Virgin America by yearend will have spent about $40 million on startup expenses, but CEO Fred Reid reports the carrier will still be a low-cost airline and is prepared to keep pace with the most efficient airlines in the business.
American won approval from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation to code share with ex-partner Swiss's regional carrier Swiss European, while Star Alliance partner United's application for the same code sharing was deferred. DOT deferred action on the United portion of Swiss European's application "pending further advice from the FAA concerning United's audit of [the carrier] under the DOT/FAA Code-share Safety Program Guidelines."
Traffic continues to trend upward for Latin American Airline Association member airlines, which collectively saw traffic improve 5.8% in October from the same month last year. Capacity, meanwhile, grew only 8.5%. Load factor was up 2.6% to 71.1% as a result of a higher growth rate of traffic against capacity.
Responding to investor's queries about Mesa's entry in the inter-island market, executives of Hawaiian Airlines said Mesa's cost per available seat mile on CRJ-200s flights in the region would be one-third higher than Hawaiian's CASM on its Boeing 717s. Basing its information on a report SH&E prepared for Hawaiian, the carrier estimates its expenses in aircraft rent, fuel, maintenance and crew costs are lower than Mesa's CRJ-200s. Hawaiian's overall cost advantage on the 717 shrinks when the aircraft's CASM is compared to that for CRJ-700s and -900s.
ATR won a 10-year maintenance deal with Corsican regional CCM Airlines valued at $24 million. The companies signed the agreement at the delivery ceremony of CCM's first ATR 72-500. The airline has six of the 70-seat turboprops on order, with deliveries scheduled through March 2007. CCM also flies ATR 72-200s. -LR
The Dominican Republic's airport traffic improved 7.4% in the first 10 months of 2005 from the same period last year, as some 7 million passengers arrived or departed on scheduled and charter airlines through five major airports. The country's civil aviation department credits the gains to the growing international reputation of the Dominican Republic as a trendy resort destination at budget prices.
Mexico's Transport Secretary Pedro Cerisola was opposed to some of the proposals for the amended U.S.-Mexico bilateral agreement, he told local press after the deal's signing earlier this week (DAILY, Dec. 14)
A framework on pan-Arab cooperation in aviation security, aimed at developing and enhancing the performance of the aviation industry in the Arab region, will be unveiled at the first Arab aviation security conference in February. The General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates worked with ICAO, the Arab Civil Aviation Commission and the Arab Air Carriers Organization to organize the event, which will be held in Abu Dhabi Feb. 6-9.
House lawmakers passed a pension overhaul bill, H.R.2830, by a 294-132 vote yesterday without specific airline assistance despite pleas from some Democrats and Republicans, who said the aid is needed to keep airlines from cutting pension benefits to more than 300,000 workers. But House Education and the Workforce Chair Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he believed the airline relief is important and would be included in conference.
LAN affiliate Lan Ecuador, which holds exemptions to operate passenger flights from Quito and Guayaquil to New York and Miami and cargo flights to Los Angeles, seeks an exemption to operate charter cargo flights between the U.S. and Ecuador. The carrier initially would fly from Guayaquil and Quito to Miami, New York or Los Angeles via Cali, Bogota, or Panama City. Lan Ecuador also wants authority to carry local fifth-freedom traffic between the U.S. and third-country points.
Rebounding civil aircraft sales will drive aerospace industry growth next year as profits in 2005 are expected to reach historical highs. The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) in its annual forecast estimates aviation and aerospace profits will soar to $11 billion this year, their highest levels to date, said AIA CEO John Douglass yesterday during a speech highlighting association's predictions for profitability for this year and sales estimates for 2006.
Emirates next year plans to launch its second route to Japan with the start of weekly flights to Nagoya, effective June 1. Initially, Emirates will serve Nagoya four times a week, growing the service to a daily flight beginning July 1, 2006. The route will be operated with a Boeing 777-200 in a three-class configuration. Starting Sept. 1, the route will be served by Emirates' long-haul Airbus A340-500, operating on the same daily schedule.
Colombian carrier AeroRepublica will soon change its name to COPA Colombia, reflecting the brand of the airline's majority owner, Panama's COPA Airlines (DAILY, March 11). Other coming changes will see the Colombian carrier's DC-9 fleet replaced with McDonnell-Douglas aircraft.
Air France and TAM Brazil are extending their existing partnership to destinations beyond the hubs on either end of their transatlantic routes, the two carriers said this week.
Italian leisure carrier Eurofly launched an initial public offering this week, aiming to float 48.6% of its capital in an attempt to raise up to EUR45 million (US$54 million) to finance its development. The company, set up jointly in 1989 by Alitalia and Olivetti, is now 90% owned by a Luxembourg-based equity fund. Eurofly, which operates a fleet of 12 Airbus aircraft, carried 1.47 million passengers in 2004, with revenues of EUR235 million.
LAN Airlines last week unveiled plans to invest $100 million in a new "premium business" service, becoming the latest carrier to merge its first- and business-class cabins.
Mexican civil aviation department CEO Gilberto Lopez Meyer is urging holding company Cintra to sell Aeromexico and its subsidiaries soon, lest they be displaced in the market by low-cost competitors set to launch in 2006.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. yesterday asked for industry comment on four alternatives for revising its airline ticket advertising rules, and two of the alternatives would grant airlines' wish to list a fuel surcharge as a separate fee.
