Colombian carrier Avianca, following the lead of rival AeroRepublica (DAILY, March 16), will invest $180 million for 10 Fokker 100s and two flight simulators formerly operated by American. Avianca President Fabio Villegas said the aircraft will be used to beef up domestic routes, with an additional $6 million for parallel development of its Puente Aereo (air shuttle) infrastructure in Bogota and other key destinations. AeroRepublica, meanwhile, is investing $175 million to expand its fleet with Embraer 190 regional jetliners. -LZ
Columbus-based Skybus Airlines has no immediate plans to launch flights until it finalizes its financing even though the U.S. Transportation Dept. last week awarded the carrier final approval to start operations to points in the U.S. and Canada. The carrier wants to raise $80 million to $100 million and will keep a low profile until it is ready to start selling tickets, which should be this year or early 2007.
The National Transportation Safety Board preliminary stats show civil aviation accidents increased about 3.6% year over year in 2005 to 1,779 versus 1,717 in 2004, but fatalities dropped 5.7% from 636 to 600. General aviation accidents rose from 1,617 in 2004 to 1,669 in 2005 and fatalities increased from 558 to 562. Part 121 carriers reported 32 accidents last year, with three resulting in 22 fatalities. -LR
Air France signed a wage deal for 2006-2007 with six unions representing a majority of its staff. The accord includes a one-off bonus of EUR500 to be paid in April 2006 as well as an average wage increase of 3.3% over two years. The French carrier said the agreement showed Air France's "determination to preserve its social model thanks to its strategy of profitable growth." -MT
United Technologies subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand won a 10-year contract from JetBlue to maintain its electric power generation systems, cabin pressure control and emergency power systems on the airlines Airbus A320 fleet.
Pittsburgh Airport has unveiled Phase Two of a marketing campaign designed to increase O&D traffic in the region. The effort began in 2004 just as US Airways downsized Pittsburgh and moved flying to its Philadelphia and Charlotte hubs. Pittsburgh has posted a 35% drop in departures between March 2004 and March 2006, according to the U.S. Transportation Dept. These figures include the withdrawal of service to Pittsburgh by American and ATA, and a 62% drop in departures by US Airways.
House aviation subcommittee Chair John Mica (R-Fla.) is scheduled to hold a hearing in Corona, Calif., today on how to handle the forecast passenger growth in Southern California. The number of passengers flying into Southern Californian airports is expected to double by 2030. The panel on Wednesday will hold a second field hearing in Wichita focusing on "keeping U.S. aviation manufacturing competitive."
United and Delta are eyeing destinations in the Bahamas and Canada for their 70-seat planes and are pushing to gain approval to launch service in June. United Express carrier Shuttle America is asking the U.S. Transportation Dept. for approval to start a Saturday-only service, using an Embraer 170 between Washington Dulles and Nassau on June 10, and said it could also operate other routes from the U.S. to the Bahamas.
United and Swiss will expand code sharing from Zurich on April 26, but on the same date Swiss's regional unit will stop carrying United's code on three routes from Zurich.
The European Union's black list of unsafe carriers, which is expected to target a number of African airlines, may prompt retaliation against European companies, Belgian air transport sources suspect. The European Commission is scheduled to publish a list of unsafe airlines in the EU official journal on March 24. An EU committee on airline safety representing the different national authorities finished the preparation work earlier as week.
U.K. airport operator BAA on Friday rejected a GBP8.8 billion ($15.5 billion) purchase offer from Spanish investment giant Ferrovial, making a hostile takeover campaign by Ferrovial increasingly likely. The BAA board confirmed it received a cash offer from a consortium led by Ferrovial. But after reviewing the offer, the board said it had "no hesitation in rejecting this proposal, which does not begin to reflect the true value of BAA's unique portfolio of airport assets."
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano President Ernesto Asbun will face three charges stemming from the Bolivia's investigation in the carrier's legal, technical and financial practices (DAILY, March 13).
The number of modern aircraft parked in the desert rose 2.4% to 591 planes from mid-February to mid-March, according to the Airclaims fleet database. The biggest change is an increase in CFM-powered Boeing 737s and the number of older parked jets remained steady at 1,442. "Aircraft owned by leasing companies may re-enter service faster than aircraft owned by operators given the economics and operations of leasing companies versus operators," says Merrill Lynch analyst Ronald Epstein.
US Airways Express carriers PSA, Allegheny and Piedmont are prepping to debut the new aircraft liveries of their parent airline. PSA will be the first carrier to roll out the livery on March 27, followed by Allegheny April 10 and Piedmont April 27.
FAA says delays for March are up 31%, due to a period of worse-than-usual weather in many parts of the nation. Everything from high winds and thunderstorms to snow has helped slowed the aviation system down. Overall, operations are down 9% so far this month, although LaGuardia operations are up 7.5%.
United on April will resume its Seoul-San Francisco nonstop service after seven months with a daily flight using 777-200. The service which was introduced in 1986 was suspended in September due to weak loads and high fuel prices. Currently UA passengers from Seoul heading for the US have to fly on the airline's twice daily services to Tokyo Narita for their connecting flights.
Southwest cut fares requiring a three-day advance purchase last week, said JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker, which means passengers booking three and six days prior to departure will have to pay the airline's full fare.
Air Berlin continues to strengthen its London Stansted connection with the launch of flights May 2 to Belfast City Airport. The German carrier is offering a daily roundtrip flight during the week and one flight each way on the weekend. The carrier said the route opens its European destinations for passengers from Northern Ireland. Air Berlin launched flights from the Stansted hub late last year and now offers connections from Stansted to Dusseldorf, Hanover, Leipzig, Munster/Osnabruck, Nuremberg, Paderborn and Vienna. -LR
