30 Years Ago July 29, 1976 -- Controllers, angry because their pay is not on par with that of pilots, yesterday began a campaign of "strict compliance" to rules that could cost the airlines millions of dollars and cause delays of several hours at busy airports. 20 Years Ago July 24, 1986 -- JAL said it refused last December to accept delivery of a new Boeing 747-200 after its inspectors at the Boeing plant found that riveting in the bulkhead "was not up to Japan Air Lines' standards." 10 Years Ago
Airbus wants to take advantage of a growing relationship with Russia's Irkut to use converted A320 family planes to enter the "feeder" segment of the freighter market, now dominated by older aircraft and Boeing jets, says DAILY affiliate Show News. Airbus and EADS affiliate Elbe Flugzeugwerke are studying A320 passenger-to-freight conversion, and if the project moves forward, Irkut will build conversion kits. EADS bought 10% of Irkut last year.
Southwest employee headcount per aircraft continues to fall, with executives touting an average of 68.7 at the end of the second quarter versus 72.2 a year ago and 91 at the end of second quarter 2002. Allegiant Air, meanwhile, claims an even lower headcount at 35 full-time equivalent employees per plane. It flies two MD-87s and 19 MD-83s.
Singapore Airlines last week surprised industry watchers with its decision to order Airbus A350s -- only a month after placing an order for Boeing's 787 -- and the airline also provided a shot in the arm for the A380 program by ordering another nine of the superjumbos.
Continental opted not to backfill all the capacity it plans to cut from the ExpressJet contract after striking a deal with Republic Airways Holding subsidiary Chautauqua Airlines to fly 44 50-seat jets.
Continental intends to use the two Boeing 777s scheduled for delivery next year for proposed Newark-Shanghai flights, but if DOT does not approve the route, the planes could be used to add one or two European cities, the carrier says. Even without the 777s, it has five 757-200s it could switch to transatlantic routes for the European points.
GOL's net income jumped 45% in the second quarter, but yields continued to deteriorate, sinking 4.7%, which executives attributed to competitive pressure by Brazil's larger carriers. The airline's profits reached BRL$106.7 million (US$49.4 million) on revenues of BRL$844 million. Net income for the same timeframe in 2005 was BRL$73.3 million.
Delta before yearend will launch service from Orlando and Salt Lake City to Mexico City, two markets it served through code sharing with Aeromexico. The airline on Dec. 1 will begin offering year- round service on the routes. Orlando-Mexico City will operate daily while Salt Lake City-Mexico City will fly four times weekly. Delta will use its two-class Boeing 737-800s on the routes [OST-2006-25433].
SR Technics this week signed a five-year, $10 million component deal with Finnair covering the carrier's growing Airbus A340 fleet. The MRO plans to manage, repair and create parts pools for Finnair's A340-300s, as well create a component store in Helsinki. Finnair flies a single A340-300, and predicts having four planes by 2008. SR Technics said it would handle technical work and logistics from its Zurich base.
The Senate yesterday delivered another blow against the Bush administration's attempt to loosen airline foreign ownership restrictions, with the Appropriations Committee approving an amendment that would block the administration proposal.
CommutAir was reselected to operate subsidized essential air service at Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake/Lake Placid, N.Y., from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31, 2008. The carrier will operate as Continental Connection and will receive some $1,706,755 in subsidies annually to operate three daily roundtrips between the communities and Boston [OST-2003-14783].
Albuquerque International Sunport is hoping that a new incentive program will entice airlines to start service to six destinations in Mexico. The airport is targeting service to Mexico City, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Cabo San Lucas and Chihuahua. Under the program, any airline that starts new nonstop regularly scheduled roundtrip service in 2006 to any of the six cities will have their landing fees waived by up to half or a limit of $75,000.
Wizz Air plans a massive expansion of its Airbus fleet, yesterday ordering 20 A320s as follow-on to a 12 aircraft order placed a year ago. International Aero Engines IAE V2500s will power all the planes, which Wizz plans to offer in a single-class 180-seat configuration. By 2012, the Polish and Hungarian carrier should have 53 Airbus planes in its fleet. Leasing company CIT also placed a new order with Airbus for five A330-200s and four A320s, bringing the total firm orders it has with Airbus to 117. CIT has taken delivery of 65 planes.
Colgan Air will receive $1,930,759 annually to operate essential air service at Beckley, W.Va. The carrier will fly between Beckley and Washington Dulles as a US Airways Express carrier, using either 19-seat Beech 1900Ds or 30-seat Saab 340A or 340B turboprops. The decision also means the end of U.S. Transportation Dept.-imposed essential air service to Bluefield/Princeton, West Va., though Colgan has the option of operating intermediate service there at its own discretion [OST-2006-2761].
Lebanon's Middle East Airlines (MEA) today plans to launch operations from Damascus, Syria, after the Beirut airport and runways were bombed twice by Israeli jets in the past week.
Air Canada next spring plans to launch a nonstop flight from St. John's to London Heathrow, which will be timed to be the latest evening departure from Europe to North America.
Embraer plans a boost in seating capacity for its 170/190 jet family after airlines said the extra seats could strengthen revenue in certain markets by as much as 14% if carriers opt for the 114-seat version of the 190 instead of the 100-seat configuration. The airframer plans to add two seats to the 170 for an 80-seat configuration, as well as two seats to the 175 for a total of 88 seats. The larger 195's potential configuration jumps from 118 seats to 122. No testing is necessary to add the seats, the company said.
American Eagle subsidiary Executive Airlines, pending regulatory approval, will begin operating nonstop Miami-Cozumel service in December. The carrier would launch service on Dec. 16, with an ATR 72 departing from Miami at 1 p.m. daily. Return flights from Cozumel would depart at 3:20 p.m. Three carriers can be designated to operate the route, and no carrier operates in the market [OST-2006-25380].
VivaAeroBus, the low-cost Mexican airline owned by Ryanair founder Tony Ryan and Mexican bus company IAMSA, plans to make its debut in September with two Boeing 737-300s flying from Monterrey.
Colgan Air recently was reselected by the U.S. Transportation Dept. to continue operating essential air service for Lebanon, N.H. The carrier will receive $1,069,606 in annual subsidy until Sept. 30, 2008, to operate 18 weekly roundtrip flights to New York LaGuardia airport as US Airways Express. The flights will be operated with 19-seat Beech 1900Ds [OST-2003-14822].
Goodrich is on the lookout for acquisitions to boost growth, reports CEO Marshall Larsen. "I'd be very surprised if we don't do some major acquisition," Larsen said at the Farnborough Air Show. "I won't give you any time frame, but it's not hard to envision us as a $10 billion company." Goodrich had revenue of $5.4 billion in 2005.
