Willis Lease Finance Corp. yesterday unveiled a new engine-sharing agreement with three large North American airlines, which the company believes will change the way engines are leased in the future.
Finnair's flight operations returned to normal yesterday as cabin staff resumed work after the airline agreed to shelve plans to hire cheaper labor through its Estonian subsidiary, Aero (DAILY, Oct. 23). The airline said that last week's two-day strike resulted in a total direct loss of EUR5 million (US$6.3 million). New flight attendants will be hired in the framework of existing agreements on pay and conditions, but talks for a new labor accord are scheduled to start next month. -MT
The Beijing Olympic Committee estimates that 500,000-800,000 overseas visitors will come to the city for the Summer Olympic Games in August 2008. Spokesman Sun Weide tells The DAILY in Beijing that the airport handled about 40 million passengers last year, but a third runway and large new terminal will be ready for the Olympics and will boost capacity to about 70 million.
A prestigious group of four safety advocacy, standards-setting and air traffic control organizations issued a joint resolution last week calling on governments to focus aviation accident investigations on finding the causes of accidents and preventing similar ones, rather than attempting to place blame and bring criminal charges against those involved.
30 Years Ago Oct. 26, 1976 -- Boxloads of comments have been received by CAB on its request for comments on banning smoking on aircraft. Comments -- printed on everything from Snoopy stationary to a paper sack -- show advocates on both sides unwilling to compromise. 20 Years Ago
Canada's Transport Minister last week said the government will introduce an amendment to ensure the restructured Air Canada and its affiliates meet the nation's dual language requirements.
While Southwest CEO Gary Kelly acknowledges the carrier has some opportunities with ancillary revenues, he tells analysts, "We're holding those ideas close to the vest...Don't be looking for anything very dramatic next year unless we really need to press because we're not getting the unit revenue production we need on the passenger side."
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] OCT. 23-25 -- International Loran Association 35th Annual ILA Convention and Technical Symposium, Mystic Marriott Hotel, Groton, Conn. Bob Lilly, 805-967-8649, email: bob@ loran.org, or www.loran.org. OCT. 23-26 -- Flight Safety Foundation IASS 2006, 59th Annual International Air Safety Seminar, Paris, France, 703-739-6700, fax 703-739-6708
BMI British Midland last week decided to suspend its flight from London Heathrow to Mumbai indefinitely because of significant technical problems one of its Airbus A330s.
Term limits on chairmanships imposed by Republicans when they took control of Capitol Hill in 1994, are forcing a number of veteran leaders to step aside. They include Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), chair of the House Transportation Committee, and Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chair of that panel's aviation subcommittee. Mica and several other committee members are expected to seek chairmanship of the full committee next year, when it considers legislation to reauthorize FAA.
American CEO Gerard Arpey admits it will be tough to win enough congressional support for the amendments the airline wants to make to new pension relief legislation. There is "pension fatigue in Washington," and "a lot of [lawmakers] are reluctant to talk pensions now," Arpey said. Nonetheless, American will still "make a hard run" at getting the amendment passed.
SR Techics is changing its organizational structure weeks after a Middle Eeastern consortium detailed plans to buy the MRO. The company is pushing four business divisions -- component services, engine services, business development and sales and marketing, headed by Alex Kugler, Mike Humphreys, Gerry Timoney and Declan O'Shea. The divisions will operate as international entities, and all tasks and employees will fall under one of those four categories, regardless of location.
Freight revenues at Southwest during the third quarter fell about 6% to $30 million partly because the airline will not renew its contract with the U.S. Postal Service, but carrier executives are tweaking cargo options to attract new customers. The U.S. Postal Service is a "difficult customer," CEO Gary Kelly told analysts last week, noting "they had a list of demands that would have impacted the integrity of our operation."
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) OCT. 24-26 -- MRO Europe, Amsterdam NOV. 13-15 -- Aerospace & Defense Programs, Phoenix
More than 4.8 million international visitors traveled to the U.S. in July, an increase of 4% from the same month last year, according to new data from the U.S. Commerce Dept.
Mexican low-cost carrier Avolar will spend $700 million to acquire 20 Boeing 737-800s, announced CEO Jorge Nehme. The airline will employ several financing methods, including investments and leasing with option to buy. "This type of operation," he added, "provides many tax benefits and improves projections."
UPS last week said its profit climbed 8.9% to just over $1 billion for the September quarter, and it predicted a "solid" holiday shipping season. "The small package business should be strong in the fourth quarter" due to international deliveries and U.S. holiday shipping, said UPS. In the third quarter, global small package volume grew 5%, while revenue was up 10.5%. The increase in small package volume meant 721,000 extra packages a day.
