US Airways has no major growth plans for its Charlotte hub, but President Scott Kirby reports it may add flights to Florida and some Texas cities, such as Austin and San Antonio. Many of the cities to be added from Charlotte were pulled while the carrier was in bankruptcy. Charlotte doesn't have enough of a local market to support more international flights, he says.
Boeing is still a long way from deciding on a size range for the aircraft program or programs that will eventually replace the 737 family, says CEO Jim McNerney. "There is a lot of debate and different camps within the company," he says. The core market is likely to be in the 150- to 180-seat range, but some favor a 100-seat plane, while others would prefer a bigger version with 200-plus seats.
Brazilian civil aviation regulator Anac came under fire from critics last week for the slow pace of Varig's certification, charges that Anac CEO Milton Zuanazzi dismissed while defending the certification process.
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines last week launched its first flight from Hong Kong to London Gatwick after a last-minute cancellation because it needed overflight approval from Russia.
Frontier executives say they plan to detail the carrier's selection for regional jet flying in the next few weeks, once the discussions the airline is having with a number of regional carriers wrap up.
LAN Airlines' third-quarter profits more than doubled to $51.5 million thanks to strong passenger and cargo revenues more than offset the high fuel prices.
People posing an immediate threat to aviation security will be prevented from boarding an aircraft under new draft regulations issued by Transport Canada and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada.
Named former SR Technics VP-Marketing Frank Martin to become a senior adviser focused on expanding the group's European presence. Seabury also named Sadiq Gillani senior associate and Stephen Stranger an associate.
Ethiopian Airlines plans to launch service to its second city in the Sudan, with three weekly flights to Juba, effective Nov. 16. The flights will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with a Boeing 737-200 in a two-class configuration. "Trade and tourism to and from the Sudan are flourishing," the airline said, noting that Juba is Sudan's second most populated city. The carrier has been serving Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, since 1953. The new service to Juba brings Ethiopian's total destinations in Africa to 29 and to 47 worldwide. -SL
WestJet is building interfaces for its Open Skies reservations system to handle U.S. point of sales and some alliances capabilities as an interim measure as testing of its new reservation system continues.
You can now register online for AVIATION WEEK events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) NOV. 13-15 -- Aerospace & Defense Programs, Phoenix NOV. 29-30 -- Aeromart 2006, Toulouse
Airbus' decision to open an A320 final assembly line in China will be a strong boost for this aircraft program, analyst Peter Harbison says. It will make the competition even more intense between Boeing and Airbus for the large number of future narrowbody orders expected from Chinese carriers. It will also provide much-needed additional production capacity to help meet strong demand for the A320 family, he adds.
JetBlue CEO David Neeleman says the airline will easily beat its target of 80 full-time employees per aircraft by its previously set deadline of 2007. At the time the carrier set that goal the stats per plane were 93 FTE; now that number is 84. AirTran execs say FTE numbers in the third quarter hit 60.7 per plane, which was the "best performance ever."
Lufthansa Technik and Air France Industries plan to join forces in offering component and logistics support for the Airbus A400M military transport. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding and will now start evaluations on a broad range of services to future A400M operators. The two companies already cooperate in the Spairliners joint-venture offering component support for the Airbus A380.
Alaska Airlines plans modest growth in 2007 with only one new city expected to be added, says Gregg Saretsky. The carrier will add about 5.5% more capacity next year, mostly in existing markets, he says. Alaska Air is taking new Boeing 737 deliveries, but they will replace MD-80s for a net addition of only three planes in 2007.
Air New Zealand is making changes to its Pacific network that will see the airline drop its long-running Rarotonga-Papeete-Los Angeles "Coral Route." Air NZ will instead code share with Air Tahiti Nui on four of its daily Papeete-Los Angeles flights, and the pair will also code share on four weekly Auckland-Papeete flights, two from each carrier. Air NZ will reinstate weekly nonstop service between Rarotonga and Los Angeles, and this will be operated twice a week during the peak season.
EasyJet on Feb. 22 will launch a daily low-fare service between Madrid and Marrakech in Morocco. Marrakech will be added to the other six routes that the British carrier intends to operate from its new Madrid base from next February: Rome, Lyon, Toulouse, La Coruna, Oviedo and Casablanca.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] NOV. 1-2 -- Kenyon International Emergency Services aviation crisis management exercise planning workshop, Houston, Texas, 425-442-5565, email: [email protected], www.ken yoninternational.com NOV. 1-3 -- 17th Annual ACI-NA/Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Airport Concessions Seminar, Grand Hyatt Seattle, Seattle, WA, 202-293-3034, email: [email protected]
