The Nauru government is claiming it will restore regular air service to the tiny Pacific Island nation within a few weeks, although the U.S. Export-Import Bank is denying reports that Air Nauru is trying to buy the aircraft the bank recently repossessed.
World Airways' pilots started a strike during the weekend after last-minute contract negotiations failed to produce an agreement between the two sides. The carrier warned yesterday that the strike "could result in a loss of customers" if it is prolonged, although some of World's commercial flying is protected through subcontracts with other carriers. The 430 pilots are contractually not allowed to stop flying World's extensive military contracts.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is requiring Airbus A340-500/600 operators to inspect auxiliary power units (APUs) on the aircraft to ensure there is no interference between the APU generator and the gearbox.
Mesaba pilots and management remain divided on reaching a concession deal, and union leaders suspect management might try to reject the current contract through the bankruptcy court in the near future.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University last week named Thomas Connolly the new chancellor of the Daytona Beach, Fla. campus. Connolly has held a variety of teaching and administrative posts since joining ERAU in 1973. As chancellor, Connolly will succeed Irwin Price, who is retiring. Connolly has a Citation rating, holds a flight instructor certificate and is an FAA Aviation Safety Counselor.
Continental and Maersk will end their code share on March 26. The Danish low-cost carrier merged with rival Sterling last year, and the merged carrier, now operating as Sterling, planned to cancel all of its code shares (DAILY, Oct. 25, 2005). Continental and Maersk first won code-share authority in April 2004.
Austria, which serves as European Union chair country for the first half of 2006, plans to continue work on new EU legislation on disabled airline passengers and on the European satellite program Galileo.
Allegiant Air in March plans to launch weekly service from Las Vegas to Billings, Mont. The service will start March 31 and will operate twice per week on Friday and Monday. The airline will use 150-seat MD-80s on the route. The airline said "market research and input from local community leaders indicate that the Billings community will welcome the new nonstop flights and low fares" as an alternative to connecting flights or long drives to other airports.
Sun Country supports the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s effort to open up the skies to those with respiratory disabilities, but opposes parts of the proposed rule that would prevent airlines from recouping costs related to the use of devices owned by passengers or the provision of medical oxygen.
National Air Transportation Assn. President James Coyne hopes President Bush will include aviation in tonight's State of the Union speech, but he's betting against it.
ATA Airlines' today is expected to officially win court approval for its reorganization plan, and the airline is on track to exit Chapter 11 in late February. The carrier will emerge just before it starts a big push to Hawaii with code-share partner Southwest in April.
Continental flight attendants ratified a concession deal Sunday, which essentially completes the $500 million in total annual labor savings the airline was targeting. The International Association of Machinists is scheduled to release further details of the ratification vote today. The four-year agreement will cut flight attendant costs by about $72 million a year, adding to the $418 million a year in savings already achieved through previous union deals.
Long-time Bombardier operator South African Airways Express expanded its fleet with a two-aircraft order for the 74-seat Q400 turboprop. The airline currently flies seven Bombardier Dash 8-300s and six 50-seat CRJ-200 regional jets. Bombardier said South African Airways Express would be the first carrier on the African continent to fly the Q400. As of December, Bombardier's 57 aircraft backlog for the Q400 was just seven planes shy of the airframer's CRJ-700 backlog that stood at 64 planes.
United decided to upgrade the job responsible for Chicago O'Hare operations as part of its 2006 plan to improve efficiency and reliability at the airport.
WestJet may add new North American destinations this year, while the rest of the carrier's capacity growth will be dedicated to building frequencies within the existing network, the airline's CEO reports.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Post reported that their new joint venture cargo airline -- which will be named ANA & JP Express, or AJV -- will be officially formed in February this year, with flights planned to start in August.
SR Technics and Vietnam Airlines last week signed a technical services agreement for the engines powering the carrier's 10 aircraft Airbus A320s. The contract covers the maintenance, repair and overhaul of 21 CFM56-5B powerplants. SR Technics expects to handle approximately 15 total overhauls of these engines at its Zurich center during the three-year agreement. The airline has 38 aircraft and serves 15 domestic and 22 international destinations.
Aloha Airlines unveiled a new financing plan that includes a new investment group, which the carrier hopes will win bankruptcy court approval as early as this week so it can emerge from Chapter 11.
Latacunga Airport, an alternate to Quito's Mariscal Sucre, is staying alive on the strength of seasonal flower exports and the temporary closure of Quito's main airport due to decreased visibility resulting from volcanic ash.
