China Airlines on Oct. 30 will boost service on the Taipei-Delhi flights to five flights weekly, up from three. An official of the carrier in Taipei said the increase in frequency is due to market demand and expansion of traffic rights between Taiwan and India.
Air Baltic expanded an existing component deal with Saab Aerotech and SAS Component to include parts exchange and engineering services for its entire fleet of Fokker 50 planes. Previously, the deal covered component services on an ad hoc basis. The value of the deal is SEK70 million (US$9.5 million).
Qantas yesterday revealed a deal with Sofitel under which the hotel group will operate the airline's international first-class lounges at Sydney and Melbourne. The new lounges are scheduled to open in Melbourne in February and Sydney in April. They will feature restaurant-style dining and waiter service. "Sofitel will lend its expertise to all areas" of the lounges, Qantas said, and all staff will be trained at Sofitel's Acadamie Accor hotel school. -AS
European Union-U.S. negotiations on passenger name record data transfer will continue today, with EU Commission VP Franco Frattini and Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff scheduled to talk via video conference. The two sides failed to reach an accord by the Oct. 1 deadline but hope to hammer out a deal today. In the meantime, the EU and the U.S. have agreed to follow the rules laid down in the 2004 agreement on PNR data transfer, which the EU Court of Justice annulled in May.
Thales recently completed the disposal of its remaining stake in Embraer, which represented about 2.2% of the company. The sale of 15.7 million shares was done through daily sales on the market, followed by a placement of shares worth about EUR119 million. "This decision does not question Thales' industrial development projects in Brazil or its cooperation with Embraer," the company said. "Thales remains strongly committed to its Brazilian customers, confirmed by Thales' recent acquisition of a majority stake in Omnisys Engenharia Lta."
United and struggling Caribbean carrier BWIA ended their six-year old code share relationship on Sept. 14, when all code-share services operated by United and BWIA were discontinued. The government of Trinidad and Tobago earlier this month decided to close BWIA and replace it with a new carrier called Caribbean Airlines (DAILY, Sept. 12). BWIA will end operations later this year or in early 2007 [OST-2000-7318, -2001-10025].
Messier Services this week won a maintenance, repair and overhaul deal from Tyrolean Airways, Europe's third-largest operator of Bombardier Dash 8 turboprops. The five-year agreement covers the landing gear shipsets on the entire fleet of 12 Dash 8s.
Florida West International is plotting new service between Lima, Peru, and Los Angeles. The flights would make a technical stop in Guadalajara and Florida West will use Boeing 767-300 freighters for the once weekly service it will launch, pending U.S. transportation Dept. approvals [OST-2006-26012].
Shanghai Airlines, which earlier this year won authority to operate to the U.S. through code sharing with United, wants its authority amended, so that it may operate charter flights between Shanghai and Chicago. The airline would use aircraft wet-leased from Southern Air for the flights, which will begin Oct. 22. Shanghai also holds an exemption from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to operate all-cargo flights between Shanghai and Los Angeles [OST-2006-24169]. -ARS
FAA has accepted the Chicago Dept. of Aviation's preliminary application to lease Midway Airport. The city's preliminary application "meets the procedural requirements described in the FAA's notice and has been accepted for review," said FAA.
Continental's September data show that the healthy revenue environment experienced in the past year may be softening, with the 2.9% yield increase the lowest since May 2005, according to a leading analyst. "We believe the more modest gains in load factor and yield are indications that the revenue momentum is slowing," said Michael Linen- berg of Merrill Lynch. This slowdown could be the result of "a more tepid economic backdrop, as well as heightened security procedures."
The Allegheny County Airport Authority will spend $300,000 to upgrade a baggage system used by US Airways at Pittsburgh Airport. The system upgrades were approved after the airport saw an increase in checked baggage after the failed terrorist attacks in London Aug. 10. "The North System is technology that is no longer supportable. The reading rates were beginning to show signs of delay," said airport spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny.
BAE Systems shareholders have endorsed management's plans to dump its 20% share in Airbus, moving the sale of the stake to majority Airbus shareholder EADS closer to fruition. After months of prolonged discussion between EADS and BAE Systems, including an outside valuation of Airbus, 99.85% of votes cast were in favor of the sale. About 70% of shareholders voted, an unusually high number.
Tulsa-based Nordam Group yesterday broke ground for the construction of its new maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility in Singapore, tripling its size from 60,000 to 185,000 square feet.
The Port of Seattle is looking for six missing computer disks that contain personal information for nearly 7,000 people who work at Seattle-Tacoma Airport. "We have no reason to believe that the information has been misused by anyone," said Mark Reis, managing director at Sea-Tac. Among those affected are about 700 employees of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. The information was drawn from paper applications staff filled out when applying for secure-area badges.
Satellite company SES Americom yesterday said it received a $70 million payment from Boeing related to the end of the Connexion by Boeing service this year.
Bombardier won't return to the negotiating table with striking employees at its Learjet site in Wichita until it understands why members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers rejected a contract endorsed by their negotiating committee. About 1,100 employees represented by the union officially struck Monday after three weeks of talks on a new contract.
Canadian startup Porter Airlines officially started accepting reservations and plans to start flights from Toronto City Centre Airport October 23 from Toronto-Ottawa. One-way fares start at $120. Porter plans to fly 10 daily roundtrips between the two cities on weekdays and two on the weekends. Porter plans to fly 70-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprops. The carrier has taken delivery of one of 10 planes, and is due to receive another aircraft soon. Previously, Porter has said it would fly four aircraft by yearend.
Airbus plans to table the winglet program for its A320 family of aircraft for a while as it tries to upgrade other parts of its best-selling product; however, many suspect winglets will eventually be back on the agenda.
Caribbean Star last week took delivery of its fourth Bombardier Q300 Dash 8 turboprop, completing a yearlong fleet expansion. The newest of the four Q300s will begin service pending certification by the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority. "In addition to offering an unbeatably comfortable in-flight experience for an aircraft of its size, the Q300 is also one of the most fuel-efficient aircraft anywhere in the world, which has its obvious advantages in these times of record high fuel prices," said CEO Skip Barnette.
