Airbus will make a decision on design changes for the Airbus A350 by the time the Farnborough Air Show occurs in July, EADS Co-CEO Noel Forgeard said yesterday at the Berlin air show. "We have listened to some customer feedback, and we are on our way to make the final definition of the aircraft," Forgeard stated. He played down the financial implications of further investment in the A350, saying the Airbus cash flow was strong.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. rejected moves by AirTran to vary the use of two of its Washington National slots to increase seasonal service to Atlanta (DAILY, May 5) and said the carrier must continue to use the slots for the Florida service they were intended for. The airline planned to scale back its daily DCA-Fort Myers flights to a Saturday-only service in July, using the two available slots to add a frequency to its Atlanta service. It would restart the Florida service in November.
Fewer than half the world's airlines are now issuing electronic tickets, according to IATA, but the pace has to quicken if the group wants to reach its goal of 70% by yearend and 100% by the end of 2007.
Nav Canada recently reported that March traffic was up 3.8% from last year, as measured in charging units. For the fiscal year to date, traffic is up 2.8%. Nav Canada's fiscal year runs through the end of August.
Swiss International Air Lines has agreed to sell its call center subsidiary Mindpearl, but the company will continue to operate Swiss' call centers. Swiss sold the unit in a management buyout to a group of management under CEO William Pattison. Both sides declined to reveal financial details.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta today is scheduled to announce details of a new initiative to reduce aviation, highway and freight congestion. The announcement coincides with Transportation Week in the U.S.
Italy's Air One ordered six Bombardier CRJ-900s and took options for four additional planes in a transaction valued at $215 million. The latest CRJ-900 deal follows orders earlier this year by African airline Arik Air for two CRJ-900s, Macedonian Airlines for a single plane and Turkish carrier Atlasjet for three aircraft. Last year, Styrian Spirit became the first European airline to order the largest member of Bombardier's CRJ family.
Continental yesterday renewed its partnership with Expedia by signing a five-year deal with the online travel agent, while also inking an agreement with Sabre. Under the agreement with Expedia, Continental's fares and inventory will be marketed through Expedia.com and its affiliate sites. "Achieving efficiency in the distribution of our products is also an important objective for us, and this agreement succeeds in meeting our goals for getting tickets to our customers at attractive economics to Continental," said President Jeff Smisek.
Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen (LTS) signed a three contract to overhaul CF6-80 engine thrust reversers for Thai Airways International, an LTS executive said last week. Wolfgang Breckau, president and CEO of LTS, described the deal as an extension of LTS's cooperation with Thai and said, "This three-year contract represents a longer and higher work load than is usual in this market." -Frank Jackman, Overhaul & Maintenance
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, the largest operator of Boeing 747 freighters, yesterday outlined plans to cut some of the older 747s from its fleet after reduced military charter business helped contribute to lower revenues and a first-quarter loss. Atlas reported a net loss of $3.7 million for the quarter ending March 31, compared with a $700,000 profit for the same period last year. Revenue was $332.1 million this year, down from $346.9 million in 2005. Atlas is the umbrella company for cargo carriers Atlas and Polar.
UPS plans to remove its 12.5% fuel surcharge cap for air services and will link the surcharge to a revised fuel price index that it claims is the same as that used by rival FedEx.
The Association of European Airlines criticized U.S. resistance to changing airline ownership rules, saying it is delaying the implementation of a possible Open Aviation Area agreement between the European Union and the U.S. until summer 2007 at the earliest. "It is regrettable that domestic pressures in the U.S. are creating unnecessary delay and give rise to all sorts of speculation," AEA Secretary- General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said yesterday in Brussels.
Airbus conducted airport compatibility tests for the A318 at London City Airport on the weekend, which the manufacturer said is an important step toward beginning scheduled A318 flights at the airport. The compatibility tests follow three years of evaluation by Airbus, airport officials and airworthiness authorities. The recent tests were made possible by a steep approach certification that was granted for the A318 in March.
China's airlines will have a combined fleet of 1,580 aircraft by 2010 and 4,000 by 2025, a sharp increase from the current fleet of 863, according to a new forecast from the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (GACAC).
Air Canada Technical Services won new business from S7 Airlines (formerly Siberia Airlines) through a maintenance deal valued at $2.8 million. ACTS plans to perform C checks on 10 of the carrier's newly leased Airbus A319s before they enter S7's fleet. The MRO also will complete several modifications on the plane required by Russia's Civil Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Agency, and supply tailored maintenance programs specific to S7 requirements. ACTS plans to perform the work at its Montreal and Winnipeg bases.
According to Mexican Secretary of Transportation Pedro Cerisola, in 90 days, upon government accreditation of its air safety standards, grounded Aerocalifornia (DAILY, May 4) may have its operating license renewed. He added that the carrier has already submitted administrative documentation, but now aircraft must be inspected. In this context, Cerisola said, "Tracing the state of spare parts is more important than the aircraft airworthiness."
Southwest Airlines has driven the growth of Pittsburgh International Airport, carrying 11% of the traffic, or almost 95,000 passengers in March 2006, according to statistics from the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Midwest Airlines carried 7,287 passengers, a 120.2% hike, in March 2006, compared with March 2005. Continental jumped 28.6%, carrying 39,372 passengers, while United rose 5.3% carrying 57,062 and Delta saw a small increase of 0.5%.
Embraer is laying the groundwork to add more business aircraft products after launching its Phenom small-jet family last year. CEO Mauricio Botelho told analysts yesterday that the airframer was studying adding two new executive jets with configurations falling between the Phenom 100/300 aircraft that seat eight to nine passengers and its 16-seat Legacy 600 that's built on the ERJ-135 platform. This follows Embraer's recent launch of the Lineage 1000 executive jet built on the airframer's 190 platform.
Lufthansa Technik expects to see a 60% spike in widebody aircraft D-checks in 2011 as new aircraft delivered in 2004 and 2005 come due for their first heavy checks. The MRO giant expects the number of D-checks worldwide to go from slightly more than 300 in 2010 to just over 500 in 2011, to dip back down to closer to 400 in 2012 and then surge to about 500 a year in 2013 through 2015, Andreas Meisel, senior VP-aircraft overhaul and VIP jet services, told reporters in Beijing Friday.
Eos Airlines yesterday hired two new executives as part of a shake-up in the airline's sales department. The carrier named Toby Joseph as its new executive VP-global sales to replace Victor Alhadeff, who is still listed on the airline's web site as EVP-sales. Joseph recently served as chief operating officer of TQ3 Travel Solutions, an international travel management company. Before his time with TQ3 Travel Solutions, Joseph served as VP sales-Europe and the Middle East for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a company he joined in 1987.
Philippine Airlines last week added four more domestic points to its network of routes where electronic ticketing is available, taking the carrier closer to full imple- mentation of the service across its domestic operations.
