Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport is on track to open for domestic and international flights next week as previously planned, despite the military coup this week that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was out of the country.
Barcelona-Madrid tops the list of the world's busiest routes based on flights per week, according to a new list released by OAG. Sao Paulo Congonhas-Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont falls to second in the rankings after being first a year ago. Number three on the list is Melbourne-Sydney. The only U.S. city-pair on the list is Honolulu-Kahului, at number five. Asia city-pairs dominate the list, holding six of the top 10 spots.
World Air Holdings said its share of the fixed-buy military airlift contracts announced this week for fiscal 2007 is up 20% compared with the previous year. The fixed contracts are worth $73 million, comprising $47 million for World subsidiary North American and $26 million for World Airways. World was awarded $61 million in fixed contracts in fiscal 2006, which was down from $104 million in 2005. Fixed-buy contracts are a small part of the eventual total, which is boosted significantly by expansion flying.
Air France/KLM are increasing their overall seat capacity by 3.6% this winter, compared with the same period last year, with an emphasis on routes to fast-growing markets in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. Air France boasts "two-digit growth in capacity on the Latin America network, up 11.9%," in cooperation with partners TAM and Aeromexico. In Asia, Air France is launching three weekly Airbus A340 services to Chennai, a service that Skyteam partner Delta is halting.
The Transportation Security Administration issued draft standards yesterday on security, privacy and compliance for Registered Traveler program operators and their vendors. Launching a two-week public-comment period, the TSA said it developed the draft by researching government regulations and standards used by other public-private partnerships, and conducting its own vulnerability assessment to identify high-risk areas.
Air Canada Technical Services yesterday reached an amended agreement with Delta after months of negotiations that will result in less Delta work being sent to Vancouver in the coming months. The amended deal will see ACTS doing heavy maintenance solely on Delta's fleet of Boeing 767s. ACTS will no longer work on 757s, and Delta will send those narrowbody planes to Timco in Lake City, Fla. Timco also does widebody work for Delta, including the modifications of its 767s from a domestic configuration to an international layout.
Plans for a new low-cost carrier joint venture between Mexico's airport conglomerate Asur and Brazil's GOL are still pending, though the only obstacle left is approvals from antitrust regulator CFC and the Dept. of Civil Aviation (DGAC), said backer Fernando Chico Pardo.
BMI Regional plans to boost capacity from Manchester to Scotland next month. Starting Oct. 29, BMI Regional will add two daily flights from Manchester and Aberdeen for a total of six flights today. On the same date, services between Manchester and Glasgow will be increased from four to five every weekday with the introduction of a new midday flight. "The service improvements are in direct response to an increasing demand in business related traffic," the airline said.
A 55-cent drop in jet fuel spot prices from their August highs translates into annual savings of about $10 billion for the U.S. airline industry, says JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker. Current price levels would ìall but ensure meaningful industry earnings growth in 2007î unless demand worsens dramatically, Baker believes.
Chinese airlines are looking proactively at developing maintenance strategies to accommodate their rapidly growing fleets, and many are looking ahead 10 to 15 years, which is very proactive, said Matthew Bromberg, VP of Pratt & Whitney's Global Material Solutions.
Airbus majority owner EADS yesterday confirmed there will be further production delays on the A380 program, although it stressed that specific details on the extent of the delay will have to wait until the manufacturer completes a review.
Indonesia will pump about IDR450 billion (US$49 million) into debt-riddled state-owned Merpati Nusantara Airlines to help the carrier pay down its IDR1.7 trillion debt, the second time in a week that government has elected to bail out one of its struggling airlines. State-owned Garuda was saved from bankruptcy earlier this week when the government, through its Asset Management Company, took over $644 million of the airline's $794 million debt (DAILY, Sept. 21).
Japan Airlines on Oct. 1 plans to become a single operating company when it unites the international and domestic entities, completing the merger of Japan Air System and Japan Airlines.
Transport Canada today lifts the ban on sales of liquids, gels and aerosols at all retailers, both duty-free and non-duty-free, within the sterile areas of the country's airports. Passengers originating in Canada are also allowed to carry liquids, gels and aerosols purchased beyond the security screening onboard the aircraft, except those traveling to the U.S., a spokeswoman said. "But liquids, gels and aerosols cannot be brought through pre-board screening," she said.
Northwest's flight attendants yesterday declared their contract talks at an impasse and have asked the National Mediation Board to release them from further mediation with the airlines' management. A status conference between the Association of Flight Attendants and management has been requested by the NMB for Sept. 26 in Washington. "The NMB was created to protect employees, not strip away their rights as the courts have done," said Mollie Reiley, interim Master Executive Council president. She believes management "has no motivation to negotiate."
Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (STJ) this week set aside an injunction issued by a lower court and ruled that government regulator ANAC is empowered to redistribute routes and airport slots not included in the Varig's immediate business plan (DAILY, Sept. 19). The STJ also ruled that no jurisdictional conflict exists between decisions on the issue by the federal court for Brazil's second district (TRF) and the Rio bankruptcy court in charge of Varig's overall restructuring, as Varig argued to get the injunction blocking the redistribution.
JetBlue today plans to unveil its redesigned web site, the first change to the carrier's site since it launched in 2000, with more services and sales tools on the front page.
The city of Chicago will pay more than $1 million for not informing FAA of its plans to close the Meigs Field downtown airport in March 2003. FAA had no problem with the actual closing of the airport but the agency said the city failed to provide proper notification under federal regulations. FAA also cited the city for diverting more than $3 million in airport revenues from O'Hare and Midway airports to demolish Meigs Field.
American this week renewed its contract with the U.S. Postal Service, a significant win for the airline after USPS last February suspended its mail deliveries due to missed performance targets. The five-year USPS deal is worth $500 million, and is the largest single contract its cargo business unit has ever won. The annual value is higher than that of the 2003 mail contract, which contributed more than $50 million a year to American revenues. American is now one of seven preferred carriers, down from 13 in 2003 and 50 before that.
