SAS next year plans to boost its Swedish network with the launch of five new nonstop routes to more European cities. On Feb. 12, the carrier plans to start service from Stockholm to Munich. Together with Lufthansa, SAS will offer a total of five daily departures between Stockholm and Munich. On March 31, the carrier will add Palma de Mallorca service every Saturday and on April 28 flights to Malaga on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Together with Star Alliance partner Spanair, SAS will offer five departures a week to Malaga.
The JAL Group yesterday requested approval from the Japanese to reduce the fuel surcharge placed on all international passenger ticket effective Jan. 1, thanks to the recent drop in prices.
India's Jet Airways after an 18-month wait finally won authority to operate services to the U.S. Movement on the application slowed last year, after U.S.-based Jet Airways, Inc., accused the Indian carrier of having ties to terrorist groups (DAILY, May 26, 2005). The companies were also fighting it out in front the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office over their similar trade names.
The U.S. this week updated its case protesting European Union launch aid subsidies for Airbus aircraft, in a brief filed with the World Trade Organization The deadline for the filing slipped from October to Nov. 15. "The U.S. filed a brief with the WTO to demonstrate that subsidies for Airbus aircraft are inconsistent with WTO rules," said U.S. Trade Representative spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel. "A negotiated agreement is the USTR's preferred outcome," she added. The EU has until Feb. 9, 2007, to respond.
British Airways yesterday reached a deal with the trustees of its major pension plan that will see the company pay off GBP800 million (US$1.5 billion) of the plan's GBP2.1 billion deficit. BA previously proposed a one-off payment of GBP500 million, but it had hinted that this could be raised to win the approval of the trustees. The agreement doesn't totally cure BA's pension headaches -- the one-off payment is conditional on its unions' accepting changes to pension rules, and BA still has considerable work ahead to achieve this.
Foreign investors own more then 47% of Air France-KLM, Europe's largest airline group warned investors yesterday, adding that "like other major European companies, it is authorized to implement a mechanism to safeguard national ownership once the non-resident shareholding has reached 45%." The airline, however, did not disclose what measures it is considering. Earlier this year, Lufthansa published a similar warning to investors after foreign ownership reached 40%. In the past few months, Air France-KLM's stock rose from EUR16 to EUR32 (US$41). -JF
Improving the baseline security screening of all air travelers rather than identifying and screening high-risk passengers maybe the best way to prevent airborne terrorist attacks, according to new research. But another security expert warns that the paper's findings would be cost-prohibitive and would endanger the economic viability of commercial and general aviation.
After being rebuffed by Delta management last month about a proposed merger, US Airways is appealing directly to the group that will ultimately decide Delta's fate -- the company's creditors.
BAA CEO Stephen Nelson has pledged to spend an additional GBP23 million (US$43.4 million) to hire new staff and buy more screening equipment to shorten lines at the seven U.K. airports BAA manages. In remarks before the Airport Operators Association Nov. 15, Nelson called changes in regulations on liquids "onerous," noting they have significantly reduced capacity at security lanes. "Passengers are still experiencing long queues on occasions, notably at the flight connection center at Heathrow," he said.
Corporations in China spent more than $7.4 billion on air travel last year, according to a new survey, making China the fourth-biggest business travel market in the world after the U.S., Japan and Germany, and most expect the spending to rise next year.
Brazilian press estimate that of 455 scheduled flights on Monday, 148, or about 31.8%, were canceled or delayed -- a sign that operations have yet to normalize in the country after recent air traffic controller slowdowns (DAILY, Nov. 6). Most affected were airports at Rio, Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Porto Alegre. International flights to Chile were also delayed. The defense ministry, meanwhile, is backing efforts to train new controllers before the start of the heavy Christmas and New Year's travel season. -LZ
The European Commission is expected to unveil plans to put a ceiling on CO2 emissions generated by air transport from 2011 onwards, European sources in Brussels say.
The memorandum of understanding signed Nov. 13 by the U.S. and India will focus on developing and deploying India's GAGAN next-generation satellite navigation system, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said this week in New Delhi. The GAGAN system, designed by Raytheon, is similar to the U.S. Wide Area Augmentation System and, when fully operational, should provide coverage from the Indian Ocean to Japan, allowing for seamless GPS navigation from the West Coast of the U.S. to the Indian Ocean.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport has cut airport landing fees by 28%, effective Oct. 1; the move is due to cost-cutting measures implemented by the Wayne County Airport Authority, which oversees the airport.
Boeing forecasts that commercial aviation in Latin America and the Caribbean will grow 6.9% annually in the next 20 years, with overall market needs of 1,700 aircraft estimated to cost $110 billion. Boeing VP-Sales for Latin America and Caribbean John Wojick described the regions as Boeing's most important market after China, saying it is "a robust market and an excellent business environment for aircraft manufacturers to start delivering orders from 2007 onward."
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to review a case that would force the Transportation Security Admnistration to reveal a secret directive that requires passengers to show government identification or undergo extra security screening before boarding a flight.
Korean Air's third-quarter profit sank about 18% to KRW126 billion (US$134 million) from KRW154 billion last year as strong international traffic and yields could not offset higher fuel costs and slow cargo growth.
The auction of Aeromexico has not been suspended, Consorcio Aeromexico President Andres Conesa confirmed at a news conference this week, but will be handled by the new Calderon Administration that takes office on Dec. 1. The Mexican government now owns 65% equity shares in the Consorcio (formerly Cintra), evenly divided among bank savings regulator IPAB, state-owned Nacional Financiera and the Ministry of the Treasury.
Finnair Technical Services signed a three-year deal with KLM to perform checks on 10 McDonnell Douglas MD-11s. The agreement covers eight C- checks in 2006 and 2007 set to be performed at the Helsinki-Vantea Airport. The two companies also plan to negotiate reciprocal deals that would involve KLM Engineering and Maintenance supplying its services for MD-11 cooperation.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank has signed a preliminary aircraft financing commitment for more than $400 million with Vietnam Airlines for Boeing 787-8 aircraft, its third such deal for the aircraft type, spokesman Phil Cogan said. Preliminary commitments usually expire in a year, and in that time Vietnam Airlines must line up a commercial lender, for which the Ex-Im Bank will act as guarantor, or must apply for a direct loan from the bank, Cogan added.
