The Wings Club goes on the road next week with a Sept. 27 meeting planned to be held in Seattle. Scott Carson, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO, will be the guest speaker at the Seattle Museum of Flight at 12 p.m. JetBlue is offering $99 one-way fares from Sept. 26-28 on the New York JFK-Seattle route for those that want attend.
Boeing yesterday completed its purchase of aviation parts supplier Aviall, which will now operate as a wholly owned subsidiary in Boeing's Commercial Aviation Services unit. Boeing paid $1.7 billion for Aviall, as well as $448 million in debt payments. The acquisition was first announced in May, when Boeing said it planned to complete the purchase in the third quarter. At the time, Boeing expected to assume $350 million in debt. The acquisition is unlikely to affect 2006 earnings, but will be "modestly accretive" to 2007 earnings, Boeing said.
Transport Canada yesterday designated Harmony Airways to fly from Canada to Australia and Fiji, but the carrier will serve the countries through code-share agreements.
The Senate Commerce Committee as early as today will vote on the nomination of Mary Peters to be Transportation Dept. secretary after she breezed through a confirmation hearing yesterday that lasted little over an hour.
SkyTeam partners Air France and Northwest next month will begin code sharing on Air France's flights between Paris and Amman. As a result, Air France will stop carrying the Northwest code on its Paris-Dusseldorf flights "due to commercial constraints which limit the number of beyond codeshare points under the agreement," the carriers explained [OST-2004-19214].
The Indonesian government plans to take over $644 million of Garuda's $794 million debt and will take six widebody aircraft from the airline as part of a plan to save the Indonesian flag carrier from bankruptcy.
Horizon Air yesterday decided to part ways with partner Frontier after operating its JetExpress network for nearly three years, after Horizon decided it wasn't willing to invest in additional planes needed to satisfy Frontier's growth and would rather expand its own network.
British pilots are urging the government to loosen carry-on limitations and to address long-term issues to ease operational restrictions imposed after security officials uncovered the alleged August plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.
Congress needs to provide funds for airports to screen 100% of passenger baggage under the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security's Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations bill, two House members said yesterday.
GE Infrastructure yesterday named Marcus Balmforth to lead its airport work within its GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) unit. Balmforth joins the company from Macquarie Bank London, where he served as division director heading up European airports. Before joining Macquarie, he held senior management positions at London Luton Airport and BAA.
LiveTV plans to add two new customers this year and aims to grow by one or two per year thereafter. At least one new contract is signed, but the airline is waiting to announce the deal. The modest growth "is by choice," said President Glenn Latta, not because of lack of demand. He told The DAILY in Miami that the JetBlue subsidiary wants to provide strong support to its existing customers, and he noted that it takes takes time to certify an aircraft type in a new country or region.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport finally plans to move ahead with the building of a $1 billion international terminal after the city council this week approved a measure for an $8.5 million work authorization.
United veteran lobbyist Allan Wayne announced plans to retire from the airline after 39 years, and the carrier named a former Clinton administration official as his replacement.
In its first public-private partnership grant to a Chinese carrier, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency recently awarded $560,000 to China Eastern for training programs in support of the 34 GE GEnx engines the airline is buying to power its Boeing 787s.
Lufthansa yesterday placed a large order for Airbus single-aisle aircraft, but postponed a long-awaited decision on the replacement of its Boeing 747-400 fleet. The airline bought 35 aircraft -- five Airbus A319s, 10 A320s, 15 A321s and five A330s. Deliveries will begin next year. "The order will enable Lufthansa to boost capacity, as planned, over the next few years and also to steadily pursue its policy of fleet renewal," airline executives said. Lufthansa's European fleet comprises 153 aircraft, 80 of which are made by Airbus.
Ground tests recently completed by Boeing and General Electric prove the engines intended for the 747-8 will meet noise reduction targets, the companies said yesterday.
FAA yesterday issued a production certificate to Adam Aircraft, giving the company approval to build and deliver its A500 twin-piston aircraft under an FAA-approved type design. Adam said it is now able to accelerate production of the A500 "by being able to inspect and apply standard airworthiness certificates under a system approved by the FAA." An FAA production certificate represents a major step toward the Adam Aircraft goal of delivering six A500 aircraft every month," said founder and CEO Rick Adam.
UPS and the Teamsters union this week started negotiations for a new contract, almost two years before the current contract expires. "While it is unusual to start this early, we do so because there are some very complex issues to address and we all recognize it will take time to find solutions," said John McDevitt, UPS senior VP-Global Transportation Services. "An early start to negotiations greatly increases the chances of an early finish," he said.
