Amadeus yesterday became the last of the major global distribution systems to sign a long-term agreement with JetBlue, which will give the airline access to the broader international market.
Eos Airlines has run through most its launch funding since its startup last year, but the carrier yesterday reported it won a second round of financing, which will let it grow its fleet of Boeing 757s.
The U.S. can't wait 20 years to reinvent the air traffic control system and there need to be changes within the next 10 years to accommodate the expected rise in traffic and delays, FAA Chief Operating Officer Russell Chew said yesterday.
Alaska Airlines yesterday named Bob Bernicchi as its new managing director-maintenance engineering. Bernicchi will manage the airline's aircraft, powerplant, standards and support engineering departments. He previously was Alaska's director of MD-80 and Boeing 737-200 fleet engineering since joining the airline in 2005. Bernicchi earlier spent 21 years at United. -SL
Executives at Southwest are calling a recent decision by US Airways requesting more gates for international flights at Philadelphia unfortunate because the airline didn't object to a deal the airport, Southwest and Delta reached for Southwest to use four gates Delta agreed to vacate in Concourse E. US Airways executives recently said they've tried to convince Philadelphia Airport officials not to follow through on that plan, but noted the airport was having problems getting free from those commitments (DAILY, Oct. 27).
Air New Zealand effective Nov. 6 will offer three weekly flights from Auckland to Shanghai Pudong. This is will be the first route linking New Zealand and China.
Mesaba pilot union members are deciding today whether to give their nod to a tentative agreement just as the carrier's management cinched a third and final concessionary deal with its mechanics. Management reached deals with pilots and flight attendants earlier this week that union leaders of each group are reviewing, and pilots were targeting presenting the proposed deal to the Air Line Pilots Association membership this week (DAILY, Oct. 31).
SkyWest's bullishness on large turboprops continues, as the airline believes at least two to three major U.S. airlines have a genuine interest in the airplane. Throughout the year, carrier executives praised the aircraft, noting planes such as the Q400 have been part of SkyWest's strategy sessions for years. This week, SkyWest CFO Brad Rich reiterated that the carrier's aggressive study of the aircraft is driven partly by U.S. majors that still have an interest in the plane.
Brazil's VEM Maintenance and Engineering, which now belongs to the TAP Portugal group, last week named Filipe Morais de Almeida as its new president and CEO.
Philadelphia Airport stands ready to accommodate all its airlines with their growth plans despite assertions by US Airways in its recent conference call, Aviation Director Charles Isdell told The DAILY.
China Aviation Industry Corp 1 (AVIC1) signed a significant deal for 60 50-seat Chinese-made MA60 turboprops and 30 ARJ 21 regional jets at the Zhuhai Air Show. China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corp (CAIC) acquired 30 MA 60s, while the remaining 30 were sold to an unnamed customer. The Chinese name for the MA60, which was launched in 1998, is Xinhou 60.
Mexicana late Tuesday night reached a significant concession deal with its pilots' union, which had been a major hurdle between management and a large aircraft order.
Growth in international air traffic is slowing, according to new data released by IATA, but the group reiterated its prediction of a $1.7 billion full-year loss for the industry. International traffic in September increased 4.7%, significantly lower than the 5.9% average growth for the first eight months of the year. The trend of slower traffic growth began in May and is "starting to weaken the strong revenue environment, but efficiency gains and careful capacity management continue," said CEO Giovanni Bisignani.
Lufthansa will start serving South Korea's coastal city of Busan from Munich next March, the airline said this week. The carrier will fly to the country's most important port with a significant shipping industry three times weekly using Airbus A340-300s. Busan will be an extension of the new Munich-Seoul service to be introduced next spring. The carrier already flies to Seoul daily from Frankfurt.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the crew of a Bombardier Challenger 600 that overran a runway at Teterboro Airport in February 2005 didn't ensure the plane was within weight and balance limitations.
Long-time Regional Airline Association President Debby McElroy yesterday resigned from the group to take a position at ACI-North America. McElroy will become ACI's new senior VP-government affairs, replacing Stephen Van Beek, who was ACI's executive VP-policy. Van Beek left earlier this month to join Jacobs Consultancy (DAILY, Oct. 12). McElroy, who will begin her new role at ACI-NA on Dec. 19, will oversee ACI-NA's government affairs department and will manage a lobbying firm that works on behalf of ACI-NA. She will also be involved in policy and message development.
United swung to a $190 million third-quarter profit thanks to strong revenues this summer, but it is holding on to its conservative strategy of little capacity growth next year, and executives have no plans for an aircraft order to expand its network.
Boston Logan and Miami International are holding auctions to sell off cars and lost and found or confiscated items, respectively Massport will be selling 130 abandoned automobiles Nov. 4, said spokesman Phil Orlandella. "We're selling the cars to get them off the airport's overflow space," he said. "We don't know the condition of them, so buyers have to be prepared to remove them from the lot by the end of the day."
