The European Commission is in the process of securing so-called "horizontal" air accords with three popular holiday destinations for European Union tourists: Thailand, the Dominican Republic and the Maldives. Following a meeting of aviation officials last month in Brussels, the EU and Thailand "agreed in principle on the text of a Horizontal Air Transport Agreement," the EC said. Thailand accepted the principle of EU carrier designation, which removes nationality restrictions in the bilateral agreements between EU member states and Thailand.
Ryanair is extending charged priority boarding to all passengers starting Nov. 1. Previously, only customers without checked baggage could pay GBP2-GBP3 to board the plane first. Passengers with hand baggage can pay the same amount for both priority boarding and bypassing airport check-in when checking in on-line.
Indian Airlines yesterday took delivery of its first directly purchased A319, the first of 43 A320 family aircraft the airline is scheduled to receive. The 43-aircraft order was placed in January and consists of 20 A319s, four A320s and 19 A321s. Six aircraft will be delivered in 2007 and more than 10 in 2008, with all aircraft to be delivered by 2010. The order also marks the first time an Indian airline has selected the A319.
Fourteen House lawmakers yesterday asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate security vulnerabilities of foreign repair stations that perform work on U.S. registered aircraft. The lawmakers want GAO to look into potential terrorist sabotage of aircraft being repaired at overseas locations. U.S. carriers have outsourced over 50% of repair and maintenance of their aircraft, according to Transportation Dept.'s Inspector General.
North Korea's nuclear weapon test is having little to no effect on Korean Air's traffic or revenue, says President Jong Hee Lee. He tells reporters in Seoul that he believes there may be some hesitancy in the future from Japanese and U.S. leisure travelers if the global focus on North Korea continues, but he says business traffic will likely stay strong.
Korean Air and Seoul Incheon Airport plan to start cooperating to boost the number of transfer passenger through the airport, which up to this point has been relatively low.
Alaska Airlines employees generated nearly 13 hours of additional flying time per month this summer thanks to a revived project to turn planes faster on the ground.
German ATC organization Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS) recently named Frank Brenner as director of operations for the Control Center business unit. Brenner will be responsible for 2,600 employees in DFS' largest business unit. An important objective for him will be strategic projects including the creation of functional blocks of airspace with neighboring ATC organizations - a goal of the Single European Sky process.
Airbus this week signed a deal representing its first U.S. order for the A318 version of its corporate jet range. Petters Group Worldwide -- based in Minnetonka, Minn. -- will use the 318 Elite for private corporate domestic and international flights. The aircraft will be managed by subsidiary Petters Aviation.
Southwest's CEO is not completely ruling out adding a new market in 2007, but at this point Gary Kelly believes it would be difficult for that to happen given the recent repeal of the Wright Amendment and the carrier's overall "broad" needs in its existing route structure.
Delta Connection carrier Comair later this winter will begin service between Cincinnati and Nassau in the Bahamas, and in asking the U.S. Transportation Dept. for authority alluded to the possibility it may serve other points in the Caribbean country in the future.
Frankfurt Airport carried a record number of passengers in September with nearly 5 million people moving through the airport, a 0.6% increase from the same month last year.
Northwest this week went live with a new system, which allows passengers to print boarding passes at international fax machines after checking in for flights over the Internet.
Days after reaching a tentative deal with its flight attendants, Comair and its machinists also struck a new accord, but a deal with pilots remains elusive as management and the Air Line Pilots Association fail to agree on favorable economics for a new contract. Flight attendants set Nov. 14 as the date to tally their votes for the agreement that negotiators from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and management reached late last week.
Lloyd Aero Boliviano, through its ability to survive for more than seven months using its own resources to restore aircraft, cover basic operational costs and start paying back salaries, has regained LAB's former corporate credibility, CEO Frankling Taendler told local daily La Razon in an exclusive interview.
Authorities in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo gave airport operator Asur the nod to build a new international airport in the Mayan Riviera, the resort area that stretches along the Caribbean Coast. The location of the new airport would likely be near Tulum, within 10 to 15 minute drive to major beach resorts. The facility would bring much-needed relief to the airport at Cancun, which is operating at near-capacity as international tourism to the area booms in spite of heavy damages by recent hurricanes. Asur manages that airport, as well.
Korean Air is expected to report a $200 million full-year profit in 2006, reports President Jong Hee Lee, which is down sharply from a $400 million net income in 2005. Lee told reporters in Seoul he is "disappointed," adding that strong results in Southeast Asia and China were offset by fuel prices and a flat exchange rate. Revenue is expected to rise about 12% to $8 billion.
The European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to impose punitive damages on the Greek state for failing to recover EUR161 million in illegal state aid handed out to Olympic Airways between 1998 and 2002. The maneuver is the latest step in a series of complex procedures aimed at recovering the massive public funds pumped into the ailing carrier in the past decade.
GE named GECAS Senior Technical VP Sean Flannery president of the company's new parts trading and repair operations in Tennessee after it completed its acquisition of The Memphis Group. GE said its latest purchase would broaden the spare parts financing services it can offer to airline customers.
A deadline yesterday for Mesaba to impose concessions on its labor groups was pushed back after the judge overseeing the carrier's bankruptcy case delayed making a decision on management's request for an injunction against a strike until Monday. An airline spokeswoman said management would continue to negotiate with pilots, mechanics and flight attendants over the weekend. The carrier needs to garner concessions to access $24 million in debtor-in-possession financing. -LR
