Cathay Pacific yesterday won all the approvals it needed to finalize its complex deal involving Air China and Dragonair and immediately announced plans to cut 5% of Dragonair's work force.
Talks between the European Union the U.S. on passenger name record data transfers were still continuing at press time. Both sides want to hammer out an interim deal before the current accord expires Sept. 30. If the two sides don't reach an accord before the deadline, PNR data transfers are subject to national, not EU, laws, a situation both the EU and the Dept. of Homeland Security say they hope to avoid.
Continental this week became the latest U.S. major airline to reach an agreement with global distribution system Amadeus, as the company works to protect agents using the Amadeus system from a $3.50 per segment booking fee (DAILY, Sept. 26).
Implementing its aggressive route expansion in the Americas, Panama's Copa Airlines, will inaugurate direct service between Panama City and Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 15, using Boeing 737 aircraft for five weekly flights.. Copa, which has an equity alliance with Continental, already serves Sao Paulo and Manaus in Brazil. The new service will strengthen its position in the region and the success of its Hub of the Americas in Panama. according to a company spokesman, quoted in DAILY affiliate AvNews Latin America & Caribbean. -LZ
CanJet followed through on plans to reinvent itself as a charter operation after pulling out of scheduled service Sept. 10. The carrier has already secured a number of scheduled charter flights from tour operators, as well as ad hoc flights, said Kenneth Rowe, president of CanJet parent company IMP Group.
Italian union leaders announced they had suspended the strike scheduled on Sept. 29 at Alitalia, following the Italian government's decision to draw up a new industrial plan for the ailing flag carrier.
The Philippine government this week made its first compensation payment of about PHP3 billion (US$60 million) to the PIATCO terminal company, in which Fraport AG holds a 30% share.
ACI-NA is looking to beef up its legislative affairs staff by hiring a senior staff person and an outside consulting firm to prepare for the 2007 FAA reauthorization battle. The move effectively ends the legislative alliance that ACI-NA had with AAAE. But ACI-NA President Greg Principato views it as a positive move. "The way we view this, it allows us to augment our industry's capabilities in Washington, D.C. We're just building further staff and increasing our outside capabilities," he said.
The FAA has re-certified General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Altair, a high altitude unmanned air system (UAS), the San Diego-based company announced last week. Altair, which has been tested for various missions by the Coast Guard, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, received the nation's first FAA airworthiness certificate for a UAS last August. Altair is a high altitude, long endurance version of the Predator B designed for scientific and commercial research missions.
Boeing is preparing to expand a San Francisco trial of the tailored arrival procedures that are expected to benefit airlines and FAA by improving the accuracy and efficiency of airport approaches.
Leaders of Mesaba's Air Line Pilots Association unit told members that management's latest proposal is a move in the right direction but an agreement is still some distance away. That update comes as Mesaba plans to ask the bankruptcy court today to reinstate its authority to reject collective bargaining agreements with pilots, mechanics and flight attendants (DAILY, Sept. 26). Pilots and management held two mediated sessions earlier this week in an attempt to reach agreements.
Lufthansa Technik won new business from Air Deccan after striking a support deal with Indian carrier Air Deccan worth US$150 million. Through the 10-year agreement, the MRO, along with its Indian subsidiary One Stop Airline, plans to supply component provisioning at the carrier's Bangalore hub for up to 60 Airbus A320s. SR Technics cinched a US$17.5 million component management deal with China Airlines covering the carrier's 16 Airbus A330s and eight A340s.
China's air carriers feel their growth prospects for flights to the U.S. are being foiled by the process for citizens to get tourist visas even as the U.S. Dept. of Transportation decides which carriers will get new service to China, according to an Air China official.
Korean Air this week launched regular passenger service between Seoul Incheon and Guangzhou with four flights per week as part of its strategy to add as much China capacity as possible.
FAA yesterday established a forum of airline, labor and medical representatives to examine whether the U.S. should adopt new ICAO standards for pilot retirement age.
Taipei-based China Airlines will use its Boeing 737-800 aircraft to launch three weekly flights to Phnom Penh on Nov. 4. The capital city of Cambodia will be the airline's 13th destination in Southeast Asia and 66th destination globally.
Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson yesterday said he plans to turn up the heat on the aviation industry to take action to cut fuel consumption and become more environmentally friendly or else the world's governments will force it to make changes.
Moody's Investors Service this week launched a new rating methodology for 27 aerospace and defense companies that Moody's follows, affecting more than 80 ratings.
The first private Chinese airline to focus on regional routes, China Express Airlines, this week started operations with the launch of Guiyang-Liping flights. China Express also offers flights to Xingyi and Tingren. Based in Guiyang in southwest China, the airline will initially operate with one 50-seat Canadair CRJ-200 and will lease another two aircraft from Shandong Airlines in November to expand its network.
Initial deliveries of US Airways' Embraer 190s are delayed about 30 days from November to mid-December because of airframer vendor issues. The airline has 25 of the planes on firm order and plans to configure them for two classes -- 11 seats in first and 88 in coach (DAILY, Feb. 13).
