The union representing FedEx pilots was misidentified in the Sept. 25 issue of The DAILY. FedEx pilots are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association.
Luring new businesses and expanding existing ones to the greater Cincinnati area was the catalyst that brought Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport and the Northern Kentucky Tri-Ed together in a partnership that presents the facility as a key economic development tool.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey is postponing the trip to China she was expected to make next week to examine new ATM technology being introduced in the West of China. Chinese authorities asked that the visit be postponed due to scheduling conflicts, and a new date has not been set.
Bombardier struck a deal with Italian carrier My Way Airlines for 19 CRJ-900s, nabbing one of the largest orders for the aircraft this year. Data from aircraft tracker Airclaims show that prior to the My Way deal, Bombardier captured orders for 52 -900s, including eight planes from an unannounced commercial customer. SkyWest has ordered 17 planes, and Air Nostrum struck a deal for 15 aircraft. Other customers include Air One, Arik Air, Atlasjet International Airways and Macedonian Airlines.
Chinese aviation authorities plan to develop required navigation performance (RNP) approach and departure procedures for as many as 50 airports in the south and west of China during the next five years.
U.S. airline merger speculation is still alive and well thanks to analysts who keep stoking the fire, including Cathay Financial analyst Susan Donofrio, who in a recent report says the Delta and Northwest bankruptcies could motivate either to seek partners. Potential U.S.-EU open skies could also help consolidation. Possible link-ups include United-Continental, Delta-Northwest, as well as Alaska and US Airways with a number of different airlines, she says.
China Airlines will invest TWD4.35 billion ($132 million) to build its new corporate headquarters at the Taoyuan International Airport, 20 miles outside Taipei.
Virgin Atlantic next week plans to unveil a redesigned Premium Economy product including a new seat, The DAILY has learned, which the airline believes gives it boost in the battle for transatlantic passengers.
JAL on Oct. 1 will stop carrying Mexicana's code on flights between Osaka and Los Angeles, the carrier told the U.S. Transportation Dept. this week. JAL, however, will continue to carry the MX code on its flights between Tokyo and Los Angeles, to connect with Mexicana's flights to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Cancun and San Jose del Cabo [OST-2005-22178].
FedEx estimates its new postal contract with the U.S. Postal Service will yield more than $8 billion in revenue over the seven-year contract period. The new contract is due to begin today.
TACA was recently fined $50,000 by the U.S. Transportation Dept. for failing to disclose the full fares on tours to Costa Rica in the fine print of ads that ran in several major U.S. newspapers.
FedEx last week warned that profits for the remainder of its fiscal year will be slightly lower than expected due to a new pilot contract deal, despite reporting an impressive 40% profit increase for the quarter ending Aug. 31.
Nearly 40% of all types of travel bought in Europe will be booked online by yearend 2008, says a new study from PhoCusWright. During the next three years, online corporate bookings will grow at twice the rate of online leisure or unmanaged business travel. By 2008, one of every five euros of corporate travel spent will be done online, up from one of every 20 in 2005. Nevertheless, the percentage of leisure/unmanaged business travel booked online is and will continue to be significantly greater than that of managed corporate travel.
A New Zealand court ruling protecting the confidentiality of airport fees highlights the need for reform in the way airport fees are determined, Air New Zealand said last week. The decision stems from an acrimonious fee-setting debate between Auckland airport and Air NZ. The NZ High Court granted the airport's request for an injunction preventing Air NZ from publicly disclosing the airport's latest fee proposal. The judge essentially said a confidentially agreement signed by the two parties cannot be circumvented.
Elected Christopher Fraleigh, CEO of Sara Lee Food & Beverage and a senior VP of Sara Lee Corp., and Ronald Waters III, chief operating officer for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, to its board of directors.
30 Years Ago Sept. 28, 1976 -- Up to 1,000 people will have the opportunity to fly for $1 on Texas International's new service between Houston-Hobby and Dallas/Fort Worth on Oct. 1. A spokesman said that "between Oct. 1 and Oct. 14, the date you fly is the price you pay." 20 Years Ago Sept. 26, 1986 -- British Airports Authority plans to begin several non-transportation businesses once it is completely privatized, including airport hotels and leisure centers for airport staff. 10 Years Ago
Nav Canada head John Crichton was last week named Canada's transportation person of the year. The award was presented by the Transportation Association of Canada.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) set the tone for this week's hearing on the anticipated emergence of new very light jets when he told transportation secretary nominee Mary Peters he was concerned about the "enormous problem" those new airplanes could cause in the airspace system. Stevens refers to the VLJs as the "mosquito fleet." The hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m.
JetBlue is experimenting with a new boarding process where it asks customers in rows 20 and back to board first and then all remaining rows are boarded. "So far, you seem to like this method, and it still saves us some time on the ground, which is really important," says CEO David Neeleman in a message to customers. Earlier this year, the carrier tried boarding all rows at once, and while it saved a few minutes, "it seemed a little chaotic."
