Sydney Airport parent Southern Cross Airports Corp. Holdings today posted a 6.1% hike in earnings of A$525.6 million (US$393.3 million) for the financial year ended June 30. Total revenue grew ahead of passenger growth at 6.5% from the previous year, based on improved yields from all commercial businesses. A rise in operating expenses of 7.6% was blamed on a significant increase in security costs.
Cirrus Design Corp. introduced the SR22 equipped with a turbo normalized system featuring dual intercoolers. Tornado Alley Turbo, Ada, Okla., is providing the hardware and developing the Supplemental. Type Certificate with Cirrus Design. In addition, Cirrus has received certification of the SR20 and SR22 from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Cirrus has implemented a five-year plan aimed at marketing its airplanes in China and Southeast Asia. Company officials expect to sell 12 in the region this year.
The new low-cost carrier created by Iberia and other investors will operate under the brand name Clickair.com, said the spokesman of one of the LCC's shareholders, the Spanish utilities group ACS Cobra.
Mooney Airplane Co. officials say the new Acclaim single-engine light aircraft has attained a speed of 237 knots at 25,000 feet and is completing FAA certification. The four-place Acclaim is powered by a 280-horsepower turbo-normalized piston engine. Mooney CEO Gretchen Jahn says the Kerrville, Texas-based manufacturer delivered 22 airplanes worth $9.7 million in the second quarter.
Delta and Northwest, sensing that the U.S. Transportation Dept. may be moving away from its traditional 90-day dormancy condition on transborder U.S.-Mexico awards, are petitioning the department to return to the standard.
Mexicana's low-cost subsidiary Click won exemptions to serve Las Vegas and Los Angeles from Torreon (DAILY, July 5). The carrier will use Fokker 50s for the services, which it initially said it would launch soon after receiving the authority. Click also won authority to carry the code of its parent on the flights [OST-2006-25263].
JetBlue squeezed out a profit during the second quarter, signaling progress in its efforts to regain long-term profitability, but the airline's CEO warned that the carrier has substantially more ground to regain, and fuel costs were a challenge to guaranteeing a profit for 2006.
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano's four labor unions, seeking a long-term solution to the airline's problems, approached some solid AFPs (associations for popular development) for a joint effort to invest fresh capital into the airline. AFP funds, combined with what Bolivia owes LAB for subsidies to senior citizen tickets, might be enough to alleviate current liabilities and set the stage for the rescue plan long sponsored by Cochabamba's mayor, workers hope.
Singapore Airshow is already expanding its planned facilities by 33% after selling out its planned 30,000-square-meter exhibition hall for 2008. Another 10,000 square meters will be added to accommodate the exhibitors, says Managing Director Jimmy Lau. "We have the luxury as we have yet to build the site," he says. Singapore Airshow will be held Feb. 19-24, 2008.
Verified Identity Pass has begun testing a kiosk at Orlando Airport that does a full-body explosives trace detection without having passengers remove clothing and footwear. The kiosk, which also uses biometric iris and fingerprint scans to identify passengers, is currently being operated in a security lane used by passengers who are members of the Clear registered traveler program at Orlando.
More evacuee flights are expected to arrive at Baltimore-Washington airport this week after BWI was last week designated as a repatriation center for U.S. citizens who are being evacuated from Lebanon by the U.S. government. The first flight arrived in the morning on July 20, and as of Monday morning nine flights had arrived with more than 2,000 evacuees. "Several additional flights are expected through midweek," an airport spokesman said. BWI was the first airport to be designated as a repatriation center, and since then others have also been selected.
Ecuadorian carrier Icaro plans to launch its own charter service to the U.S., thanks in part to the country's upgrade in FAA's IASA program. Icaro would use Boeing 737-200s for the service, which it wants to launch on July 28 [OST-2006-25409]. Ecuadorian domestic carriers Aerogal and TAME at one time were also expected to request authority to fly to Miami and New York (DAILY, May 31). -ARS
Flybe debuted self-service check-in kiosks at its Manchester base, a first for both the carrier and the airport. The airine worked with ARINC to develop the kiosk, with Flybe developing its own Common User Self Service (CUSS) design. CUSS is a set of standards developed by IATA, which notes applications written to meet CUSS standards are platform-independent. Flybe plans to offer additional kiosks at its other bases during the next 18 months.
United yesterday revealed that it made a profit of $141 million -- excluding special items -- for the second quarter, a dramatic turnaround from last year's $26 million loss and a better result than analysts had predicted.
Hong Kong-based Dragonair carried 2.4 million passengers and 2.6 million tons of cargo in the first six months of 2006, up 10.2% and 4.6%, respectively, from the same period last year. Dragonair CEO Stanley Hui said demand for travel remains buoyant, though there is a lot of pressure on yields and also concerns from high oil prices. Hui noted that cargo will also continue to grow.
France will build a new EUR640 million (US$800 million) rail link from downtown Paris to Charles de Gaulle Airport, in an attempt to match infrastructures created by other large airport systems, such as Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express in the U.K. CDG Express is scheduled to be operational in 2012, French Transport Minister Dominique Perben said yesterday. The project has been under discussion since 2000, and France's failure to win the 2012 Olympics temporarily raised doubts about its future.
Members of Colombia's Air Transport Association (ATAC) expressed concern regarding amendments in the executive decree by which aviation fuel prices are computed.
Cessna Aircraft Co. unveiled its new Light Sport Aircraft yesterday at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture Show. Powered by a 100-horsepower engine, the all-metal Cessna LSA is scheduled to make its first flight late this year, according to Jack Pelton, president and CEO. He said a price has not been finalized but would be in line with prices of existing LSA airplanes.
Shuttle America won from the U.S. Transportation Dept. authority to carry ANA's code on United Express flights between points in the U.S. and from any point in the U.S. to a third-country point (DAILY, Feb. 16). Shuttle America will initially carry the code on flights to most of its U.S. points and seven points in Canada [OST-2006-23965].
Spirit Airlines will let the clock run out on its authority for Fort Lauderdale-Mexico City, authority Spirit failed to use to launch service in the market. The airline won an exemption for the route in September 2004, but the start of service was delayed while Spirit transitioned its fleet from MD-80 aircraft to Airbus A319s and A321s. The flights were to launch June 15 but never got off the ground, due to the continuing transition and aircraft availability [OST-2004-19039]. -ARS
The Senate Commerce Committee last week approved a bill that would authorize a $164 million budget for the National Transportation Safety Board in the next two years, about $15 million shy of the agency's original request.
New Malaysian low-fare carrier Fly Asian Express Airlines (FAX) firmed up its domestic network ahead of its launch next week (DAILY, June 12). The Kota Kinabalu-based carrier, Malaysia's second low-fare airline, will operate a domestic network covering Lahad Datu, Sibu, Tawau, Sandakan, Mulu, Bintulu, Miri and Limbang in the East Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah.
