Tom Quinn, director of the Federal Air Marshals (FAMS) program, last week announced his retirement from the Transportation Security Administration. Quinn, who headed FAMS for the past four years, oversaw its expansion after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "Tom guided the transition of the FAMS from a small group of professionals to its position today as a highly respected member of the entire law enforcement community," said TSA Assistant Secretary Kip Hawley. Quinn also "ensured a smooth transition" for the FAMS program to TSA, Hawley said. -AS
GOL last week raised its full-year profit and margin guidance thanks to predictions of strong revenue and cost cuts. The carrier now predicts 2006 revenue of BRL4.1 billion (US$1.8 billion), up from an early estimate of about BRL4 billion. The company also raised its operating margin outlook from 25%-27% to 26%-28%.
Although Southwest is focusing on rebuilding its New Orleans market and its four newest cities -- Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Fort Myers and Denver -- CEO Gary Kelly tells Fulcrum analyst Susan Donofrio that one to three new cities are "on our real shortlist. I just don't know if we'll have the aircraft to do that." Southwest plans to add 33 planes this year. The carrier probably won't add a city until spring or summer at the earliest, Kelly adds.
South Korea's first low-fare carrier Hansung Airlines suspended operations, citing financial difficulties, but one airline official said the carrier plans to resume operations early next month. Hansung on Oct. 28 suspended its twice-daily flights to Cheju Airport, its only route, for three days after its lone ATR 72-200 burst two tires while taxiing to the gate at Cheju.
JetBlue reports a dismal 63.6% on-time arrival performance for December, likely dropping its full-year 2005 average to about 70% or below. The carrier has an annual on-time goal of 83%. Plagued by bad weather, airport congestion and the launch of the Embraer 190, JetBlue is considering changing its block times to reflect expected delays.
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) APR. 5-6 -- U.S. Defense Budgets and Programs Conference, Arlington, Va. APR. 25-26 -- MRO Military Conference, Phoenix APR. 25-26 -- MRO USA Conference & Exhibition 2006, Phoenix MAY 17-18 -- MRO Military Europe, Berlin SEPT. 19-21 -- MRO Asia, Xiamen, China
President Bill Boisture resigned from the company and has formed W. Boisture & Associates LLC. Boisture will continue to assist the company as a consultant to NetJets, Inc.
U.S. and Japan plan to hold an informal government-to-government meeting in Tokyo Jan. 24-25 to discuss liberalization of the aviation agreement, reports a DOT official. The two sides last met in July in San Francisco to talk about safety and security (DAILY, July 5, 2005). Japan and the U.S. last updated their air transport bilateral in 1998, but the terms are still fairly restrictive.
Smooth Flight Holdings, the proposed new Long Beach, Calif., carrier, will put its launch plan on hold while it waits to see if the airport can move ahead with a terminal expansion. The carrier is headed by former JetBlue executive Alex Wilcox, who signed a letter of intent in August with Plattsburgh, N.Y.-based CommutAir to provide wet-lease service with Beech 1900Ds, using 19 commuter slots (DAILY, Aug. 5).
FAA plans to certify 30-50 more RNAV "performance-based navigation" procedures in the current fiscal year after commissioning 30 in FY2005. This is part of an effort to spread the benefits of new capability that is already saving several airlines millions of dollars per year. American at Dallas/Fort Worth and Delta at Atlanta are among those enjoying the benefits of RNAV (area navigation) departures.
American is urging the U.S. Dept. of Transportation to deny Virgin Nigeria's exemption application to serve New York (DAILY, Dec. 27), citing lack of reciprocity in its bid to win approvals to code share on British Airways' London-Lagos service. The U.S. carrier and BA attempted to secure code-share approval from the Nigerian government twice last year, American reports, even asking the U.S. State Dept. for assistance.
Ryanair's 82% December load factor was slightly lower than the 83% the carrier posted a year ago. Passenger numbers grew 29% to 2.8 million and reached 33 million for the full year, up from 26 million in 2004. The airline said 98% of its seats in December were booked through its web site.
Aeromexico and Mexicana will eliminate service to Dallas/Fort Worth next month, dealing another blow to the airport. Mexicana will leave Jan. 10 and Aeromexico Feb. 5 after serving DFW for about 11 years. After the departures, DFW will have service from eight international carriers. DFW Executive VP Joe Lopano says there is still a strong market to Mexico, and DFW executives will visit several Mexican carriers in the coming weeks.
American in 30 days will start carrying Mexicana's code on flights from Mexicana's U.S. gateways -- Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Oakland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco and San Jose -- to Ottawa, Canada [OST-2004-16945].
30 Years Ago Jan. 8, 1976 -- French aerospace unions are demanding that their government forbid U.S. aircraft from landing in France if the Concorde supersonic transport is denied landing rights in New York or at Washington Dulles. One union threatened to ask maintenance workers to refuse service to U.S. aircraft. 20 Years Ago Jan. 13, 1986 -- A U.S. District Court in New York ruled that airline employees granted hiring preference by the deregulation act can sue if a carrier refuses to hire them. 10 Years Ago
Spirit's loads continued their falling trend in December, slipping three percentage points to 72% for the month from 75% a year ago. Traffic declined about 20% and capacity dipped 17%. The carrier cut capacity last fall as part of a shift in the way it manages revenue, working to sell more tickets at slightly higher fares (DAILY, Dec. 19, 2005). Weather also played a role in Spirit's capacity cuts. The airline had to push back some service to Cancun after Hurricane Wilma struck the region. -LR
