Named Senior VP-Public Policy and Communications Tod Hullin to succeed Rudy deLeon as senior VP-government affairs for the Washington, D.C., office upon deLeon's June 30 retirement. Boeing Commercial Airplanes Communications leader Thomas Downey will take over Hullin's responsibilities as VP-corporate communications. Boeing also named Connexion by Boeing President Laurette Koellner to president-Boeing International Relations, replacing Thomas Pickering upon his retirement.
Embraer unveiled a new, 78,000-square-foot hangar at its maintenance services base in Nashville that's capable of handling maintenance, repair and overhaul of Embraer 170/190 jets.
Mesa Air has resolved a dispute with Hawaii's DOT over terminal space at Honolulu International Airport; the carrier's Go operation will remain in the commuter terminal.
Varig received a $400 million proposal from former cargo subsidiary Varig Log for an equity stake in the airline, a $50 million improvement from the original proposal that could give Varig the funds it desperately needs to keep operating (DAILY, April 14). Local reports say Varig Log released a statement confirming both the improvement on the April 4 offer and the agreement on the purchase. The deal, however, must pass the muster of Varig's board, creditors and employees, as the carrier is restructuring in court.
Delta On Friday reached a tentative deal with its pilots' union, averting a possible strike for the time being, but it's not clear how the membership will react until the details are released.
Aerocalifornia owner Raul Arechiga dismissed local reports that FAA backed a decision by Mexico's civil aviation department (DGAC) to suspend the carrier's operations, calling it a routine acknowledgment that FAA sends to its foreign counterparts every time an airline that flies to the U.S is suspended.
You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or contact Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) APRIL 25-26 -- MRO Military 2006 Conference & Exhibition, Phoenix Civic Plaza, Phoenix, AZ APRIL 25-27 -- MRO 2006 Conference & Exhibition, Phoenix Civic Plaza, Phoenix, AZ MAY 17-18 -- MRO Military Europe, Berlin SEPT. 19-21 -- MRO Asia, Xiamen, China OCT. 24-26 -- MRO Europe, Amsterdam
As the deadline has passed for communities to submit applications for the DOT's Small Community Air Service Development program (SCAD), The DAILY contacted the top 10 grant recipients in the program's first year -- FY2002 -- to see how the money was spent. DOT awarded $19.9 million in grants to 40 communities in 2002. Five of the top 10 grant recipients in FY 2002 were successful in efforts to improve air service (DAILY, April 13).
Virgin America yesterday was slapped with another delay by the U.S. Transportation Dept. when the startup carrier was ordered to submit additional information about its ownership structure and management's relationship with Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson.
Congress should fully fund the Essential Air Service (EAS) program in 2007 to ensure that small communities keep their access to the global air transportation system, according to panelists at a legislative briefing on Capitol Hill.
United this week wrapped up two separate five-year content distribution deals with Worldspan and Galileo committed the carrier to a long-term relationship with the global distribution systems. The Worldspan agreement includes two new products that give travel agencies access to the airline's published fares and seat inventory. This includes all published fares sold through United. com, any third-party web site or other distribution system, as well as some private fares. The agreement is expected to be implemented in six months.
Lufthansa saw only small traffic growth in the first quarter, with demand up 1.0% from last year. The airline offered 3.1% more capacity, the load factor consequently dropped 1.5 percentage points to 71.8%. The slowdown was caused mainly by a 4.7% drop in demand on routes to North and South America, while European traffic -- like Asia/Pacific -- was up 5.8%. The airline pointed out that with the Easter holidays in April, the figures are not completely comparable to last year. -JF
Nav Canada yesterday announced changes to its charging formulas, which will reduce charges for large commercial aircraft but increase them for smaller planes, such as regional jets.
Delta yesterday tweaked its summer schedule of New York service with the addition of service to three more nonstop routes from New York LaGuardia and Kennedy airports. The new flights include Saturday-only service between LGA and Las Vegas and Los Angeles, effective June 10, and new daily roundtrip service between JFK and Burlington, Vt., effective July 5. With the new additions, Delta will offer New York 260 peak daily flights from to 81 destinations from LGA and JFK.
Aeroflot today officially joins the SkyTeam alliance, boosting the group's network in Russia and Eastern Europe, but all eyes will be on the airline's long-haul aircraft decision, expected within two weeks.
FuelCo, Star Alliance's fuel management company, is officially incorporated and will likely begin operations in Frankfurt this spring. The current shareholder is Air Canada, which will likely soon be joined by Lufthansa, SAS, United and Star Alliance GmbH. "FuelCo's purpose will be to negotiate with suppliers with a single voice representing Star carriers to ensure carriers get the best terms possible and a guaranteed supply in agreed key locations," Air Canada said.
A Brazilian court ruled that Lloyd Aereo Boliviano President Ernesto Asbun cannot legally dispose of his equity shares in the carrier until he pays $17 million to former partner VASP, impeding LAB employee efforts to buy Asbun's shares and save the carrier. The shares, along with all of LAB's assets, are under lien at the court on a motion brought by VASP Airlines (DAILY, March 6). An attempt by Asbun to sell or transfer such LAB shares would be subject to civil and criminal judicial action in Brazil.
