Drake Electronics has begun 2005 with a couple of significant voice communication system (VCS) contracts. The company agreed to supply VCS systems for 15 Chilean ATC facilities, winning the contract ahead of four other VCS suppliers. Drake said this is the company's first major contract in South America. Chilean ATC specialists will install the systems after receiving training at Drake's Cambridge, U.K., factory. Drake also recently won a contract to provide a replacement VCS for the U.K.'s Gloucestershire Airport.
Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Agency (CASA) is calling for comments on its proposal for extending satellite navigation coverage over the whole continent. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) is being trialed in Queensland's Burnett Basin region, and Airservices Australia plans to introduce it nationwide later this year. ADS-B equipment is being installed at 28 locations to offer coverage to aircraft flying above 30,000 feet.
Title: FAA Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) Light Emitting Diode (LED) Prototype. Closing date: April 24. Contact: Troy Teachey, (202)267-7386, [email protected]. Posting: FAA is seeking information on PAPI systems with LED lights. This will assist the FAA's investigation of using LEDs in approach lighting systems.Information provided should discuss how the LED PAPI system will meet the following requirements: Light beam, light intensity, light color, and light beam aiming tolerance.
IATA criticized a recent deal between Aerolineas Argentinas and Argentina's travel agency association that cuts commissions but adds a ticket charge, saying the arrangement infringes on international standards. Under the agreement, sales commissions fall to 3% from 6%, but agencies can impose a fixed charge for issuing tickets, which IATA says violates the principle against levying taxes or surcharges other than those earmarked to reimburse funds to government agencies or airport operators.
Propelled by the still-buoyant Russian economy, Aeroflot Russian Airlines' profits soared some 53% to US$138 million on 27% stronger revenues of US$1.4 billion in the first nine months of 2004.
Air France/KLM plans to set up "Cargo European House," an organization that will further the integration efforts between the two carriers by managing network planning, marketing and sales for Air France Cargo and KLM Cargo. Air France/KLM anticipates that Cargo European House will be operational before yearend. The two airlines, however, will maintain and operate separate cargo flights. Michael Wisbrun and Marc Boudier, executive VPs of KLM Cargo and Air France Cargo, will lead the integration.
Southwest yesterday said it will cut all flights at Houston Intercontinental airport, consolidating Houston services at its Hobby hub. The airline flies six daily flights from Intercontinental to Dallas Love Field, and these will be eliminated from April 2. The route uses only the equivalent of one aircraft, and this capacity will be assigned to Hobby or elsewhere in the Southwest network, a spokeswoman told The DAILY. The airline uses one gate at Intercontinental, and the costs associated with the closing are "insignificant," she said.
Advanced Navigation and Positioning Corp. (ANPC) has welcomed the $7 million in new funding in the fiscal 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill for alternative approach and landing systems at regional airports. The money is intended to assess the feasibility of technologies like ANPC's Transponder Landing System. The bill identifies 21 sites, including 12 in Alaska, that have terrain or available land constraints. TLS provides precision approach guidance using existing aircraft instruments.
Continental, starting June 9, will operate daily nonstop service between Newark and Guayaquil, a route now being served via Panama. Boeing 737-800s, configured for 14 in first class and 141 in economy, will be used. The new flights are scheduled to supplement nonstop services from Houston to Quito and Guayaquil.
U.K. regional and low-fare airline FlyBE (formerly British European) has converted options for 20 Bombardier Q400 turboprops into firm orders, the airline said yesterday. The aircraft, which come on top of a previous order for 17 Q400s, will be delivered within four years. FlyBE plans eventually to operate 41 Q400s and is expected to become the world's largest operator of the type. The order was valued at $485 million by Bombardier and FlyBE.
Few people are as qualified as Peter Challan to talk about change at the FAA. Challan has played an instrumental role in some of the agency's biggest transformations -- both technical and structural -- during his 35-year career, but he believes the next few years will bring even larger challenges to FAA's doorstep.
Olympic Airlines recorded a EUR23.08 million loss (US$30 million) in 2003, the airline said yesterday, but did not make other figures and more recent financial results available. Olympic Airlines is the flight operations unit of the former Olympic Airways, which was split into an airline and a ground-handling company. The Greek government has tried numerous times to sell the unprofitable airline, and the European Commission is investigating whether the carrier received illegal state aid to stay in business. -JF
Formation, Inc. recently completed site acceptance testing for its Advanced Integrated Recorder (AIR) systems at the Copenhagen ATC center, leading to the system's introduction at other sites. Danish air navigation service provider Naviair has also installed and commissioned AIR at the Greenland flight information center and is preparing to install it at Roskilde Airport, near Copenhagen. The new recording system manages up to 660 channels of analog and digital voice data for en-route, terminal and tower communications.
Strong traffic and cargo business helped Singapore Airlines Group post a S$1.09 billion profit (US$667 million) for the first nine months ended Dec. 31, up 193.9% from the same period the previous year. Revenue rose 29.56% to S$8.98 billion (US$5.5 billion), and passenger traffic made an impressive 27.48% gain while cargo jumped 16.79%. Expenses were up 21.4% to S$1.39 billion (US$851 million) due to higher fuel prices.
The U.K. and Luxembourg, chairs of the European Union's Council of Ministers in the first and second half of 2005, respectively, will "take forward any [European] Commission proposals to incorporate aviation into the EU emissions trading scheme," their joint program pledges.
The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) is in need of reform, the Senate's top homeland security lawmaker said yesterday in the runup to the Feb. 2 confirmation hearing of Michael Chertoff as agency chief.
Ryanair will add six new routes to its Dublin base in the next few months. Services to Biarritz, Carcassonne, Rome and Eindhoven will launch on April 19, while Sheffield and Hahn will start in late April and early May, respectively. Observers say Ryanair went ahead with the expansion to help persuade the Irish government to build a second terminal at Dublin Airport and prevent the launch of a new Dublin-based low-fare airline headed by former Aer Lingus CEO Willie Walsh (DAILY, Jan. 10). -JF
Iberia is mounting a campaign against the competitive advantages that low-cost carriers (LCCs) are getting throughout Spain and elsewhere, as local press reports that Iberia may be ceding some routes because of low-cost rivals. Spanish daily El Pais reported this week that Iberia plans to cut several routes next year on which it just can't compete with LCCs -- in particular easyJet and Ryanair.
California startup carrier Blackstar Airlines pulled its pending application for an operating certificate, citing funding problems but called the withdrawal "a temporary setback only."
Air Hong Kong tapped GE Engine Services to overhaul and maintain the GE CF6-80C2 engines on the cargo carrier's fleet of Airbus A300-600 freighters. Air Hong Kong is 60% owned by Cathay Pacific, and DHL Express has the remaining 40% stake. The carrier currently flies four A300s and has four others set for delivery this year and in 2006.
Munich Airport hopes to return to profitability in 2007, after reporting a EUR55 million (US$71 million) loss in 2004, steeper than the EUR51 million recorded in 2003. Flughafen Muenchen GmbH (FMG) blamed heavy investment in Terminal 2 for the loss. FMG and Lufthansa jointly own and operate the EUR1.1 billion facility, which is used by all Star Alliance and Lufthansa partner airlines serving Munich. Passenger numbers were up 11% at 26.8 million last year, making Munich roughly half the size of Lufthansa's main hub in Frankfurt. -JF
