Air Canada plans this summer to launch nonstop flights between Toronto and Seoul, further building its main Toronto hub with more non-stop services to Asia. Air Canada will operate the service three times per week starting July 1, in addition to its daily nonstop flights from Vancouver to Seoul. With a flight time of 14 hours 15 minutes westbound and 12 hours 55 minutes eastbound, the non-stop flight will save three hours 20 minutes compared to the Vancouver routing. Air Canada will operate the new route using 282-seat Airbus A340-300s.
Spirit Airlines as early as today is expected to name top US Airways executive Ben Baldanza as its next leader, sources told The DAILY. His departure would be a sharp blow to US Airways as Baldanza now serves as senior VP-marketing in planning overseeing pricing, distribution and sales. Jacob Schorr is currently president and CEO of Spirit. An airline spokeswoman declined comment.
AirTran in May plans to launch service to Indianapolis after it lost a bid to buy ATA assets and start code-sharing with the Indianapolis-based airline. AirTran will start flights May 4 with four daily services from Indianapolis to Atlanta. The flight will be served with two-class Boeing 717s. AirTran will compete with Delta, which currently has eight daily flights on the route. Starting June 7, AirTran will launch one daily flight from Indianapolis to Orlando.
Emirates ordered 30 electronic flight bags (EFB) from Boeing, becoming the largest customer for the airframer's digital storage system for pilot forms and on-board tool to calculate a plane's ideal speed and engine setting. Emirates plans to use Boeing's EFBs on the 30 777-300ERs it has on order. The airline in March is scheduled to take delivery of the first plane equipped with a class-3 EFB, which means the equipment is installed on the aircraft instead of being portable.
Acknowledging growing worries that safety rules may be taking a back seat at airlines trying to keep up with Asia's aviation boom, the General Administration of the Civil Aviation of China (GACAC) promised to step up its vigilance in ensuring Chinese airlines, airports and maintenance companies comply with safety standards.
Mexus Airlines, a Dallas-based low-cost carrier formed last year to serve Dallas-Mexico City and Guadalajara, should launch sometime in 2005, says founder Ash Huzenlaub. The 28-year old Ft. Worth entrepreneur hopes to raise between $40 million and $50 million to launch with new-generation Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s. "Our goal is to be the low-cost carrier for millions of people who can't afford to go to Mexico or come to the United States," Huzenlaub said.
The U.S. and EU yesterday agreed to three months of new negotiations aimed at eliminating subsidies to Airbus and Boeing, avoiding for now what could have been one of the largest ever disputes for the World Trade Organization to arbitrate. The objective of the talks "is to eliminate different types of subsidies and to establish fair market-based competition between Boeing and Airbus," the European Commission said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick noted that the goal to end subsidies was agreed "for the first time in this long-standing dispute."
Delta asked the U.S. Transportation Dept. to decide by Friday on the carrier's application for seven U.S.-Brazil frequencies, saying it "will soon be forced to allocate the aircraft it had planned to use for Atlanta-Rio de Janeiro service to other routes for the peak 2005 summer traffic season." Delta applied for the frequencies Sept. 17, to start Atlanta-Rio de Janeiro service by June 1. The carrier asked for a decision from DOT by Dec. 31, because it requires a minimum 180-day lead time to start the new service.
Continental plans to begin daily service March 17 from its Houston hub to Queretaro, Mexico. The city, a major manufacturing and automobile industry center, will be Continental's 30th Mexican destination. More than 100 U.S.-based companies, particularly in Detroit, the Midwest and on the East Coast, have manufacturing operations or do business in Queretaro, Continental said. ExpressJet will operate the new service, which still requires government approval, using a 50-seat Embraer regional jet.
Beijing has agreed to allow direct charter flights next month between several points in China and Taiwan. Subject to approval by the Taiwanese government, the flights will be operated from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen to Taipei and Kaoshiung between Feb. 5 and Feb. 23. According to the director of Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council, Chen Yunli, the Koumintang's central policy committee director, Tseng Yung-chuan, made the proposal during a meeting of the Monday in Taipei.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) plans to start a single non-stop Delta Connection flight between Birmingham, Ala., and Washington National Jan. 31. ASA will use a 50-seat CRJ-200s on the route. With the latest route, Delta said its wholly-owned subsidiaries ASA and Comair would offer nonstop access to Washington, from six Southeastern business centers -- Atlanta, Birmingham, Charleston, S.C., Huntsville, Ala., Jackson, Miss., and Lexington, Ky.
UPS yesterday cut its earnings per share guidance for the fourth quarter, based on slower-than-expected volume growth. The carrier said higher operating costs were caused by the severe storms over Christmas, and there was also a volume drop between Christmas and New Year's Day. Volume growth had been trending at 2.5%, but the one-week slowdown cut the growth rate for the quarter to 1.6%.
President Bush yesterday nominated federal appeals court judge Michael Chertoff to be the next secretary of homeland security, a month after Bush's first pick Bernard Kerik withdrew his nomination amidst scandal.
British Airways plans to cease service to Saudi Arabia by the end of March, and said the decision was made purely because demand for the flights was down. "The routes don't currently make a profitable contribution to our business and we are unable to sustain them while this is the case," said BA Director of Commercial Planning Robert Boyle. The airline flies three times weekly to Riyadh and four times to Jeddah. The services stop in Kuwait City on the return leg. Flights to Kuwait will continue operating.
Geneva's administrative court ruled that the complaint lodged by Air France against Geneva Airport's future low-cost T2 terminal was not receivable, Aeroport International de Geneve (AIG) said. Air France filed the lawsuit last year on allegations that the terminal gave easyJet an unfair competitive advantage, but last September the Swiss competition authority ruled that the creation of a low-cost terminal with reduced fees was not tantamount to illegal state aid (DAILY, Sept. 28).
Taser International's stock price plummeted nearly 30% yesterday to about $14 per share after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started an "informal inquiry" into the company's safety claims and reports of potential delays in stungun orders from law enforcement agencies.
Independence Air won lease relief on some of its 50-seat CRJ-200s as an $83 million payment looms this month, but at least one ratings agency did not put a lot of faith in the deal's ability to help the carrier stifle steep losses in the coming months.
Domestic traffic grew 11.7% and load factor improved 6 points to 66% in 2004 compared with 2003, figures from Brazil's civil aviation department (DAC) show. International load factor increased slightly from 75% to 76% in the same period. Most airlines adjusted capacity to demand, for 2.5% additional average seat offer domestically and 7.1% internationally.
Bolivia's decision to subsidize jet fuel by discounting the cost by 10% was hailed by local airlines, especially Aerosur and LAB, who publicly thanked the government for the decision. The discount went into effect on Jan. 1. Aerosur had actually threatened to block the runway at the Santa Cruz airport if the discount was not approved, reported DAILY affiliate AvNews Latin America & the Caribbean.
New startup Skybus Airlines is seeking an operating certificate from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to provide low-fare scheduled air service between Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio and other U.S. cities.
