The Star Alliance member carriers are asking for legal and regulatory clarification on a content- sharing deal announced two months ago between Amadeus and Sabre.
Delta reports growing traffic from East and West international destinations through its Atlanta hub to Latin America, reports Chief Operating Officer Jim Whitehurst. "We're seeing early signs of strength for connecting traffic" between the new Tel Aviv route and burgeoning retirement communities in Panama and Mexico, he says. Tokyo is Delta's top international connect point to Sao Paulo and Lima, he added.
Qantas this week announced it will add nonstop flights from San Francisco to Vancouver, Canada during peak travel seasons. The flights will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays between June 14 and Aug. 6, and also between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31. The flights will add 1,000 weekly seats to this route, the airline said.
Alaska Airlines last week decided to change the routing of its service connecting Fairbanks and the Alaskan Arctic destinations of Barrow and Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay due to a recent change in the U.S. Postal Service Barrow bypass mail program.
Boeing says it is considering adding a convertible passenger/ cargo version of its 737 to its business jet (BBJ) lineup. The new BBJ would be based on the convertible 737-700C, which incorporates the 737-700 fuselage and the strengthened landing gear and wings of the -800. The aircraft would provide multi-purpose capability for business jet customers, such as governments, heads of state and entrepreneurs.
Comair and its flight attendants' union are far apart on an amended contract as the two sides prepare to restart contract negotiations May 11-12 in Washington.
Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee Democrats don't like having to deal with the FAA's air traffic controllers' contract, but everyone seems ready to restore at least some of the administration's Airport Improvement Program budget cuts.
Ericsson has designed and completed the integration of a multi-operator In-Building Solution (IBS) at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport; IBS allows commuters and staff members at the airport seamless communication and international roaming services. The IBS system incorporates six different technologies, including WCDMA and GSM. Ericsson was awarded the contract for the IBS project by the country's top five mobile operators -- Advanced Info Service (AIS), DTAC, True Move, Hutchison CAT Wireless and Thai Mobile.
Korean Air's first-quarter net profit more than doubled to KRW127 billion (US$136 million) thanks to strong passenger and cargo growth, as well as some foreign exchange gains.
As Boeing works to lock in the final configuration for its new 747-8 aircraft this year, the airframer is also preparing to wind down production on its long-serving 747-400. Boeing now has fewer than five open production slots left for the remainder of the -400 program, said 747 program head Jeff Peace. Some -400s will still be built while -8s are being produced for flight testing, but the first delivery of the -8 will mark the cutoff for the -400s, Peace said. The current backlog for -400s is 42 aircraft -- all freighters.
Airlines operating the Boeing 777 will soon be able to add an extra year to the period between C-checks, thanks to new guidelines that Boeing expects to publish. Under the previous Maintenance Review Board report, 777s had to undergo five-day C-checks every 25 months. The new MRB report will extend this maintenance interval to 37 months. In addition to C-checks, some line maintenance intervals will be extended from 100 to 125 days.
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport hopes it can lure new passenger and cargo airlines with a new three-year, $20 million initiative program; the airport's board of directors approved the funds to create the Air Service Incentive Program (ASIP). ASIP offers incentives for new international passenger, international cargo, and domestic passenger service, said Joe Lopano, executive VP-marketing and terminal management.
The European Union and Georgia on May 3 signed a "horizontal" air transport agreement, which removes the nationality restriction in existing bilateral accords between EU states and Tbilisi. The new agreement "allows any EU airline to operate flights between any EU Member State where it is established and Georgia," explains the European Commission. The European Court of Justice outlawed the nationality restrictions in the "open-skies" judgments of November 2002.
Akron-Canton Airport has opened a new concourse to serve AirTran and Frontier. The new concourse features four gates, free Wi-Fi, a glass atrium and bamboo and stainless steel finishes. Later this summer, a new food court with an Arby's and T.J. Cinnamon will open.
Air China won from the U.S. Transportation Dept. an exemption for its planned Beijing-Dallas cargo flights (DAILY, April 17). The carrier's anticipated launch date of the three weekly services was May 11, with Air China using Boeing 747 freighters for the flights [OST-2006-24486].
The interiors and exteriors of jet bridges at New York Kennedy Airport will be branded by HBSC, one of the world's largest financial services companies. HBSC inked a five-year deal with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for its first major branding campaign in North America. The banking company has similar deals in place at London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.
FedEx Express seeks one weekly Hong Kong-Delhi frequency for a several-stop service destined for Memphis. The carrier currently operates the route on a blind-sector basis between Hong Kong and Delhi, and the exemption would give it authority for the fifth-freedom market. Seven Hong Kong-Delhi frequencies are available, since no other U.S. cargo carriers operate in the market [OST-2006-24643].
Boeing is confident it will sign its first order for the passenger version of the 747-8 this year, and will probably book at least one more customer by yearend, Boeing's 747-8 program head Jeff Peace says. The company previously predicted its first passenger order would come in the first half of the year. Boeing launched the 747-8 program in November with orders for 18 freighter versions of the aircraft from Cargolux and Nippon Cargo Airlines.
Air New Zealand subsidiary Freedom Air within a month will begin carrying United's code on routes from Christchurch to Melbourne, Auckland-Christchurch, Auckland-Wellington, and Auckland-Queenstown. Freedom Air won approval from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to carry United's code on its Trans-Tasman flights last month (DAILY, April 28).
