Australia and the U.K. had a "major breakthrough" in their aviation negotiations by reaching a deal that would eliminate many of the restrictions in the current bilateral agreement.
The on-again, off-again plan to build a second Beijing International Airport is on again. The airport will be built on a site outside the Chinese capital. Three sites are under consideration, including the city of Lanfang in neighboring Hebei province, which is said to be favored. Langfang is situated between Beijing and Tianjin.
U.K. air traffic controller union Prospect says airlines should not be allowed to sell their share of ATC organization National Air Traffic Services to other private companies. There has been no attempt yet by carriers to sell their stakes, but at least some U.K. airlines are said to be interested in doing so because the value of NATS has skyrocketed since it was partly privatized five years ago. An airline group holds a 42% stake in NATS, while the government has 49%; an employee group and BAA also own a small share.
Only Northwest, United, Continental, American, FedEx, UPS and Polar Air Cargo are eligible to apply for 29 new U.S.-China frequencies that will become available next March.
The White House may nominate a new Transportation Dept. secretary as early as this week, sources say, and a new name has been added to the mix. President Bush is still considering FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and Acting DOT Secretary Maria Cino, but an Administration source says the White House is also looking at Bill Graves, president of the American Trucking Associations. Graves is a Republican and served two terms as governor of Kansas.
Gulf Air President and CEO James Hogan plans to resign by yearend, the airline revealed, after he finishes the "Project Falcon" turnaround program and implements the carrier's strategic plan; the airline expects to name a successor before he leaves.
Boeing yesterday said it has contracted Spain's Aernnova to provide engineering design work for the 747-8 aircraft that is being developed. Aernnova will help design fuselage sections forward of the wing, as well as the primary wing structure. The company is the first from Spain to support the 747-8 program, although Aernnova has worked with Boeing before under its former name, Gamesa Aeronautica.
Although pilots and management at Atlantic Southeast Airlines made some progress on portions of their contract, failure to agree on salary levels led pilots to vote in favor of a strike earlier this week. About 92% of ASA's pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), voted for a strike if an agreement can't be reached between the two parties. The National Mediation Board (NMB) has called an indefinite recess of negotiations.
Sydney and Perth airports are using their monopoly status to boost service prices after the Australian government removed caps on airport charges and loosened its regulatory control in 2002, says a group of airlines serving the two facilities.
Dragonair is offering 76 extra flights to destinations in Asia to meet the expected increase in demand for seats this summer. Taipei will have 18 flights, Kota Kinabalu 17, Sanya in Northern Japan 12 and Tokyo nine. There will be 20 chartered flights for package tours organized by travel agents to Sendai in Japan, Urumqi in China, and Phuket and Busan in South Korea. -WD
The U.S. controllers union tomorrow will launch a web site to give the public more information about flight delays -- as well the union's opinion about what is causing these delays. The web site, www.avoiddelays.com, is scheduled to go live at midnight tonight. It pulls together live airport delay information from the FAA's website, and also allows viewers to get individual flight status and delay history through the flightstats.com website. The top delay-prone airports are listed, together with the arrival times that are worst-hit by delays.
Air Wisconsin named Skyway Airlines CEO James Rankin as its new CEO, effective Aug. 1. Rankin replaces interim CEO Patrick Thompson, who filled in the space left by former airline head Geoff Crowley. He's now in charge of an investment company owned by the airline's shareholders. Rankin joined Skyway as a pilot in 1990, rising to Chief Pilot and Director of Operations. Rankin also is senior VP and general manager of Midwest Airlines Saver Service - the airline's low-fare leisure offering.
World Air Holdings says its operating profit for the first quarter will be slightly higher than predicted, but problems with its military contracts will mean an operating loss for the second quarter. World issued guidance stating that first quarter operating profit will be in the $7 million-$9 million range, versus earlier estimates of $4 million-$7 million. Revenue for this quarter will be $214 million-$216 million, slightly down from predictions. The higher operating profit is due to the timing of some maintenance and better-than-expected cost performance.
Boeing says additional layers of paint on 787 engine nacelles could disrupt the laminar air flow effect engineers want to achieve. Paint edges -- from airline liveries, for example -- could be enough to affect laminar flow, potentially increasing fuel burn by 30,000 gallons per year, Boeing says.
Aeromexico and the Mexican Pilots Union (ASPA) last week agreed to establish a set of labor productivity and cost-cutting goals and steps to implement them, to be incorporated in the ongoing review of the union's collective labor contract for 2006-2008.
Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines won exemptions to carry out Delta's push in the Los Angeles-Mexico market (DAILY, June 7), while Alaska Airlines won an exemption to compete with Delta head-on in the Los Angeles-La Paz market (DAILY, June 21).
Iberia had to cancel 220 flights on Monday and expects a total of 1,500 cancellations through the rest of the week if pilots continue with a previously announced strike (DAILY, July 7).
The National Transportation Safety Board continues to pressure FAA to reduce the risk of icing on aircraft surfaces after the crew of a Saab turboprop flown by American Eagle briefly lost control of the plane after takeoff from San Luis Obispo in January. Last year, former NSTB Chair Ellen Engleman Conners sent a warning letter to pilots identifying the risks of ice buildup on wings, noting at the time that board staff felt FAA wasn't listening to its concerns (DAILY, Jan. 6, 2005).
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority is looking for a new president and CEO after current executive John Kaldeway announced his retirement after 30 years of service, effective December 2006. GTAA has begun a search for his successor and hopes to have a candidate in the job in the first quarter of 2007, said Board Chairman Warren Hurren. "We will conduct a comprehensive and exhaustive search throughout the world for our new CEO," he added.
Airbus received a total of 117 new aircraft orders in the first six months of this year, according to data released yesterday. The figure highlights how profound the effects of the failed A350 program have been for the manufacturer -- in the same period, Boeing collected 480 orders, including 69 787s. Airlines are expecting fundamental changes to the A350 design and held back from ordering the aircraft on the basis of existing facts. Airbus sold only 13 A350s in the period, plus 96 A320 series aircraft, five A330s and three A340s.
