Air Midwest took another market from the American Connection network when the U.S. Transportation Dept. selected the carrier to operate essential air service at Columbia/Jefferson City, Mo. Air Midwest will connect Columbia/Jefferson City with St. Louis and Kansas City as a US Airways Express carrier. The carrier will receive $598,751 in annual subsidies for the next two years to operate 12 weekly nonstop flights to each city with 19-seat Beech 1900Ds [OST-2006-23931].
Clearance of Volo de Brasil's bid to buy former Varig cargo subsidiary VarigLog (DAILY, June 24) and the company's subsequent offer to take all of Varig for $500 million have led some to conclude that the Volo deal is the only viable option to keep Varig flying.
Mair Holdings followed through on previous warnings of significant losses for fiscal 2006, citing the bankruptcy of subsidiary Mesaba as the cause of plunging profits. The company recently said its losses would fall between $80 million and $85 million (DAILY, June 16) for the year, and yesterday it reported a net loss of $82.8 million, versus a $7.4 million profit in 2005. Mair also posted a steep $54 million loss for the fourth quarter, compared with a small loss of $1.7 million a year ago.
Eighteen U.S. airports expected to make changes to accommodate the Airbus A380 would have to spend $927 million on infrastructure projects, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
Japan Airlines, effective immediately, will reorganize its maintenance division to create a new department that manages outside vendors who maintain JAL aircraft overseas.
A general aviation group recently asked ICAO to set strict standards for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) before their use in the civilian sector becomes more widespread.
Virgin Atlantic's fiscal 2006 profit doubled to nearly GBP42 million, as a strong increase in business-class traffic helped offset the spike in fuel prices. "The launch of the new Upper Class suite helped to attract more premium-paying passengers," the airline said in a statement. The number of business travelers increased 10.1%, while total passenger numbers rose 11% to 4.9 million. For the period ended Feb. 28, the airline's pre-tax profit rose was GBP41.6 million (US$74 million), up from GBP20 million in the last fiscal year.
TAM on Friday unveiled plans to launch a daily flight to London Heathrow, starting Oct. 28, after winning coveted landing slots at the airport. The flight will depart from Sao Paulo Guarulhos at night, arriving in London in the afternoon. The return will also be at night, landing in Sao Paulo in the early morning. "Such a schedule will allow immediate connections not only to TAM's large domestic network, but also to other locations from London," the airline said.
USA 3000, pending regulatory approval, will launch service in the St. Louis-Puerto Vallarta market on Dec. 16. The Saturday service would be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft configured for 168 passengers in economy class. USA 3000 plans to operate the service year-round [OST-2006-25177].
Spain's Grupo Ferrovial's $18.4 billion offer to buy BAA was accepted by shareholders as of the June 26 deadline. Ferrovial and its other consortium members bought 28.7% of BAA's shares on June 8. Adding the 55% from BAA shareholders, the company now controls 83% of BAA's capital, making its offer unconditional.
The fundamental disagreement about the future management structure of EADS intensified yesterday as French and German representatives made contradictory comments about the consequences of the Airbus A380 production crisis. French Finance Minister Thierry Breton is understood to be pushing for the replacement of EADS Co-CEO Noel Forgeard (DAILY, June 20) and the introduction of a more streamlined structure. By contrast, a German government spokesman said the current EADS structure has proven to be effective and should not be changed.
The seven-day strike announced by Spanish pilot union Sindicato Espanol de Pilotos de Lineas Aereas (SEPLA) will cost the airline some EUR35 million (US$44 million), Spanish industry sources calculated.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. is taking proposals from carriers interested in operating essential air service to three Wyoming communities and four communities in Maine, starting this fall.
Mesaba heads back to court today for a second time to ask a bankruptcy judge to void contracts with its pilots, mechanics and flight attendants to win concessions it believes are necessary to preserve its business plan -- flying 49 Saab turboprops for Northwest. The airline said it needs to cut its rates on the Saab flying by 5% to achieve an 8% operating margin. Mesaba believes it must shed $66.4 million in operating expenses for FY2008 to achieve the rate cut and labor costs must shrink by $17 million.
TSA has demonstrated the new $16.4 million in-line explosives detection baggage screening system at Terminal 2 in Oakland International Airport. The system allows TSA to process more than 1,000 bags an hour, an improvement of 250 bags an hour, compared with the old system.
The Joint Planning and Development Office will release its new air traffic control concept of operations document to the public in late July, according to the acting director of the office, Robert Pearce. The general intention of JPDO is to move from ground-based navigation and surveillance to satellitebased operation under ATC modernization. But more controversial ideas could emerge, such as moving some separation duties from air traffic controllers to pilots in the cockpit.
Frontier is looking at feeding passengers from San Francisco to San Jose del Cabo Mexico if it wins the go-ahead to launch flights from Los Angeles to the Mexican point. Frontier has tentative approval for the route but says it won't know for certain if it will feed passengers from SFO on the flight until it gains final authorization. Frontier heads back to LA this week when it launches fights to San Francisco on Thursday after pulling out of the market in 2004.
Alaska's aviation safety will come under scrutiny July 5 during a field hearing that Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) scheduled in Anchorage. The hearing aims to "review Alaska's needs for infrastructure, funding and technology to meet future safety regulations." FAA Administrator Marion Blakey plans to make the trip to Anchorage to testify, along with representatives of the Alaska Transportation Dept., AOPA and Anchorage Airport.
Argentina recently signed an agreement that will make it at least a 35% owner of 32 airports developed and managed by private concessionaires Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 (AA2000), in line with President Nestor Kirchner's desire that the state play a more active role in managing Argentina's economy. The agreement had been kept under close wraps for months by the parties involved and was not revealed until it had been signed. Now the congress and national comptroller must also approve it.
