Las Vegas is the top-rated large airport in overall satisfaction in the new 2006 J.D. Power & Associates Airport Satisfaction Index Study thanks to high marks for check-in/baggage check, security check and terminal facilities.
Alteon Training, a Boeing wholly owned subsidiary, plans to place three of its Boeing 787 training suites in Australia, India and Singapore, the company said.
Boeing last week delivered a new 777-300ER to EVA Air, but the plane will be showcased on the static display at the Farnborough Air Show next month. The aircraft is the third -300ER in EVA's fleet. The plane has 316 seats in a three-class configuration and will serve routes from Taipei to Los Angeles and London.
El Salvador's port and airport authority (CEPA) and Aeroports de Paris are refining a joint agreement for the expansion of La Paz Airport, reactivation of Ilopango Airport and the possibility of building a new air terminal in the eastern part of the country.
Philadelphia International is adding parking spaces in order to accommodate an increase in passengers since Southwest Airlines began flying out of the airport in May 2004. The Philadelphia Parking Authority plans to tear down the old overseas terminal and turn it into economy lot parking spaces, said Linda Miller, the authority's senior director of facilities and public affairs. The airport currently has 17,500 spaces, and will add 1,800 more spots.
Boeing this week named Jim Schlueter the VP-communications for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, reporting to CEO Alan Mulally and Tom Downey, Boeing VP-corporate communications. Schlueter will lead all BCA communications, including media relations, employee communications, executive communications and advertising. For the past two years, Schlueter has led BCA media relations and international and sales communications. Prior to that, he was director of international communications for Boeing's corporate offices.
The Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) this week hired long-time Sato Travel leader Michael Premo as its new VP-sales and customer relations. Premo will manage relationships with all of the ARC customer groups, including travel agents, corporate travel departments, carriers and third parties. In addition, Premo takes over responsibility for growing ARC's sales program. Most recently, Premo was senior VP-global network for TQ3 Travel Solutions and he worked at Navigant International, TQ3's parent company.
China Southern yesterday signed an "adherence agreement" with the SkyTeam alliance, putting the carrier on track to join the group officially next year.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on the U.S. Attorney General's office to probe the possible misallocation of at least $65 million in federal grants to expand Islip, N.Y., MacArthur Airport. "Numerous reports have surfaced of serious and ongoing problems at the airport regarding safety, fraud and the misallocation of public money," said Schumer in a letter to Rosalynn Mauskopf, U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Strong accolades from business travelers pushed Continental to the top of the annual J.D. Power and Asso- ciates customer satisfaction survey to be released today. Business passsengers are often more difficult to satisfy than leisure passengers, the study's author notes, and many U.S. airlines are now investing in services and products particularly aimed at winning over business travelers. Continental was the only airline among the 11 carriers in the survey whose business customers are more satisfied overall than its leisure customers.
G2 SwitchWorks last week signed a long-term distribution deal with Priceline.com, which will give the online agency access to G2's fares, booking and fulfillment system.
JetBlue management plans to step up its employee communication and education work to fend off unions, some of which are stepping up their own work to try to represent the airline's employees.
Mexican domestic carrier AeroCalifornia is overhauling five of its 20 aircraft to correct technical deficiencies so its operating license may be renewed soon. Mexico's civil aviation department (DGAC) suspended domestic AeroCalifornia earlier this year for safety reasons (DAILY, April 17 and May 3).
The European Commission pledged to integrate environmental effects in the calculation of infrastructure charges for all transport modes, including air transport, in a document outlining its transport policy for the next five years.
The Clear Registered Traveler program will give free one-year memberships to active-duty, military personnel and National Guardsmen during the first six months of the program after national rollout.
Continental crosses another milestone this week when it installs winglets on its last Boeing 737-700. All of the carrier's 36 -700s have winglets, which reduce drag on the aircraft, burning less fuel. The carrier also installed winglets on 92 of its 737-800s and on 25 of its 757-200s.
Chile's civil aviation authority this week awarded Thales a contract worth nearly $6 million to replace the primary radars at Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas and supply a new secondary surveillance radar at Punta Arenas.
International airlines in Argentina are deeply troubled that in the new agreement signed recently between the government and airport management con- sortium Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 (DAILY, June 26), no provisions are included on lowering airport user fees.
TUI Group this week reached a pay deal with the pilots of its two German airlines, Hapagfly and Hapag-Lloyd Express (HLX). Under the deal, pilot contracts will be harmonized and pilots will receive pay raises based on equivalent productivity improvements. TUI declined to disclose further details but said the agreement put in place a competitive cost structure. The new agreement is valid until the end of 2008. -JF
Mexico's low-cost carriers have invested some $454 million in equipment and route development in the past year and plan to invest $330 million in the next five years, says El Universal. Interjet leads LCCs already in operation with investments of $260 million, plus $200 million more for 20 new aircraft.
Hungarian low-fare airline Wizz Air is launching new routes from Romania, adding 28 weekly frequencies from three Romanian airports. Wizz Air will introduce three weekly flights each from Bucharest to Dortmund, Barcelona, Budapest, London Luton and Rome. Three weekly frequencies are planned for the Arad-Milan route, while Targu Mures gets three weeklies each to Budapest, Barcelona and Rome. All new services will be launched on Jan. 17, except the Targu Mures-Budapest flight, which starts on July 14. -JF
