ICAO last week gave its Aviation Security Panel orders to convene a meeting next month to address the potential risk of explosive liquids to the aviation industry.
The government of Slovakia decided to stop the sale of Bratislava Airport to TwoOne, a consortium led by Vienna airport operator Flughafen Wien because it failed to win antitrust clearance in time. Slovakia said it will start talks with the second-best bidder, a consortium led by Spanish infrastructure management group Abertis. "Under the privatization contract, the buyer must submit by Aug. 15 the approval of the privatization by the Anti-Monopoly Office," said a statement from the office of new left-wing Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Royal Jordanian yesterday signed an agreement with Tejari Jordan, a business-to-business system that will let the airline make purchases online and work more efficiently with its suppliers.
Bratislava-based, low-fare airline Sky Europe yesterday postponed the release of its quarterly earnings by nine days. The airline said auditing took longer than expected. Sky Europe's shareholders recently approved a capital increase to fund stronger growth at the carrier.
FedEx, Northwest and Polar Air Cargo want the U.S. Transportation Dept. to allocate immediately the dozen U.S.-China all-cargo frequencies they have requested for March 2007. Speaking for all three carriers, FedEx last week said the 15 frequencies are available, and it argued that further proceedings are unnecessary. Competition for combination frequencies would continue.
Continental CEO Larry Kellner told employees the airline will face a tough struggle to win the right to start Newark-Shanghai flights next year, and if the airline fails in its bid, it will likely have wait two years for another chance. Competing applications for the China route award make this "one of the most competitive route proceedings Continental has been involved in," Kellner said in an employee memo. "Under the current bilateral agreement, the next most likely opportunity for Continental to get rights to Shanghai is in 2009," he said.
The Saudi Arabian Authority of Civil Aviation received proposals from local companies interested in winning one domestic and one international air operating certificates to be issued in December.
Ecuadorian cargo carrier Arrowec is charting a course to launch its first U.S. cargo flights on Nov. 15. The almost year-old airline would use DC-8 or DC-10 freighters to fly four times weekly between Quito and Miami and three times weekly between Guayaquil and Miami. The aircraft will be wet-leased from U.S.-based Arrow Air, now Arrowcargo, which holds 40% of Arrowec's stock [OST-2006-25636]. -ARS
FAA is proposing inspections of smoke seals in the aft avionics compartment in certain Embraer 170/190 aircraft after Brazil's airworthiness authority uncovered damaged seals triggered by a design problem.
Northwest and Air France yesterday set Sept. 2 as the date to launch code-share flights between Detroit and Paris. The carriers won approval to start code-share flights late last year but will wait until next month to launch the partnership (DAILY, Dec. 23). The code-share approval came at the same time as the U.S. Transportation Dept. decision to deny the SkyTeam alliance request for antitrust immunity. Air France operates six weekly flights on the Detroit-Paris route, and Northwest has daily service.
Air Canada yesterday unveiled plans to launch nonstop service from Edmonton to London Heathrow, giving Edmonton's its first scheduled international service.
Jetstar won follow-on approval from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation to carry the Qantas code on its flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Honolulu. The carrier plans to launch three weekly flights from Sydney and two from Melbourne with Airbus A330s, and is targeting a Nov. 23 start date for the service.
Embraer CEO Mauricio Botelho says Brazilian carrier Varig is recovering some entrepreneurial skills that it has lost. He also points out it that the carrier reportedly is considering the 190. Embraer "is very close to them, trying to make things happen," he explains.
All Nippon Airways on Friday formed a joint venture flight crew leasing company partly in preparation for the carrier's planned expansion when Tokyo Haneda Airport opens a new runway in 2009. The new company is also expecting a "severe shortage of pilots in the near future." The joint venture is called Crew Resources Worldwide, LLC and will be based in Honolulu. The partnership is between ANA, Hawaii Aviation Contract Services (HACS) and Japanese trading company Sojitz. The president of Crew will be Frank Tabata, former CEO of HACS.
Boeing's converted 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter is undergoing ground testing in preparation for its first flight, expected by the end of this month. After initial flight tests in Taipei, where the aircraft is being modified by Evergreen Aviation Technologies, the LCF will fly to Seattle for further testing. Three LCFs will be produced to transport Boeing 787 sections.
The number of modern aircraft parked in the desert is down 2.9% to 578 planes in mid-August, compared with last month, according to the Airclaims fleet database. The Airbus A320 family is down 29% to 20 parked planes, and next-generation Boeing 737s fell to only seven planes, as two former Varig plans entered service with GOL. The reductions were offset by the arrival of two Swiss European Air Lines ERJ-145s.
The Association of European Airlines wants European governments to agree on reimbursement for increased security costs incurred by airlines following the foiled terrorist attacks in London.
Named Kathryn Mikells VP-financial planning and analysis, succeeding Amos Kazzaz, and appointed Stephen Lieberman to succeed Mikells as VP and treasurer. Kazzaz recently became VP-cost management.
Peru approved investments for $124 million in the next 25 years to modernize regional airports, starting with a batch of nine, said Minister of Transportation Veronica Zavala last week. The first airports to benefit from the updates are Tumbes, Talara, Trujillo, Cajamarca, Anta, Ancash, Chachapoyas, Iquitos and Pucallpa. Airport regulator Corpac will be in charge of the overall program. So far, three foreign consortiums from Switzerland, Colombia and Mexico are interested in bidding for specific work projects. -LZ
Midwest Airlines says it received seven responses from regional carriers to the six requests for proposals it sent to airlines inviting them to bid on flying up to 25 50-seat regional jets. "There appears to be great interest in this opportunity," an airline spokeswoman notes. The carrier doesn't have a specific date to announce the winner of the new business but expects to unveil details early in the fourth quarter "if not before," the spokeswoman adds.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] AUG. 29-31 -- SAE's General Aviation Technology Conference & Exhibition, Wichita (Kan.) Hyatt, 724-776-4841, fax 724-776-0790, www.aerospace.sae.org SEPT. 6-7 -- 18th FAA/Air Transport Association's International Symposium: "Human Factors in Maintenance and Ramp Operations." Orlando, Fla., 202-626-4134, www.airlines.org
In partnership with Pratt & Whitney, named Joshua Cunningham of Columbia, S.C., the recipient of the 2006 P&W Golden Eagle Scholarship award, which recognizes a high school senior who has demonstrated an aptitude for aerospace technology and aviation.
