Royal Jordanian on Sunday launched two weekly nonstop flights to Sulaymaniah in northern Iraq, the fourth city it serves in Iraq. The carrier also serves Baghdad, Basra and Irbil. The company decided to add the fourth city due to growing demand between Jordan and Iraq. The new route to Sulaymaniah focuses on business travel to Iraq and the "incoming work force." With the new service, Royal Jordanian has 25 weekly flights to Iraq, 16 of which are operated to Baghdad, three to Basra and four to Irbil, besides the twice-weekly flights to Sulaymaniah.
The agreement between workers at Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) and President Ernesto Asbun for the free transfer of 50% of his equity shares couldn't be signed last week as scheduled (DAILY, June 2) because Asbun and his advisers didn't show up.
U.K. airport operator BAA was holding discussions yesterday with potential buyer Ferrovial, as Ferrovial's deadline for a higher takeover offer was due to expire at midnight Monday. Analysts expected Ferrovial to increase its offer for BAA shares in the hope of winning approval from the BAA board. The board said Ferrovial's most recent offer of 900 pence per share was still too low. BAA says any bidder should pay at least 940 pence per share.
Australian low-cost carrier JetStar in December will launch three-times-weekly service between Sydney and Honolulu and twice-weekly flights between Melbourne and Honolulu pending regulatory approval. No other carrier serves the Melbourne-Honolulu market. Jetstar parent Qantas competes on the Sydney-Honolulu route with Hawaiian and Air Canada. Jetstar plans to use a 303-seat Airbus A330 configured for two classes to operate the service [OST-2006-24922].
Peruvian carrier Tans figured as one of the more troubled carriers in antitrust and competition regulator INDECOPI's reports on the quality of airline service. The INDECOPI report, commissioned by the nation's government, is aimed at improving air service in Peru -- and thereby helping to grow foreign tourism to the country -- by finding gaps in the quality of service of domestic and international airlines alike.
FAA yesterday said it will begin imposing its contract terms on the agency's controller work force immediately, even though the House is scheduled to vote on a bill this week that could send FAA and the controllers' union back to the table. Under existing statute, the agency is allowed to impose a contract because Congress chose not to overturn the agency's proposal within a 60-day window. The deadline for congressional action was yesterday. FAA sent its contract proposal to Congress in April after nine months of negotiations yielded no agreement.
Bolivia last week announced plans to regain management of the airports at La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, but the Spanish company that manages those airports has yet to receive official notice from the government.
Iberia Chairman Fernando Conte warned that the carrier is poised to stop most of its passenger operations in Barcelona as part of network restructuring, a revelation that angered the region's political leaders.
Northwest plans to cut its commission paid to Japanese travel agents from 7% to 5%, effective Sept. 1. The cut applies to all tickets issued in Japan, which is significant considering the vast majority of Japanese travelers use agents. "While Northwest strongly values its travel agency relationships and agencies will continue to play a very strong role in its Japan distribution strategy," the change is part of airline's cost-cutting plan.
American last week reported that its mainline traffic grew 3.7% in May, while capacity rose only fractionally, resulting in load factor growth of 2.6 points to 80.7%. Domestic mainline traffic rose by 2.1% on a 1.9% capacity cut. International traffic grew by 6.9%, and capacity climbed 4.6%. Loads rose 3.3 points to 83% on mainline domestic flights, and increased 1.6 points to 76.8% on international flights. American Eagle reported a May traffic increase of 15.4%, on a capacity hike of 6.7%. Load factor was up 5.8 points to 77.2%. -AS
Varig's auction, originally set for June 5 (DAILY, June 2) has been rescheduled for June 8 at the company's hangar in Rio's downtown Santos Dumont Airport. Rio bankruptcy judge Paulo Roberto Fragoso approved Varig's request for the postponement "because this is a highly complex matter and investors need more time and assurances to base their decisions."
Aviation industry leaders expressed concerns over airlines' future financial results at the Paris IATA annual general meeting, as indications grow that some markets are no longer absorbing price increases. "For each of the last three years, revenues rose 10%," IATA CEO Giovanni Bisignani said in his state-of-the-industry address. "That is double the historical average. But a weaker global economy could change this dramatically."
Delta yesterday reported a traffic drop of 9.7% for May, although a 10% capacity cut resulted in the carrier's load factor rising 0.4 points to 76.7%. Domestic traffic fell 17.1% on an 18.1% capacity cut, and domestic loads rose 0.9 points to 75.8%. International traffic was up 13.6% and capacity 17.3% as load factor fell 2.6 points to 78.7%.
United plans to decide within the next six months whether it wants to move its corporate headquarters and top executives from Elk Grove Township, Ill., to a building in downtown Chicago or relocate altogether to San Francisco or Denver as a way to cut its property costs.
Portugalia Airlines will join the SkyTeam alliance as an associate airline; the move was announced at a SkyTeam event prior to the IATA annual general assembly this week in Paris. Portugalia's application is sponsored by Air France, and the airline is expected to be ready to join in 2008. The decision means that two alliances will be represented by Portuguese members -- TAP Air Portugal recently joined the Star Alliance.
All Nippon Airways this fall will resume daily service from Tokyo to Chicago O'Hare, a route well served by three other carriers. ANA stopped the route after Sept. 11, 2001, but CEO Mineo Yamamoto told reporters in Tokyo there is now enough demand from business travelers and corporations to justify restarting service. United and Japan Airlines have double daily service, and American has one daily flight.
FAA is extending the public comment period on its massive New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia airspace redesign project because many elected officials and others wanted extra time to "study and assess the noise impacts of the project on their communities." The deadline will be pushed back 30 days to July 1.
Said independent director and Audit Committee Chairman A.C. Providenti will resign from the board and his position on the Audit Committee, effective June 13.
South African Airways recently won a five-year exemption from the government's competition commission to participate in the Star Alliance joint products, such as the convention service and regional passes. The decision comes after SAA approached the commission in September 2004 and filed for an "advisory opinion after the airline considered the competition implications of joining the global network."
German regional airline Cirrus picked Lufthansa Systems to supply its e-ticketing offerings. Lufthansa Systems is working with IATA to support its plans of faster airline processes, including e-tickets and standard check-in kiosks.
Iberia is looking for new profitable projects to invest part of some $2.5 billion in available funds for acquisitions or other projects to sustain its unprecedented growth in Latin America, said Pesident Fernando Conte last week
Boeing is negotiating orders that will fill the last remaining production slots for the 747-400 aircraft, 747 program head Jeff Peace said last week. The number of open production slots for the 747-400 is now "in the single digits," Peace said. Boeing is in talks for new -400 orders that will probably account for all the open slots, and announcements will come soon. All remaining -400 production will be freighter versions, Peace said. Boeing plans to end -400 production as soon as the first 747-8 comes off the line, scheduled in 2009.
