FAA is not expected to formally propose a new funding mechanism for the agency this year, largely because of extensive debate and disagreement within the Bush Administration, reports U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.
Air Canada's regional affiliate Jazz plans to relaunch service from Toronto City Centre as it wrestles with the Toronto Port Authority in the courts for equal access to the airport.
GATX Air yesterday acquired from Singapore-based Tiger Airways two new Airbus A320s, which will be leased back to the airline for a 12-year term following delivery in October 2006 and November 2007. "The A320 is part of GATX Air's core fleet of widely used, narrowbody aircraft in which we have considerable expertise," said GATX Brian Kenney.
The European Commission yesterday adopted regulations on flight planning and on the compatibility of different air traffic controls units in Europe's future seamless Single Sky. "These legal instruments are milestones in the implementation of the Single Sky, as they establish clear interoperability requirements for the systems used by service providers," said European Union Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.
Control, the Hungarian air traffic controller union, called for an indefinite strike beginning at noon GMT on July 9, in an effort to push through wage demands. The stoppage is expected to bring Budapest Ferihegy Airport to a standstill and affect some 40,000 passengers daily.
The pilot strike at Iberia scheduled for the week of July 10 will slash 200 daily flights and affect some 200,000 passengers, said the Spanish airline. Iberia called the strike "abusive and disproportionate" and is holding last-ditch talks with Sindicato Espanol de Pilotos de Lineas Aereas in an effort to avert it. SEPLA is protesting against Iberia's plans to launch a Barcelona-based low-cost carrier.
SAS Cargo plans to add more cargo capacity between Scandinavia and China, thanks to a new partnership with Air China that is set to start in September.
United pilot and Senior VP-Flight Operations Stephen Forte plans to retire from the airline Sept. 1, rather than returning to flight line, the airline confirms, as the changes to its operations group continue. A successor has not been named. Chief Operating Officer Pete McDonald has made several changes to his team in recent months, including the consolidation of the cargo and airport operations department that led to Larry De Shon's departure (DAILY, May 4).
Boeing boosted its second-quarter deliveries year over year by 14% to 97 planes versus 85 a year ago. The 70 737s delivered between April and June comprised the bulk of Boeing's quarterly deliveries, followed by the 777 family, which accounted for 17 planes on the company's delivery roster. Boeing also delivered four 747s, three 717s and three 767s during the quarter. Deliveries for the first six months of 2006 increased to 195 planes, compared with 155 for the same timeframe in 2005, a 25% jump. -LR
Interjet's Jose Luis Garza expects the carrier will break even by the end of 2006, the CEO told DAILY affiliate AvNews Latin America & Caribbean. In its first six months, the company reached a 60% load factor and added six new aircraft to its current fleet of seven.
The Airport Authority Hong Kong reached an all-time-high profit of HK$1.6 billion (US$205.9 million) for the year ended March 31, 2006, up 33% from the same period last year. The authority's board declared a final dividend of HK$1.300 billion (US$167.2 million) to the government, up 30% from 2005.
Southwest is adding a new city to its base in Baltimore with the launch of four daily flights to Detroit Metro Sept. 14. The airline is also preparing for its debut at nearby Washington Dulles airport this fall.
Amadeus signed a distribution deal with Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train service linking the U.K. with Europe the continent, as the global distribution diversifies its business beyond airlines.
TSA has named new Federal Security Directors at Orlando International, Houston Intercontinental and Hobby airports. Lee Kair takes over in Orlando in August. He is currently executive director of TSA's Office of Inter-Agency Operations at Washington, D.C., headquarters. Before coming to TSA, he was director of strategic sourcing and acquisition systems at the Dept. of Homeland Security, where he headed up a $2.5 billion program.
Contrary to IATA's allegations and attacks on airports, airports are not the cause of the airlines' problems, said ACI Director General Robert Aaronson in remarks at the U.K. Aviation Club. "In these demanding times, airports and airlines need to drop the theatrics, get on with business and truly be the best of partners, not the worst of adversaries," said Aaronson. "The truth is that airports have been stable service providers and reliable business partners and in most cases, good partners.
Boeing and partner Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) last week started the major assembly for the first 787. FHI began assembling the center wing section at its new factory in Handa, Japan, near Nagoya. When it is finished, the center section will be flown from Japan to Charleston, S.C., where Global Aeronautica will add on other 787 structures before sending it on to Everett, Wash. The first 787 is planned for delivery in 2008.
With UPS finally achieving a tentative contract deal with its pilots last week, package express rival FedEx is also working to tie up its own pilot contract talks.
Air France this week started testing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to label and track passenger baggage on flights between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol.
Integrated avionics systems, such as the units that combine radar, terrain warning, transponder and traffic alert and collision avoidance systems into one 10 in. wide avionics box, are changing the way avionics systems are marketed in the airline sector. These "integrated surveillance systems," which combine four functions in one box, are making their debut on the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787. Airbus chose Honeywell to provide its integrated surveillance system, and Boeing chose Rockwell Collins.
