washington fills a vacancy created when Harris Corp.'s Peter Challan was elected as ATCA's next chairman.
The world's airlines are expected to post a US$2.5 billion net profit in 2007 thanks to lower fuel prices, but there is no reason to celebrate warns the International Air Transport Association because there are early signs of a revenue slowdown in many regions, including the U.S.
Wall St. airline analysts yesterday downgraded their fourth-quarter earnings predictions for Continental after the airline released revenue and cost figures that were slightly weaker than analysts expected. Michael Linenberg of Merrill Lynch believes Continental will just break even in the December quarter, although Jamie Baker of J.P. Morgan predicts a slight loss. Continental said consolidated unit revenue was up 3.3% in November and will likely rise 1%-3% in December. Mainline bookings for the next six weeks are about the same as last year's.
Skybus hopes to win FAA certification in early January, so the unveiling of its first routes can occur shortly after it clears that last regulatory hurdle before its official launch. The carrier plans to launch flights with three leased Airbus A319s and could add one leased plane per month in 2007. The first aircraft of a 65-plane order the carrier placed earlier this year will arrive in late 2008.
Air Tahiti Nui won the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s approval to carry Air New Zealand's code on its Papeete-Los Angeles flights as part of a code-share agreement inked in October (DAILY, Oct. 30).
American next April will launch daily year-round service between Miami and Valencia, Venezuela, pending regulatory approval. The flights will be operated with 148-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft seating 16 in first class and 132 in economy. American would be the only U.S. carrier to fly the route. Venezuelan carrier Aeropostal currently serves the market [OST-2006-26387.]
Comair pilots voted in favor of a strike authorization as negotiations between pilots and management resumed yesterday. Strike authorization results were released on the same day written arguments were submitted to the bankruptcy court in response to Comair management's request to void the pilot contract. Carrier management said it faces an $8 million rise in pilot costs on Jan. 1 if the court doesn't grant its request. The next round of negotiations is scheduled on Dec. 27-29. -LR
The Vietnamese government is considering permitting foreign investors to acquire up to a maximum of 49% stake in local airlines. A single investor would be allowed to buy a maximum of 30% while a group of investors would be allowed to acquire the maximum 49%. Currently, policy limits foreign investment in local airlines to a maximum of 30%. Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam Ho Quoc Cuong said the government hopes to introduce the new policy next month or in February.
The U.K. Office of Fair Trading recommends a wider government investigation into the airport market after determining that the domination of U.K. airports by BAA is not good for the public. OFT launched a market study in June and has now proposed that a full inquiry by the U.K. Competition Commission should be undertaken. This finding is only provisional, and OFT will accept comments through Feb. 8 before making a final decision.
About 42 million passengers are expected to travel globally on U.S. airlines during the 2006 winter holiday season, an estimated increase of about 2.4% from last year, the Air Transport Association said last week. The timeframe covers the 21 days between Dec. 14 and Jan. 3. The nation's airlines expect average load factors to exceed 80% and are projecting the busiest days to be Dec. 21 (about 2.3 million passengers), Dec. 22 (2.2 million passengers) and Dec. 26 (2.2 million passengers). -SL
South African Airways plans to add more airport staff this holiday travel season, including a focus on baggage security, in order to avoid problems it has faced in the past.
Caribbean Airlines will initially assume BWIA West Indies Airways' operations to both Miami and New York from Port-of-Spain when it replaces BWIA as the flag carrier of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago next month. The airline set Jan. 1 as its official launch date (DAILY, Oct. 23). The New York and Miami services will operate via Barbados with a leased Boeing 737-800 that BWIA is currently using to serve the markets.
Big changes hit the distribution world for the second time in a week, when Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group yesterday confirmed plans to acquire Sabre Holdings for $4.5 billion.
The U.S. will not sign a new interim agreement with the European Union on passenger name records, said Richard Barth, assistant secretary for policy development at the Dept. of Homeland Security. "Instead, we will put the onus on passengers directly by letting them know that the data they supply [when booking a ticket] will be passed along to the U.S. and other governments," he said.
EVA Airways will carry Air-India's code on its flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Mumbai, pending approvals from the U.S. Transportation Dept. The flights will operate via Taipei, where Los Angeles and San Francisco passengers will connect to EVA's new Taipei-Mumbai service that launched on Dec. 10. The service will be operated with EVA's Boeing 747 or 777 aircraft [OST-2006-26579].
