The European Commission has cleared the planned acquisition of Snecma, the French aerospace engine manufacture, by Sagem, the French telecommunication and defense electronics group.
As Airbus prepares for the Jan. 18 rollout of the A380 in Toulouse, a potential hiccup has emerged among some large and medium-sized U.S. airports that are not willing to make the financial investment to accommodate the A380 but may still be considered reliever airports for the super-jumbo when it starts flying to the U.S. in coming years.
Arrivals and departures at El Salvador Airport were up 11% from 2003 levels, reports the executive port authority (CEPA), which manages the airport. So far this year, traffic totaled 1,457,843 passengers, up 144,859. Revenues totaled $16.03 million, of which 10% was assigned to the civil aviation department (AAC), 43% to the national treasury and the balance to other government agencies, such as immigration and customs. The number of aircraft landings increased to 14,168, or 4%. Cargo-handling rose to 17.7 million kilos from 16.4 million kilos.
U.S. negotiators will meet with Indian officials Jan. 13-14 in Washington to pick up formal negotiations for an open-skies agreement where technical consultations left off in May (DAILY, May 27), when unexpected Indian election results forced a transitional break in talks. A second round of negotiations to liberalize air services with Mexico also is planned on Feb. 2-3 in Washington.
Cirrus Airlines took delivery of its first Embraer 170 after placing an order and single option for the aircraft in 2003. The German carrier plans to use the 76-passenger single-class aircraft on charter flights for three months and then start scheduled service for the summer season in March. Cirrus's first Embraer 170 route will be between Saarbruecken and Berlin Tempelhof. -LR
Passenger traffic between Europe and South America sustained its record growth trend in October, gaining 16.7% over the same month last year, reports the Association of European Airlines. The 12-month average load factor was a record 83.2%. Capacity increased during the period due to market demand and new U.S. regulations for in-transit passengers, coupled with intensifying interest in business and vacation travel to and from deep South America. -LZ
Note To Readers: We wish all our readers and friends around the world a happy, joyous and peaceful holiday season. This is our last issue of 2004, and our next issue will be dated Jan. 4, 2005. In between, we will take our traditional break, not publishing until the new year. In this tumultuous year, we thank you for your continued readership, support, loyalty and friendship -- all of which have made the past 65 years of Aviation Daily excellence possible. We look forward to your continued success in 2005 and stand ready to do our part for another 65 years!
US Airways' customer service agents and call center staff on Thursday ratified a concession deal that will cut averages wages by about 13% and reduce the airline's cost by about $137 million annually.
Burdened by losses and high debt, Air Jamaica will again become a government-owned and -run airline under a new deal unveiled Thursday in Kingston that includes a $20 million cash injection.
Gave its 2004 Eurocopter Golden Hour Award to George Miller, Shaun Stamnes and Michael Orlando, all members of the Green Bay, Wis., County Rescue Services, and named Hickok & Associates, Inc. President Stephen Hickok, formerly project manager for FAA's helicopter Global Position System, recipient of its 2004 Agusta Community Service Award.
South African Airways in February plans to stop serving Cape Town from Atlanta but will keep Atlanta-Johannesburg service, citing the need to meet demand and squeeze the highest value from its route network.
United's new "operational efficiency training" program is reducing planned landing fuel levels to an all-time low for almost every fleet type. The Airbus fleet is down an average 1,300 lbs., the Boeing 757s 1,000 lbs., and the 767s 1,600 lbs., and the 747 fleet an average of 5,600 lbs. For every 100 lbs. of fuel United carries for 1,000 miles, it burn seven pounds.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) expects to begin contract negotiations with FAA sometime between April and June, NATCA President John Carr tells The DAILY. Controllers are working under a two-year contract extension that expires next September, but Carr said there is no hard deadline for a new contract because the current agreement will automatically extend if talks are still underway in September.
Independence Air's fate as a low-cost carrier is largely tied to US Airways' survival, one Wall Street analyst points out, with one of Independence Air's high-profile creditors likely to align itself with US Airways, while the Dulles-based airline continues its quest to transform Dulles into a low-fare hub. January is emerging as a pivotal month for both US Airways and Independence, with the former facing a labor concession deadline and the latter a substantial lease payment.
The refurbished North Wing of Terminal 1 at Tokyo Haneda Airport reopened for operations yesterday. Japan Airlines will use both wings of Terminal 1, while its rival All Nippon Airways operates out of the recently opened Terminal 2. Two smaller domestic carriers, Skymark Airlines and Skynet Asia Airways, also use Terminal 1.
Airbus signed an agreement with Russian aerospace manufacturer Irkut for the supply of A320 components. "The contract is worth up to US$200 million over 10 years," said the European airframer, with first deliveries slated in 2006. Irkut will supply Airbus with the nose landing gear bay, keel beam, flap track and a floor grid section.
Independence Air is casting its net wider in on-line sales distribution by signing a deal with Travelocity to boost sales to leisure travelers. The move marks a shift from the strategy Independence touted when it launched flights in June and opted not to use traditional global distribution systems (GDS). It is now working on deals with Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan to broaden its reach with business travelers to increase passenger loads.
The SAS Group's stake in Air Baltic and Spanair may change, according to statements by CEO Joergen Lindegaard. Lindegaard told Dagens Industri that his company is ready to take over the 52.5% stake in Latvian national carrier Air Baltic whenever the government is prepared to sell it, he added. SAS currently owns 47% of the shares. Air Baltic enjoys strong growth and saw passenger numbers increase by 75% in 2003.
The JAL Group reported that its international bookings for the upcoming holiday period are up sharply from last year, but domestic bookings have dipped. For the peak season between Dec. 25 and Jan. 6, international bookings for the JAL Group are up 7.9% to more than 304,000 passengers departing from Japan. This year's figure includes 283,000 reservations on Japan Airlines and subsidiary JALways, and more than 21,000 reservations on Japan Asia Airways, the JAL Group carrier serving Taiwan. JALways operates Pacific resort routes on behalf of JAL.
