Great Lakes was selected over incumbent carrier Air Midwest and Mesaba to operate essential air service at Brookings and Huron, S.D. The carrier will receive $1,212,400 to operate service at Brookings from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2007, when Brookings' subsidy eligibility under the current Vision 100 legislation will expire. Great Lakes won the standard two-year term for the Huron EAS and will receive $793,733 in annual subsidy, also starting Oct. 1.
Volga-Dnepr subsidiary AirBridge Cargo yesterday announced it has taken two important steps toward launching a U.S. cargo operation. AirBridge signed an interline agreement with Continental and appointed handling agents in major U.S. cities. The carrier intends to begin flying its own aircraft to the U.S. next year, using two Boeing 747-400ER freighters it has ordered. AirBridge also has an interline agreement with El Al.
Aeromexico is eyeing three U.S.-Mexico routes for the winter, including one market where it would compete with former sister carrier Mexicana. The airline wants exemptions from the U.S. Transportation Dept. for the Mexico City-Austin, Guadalajara-Chicago and Toluca-Las Vegas markets. If it wins the authority, Aeromexico would be the only carrier serving the Mexico City-Austin and Toluca-Las Vegas routes and would fly the first nonstop service in both markets, beginning Nov. 1.
TAM yesterday received another Airbus A320, which will enter service tomorrow on domestic routes and international flights in South America. The newest plane will be the eighth A320 added this year, bringing the fleet total to 89 aircraft, of which 67 are Airbus models -- 13 A319s, 44 A320s and 10 A330s. TAM expects its fleet to reach at least 96 aircraft by yearend more than 125 planes by yearend 2010.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. decided to end the essential air service subsidy eligibility of Ephrata and Moses Lake, Wash., despite the objections of the communities and Regional Aviation Partners. The subsidy eligibility will end in 45 days, while Big Sky can suspend its service as soon as Sept. 1. The carrier offered flights from the airport serving the two communities to Boise and Portland (DAILY, June 13).
Morgan Stanley will be London City Airport's financial adviser as the facility considers future strategic options. Several parties have expressed interest in buying the airport, including Hochtief, Fraport AG and AIG. The airport has been valued at up to $917 million.
Delta by mid-October could reach a decision on the structure of its regional carrier network after inviting airlines to bid on flying currently performed by Comair, Republic Airways Holdings subsidiaries Shuttle America and Chautauqua, and Mesa subsidiary Freedom Airlines.
A Pulkovo Tupolev Tu-154 crashed yesterday near Donetsk, Ukraine, killing all 170 on board, according to initial reports. The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Black Sea town Anapa to St. Petersburg. Early reports say a fire broke out on board the aircraft. According to a Ukrainian official, the pilots attempted an emergency landing. The crash was Pulkovo's second in four years.
Aircraft leasing and charter company Avion Group this week signed a joint-venture deal with Australasian airline group Advent Air that will see Avion buying a stake in Advent and leasing planes to one of its airlines.
A majority of Lloyd Aereo Boliviano's executives, labor leaders and workers have called for taking back 50% of equity shares transferred to British TAA last week and breaking a lease with the investor for Boeing 767-200s, both signed last week, according to Cochabamba's Los Tiempos. At a meeting over the weekend, several workers charged that LAB had been "swindled" by TAA, which they said did not prove its solvency, did not pay the agreed amount for owed salaries 48 hours after shares had been transferred, and has delivered no aircraft.
FAA within the next few weeks is expected to issue a long-awaited proposal addressing congestion at New York LaGuardia Airport. The proposed rule will establish a limit on the number of aircraft operations at LGA, and will also include an average aircraft size requirement designed to encourage the use of larger aircraft, according to a government web site that gives notice of upcoming regulations.
Jetera One-to-One Media, a company that aims to tailor inflight entertainment to the interests, tastes and preferences of individual passengers, is trying to raise money to begin operations and find an initial airline partner to begin them with.
Japan Airlines and ANA yesterday reported mixed traffic results for the 10-day summer vacation ended Aug. 20 with domestic traffic with international results varying by the region.
New French airline Elysair would join the transatlantic business class market recently pioneered by carriers like Maxjet and Eos with its low-fare, busi- ness-class-only service between Paris Orly Airport and New York Newark, starting in December. The flights, which would launch Dec. 15 with U.S. Transportation Dept. approval, would be the only nonstop service in the Orly-Newark market. The six-times-weekly service would fly with a Boeing 757 previously operated by Germany's Condor.
ST Aerospace plans to open Panama Aerospace Engineering (PAE) to supply maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commercial airplanes during the first quarter of 2007. ST Aero signed a memorandum of understanding this year to take over the leases of four hangars and warehousing facilities at the former Howard Air Force for a 20-year term. The initial investment in PAE is US$20 million, and the MRO should accommodate 12 narrowbody planes.
The Dallas and Fort Worth city councils last week approved a lease agreement that will let a natural gas exploration company drill on DFW airport land. The lease, with Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp., was approved by the airport board Aug. 3, but it still needed agreement from the two city councils. Both councils voted unanimously to allow the drilling lease.
British Airways has sold its small but busy travel health clinic business to a specialist travel health provider. Medical Advisory Services for Travelers Abroad (MASTA) bought BA's travel clinic for an undisclosed amount. BA owned and operated a single travel clinic in central London, providing travel health advice and treatment to the public. The clinic served about 28,000 customers a year and provided more than 34,000 inoculations annually.
Middle Eastern low-fare carrier Air Arabia is offering additional flights throughout August from Sharjah to three Egyptian destinations -- Alexandria, Assiut and Luxor. Extra flights to Alexandria are scheduled on Aug. 17, 23, 25, 26 and 31 and new service to Luxor on Aug. 19, 24 and 30. An extra flight to Assiut will operate Aug. 19 and 24. Separately, Jazeera Airways plans to start three weekly flights from Kuwait to the Indian destination of Cochin Aug. 30.
United failed to win industry support for its latest attempt to raise fares, with only Delta and American following the move. All three carriers rescinded the hike when others failed to match, but most analysts expect another attempt in the near future. Since 2005, JP Morgan reports there have been 17 broad failures to raise fares -- 11 in 2005 and six in 2006, compared with 21 successful increases -- 13 in 2005, eight in 2006. United's attempted increase on Friday affected fares aimed more at business travelers.
The U.K.'s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) this week will begin reviewing airline comments regarding BAA's monopoly of the U.K. airport industry, and the recent security disruptions at London airports is likely to play into the hands of BAA's critics.
