JetBlue traffic in November jumped 23.5% but fell short of the 26.4% capacity growth, leading to a drop in load factor, which sank 1.9 percentage points to 81.9%. The number of departures grew 28% to 10,305, and the number of revenue passengers increased 23.6% to nearly 1.3 million. JetBlue's completion factor was 99.9%, and its on-time performance was 74.6%, down from the October 75.1% on-time arrival rate. It was also down from November 2004, when on-time performance was 87.5%.
Frontier yesterday hired Chris Collins as its new senior VP-operations. Collins most recently held that position at JetBlue. He has also held positions at Continental and People Express. Collins, who will report directly to CEO Jeff Potter, plans oversee Frontier's flight operations, maintenance and customer service departments.
BAA started the three-month countdown to determine the location of a proposed second runway at London Stansted airport, which drew fire from at least one low-cost carrier. The study marks the first step toward building the new runway since plans were announced in 2003 in a federal white paper detailing the country's air transport future. BAA is considering seven runway options and said that a new runway would increase annual passengers from 22 million to 76 million by 2030.
WestJet last week converted options for more Boeing 737s, bringing the number of new aircraft it plans to add by yearend 2008 to 19. The airline will take 10 737-600s and two -700s next year. In the latest deal, WestJet converted options for four 737s scheduled for delivery in 2007 and three more for a 2008 delivery. An airline spokeswoman said the latest orders would most likely be for the -700 model, but the airline retained the option to switch to -600s or -800s.
United is on track to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February but CEO Glenn Tilton said the airline's cost cuts are far from over and he put the competition on notice that his airline will aggressively defend its markets in 2006.
The Korean government used its emergency powers to order Korean Air's unionized pilots back to work after negotiations with the airline's management for higher wages ended in a stalemate. The government also barred pilots from taking any form of industrial action for 28 days, starting Dec. 12. A violation of the order could result in a two-year imprisonment and a fine of KRW20 billion (US$19.5 million) for the offender.
China Southern signed a deal to lease five Airbus A320s from the Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE). The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2006, under a 12-year lease. The deal represents SALE's largest-ever bulk order. The A320s will be configured for 158 passengers in two classes. China Southern already operates 58 aircraft from the A320 family.
Eurocontrol says at least 20 countries have published new radio frequency rules that increase the number of channels available for controller-pilot communication, which means a successful transition to the new standards is likely, the agency says. The frequency rules, published by European states as Aeronautical Information Circulars, will require the spacing between channels to be reduced to 8.33kHz above flight level 195. The change will occur March 15, 2007, and will require some airlines to retrofit new radio equipment on aircraft.
Spirit Airlines won a two-year exemption from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation to serve the Orlando-Cancun city-pair. Two designations were available for the city-pair, and a four-way contest emerged among Spirit, Boston-Maine Airways, Delta and AirTran (DAILY, June 29). However, the competition whittled down as both AirTran and Delta withdrew their applications and DOT deferred action on all of Boston-Maine's pending applications because of a continuing investigation by DOT's Inspector General (DAILY, Aug. 4).
FAA and manufacturer Lockheed Martin last week completed the installation of an air traffic control communications system at all 20 of the agency's en-route centers. The last of the centers to receive the en-route communications gateway (ECG) systems was Miami. The ECG rollout began in 2003 in Seattle and was completed on schedule. ECG provides a single gateway for processing surveillance and flight data for the centers.
USA 3000 is seeking an exemption that would see it convert the charter service it offers between Milwaukee and Puerto Vallarta and St. Louis and San Jose del Cabo into scheduled service. The carrier proposed seasonal Wednesday and Saturday service for flights between Milwaukee and Puerto Vallarta, which would launch on Dec. 21 with Airbus A320 aircraft. USA 3000 currently serves the city-pair with seasonal/public charters.
Cathay Pacific's November load factor sank as its 8.1% traffic gain was outpaced by a 9.7% capacity increase. Passenger load factor was 76.3%, down 0.8 percentage points, and the cargo load factor was 68.7%, almost unchanged from last year despite a corresponding 6.8% increase in cargo capacity. "Business was good in November, even though demand is usually softer ahead of the yearend holidays," said Ian Shiu, general manager of revenue management, sales and distribution.
House members want to make sure DOT's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revisit the rules of foreign airline ownership won't hurt airline employees, customers or the Civil Reserve Air Fleet.
Delta's pilot union leadership late Sunday agreed to an interim tentative concession agreement that will postpone a potential bankruptcy court rejection of the group's contract until March.
Airbus and Pratt & Whitney reached revised deals with Northwest for continued financing of 14 Airbus A330-200s/300s the airline has on order, ensuring the replacement of the carrier's DC-10-30s. Northwest ordered 24 A330s in 2001 and placed another order for eight planes in January, complementing 18 A330s in its fleet. The newly ordered aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2006 and 2007.
Goodrich won new business from JetBlue after signing a long-term deal to maintain components it has built on the airline's Airbus A320 fleet, including lighting and actuation systems, potable water systems and fuel and utility systems.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings subsidiary Polar Air Cargo returned to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation one U.S.-Hong Kong fifth-freedom cargo frequency that it used to operate between Hong Kong and Jakarta.
November was the second month in a row that Spirit cut its capacity significantly, yet loads still suffered, falling seven percentage points year over year.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation last week amended the interstate operating authorities held by U.S. scheduled and commuter carriers under Title 49, Sections 41102 and 41738 of the U.S. Code to reflect the new Love Field condition service perimeters. DOT added Missouri to the roster of states that Love Field carriers may serve directly [OST-2005-23296]. The Love Field perimeter was expanded by a provision in the transportation appropriations bill recently signed into law (DAILY, Dec. 2). -ARS
Thai domestic low-fare carrier Nok Air will be the first airline in the region to reduce fuel surcharges as oil prices continue to drop. Starting Jan. 10, the Bangkok-based carrier will reduce the surcharge by THB50 (US$1.21) per sector to THB100 (US$2.42). CEO Patee Sarasin said the carrier will continue to monitor the price of fuel and make adjustments to the surcharge should there be a need.
China Southern Airlines inked a deal with Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) to lease five new Airbus A320s for 12 years. China Southern will deploy the aircraft on domestic and international routes to Hong Kong, Korea and Southeast Asia. The airline will take delivery of the aircraft, which will arrive fresh from the Airbus final assembly line, between January and June of the coming year.
