The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board recently hired Paul Malandrino, Jr. to the position of VP and airport manager of Washington National Airport. Malandrino most recently worked for the Transportation Security Administration where he served as the federal security director of Baltimore/Washington International Airport since 2002. Before that, he was the manager of the operations department at Washington Dulles from 1996 to 2002 where he directed the day-to-day operations of the airport.
By Steve Lott Airline managers often complain that their hands are tied when trying to manage and predict costs because of the variability of expenses, but a new analysis shows that the industry is relatively insulated from rapid, short-term inflation.
WestJet is partnering with Manchester, U.K.-based Penauille Servisair to open airport lounges across Canada. Lounges are currently available in Ottawa and Winnipeg, while Calgary and Vancouver are scheduled to open in September. Travelers from any airline or travel class can buy one-day passes to the facilities. Fees range from C$14-C$20 (US$12.40-US$17.83), depending on the lounge's location. WestJet is offering introductory rates when lounge access is prebooked online.
Parker Hannifin bought a majority stake in Osaka-based Taiyo Ltd., a company specializing in hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, and cylinders, through its purchase of voting stock held by Kyoei Steel. Taiyo's fiscal 2006 revenues totaled $208 million. Parker and Taiyo started their partnership in 2002.
Airbus yesterday claimed that its recent emergency slide test set a record for the largest number of evacuation slides ever inflated at the same time in any passenger plane.
Air Arabia forged a joint venture with John Keells Holdings -- Information Systems Associates -- and built a new reservations system dubbed "AccelAero" that is targeted to low-cost carriers. The carrier is the first customer to sign on for the system, which offers bookings through the web, travel agencies and call centers. Executives from John Keells noted AccelAero's modular framework would allow airlines to expand the system as they grow. -LR
Delta and its Connection carriers Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines will carry CSA Czech Airlines' code on flights from New York Kennedy and New York/ Newark airports to Buffalo, Columbus, Las Vegas, Raleigh/Durham, Rochester and West Palm Beach. The code share should start on or around July 26 [OST-2000-8207].
China and South Korea have signed a new air services agreement that paves the way for a significant increase in passenger and cargo flights between the two countries.
Scandinavian Airlines yesterday signed a deal with Precise Biometrics to provide the system that will allow the carrier to start biometric security checks on Swedish domestic flights. To guarantee that the person handing in the baggage really is the same person boarding the plane, SAS will use the biometric system at baggage check-in and boarding gates. The Precise Biometrics' system "means that personal privacy will be maintained, in that the temporarily stored fingerprints are deleted once they have been used," the company said.
French stock market authority AMF launched an investigation against EADS, following the recent Airbus A380 delays and alleged communication flaws in the case (DAILY, June 20). "The investigation relates to the development of the market in EADS shares and to timing of certain communications to the stock market," EADS said in a statement. AMF is trying to find out whether EADS should have disclosed the recent delays in the A380 production ramp-up earlier than it did. Similar investigations have been made at Airbus's Toulouse offices earlier this month.
Training costs at Spirit Airlines should start to decrease now that the carrier has only about 28 pilots left to train as part of its expedited transition to an all-Airbus fleet. CEO Ben Baldanza told The DAILY at the World Low Cost Airlines Conference in Miami that the number of pilots left to train is shrinking and training should be completed by Labor Day.
Thai Airways International and Shanghai Airlines inked an agreement to code share on each other's international and domestic routes flights. Thai Airways operates to six destinations in China -- Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Kunming and Xiamen. Shanghai Airlines recently introduced daily flights to Phuket and freighter services to Bangkok. Its domestic network covers 60 destinations. The carriers will also cooperate in ground-handling. -WD
Danny Murphy has been named acting aviation director for Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, while the department begins a national search for a permanent replacement. Murphy was acting director of the city's Water Services Dept. Prior to that, he was the chief information officer and director of Phoenix's Information Technology Dept. He replaces David Kreitor, who was promoted to Phoenix's deputy city manager.
After a news blackout on current operations at Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB), local press reported by the weekend that the financially stricken airline is now flying only three 169-seat Boeing 727-200s on domestic routes in Bolivia and international routes to Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Miami. Daily revenues from ticket sales decreased last week from $250,000 to $200,000, further diminishing cash flow for fuel and other essential operating costs.
Boeing plans to speed up the evaluation and decision of what to do with its Connexion high-speed broadband communications unit because the market has not lived up to expectations, leaving customers wondering about the future.
Colgan Air can suspend its US Airways Express service to Bluefield/Princeton, W.Va., as of Aug. 1, thanks to the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s decision to terminate the essential air service subsidy eligibility of the West Virginia community (DAILY, June 21).
Frontier may expand the options of Kansas City passengers looking to travel south of the border this winter with the start of seasonal service to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, this winter. Frontier would use a 132-seat Airbus A319 to operate a once-weekly service on the route between December and April pending approval from the U.S. Transportation Dept. The carrier also serves Cancun from Mexico City [OST-2006-25207].
Maxjet is eyeing an initial public stock offering later this year in the U.K. on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), part of the London Stock Exchange. Sources in London tell The DAILY the carrier has already hired a broker and will likely move ahead with the offering before yearend, depending on market conditions. The Washington-based carrier is targeting the AIM, rather than a U.S. exchange, because it has more flexibility and doesn't have the same regulatory burdens.
