Air Hong Kong added to its order for six Airbus A300-600Fs by placing two additional firm orders and two options for the freighter. Deliveries of the two latest orders are scheduled in May and June 2006. Air Hong Kong already took delivery of some planes included in its initial A300-600F order placed in March 2003. Air Hong Kong is an all-cargo carrier 60% owned by Cathay Pacific and 40% owned by DHL Worldwide Express. -LR
Traffic at Singapore Changi Airport in November jumped 12.8%, and the average daily passenger traffic topped 100,000 for the first time in the airport's history.
The Ghanaian government and a new U.S. investment group are joining to start a new national airline for Ghana, with plans to launch flights by the second quarter of 2005. Named Ghana International Airlines Limited (GIAL), the new company is 70% owned by the Republic of Ghana and 30% by a U.S. entity, GIA-USA, LLC, formed specifically for the airline venture in Ghana. GIA-USA is jointly owned by Sentry Financial Corp. of Salt Lake City, Utah, World Transport Group and other private investors, GIAL deputy CEO Kirk Heaton told The DAILY.
The European Commission yesterday nodded through Macquarie Airports' acquisition of a majority shareholding in Brussels Airport International Company (DAILY, Nov. 9). "The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure," the EC said. The privatization of the Belgian airport will reduce the state's shareholding from 63.56% to 30%. -MT
UPS has completed its purchase of the Menlo freight forwarding operation from CNF, Inc. for $150 million in cash and the assumption of $110 million in debt, UPS said yesterday. Menlo Worldwide Forwarding provides heavy air freight forwarding services, ocean services and international trade management. Last year, this company had gross revenue of $1.9 billion. UPS signed the initial deal earlier this year (DAILY, Oct. 7).
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) chief Adm. James Loy resigned yesterday, leaving open the top two spots at the department. Loy joined TSA after he retired as commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard in May 2002. He served as the first TSA administrator and the under secretary of transportation for security at the U.S. Transportation Dept. when TSA was a DOT agency. President Bush nominated Loy to be Dept. of Homeland Security deputy secretary in October 2003.
Emirates yesterday signed a $38 million Japanese Operating Lease (JOL) for the acquisition of the airline's eighth new Airbus A340-500. The deal marks the first time an airline has used the JOL structure on an A340-500. The lease, structured as a 13-year JOL, is funded using a combination of Japanese equity and commercial debt. The equity was arranged by ORIX Corp., and commercial debt was arranged and funded by Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, at a margin of 0.8%.
An independent review of United's business plan is "feasible," but the consultants warned that the declaration was made under numerous assumptions and caveats and if the airline's predictions do not come true, the carrier's plan may not be achievable.
India's Kingfisher Airlines, which aims to launch operations by April, signed a deal with Airbus to boost its A320 orders to a total of 10 firm and 20 options as it plans for aggressive growth to all the major cities in its home country.
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) yesterday named Ken Emerick its new chairman to replace Don Baldwin, who has resigned to pursue other career opportunities.
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is installing blast-protection glass in its new air traffic control tower and tracking headquarters. The airport has contracted CompuDyne's Attack Protection unit to provide the laminate glass for the $450,000 project. The contractor specializes in bullet, blast and attack protection windows and doors.
Europe's smaller airport experienced impressive traffic growth in October, and airports near newly inducted European Union member countries also made impressive gains, Airports Council International (ACI) Europe reported. On average, passenger traffic at European airports increased 6.9% in October 2004, compared with October 2003. But airports with fewer than 5 million passengers per year had the largest expansion, with an average hike of 10.6% when compared with the same month in 2003 and a 20.3% increase compared withOctober 2002.
From Jan. 1, KLM's e-tickets will be standard for all passengers departing from The Netherlands, the carrier said, and if passengers nonetheless want to be issued a paper ticket, they will have to pay a EUR30 surcharge. The move to e-tickets "brings KLM in line with worldwide trends in the airline industry," the airline said. IATA is campaigning for the introduction of e-ticketing at airlines worldwide by 2007. -MT
Fedex last week reported a net profit of $354 million for the quarter ending Nov. 30, driven by a 13% gain in FedEx Express revenue. The Express segment had revenue of $4.83 billion, up from $4.28 billion last year. Operating income was $333 million, compared with a loss of $19 million last year.
The launch of Virgin Atlantic's record-seeking GlobalFlyer, the carrier's bid to be the first solo, nonstop, non-refueled around-the-world record attempt, has been pushed back from next month to early February. The flight will take off and land at Salina, Kan., Municipal Airport, chosen for its 12,300-foot runway and its location in the center of the U.S.
Lufthansa plans to significantly cut the size of its regional fleet and is preparing to introduce larger regional jets. The changes were enabled by discussions with the carrier's pilots union, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), over an amendment to the current scope clause agreement.
Air Jamaica last week increased service between Montego Bay and St. Lucia to 12 weekly flights to cater to increased demand over the holidays, reports DAILY affiliate AvNews Latin America & Caribbean.
Cebu Pacific Air picked the CFM International CFM56-5B to power its 12 Airbus A319s. Cebu plans to take delivery of the first plane in September 2005, and aircraft deliveries extend through 2007. CFM said its deal, which includes spares, with the Philippines-based carrier is worth $140 million at list prices.
Retired American CEO Robert Crandall aimed a broadside at Congress and the White House last week, saying the government needs to change the way it funds and manages the FAA and the nation's aviation infrastructure.
Continental plans to have blended winglets installed on 22 of its Boeing 737-800s by the end of January. CEO Gordon Bethune recently told staff that about 17 of the planes have the winglets installed. "It is another example of trying to do things where we're spending money to save money, and make us some money on the cost of flying," he said. "In this expensive fuel environment, the winglets make a lot of sense."
European air traffic continues to set monthly records, with more flights in November than ever before. Eurocontrol said there were 704,825 flights in November, up 5.9% from 2003. The ATM agency also reported a record October, with flight numbers growing 4.3% to 787,526 flights. The nine months through September saw 4.8% growth. Average en route delays per flight were down an impressive 36.5% to 0.3 minutes in November, after delays rose 5.4% to 0.91 minutes in October.
Fresno Yosemite International has launched the PASSUR FlightLink system, becoming the first airport to use the wireless web-based flight information service that blends airport and carrier data. Passengers can access flight information and instant flight changes at terminal kiosks and on the airport's web site. FlightLink uses PASSUR ETA, a system already used by carriers and airports for flight information displays.
