Named Donald Hecht of Hecht & Co., Thomas Iovino of Judlau Contracting, and Stephen Siegel, chairman-Global Brokerage Services for CB Richard Ellis, to its board.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes' new CEO Scott Carson is in a "don't upset the apple cart" mood both for the progress that his own company is making in aircraft sales and product development, and toward the recovering health of U.S. airlines. Speaking to industry executives in Seattle, Carson noted the added security requirements in the wake of the London bombing scare and called for "a more rational approach to how airplane and airport security is executed."
The aviation insurance market is gradually returning to pre-Sept. 11, 2001 levels, despite significant shifts in how the market operates, according to a new report by insurance provider Aon. After premiums surged 55%in late 2001, they have gradually come down, and this year, as in the two previous years, they declined about 7%. The result is that in the past six years, premiums rose only 2%.
New Varig will lose 23 slots at Sao Paulo Congonhas Airport, according to airline regulator Anac, which plans to auction them off among the carrier's competitors before Oct. 16. The action followed a recent ruling by Brazil's Supreme Court that airline regulator ANAC is empowered to distribute former Varig's routes and slots to land and take off at airports (DAILY, Sept. 22). In its current critical phase, New Varig is not using the slots at Brazil's busiest airport, sources said, but they would be pivotal at later stages in its restructuring process.
Iberia will expand its winter schedule with two more daily nonstop flights between Spain and Mexico, beefing up the four-frequency service now in operation. So far this year, Iberia's passenger traffic between the two countries increased 7% with an average load factor of 83.61%. By June, Iberia's overall traffic between Spain and Latin America increased 17.5% after finishing 2005 with a 17.5% market share, 0.2% higher than that of its major competitor, Air France-KLM. -LZ
Chile's LAN on Oct. 1 will link the two southernmost cuties in the Western Hemisphere -- Punta Arenas, Chile, and Ushuaia, Argentina. The service will operate three times a week with Airbus 319s.
Saab Aircraft Leasing cinched a deal with Australian carrier Regional Express (REX) for 25 Saab 340B Plus planes exiting the American Eagle fleet during the next three years. The deal comes in the wake of a failed merger attempt last month between REX and fellow regional Australian carrier Sunshine Express (DAILY, Aug. 28). At that time REX said Sunshine introduced conditions that weren't in the interest of REX shareholders.
The FAA expects no difficulty integrating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Very Light Jets (VLJs) into the National Airspace System, officials told a Senate panel yesterday. "This is nothing new for the FAA," said Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nicholas Sabatini before the Senate aviation subcommittee, noting that it's been working aircraft with new technology into U.S. skies since before the Boeing 707 emerged into the then-piston-powered air traffic world of the 1950s.
Ryanair will base an additional four aircraft and add 17 new routes at Girona Airport near Barcelona next year, growing the base into one of the airline's largest operations outside the U.K. New routes to be started in May include services from Girona to Gothenburg, Sweden; Marrakech, Morocco, and Bologna, Italy. Ryanair will also increase frequencies on existing routes to Paris, Milan and Rome, which are now offered three times daily. -JF
Aer Lingus shares soared by 11.4% in total in their first two days of virtual trading on the "grey" market after the initial public offering of Sept. 27. Shares will only be officially listed on the London and Dublin stock exchanges from Oct. 2. Until that day, the IPO can still be pulled off by its sponsors. The shares were offered to the market at EUR2.20, at the lower end of the bracket announced by the Irish government, which said the shares would be valued at EUR2.10 to EUR2.70.
Representatives from about 20 U.S. aerospace companies plan a trade mission to India in December, partly because India is said to be considering several large military buys from U.S. companies. The trip is the first trade mission to India by the Aerospace Industries Association's Supplier Management Council, in conjunction with Tri Polus, a trade consultancy. The list of participants has not been finalized, an AIA spokesman said.
A regulatory working group yesterday advised ICAO of new recommendations for A380 wake vortex separation distances, which are less than earlier recommended distances for the A380 but are still higher than existing ICAO standards for other aircraft types.
The European Commission approved a EUR65.5 million state aid package to be spent over five years on six Irish regional airports. The public funding may contribute to help the airports of Donegal, Sligo, Knock, Galway, Kerry and Waterford improve and expand their facilities. The funds can also be spent on safety and security measures. The EC said that the proposed aid is in line with the Community rules "as the financing is set to achieve a clear objective of general interest without leading to undue distortion of the market." -MT
Delta and South African-based Nationwide Airlines yesterday signed a tentative code-share and marketing deal, as Delta tries to boost its presence in Africa after its partnership with South African Airways ended earlier this year.
Passengers signing up for Verified Identity's Clear Registered Traveler will find registration prices are below $100, including a $30 vetting fee charged by the Transportation Security Administration.
Comair management and pilots resume negotiations next week as the two sides head back to the bargaining table with different interpretations of the latest proposals they exchanged last week. Pilots agreed to a $17.3 million, four-year concession deal in January, but management was forced to reopen negotiations after Comair flight attendants rebutted management's request for $8.9 million in concessions. Negotiations resume Oct. 3-6.
The federation of union workers (Fstlab) at Lloyd Aereo Boliviano last week sued U.K.-based consortium TAA in a Cochabamba court on charges of fraud, corporate misrepresentation, failure to honor signed agreements and economic damages; Fstlab said it became evident the company was dragging its feet on returning LAB's equity shares (DAILY, Sept. 13),
AirTran opted to defer deliveries of its Boeing 737s to make capacity adjustments for 2007 and 2008, rather than selling the planes and losing favorable pricing from the order it placed in 2003. Earlier this month, AirTran said it was adjusting capacity in 2007 and 2008, and was looking at its options to make those changes, including selling planes or deferring deliveries.
Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi International airport opened yesterday with some initial hiccups, but without huge disruptions. Airports of Thailand (AOT) went ahead with the airport opening in spite of the military coup earlier this month. The move was performed without visible signs of heightened security.
Aircraft lessor GATX Corp. yesterday announced plans to exit the cyclical aviation industry after nearly 40 years, saying it would rather focus on more stable and profitable businesses.
