Boeing recently finished the latest round of wind-tunnel testing on its 747-8, bringing total wind-tunnel testing to more than 3,000 hours, the airframer said. The most recent tests included high and low-speed lines development and "fine-tuning of the noise characteristics." High-speed testing was done on a model of the 747-8F at the Boeing Transonic Wind Tunnel in Seattle. The model is 3% of the actual size, measuring about 2.2 meters in length with a wingspan of 1.8 meters.
Royal Jordanian signed a deal to license PROS' revenue management systems to boost the carrier's revenue. The airline will start using the PROS 6 system, the PROS Group System and the PROS Network Revenue Planning System. Royal Jordanian chose PROS after an "extensive evaluation" of all the products on the market. "Our expectation is that the PROS Suite of systems will enable us to maximize revenue from all segments of passenger business with renewed strategic and tactical focus," said CEO Samer Majali.
American CEO Gerard Arpey told analysts yesterday that the carrier would need to make cost cuts worth about $1 billion this year just to match last year's cost levels, and he said new cost initiatives have already clawed back more than half of the increase.
UPS this week said it will expand the sorting capacity at its Rockford, Ill. air package hub by nearly 50%. Although sort capacity will be boosted, the project will not expand UPS's hub building at Chicago/Rockford Airport, the company said. Additional sorting equipment will be installed, lifting the sort rate from 82,000 packages per hour to 121,000 per hour. Extra workers will also be needed.
Virgin America yesterday blasted Continental for its latest motion filed with the U.S. Transportation Dept., alleging that Continental is afraid of start-up carriers and that its filings "are completely without merit."
Northwest's code can appear on Delta's Atlanta-Caracas flights, thanks to a newly won exemption from the U.S. Transportation Dept. [OST-2006-23983]. Atlanta-Caracas was one of a suite of routes that Northwest sought to serve through expanded code shares with Delta and Continental (DAILY, Feb. 17).
Virgin Blue's profits fell 8.5% during the six-month period ending in March to A$68.2 million (US$53 million) due to a 34% rise in the Australian carrier's fuel costs, but yields and unit revenue held steady.
Michael Farge bought the assets of the former Fairchild Dornier 328JET program from bankruptcy receivers in Germany earlier this year and is now supporting other 328JET operators and using some of those aircraft in his own flight operations.
Singapore Airlines Engineering Co. (SIAEC) posted a S$230 million (US$147 million) profit for the year ended March 31, an increase of 35% from the previous year thanks to revenue growth.
Airbus yesterday said it has completed the first of the major ground cabin tests required for the A380, with passengers sitting through a simulated long-haul flight. The testing took five hours, but simulated a 15-hour flight, Airbus said. During the test, 474 passengers and 20 cabin crew tried all cabin systems, including entertainment systems, water and waste systems, air conditioning, and in-seat power outlets. Airbus said passenger tasks were arranged to "simulate a maximum stress on certain cabin systems."
The City of Joplin, Mo., is endorsing Mesa's proposals for essential air service to the community, over a competing proposal from RegionsAir that would keep the EAS with an American Connection carrier.
Cathay Pacific for the next month plans to offer a voluntary early retirement program for its cabin crew as part of the carrier's strategy to cut costs.
Shanghai Airlines yesterday was officially invited to join the Star Alliance and Star CEO Jaan Albrecht plans to return to China in the coming weeks to formally invite Air China into the group.
ExpressJet believes the higher leases it will pay Continental for 69 planes exiting the major airline's markets should equal what the regional would have to pay for new aircraft, executives reported yesterday. The regional carrier told Continental late last week it was opting to keep the planes --25 Embraer ERJ-145LRs and 44 ERJ-145XRs -- and pay higher leases, rather than return them to Continental. Late last year, Continental said it was cutting those planes from its agreement with ExpressJet after the airlines couldn't agree on rates for the flying.
The Chinese government plans to spend 140 billion yuan (US$17.4 billion) in the next five years to build 44 new airports to handle growing traffic in the country. Passenger traffic is expected to grow 14% annually, according to a report by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). China's airports will grow from 142 now to 190 by 2010, then up to 220 by 2020, said the report.
FAA awarded a contract potentially worth $20 million to Sabre for a system that will automate controller scheduling. The initial contract value of $200,000 is for a pilot program in Kansas City this summer. The Sabre Streamline Resource Management Suite will let the agency create controller shift schedules and rosters.
Struggling Bolivian carrier Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB), in a drastic move, is taking contributions from companies and individuals interested in helping the airline out of its rut. CEO Marcelo Zalabaga said that as part of a solidarity campaign accounts in banks and cooperatives have been opened to receive contributions. Zalabaga also reiterated LAB's appeal for the government's guarantee to obtain an urgent $8 million rescue loan.
Democrat lawmakers yesterday called for delay on the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s latest foreign ownership proposal, but leading Republicans said the DOT rule will help industry attract much-needed capital and ease overly protectionist restrictions.
ABX saw its first-quarter profit increase 14.3% to $8.1 million, mainly due to slightly better results from its main DHL business and much larger interest income. Profits from ABX's two DHL contracts increased from $5.1 million to $5.25 millon, while interest income accounted for $1.1 million compared to just $327,000 last year. Overall revenue was up 6.5% to $369.2 million, dominated by DHL revenue, which increased from $340.2 million to $360.8 million.
RTI International Metals yesterday said it has locked up a 10-year agreement with Airbus to supply titanium products for commercial aircraft programs. RTI expects the contract to generate revenue of more than $800 million. Shipments will begin toward the end of this year and are expected to exceed five million pounds a year by 2008. As well as forging quality and flat-rolled titanium, additional "value-added products and services" are being discussed, RTI said. Based in Niles, Ohio, RTI is one of the leading suppliers of titanium.
