Houston Hobby Airport will implement a $3 passenger facility charge in October at the behest of Southwest Airlines, its largest tenant. "It's very unusual for an airport not to have PFCs these days. We see it as another mechanism to fund capital improvements at Hobby that will benefit Southwest," said Randy Gillespie, a property manager for the airline. Capital improvement projects planned for the airport include new perimeter fencing, a new 9,400-space parking garage and adding CAT II/III capability on Runway 4L-22R. -BW
Airbus North America will need more than 450 engineers at its Wichita, Kan., and Mobile, Ala., facilities by the end of 2007, says VP-Engineering Bill Greer. Airbus already has 200 employees at its engineering facility in Wichita, and the Mobile facility -- scheduled to open in January -- will need 150 engineers, Greer says.
IATA is considering legal action against Aeroports de Paris if the group's proposal to increase airport charges 5% per year for the next five years is ratified by the government, reports CEO Giovanni Bisignani. "We will not give up," he said. "We have no patience for inefficiency among our monopoly suppliers."
London Heathrow's fuel supply may not return to normal for another year, reports IATA CEO Giovanni Bisignani. "We are not pleased," he told reporters in New York. "As soon as we get more fuel capacity, we can make additional changes" to the fuel rationing system that many airlines claim is still discriminatory. He said it will take some time to install new pipeline to increase capacity, but in the meantime, demand will rise March 31, when many airlines add summer flights.
Elected to its board of directors: President-Elect Paul Nielsen, Carnegie Mellon University; VP-Elect-Education Merri Sanchez, NASA Johnson Space Center; VP-Elect-Public Policy Philip Hattis, Draper Laboratory; Director-Technical Aerospace Sciences Group David Riley, Boeing; Director-Technical Structures Design and Test David Jensen, Brigham Young University; Director-at-Large-David Dolling, University of Texas at Austin; Director-International Susan Ying, Boeing; Director-Region 3 John Blanton, GE Aircraft Engines, and Director-Region 6 Bruce Wilson, Boeing.
Air Wales last week said it plans to stop flying scheduled service next month and is working to find replacement airlines. The small carrier started service in 1999 and flies from Cardiff Airport to 10 regional points. The carrier has five 48-seat ATR 42-300s turboprops, and executives said about 80 employees will lose their jobs. The airline decided to stop scheduled service largely due to high costs and intense competition from low-cost carriers. The airline will stop scheduled service on April 24 and start flying only charter and cargo services.
Air New Zealand subsidiary Freedom Air is seeking both an exemption and authority from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to carry United's code on the flights Freedom Air will operate as it takes over Air NZ's Airbus A320 fleet and markets. Freedom next month will begin to take on Air NZ's A320 fleet, which is expected to take several months. The carrier will also assume Air NZ's A320 services in the Trans Tasman and Pacific Island markets, while Air NZ continues to operate in the markets with its all-Boeing fleet.
After years of planning and discussions among legislators and industry participants, Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva and members of his cabinet officially installed Brazil's National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), ANAC is slated to take over the functions performed for the last 75 years by the Civil Aviation Dept. under the Ministry of Defense, and will operate this year with a budget of $130 million and 400 employees, civil and military.
Viisage Identity Solutions has been signed by Iceland's Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs to compile multi-biometric data for new electronic passports. Iceland will be one of the first countries to integrate fingerprint and face biometrics into ePassports. Technology developed by Viisage will be used to gather face, fingerprint and signature biometric data on Iceland citizens applying for epassports.
In spite of a significantly improved operating profit, Lufthansa last week gave a cautious earnings outlook for fiscal 2006. The airline expects to post a better result than in 2005, CFO Karl-Ludwig Kley said, but he refused to be more specific. The company nevertheless stuck to the goal of reaching a EUR1 billion operating profit in 2008.
The Venezuelan civil aviation institute (INAC) on Friday suspended its decision to restrict flights to Venezuela by some U.S. carriers on March 30 (DAILY, March 24), according to local reports. Simultaneously, U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield said inspectors from FAA's IASA safety oversight program would stay in Venezuela working with their INAC counterparts "as long as it is necessary to find a permanent solution to relevant issues to the benefit of all parties involved."
Unit for US Airways elected Jack Stephan chairman of the Master Executive Council and re-elected Kim Snider as vice chairman and Mike D'Angelo as secretary-treasurer.
Airbus selected the Rockwell Collins SAT-2100 high-speed data satellite communication system as a supplier furnished equipment option on A320 family aircraft. Certification is expected in January 2007, and this will be the first Airbus certification for the SAT-2100. The SAT-2100 range was introduced about a year ago. It provides multi-channel voice, facsimile and data capability within a single package. The SAT-2100 also enables up to two simultaneous Swift64 or Swift Broadband channels using its HST-2110 companion.
Delta appears to be sliding out of the JFK-Jacksonville market before JetBlue's entry in June. Schedules show JetBlue as the lone carrier serving the market that month, with no airlines offering flights in May. Delta is offering two daily flights in April, with Connection carrier Comair flying 50- and 70-seat jets on the route. In the third quarter 2005, Delta netted yields of 14.97 cents on its JFK-Jacksonville flights, while RASM was 11.16 cents.
Aeromexico last week took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200ER, with a second due to be delivered in April. The aircraft will be used to replace 767s that are coming off leases and were flown on European routes. The 777s will be leased from ILFC. With the delivery, Aeromexico becomes the first airline in the Americas to receive Boeing's Class 3 Electronic Flight Bag.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing in PDF format.) MARCH 28 -- Air Traffic Control Association's FAA Budget Briefing, 703-299-2430, Fax 703-299-2437, email [email protected] MARCH 28-30 -- National Air Transportation Association/Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, GSE Aviation Services and Suppliers AS3 Supershow, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, 703-845-9000
FAA should not extend its Chicago O'Hare flight caps rule through the summer unless the agency also raises the caps to allocate unused airport capacity, Airports Council International and the City of Chicago said last week.
Named company President William Cotton vice chairman of the board. Company founders Samuel Kovnat, chairman and CEO, and Frank Rees, executive VP and director, will retire in November 2007.
Royal Jordanian last week reported a JOD21.7 million profit, a 26% jump from the year before thanks to higher traffic and revenues and strong cost control. The airline said the profit was significantly higher than internal budget estimates. The 2005 income was the second consecutive year of positive results "despite complex challenges faced by the airline, most considerable the steep increase in fuel prices during last year, sharp competition in the air transport industry and the general instability in the Middle East," CEO Samer Majali said.
