Royal Jordanian by the end of October plans to add a weekly freighter flight to London Stansted as part of a strategy to boost cargo operations to Northern Europe.
Ireland's government yesterday reacted quickly to Ryanair's surprise EUR1.48 billion (US$1.88 billion) takeover bid of Aer Lingus, warning it wouldn't sell its stake in the country's flag carrier. Finance Minister Brian Cowen and Transport Minister Martin Cullen pledged that their government "remains fully and firmly committed to competition in aviation markets" and has no plans to sell its shares in Aer Lingus.
Correction: In the Oct. 4 edition The DAILY incorrectly stated that FAA inserted language to its drug and alcohol testing rule after the Aeronautical Repair Station Association asked for an extension. The language was included before ARSA made its request.
Brazilian authorities investigating last week's crash of a GOL 737-800 said the American pilots of the Embraer Legacy could face involuntary manslaughter charges for the jet's role in the accident, said sources close to the investigation.
Austrian Airlines this week unveiled its long-haul expansion plan for 2007, which includes new service and increased capacity to North America and Asia.
Air Canada Technical Services (ACTS) recently signed a five-year agreement with Zoom Airlines to do maintenance work on the airline's four Boeing 767-300s.
Arinc and SITA this week unveiled a new set of standards and specifications for a new and improved messaging system for airline departments like reservations, baggage handling, check-in and global distribution systems.
Frontier this week lowered its profit forecast for the September quarter from $0.10 per diluted share to $0.01 to $0.05 excluding unrealized fuel derivative gains and losses.
Private Myanmar domestic airline Air Bagan will launch its first international flight on Dec. 1, flying from its base in Yangon to Kunming, China, via Mandalay. The service will fly three times weekly with a 97-seat Fokker 100. Flights to Bangkok, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore will launch in April.
The U.K.'s Manchester Airport has reconsidered its decision to end RFID trials to track passenger movement after a less-expensive technology has come to the market. "RFID was originally tested at the end of 2004. This trial utilized VHF technology which, although it proved successful in the trial, was cost-prohibitive to roll out," said spokesperson Kerry Spink. "Now that UHF technology has been approved for use, we are looking to retrial it to see if feasibility has improved."
British Airways yesterday said most areas of its business have recovered from the August security crisis, although September traffic was still dampened in a few important categories.
Turkish charter cargo carrier Kuzu is applying for authority to operate flights to the U.S. to meet demand in the U.S.-Turkey cargo market. Kuzu, which operates wet-lease services for carriers like Turkish Airlines and China Eastern, among others, noted that the 20% growth seen last year in trade between the U.S. and Turkey "has generated a strong demand for more cargo capacity." The airline already won approvals from Turkey's government for the charter flights.
FAA does not expect many immediate problems due to Congress not passing a new spending bill before the fiscal year ended last week, but more serious headaches are likely if the agency remains under an interim funding rule in January, FAA's top financial official said.
Mesaba's management soon should discuss its counter proposal to an offer by its three unions of 15% cost savings stemming from a three-year contract, pilot union leaders told members, as the court date approaches for the bankruptcy judge to rule on the airline's request to reinstate its authority to dissolve labor contracts.
NAYSA ordered four ATR 72-500 turboprops to fly in its native Canary Islands. Deliveries run from 2008 to 2009. The carrier, which currently flies Beech 100s, plans to use its new aircraft to strengthen its deal with Binter Canarias that covers inter-island connections. ATR noted it has logged 56 new aircraft orders since the beginning of the year.
The U.S. Postal Service awarded new five-year domestic mail contracts to seven passenger airlines, and the contracts should yield a combined $225 million in fiscal 2007. The airlines selected are American, ATA, Continental, JetBlue, Midwest, Sun Country and US Airways. In FY2007, the carriers will transport an estimated 450 million pounds of express, first-class and priority mail from designated TSA sites. -AS
Amadeus helped out as long as it could, but the global distribution system company yesterday decided to join its competitors in creating an opt-in program for airlines and will soon finalize a content access program for U.S. subscribers.
Alaska Airlines recently unveiled a new beverage cart that is significantly lighter than previous carts and may save the carrier more than $500,000 in annual fuel costs.
The U.K. transport secretary believes a final foreign ownership rule from the U.S. Transportation Dept. is still needed to complete transatlantic open-skies deal, but officials remain optimistic that the rule could be issued in time to have a tentative agreement by yearend.
Bolivian carrier AeroSur plans to launch a daily service between Santa Cruz and Miami shortly after winning the necessary approvals from the U.S. Trans- portation Dept. The carrier will used Boeing 757s wet-leased from Ryan International for the services [OST-2006-25990].
Airlines are once again adjusting fleet plans to accommodate the latest delays in the A380 program, and although none have yet canceled orders, a few are hinting they're considering this step.
