Alaska Airlines this month plans to retire the first two of 26 MD-80s slated to leave the fleet as part of the move to only 737s. The first MD-80 (N974AS) was scheduled to make its last flight on Sunday. Another MD-80 -- N935AS, which is leased -- will leave service Sept. 30 and return to the lessor. Four MD-80s will be retired this year, seven in 2007 and the remainder in 2008.
Delta in December will become the second airline to provide scheduled commercial service to Trenton, N.J., with daily service to Boston and Atlanta. Trenton Mercer Airport is just over 30 miles north of Philadelphia Airport, but Delta said the addition of Trenton flights is part of its strategy to boost its presence in the Mid-Atlantic region. Starting Dec. 18, Delta Connection carrier Comair will offer two daily flights from Trenton to Boston and will add a third daily flight on Jan. 8. Also starting Dec. 18, the airline will offer one daily service to Atlanta.
Boeing is satisfied with the progress of its new 787 program, and efforts to reduce weight and keep the program on schedule are typical for this stage of development, a lead 787 executive said yesterday.
Up to 12 startup airlines in India are awaiting government permission to launch, says the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation; however, excess capacity, infrastructure constraints and industry losses will increase the need for airline consolidation in India, CAPA says.
Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein says that unlike some of his competitors in the Hawaiian market, the company's Go subsidiary will not reduce capacity for the "historically slower fall season." Go's August load factor was 64.5%. Ornstein notes Mesa is sticking to plans for introducing larger planes next year. "We continue to be extremely pleased with the performance of the Go operation in every regard."
U.S. aerospace industry sales will reach $184 billion this year, up from $170 billion in 2005, the Aerospace Industries Association estimates. Employment in aerospace is also trending upward, reaching 634,700 in June. Aerospace exports were up $15 billion for a record $67 billion in 2005.
WestJet Chairman Clive Beddoe says the airline's new reservations system -- aiRES, set to debut in spring 2007 -- is probably the single largest turning point in the carrier's immediate future. One key function of the system is supplying WestJet with the technological stamina to forge code shares with other airlines.
The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday plans to take up the issue of U.S. rural air service. Subcommittee Chair Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) will preside over the hearing, which will include testimony from DOT and GAO representatives, as well as officials from the Alaska department of aviation and a commissioner from the National Association of Counties.
China Airlines starting Sept. 30 will offer twice-weekly Boeing 747- 400 freighter services to Houston. With the beginning of the service, Taipei-based China Airlines will offer a total of 44 freighter flights a week to 11 destinations in the U.S.
Beirut-based Middle East Airlines suffered a loss of $45 million during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, but executives claim the carrier is capable of absorbing the deficit because it was previously on track to post profits.
The first of Ryanair's seven new routes debuts Oct. 31, when the airline begins serving Malta from London Luton and Pisa; flights from Dublin to Malta start on Feb. 8. Ryanair noted the launch of its Malta flights was in response to Malta's efforts to lure low-fare airlines to the island. The airline launches service from Pisa to Seville Oct. 31, followed by Pisa-Billund Nov. 1 and Frankfurt-Hahn-Billund Nov. 7. Flights from London Stansted to Perugia start Dec. 20. -LR
Tapped Scott Carson to replace Alan Mulally as president and CEO-Boeing Commercial Airplanes and appointed James Jamieson to the new position of chief operating officer-Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The European Union's Aviation Security Committee refrained from banning liquids in carry-on baggage after a two-day meeting in Brussels and said it would postpone a decision until after European Civil Aviation Conference Technical Task Force and ICAO Security Panel meetings. The two aviation bodies are scheduled to address the issue this week in London and Montreal.
Named Sean Durfy president, succeeding Clive Beddoe, who will remain chairman and CEO. Executive VP-Guest Services and Information Technology Russ Hall has resigned.
U.S. carriers' on-time performance improved by nearly three percentage points to 73.7% in July, and flight cancellation numbers dropped slightly. July's on-time arrival rate was better than the July 2005 rate of 70.9%, as well as the 72.8% rate in June 2006, according to the U.S. Transportation Dept. Airlines canceled 1.7% of their scheduled domestic flights in July, the same as in June 2006 but down from the 2.2% cancellation rate in July 2005.
Most U.S. carriers are reporting little decrease in revenue due to the mid-August security scare, says JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker. Likewise, the effect on airline stock prices has been negligible, indicating "the market agrees book-away is short-term in nature," Baker says. "Industry revenue production is a function of economic output and fuel prices, not the ability to carry hair gel on one's person."
U.K.-based consortium TAA is trying to resuscitate its fading partnership with Lloyd Aereo Boliviano's unions by providing workers with proof that it is in good standing in both the U.K. and Bolivia. Despite statements by the union-controlled airline that it won't pursue any joint rescue efforts with TAA, the consortium's legal representatives in Bolivia said he is readying a comprehensive brief notarized in the U.K. and Bolivia on TAA's legal framework and economic solvency for submission to Oswaldo Baya, legal counsel for the workers.
Royal Jordanian on Friday planned to move its operations in Moscow from Sheremetyevo Airport to Domodedovo International Airport, located to the southeast of the Russian capital.
Gulf Air over the weekend planned to resume its daily nonstop service to Beirut, nearly two months after it stopped flights due to attacks on the airport. The airline said the flights will also have capacity to deliver humanitarian cargo to Lebanon. Last month, Gulf Air flew tons of relief cargo, free of charge, as a humanitarian gesture. "We are completely satisfied that the time is right to resume services," said CEO James Hogan. Gulf Air suspended service to Beirut on July 12 and added capacity from Bahrain to Damascus.
