Air France this summer plans to boost its systemwide capacity by 5.6%, compared with the summer of 2005, with notable growth to Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
Lufthansa Technik Philippines won a five-year, heavy maintenance contract from bmi for the carrier's three Airbus A330s, marking the Asian MRO provider's fourth contract with a European airline. LTP is joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and MacroAsia Corp. of the Philippines, based at Ninoy Aquino Airport. Current customers include Air Luxor, Air Mauritius, Austrian Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa and Philippine Airlines.
The airline industry will be hard pressed to attract investors to fund expansion unless it finds a way to improve its return on capital, warns IATA Senior Economist Brian Pearce. Even profitable Asian airlines are generating average returns below the 8% cost of capital, he said in Singapore. Low interest rates have allowed airlines to take on debt to finance their needs, but if interest rates rise, carriers would need to raise cash from equity investors, which is a tough proposition.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. yesterday granted $200 million to Washington Dulles Airport, which will pay for more than half of the airport's fourth runway. The letter-of-intent will give the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority $10 million a year in the next 10 years. Dulles has been "growing too fast to just tinker around the edges," and the new runway will significantly boost capacity, said Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.
Embraer said that the growth of the regional airline market in China is slower than expected, but it nonetheless remains committed to pursuing its opportunities in the market.
Air France Industries plans to set up a component center at Abu Dhabi Airport for debut early this year 2006. The company believes the value of the inventory at the center will be more than $10 million. The MRO provider supports more than 30 Boeing 777s and 10 Airbus A330s/340s in the Gulf region. Royal Jordainian also tapped the company for component support.
U.S. cargo carrier Kalitta Air and Bahrain's DHLI won needed approval from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to code share on flights between the U.S. and points in Belgium, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (DAILY, Dec. 22. 2005). DHLI will put its code on Kalitta's all-cargo flights from New York to Bahrain via Brussels and Dubai [OST-2005-23384].
Australia yesterday denied Singapore Airlines' request to serve the Australia-U.S. route, instead suggesting that it would be better for a low-cost airline like Virgin Blue to serve the market.
By Steve Lott Eclat Analyst: Aaron Taylor The U.S. airport hassle factor is still sending some former airline passengers to the bus, train or cars, but a new analysis shows there are other barriers to airline growth on short flights and not even low fares may be able to bring people back.
The oneworld alliance yesterday named Philip Lewin as its market development manager for Germany and Switzerland. Lewin will work with the sales and marketing teams of oneworld members "to build their and the alliance's share in these two key target markets." He will be based in Zurich and report to Commercial Director Filip Lemmens. He joins the alliance after almost a year as an aviation consultant but was previously general manager of external relations and alliances at Swiss International Air Lines.
AirTran continues to build its presence at Baltimore/Washington Airport, competing directly with Northwest and Midwest, starting in May, on flights to Detroit and Milwaukee.
Lufthansa and Air Malta have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand their cooperation and launch code-sharing operations. "We are planning to introduce the first code-share flights with the start of the winter timetable in November," said Air Malta CEO Ernst Funk. Air Malta has operated to Germany since its launch in 1974; it currently serves Frankfurt, Munich, Duesseldorf, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. Lufthansa has been operating to Malta since the 1980s. -MT
Sukhoi is negotiating a contract for 50 Russian Regional Jets (RRJ) with the Russian state transportation company, the manufacturer said at the Singapore air show yesterday. In addition, Sukhoi anticipates reaching sales agreements for the aircraft with several Indonesian airlines. Over 20 years, Sukhoi expects 832 regional jets in the 60- to 120-seat category to be sold in the Asia/Pacific region.
Xiamen Airlines took delivery of the first of 10 737-800s that it ordered last year. The remaining nine aircraft will be delivered on a staggered basis through the third quarter next year. The 737-800s will be deployed on high-density and Southeast Asian routes. Apart from the 737-800s, Xiamen Airlines also operates 27 737-300/-400/-500s and nine 757-200s on 101 domestic and international routes. -WD
Airbus picked Honeywell to supply auxiliary power units for the A350 in a deal that could warrant up to $4 billion in revenues during the program's life span. The HGT-1500 will supply pneumatic and electric power for cabin conditioning and main engine starting on the ground and emergency power for in-flight operations. Honeywell said the HGT-1500 will be ETOPS-certified and supply supplemental electrical power up to 41,500 feet.
US Airways' fourth-quarter loss widened to $261 million, including special items, but executives said revenues are climbing and merger-related cost savings are higher than expected.
Florida-based Gulfstream Air Charter won a certificate from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to operate scheduled passenger service. Gulfstream will use the authority to operate two daily roundtrip flights between West Palm Beach and Miami. [OST-2005-21348].
Maintenance workers at Panama's COPA Airlines called a strike for Feb. 20 to demand salaries equal to the levels at other international carriers, news wire reports said. The workers say their claim is supported by statistical and financial studies showing "the company's finances warrant improving the salaries of its maintenance mechanics." They also claim management has been unable to refute this argument in past contract negotiations with unions.
The Asian Aerospace air show in Singapore starts today and will likely bring aircraft orders and product updates from the industry's manufacturers. India's low-cost GoAir hints it may announce orders for as many as 50 narrowbodies from Airbus or Boeing. Airbus will display an A380, and Boeing will brief reporters on the 777, 787 and new 747-8.
