Boeing enjoyed a slight boost in 2004 deliveries, with customers accepting 285 planes, four more than the 281 the airframer delivered in 2003. The airframer's 737s continued to dominate deliveries in 2004 with 202, followed by 777 with 36. In the fourth quarter of 2004, Boeing 67 deliveries lagged behind the 71 planes delivered in the last three months of 2003. In July, Boeing said it plans to deliver 315-320 planes in 2005 instead of its original estimate of 300 aircraft. -LR
The Minneapolis Metropolitan Airport Commission is expected to decide this month whether to give the go-ahead for design work on a terminal expansion at Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. The airport wants to move about six airlines into the enlarged Humphrey Terminal from the Lindbergh Terminal.
Southwest's capacity increased faster than passenger traffic in December, and its load factor declined, although fourth-quarter and full-year traffic results were very healthy in all categories, the carrier said this week. The airline flew 4.3 billion revenue passenger miles in December, up 10.3%, while available seat miles increased 12.2% to 6.9 billion. Load factor was 62.9%, down slightly from 64% last year.
Southwest yesterday consummated its long flirtation with Pittsburgh by making it the airline's 61st market, and appears ready to start with about a dozen flights in May. CEO Gary Kelly would not divulge the Pittsburgh routes, with the schedule to be announced in 60-90 days after the airline has analyzed possible city-pairs. He hinted that Southwest will start with a "modest" number of 10-15 flights out of one or two gates.
On-time arrival rates for U.S. carriers dropped to 79.1% in November 2004, according to the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s most recent Air Travel Consumer Report, as flight delays rose slightly across the board. The November on-time rate was down from 81% in October 2004 as well as from 80.2% in November 2003, DOT said. Flights in November were most delayed by aviation system lags and late-arriving aircraft, which caused 7.55% and 5.8% of late flights, respectively.
Independence Air signed a deal with global distribution system (GDS) provider Amadeus, the fourth agreement the airline has inked with a GDS company since announcing its use of the more traditional booking systems last October. The carrier has also signed deals with Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan, and Sabre subsidiary Travelocity. -LR
Karl Wuthrich, the liquidator of bankrupt Swissair Group, confirmed he has filed criminal charges against persons unknown in Belgium in relation to the bankruptcy of Swissair's former affiliate, Sabena.
Delta executives yesterday acknowledged that the carrier's massive fare restructuring will hurt revenues in the short term at a time when there is no end in sight to financial losses, but the airline also said the change was overdue and is necessary to win back the loyalty of many passengers who defected to low-cost competitors.
Ryanair carried 2.2 million passengers in December 2004, up 9% from a year earlier. Load factor remained flat at 83%. The airline sold 97% of its tickets on line, up from 96% in December of 2003. Ryanair is the first of Europe's large airlines to report traffic results for December. -JF
Although Boeing waited until the yearend to announce plans by Vietnam Airlines to order four 7E7s, the carrier stated its intent to order the planes more than two months ago. The carrier said it planned to buy four aircraft for a 2010 delivery in October -- the same terms Boeing announced last week. Boeing said the deal wouldn't be finalized until the first quarter.
In a surprise move, China has expressed its readiness for talks with Taiwan for direct cross-strait flights to be operated for the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 9. An estimated 300,000 Taiwanese businessmen and their families in China are expected to return to Taiwan for the traditional celebration.
Washington-based startup carrier SkyLink Airways is on track for a potential launch this spring as the U.S. Transportation Dept. yesterday issued a show cause order proposing to issue a foreign certificate to the carrier. DOT is giving interested parties the usual 14 days to file any objections to its tentative findings that SkyLink is fit to provide foreign air transportation. The carrier, which is also now working to clear FAA certification hurdles, plans to provide limited scheduled and/or charter transatlantic service using Boeing 767s.
Continental won a two-year exemption from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to start new service from Newark to Moscow Domodedovo in 2006. Continental originally asked to start the service May 5 but amended its application early last month, saying it needed to push its proposed start date to March 25, 2006, as it continues to work out its plans with Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DAILY, Dec. 9).
In the latest of a string of applications and approvals for new U.S.-Mexico service, Mexicana asked the U.S. Transportation Dept. for permission to start flights between Guadalajara and Charlotte, N.C. The carrier plans to start the service in July using Airbus A320 or Boeing 757 aircraft [OST-2004-]. Mexicana currently serves Charlotte from Mexico City and also operates flights to Las Vegas from Guadalajara.
Schiphol Group appointed Alain Maca as chief operating officer. He fills the position left vacant when Marike van Lier Lels was forced to resign by the group's supervisory board on Jan. 2. Maca previously served as president of New York Kennedy International Air Terminal, the company that runs Terminal 4 at JFK Airport.
Nine months after setting up operations in Bratislava, the Austrian Airlines Group is scaling down its operations in the Slovakian capital. Daily AUA services from Bratislava to Paris will he halted from Jan. 17, while daily flights to London stopped last December. The Austrian carrier said, however, that starting in February it would increase its frequencies between Bratislava and Brussels from six to nine weekly.
Belgian competition authority Conseil de la Concurrence has approved a plan to place Virgin Express under the ownership of SN Brussels Airlines' holding company, paving the way for the transaction's completion. "This transaction had to get clearance from Belgian and German competition authorities. The German competition authorities have considered that they had no reason to rule on this transaction," SN Airholding said.
Virgin Express on Saturday will offer a 30-minute special Boeing 737-400 flight over Belgium whose proceeds will be donated to the victims of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. Tickets will cost EUR49 (US$65.20). Belgian maintenance company Sabena Technics is also putting the text "Support Tsunami Victims" free of charge on the fuselage of Virgin Express aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is pushing federal regulators to act on board recommendations highlighting the dangers of ice accumulation on wings as the condition becomes more prevalent in its accident investigations.
Former Hawaiian Airlines CEO John Adams and his affiliated companies AIP LLC and Smith Management LLC this week agreed to pay the airline $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trustee Joshua Gotbaum last year over funds diverted from the airline.
Independence Air plans to scrap regional jet service on five routes by the end of the month and cut several frequencies to more than 10 other cities, The DAILY has learned, as the deadline for an $83 million lease payment approaches.
Regional startup Wayra Peru, a $7 million joint venture between Brazil's OceanAir and Peru's Fund for Sustainable Investments (SIF), is slated to launch operations in Peru in March, local press reports.
