General Electric last week named John Rice to lead GE's Infrastructure business, after David Calhoun decided to leave the company to join media conglomerate VNU Group. Rice has been a GE vice chairman for the past year, serving as president and CEO of GE Industrial. A 28-year GE veteran, Rice previously ran three of the units within Infrastructure -- GE Energy, GE Transportation and GE Oil and Gas.
Embraer's 170/190 orderbook gained traction after China's HNA group ordered 50 of the larger jets, along with 50 of Embraer's 50-seat ERJ-145s. It's the largest single order the airframer has logged this year for the 170/190 family and the first from a Chinese operator. Embraer's Chinese joint venture Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry will build the -145s, with deliveries scheduled to start in September 2007. Deliveries of the 190s begin in December of that year.
Canadian charter carrier Sifton Air was fined $10,000 for operating a flight to Dry Bay, Alaska, without holding proper authority from FAA and the U.S. Transportation Dept. Federal code exempts Canadian charters from permit requirements of Section 41301, which holds that foreign carriers get a permit from DOT before operating service to the U.S., as long as the carriers register with DOT and have the required level of liability insurance. Sifton Air was not registered when it operated the flight from its base in Haines Junction, Yukon.
US Airways yesterday started the search for a city to house the airline's consolidated operations control center (OCC) and systems operation control center (SOC) by issuing a request for proposals to state and local officials in Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Phoenix. Due to the merger of US Airways and America West and the separate operating certificates, the carrier still has an OCC in Pittsburgh responsible for East Coast and international operations with a staff of 450 people. The airline also has its SOC in Phoenix with 175 employees.
Virgin Blue cinched an interline deal with Malaysia Airlines that takes effect Sept. 1. The first phase of the accord covers connections among 22 domestic Australian points and MAS'flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Phase 2 covers MAS' flights from Adelaide and Perth. Another element of the deal is the inclusion of MAS in Virgin Blue's Velocity frequent flyer program. MAS joins other three other Velocity partners -- Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Hawaiian Airlines.
Delta yesterday reported a $69 million net profit for July, compared to a $41 million net loss in the same month last year. Net income, excluding reorganization items, was $99 million. As of July 31, Delta had $4 billion of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, of which $3 billion was unrestricted. Mainline unit cost was 6.6 cents, excluding fuel, which is a 6.4% reduction from last year.
IATA today plans to release its revised worldwide profitability forecast for the industry, and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said improved efficiency and high loads will help offset the high oil prices.
Holland & Knight LLP this week announced that aviation attorney Anita Mosner has joined the firm's Washington office as a partner. "Mosner will play a key role in Holland & Knight's aviation practice, which handles aircraft finance, corporate transactions, commercial litigation, legislative and government affairs, regulatory matters, NTSB investigations and accident litigation," the firm said. Mosner joins Holland & Knight from GCW Consulting where she was executive VP for more than three years, joining the group in February 2003.
Ryanair next year plans to start installing hardware to enable passengers to use mobile phones and personal digital assistants in flight, a move it says will make it the first European airline to offer the service and allow the carrier to boost revenue at the same time. The carrier will launch the service in cooperation with OnAir. Subject to regulatory approval, On Air will retrofit 50 Ryanair Boeing 737s with the necessary equipment in the second half of 2007, with the remaining 150 planes receiving the hardware starting in 2008.
An executive order from the governor of American Samoa barring Hawaiian Airlines from operating service to Pago Pago International is forcing the U.S. Transportation Dept. to weigh in on a case that may hinge on the interpretation of federal powers given to the territory and may require clarity from a higher authority.
An air-traffic control manager at Lexington Airport thought he was following agency guidelines when he scheduled a single controller to be on duty Sunday night, FAA said. The single controller was performing both tower and approach control functions. FAA policy calls for two controllers to handle these duties, if the radar duties cannot be handed off to an en route center, an FAA spokeswoman said.
Mesa applied to the U.S. Transportation Dept. for authority to carry bmi's code on flights Mesa operates as United Express in the U.S. and Canada. The code-share agreement was signed by the carriers at different times during the second and third quarters, with United signing off on the deal in late July. Mesa said it also wants DOT to waive the 45-day advance filing requirement "so that Mesa/bmi code-sharing services may be introduced without delay" [OST-2006-25733]. -ARS
Bombardier management believes build rates of the CRJ-700/900 could slow if coveted orders from U.S. carriers remain in limbo, and even if business does materialize, rates will probably remain at current levels. Executives told analysts yesterday they expect to make a decision regarding CRJ production rates in the coming months, pointing out the slower-than-expected decision-making process of some U.S. airlines regarding 70- and 90-seat aircraft.
A Washington, D.C., court recently dismissed one of Airbus' legal challenges against the law firm representing Boeing in the World Trade Organization subsidies dispute, and the other Airbus challenge has been shelved.
Air China Cargo and Shanghai-based China Cargo Airlines are in talks to evaluate the possibility of merging the two carriers in response to the growing competition in the booming Chinese cargo industry.
Honeywell expects to gain certification during the fourth quarter of the latest version of Primus Epic software for the Embraer 170/175 models that is expected to eliminate problems with power-up built in test (PBIT). Roughly 90% of the fleet has been retrofitted with the current version -- 17.3 -- that eliminates blinking of cockpit flight displays and accelerates the transmission rate of a few parameters on the flight data recorder (FDR), said Honeywell VP Randy Robertson.
A major spike in wind farm projects this year is causing headaches for FAA, which must examine the proposals to make sure that wind turbines don't interfere with signals from radars and navigation aids.
By: Steve Lott, Aviation Daily U.S. network carriers have made great strides cutting many areas of their cost structures to be more competitive with low-cost carriers, but a new analysis shows that network airlines have not reduced maintenance expenses enough to compete with LCCs partly because of aging fleets and lingering burden costs.
The legal representatives of British consortium TAA have told Lloyd Aero Boliviano workers that they do not want to be involved in the retransfer of former President Ernesto Asbun's equity shares. LAB's workers last week decided to break negotiations with TAA because the company had failed to deliver a promised equity line and other commitments DAILY, Aug. 28). They consequently asked TAA to transfer Asbun's equity shares back to its legal representatives.
TAM Brazil this week inaugurated daily Airbus A320 service from Sao Paulo and to Curitiba and beyond to Buenos Aires. The airline offers direct connections at Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport to flights that include Brasilia, Fortaleza, Londrina and other domestic destinations, as well as international flights to and from Miami.
Boeing unveiled the location its regional Indian MRO facility -- Nagpur, in the state of Maharashtra. The airframer said it plans to invest up to $100 million in the MRO, which it agreed to build as part of a 68-plane order from Air Deccan in December 2005 that includes 737s/777s/787s.
