A decision by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to hand out licenses for parts of the wireless spectrum brings airlines a step closer to offering high-speed wireless Internet connections to passengers, but some FCC members are worried airlines will have a limited supplier pool in their wireless product offerings. FCC this week released a proposed rulemaking detailing its intent to auction four megahertz of the 800 megahertz spectrum designated for commercial air-ground service.
Avianca in the coming days will take delivery of two new MD-83s and one Boeing 757 as part of its restructuring, says new equity owner German Efromovich. Enfromovich's Sinergy/Oceanair group, which acquired 75% of Avianca's equity (DAILY, Dec. 14), has already delivered $9.8 million of the $63 million for restructuring.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) named James Fuller the permanent chief of staff to replace Carol DiBattiste, who was promoted to deputy administrator in July (DAILY, July 14). Fuller was most recently the principal liaison to the chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, where he was responsible for coordinating administrative, legal and policy issues.
DHL's new West Coast air/ground hub will be at March Air Force Base in Riverside, Calif., the express company announced yesterday, adding that the facility will be used by both ABX and Astar aircraft. DHL hopes to begin using the facility in October next year, operating nine flights a day. Eight aircraft will be based at March, including seven for intra-West Coast routes. The company will move some of its Fresno air operation to March.
Boeing tapped two U.K. companies -- Ultra Electronic Holdings and GKN Aerospace -- to design an electric system for wing ice protection for the 7E7, the first for a commercial plane design. GKN is supplying the composite mat for the system, and Ultra is developing the controlling software and electronic equipment.
Most volume indicators for the U.S. airfreight industry are positive for 2005, and the overall expedited cargo market will grow beyond the 2000 level, a new report from cargo research company Colography Group predicts.
Alaska Airlines and its pilots' union, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, failed to reach a new contract deal by the Wednesday deadline, sending both sides to arbitration. The negotiations followed months of preparation and nearly 10 months of earlier mid-term negotiations.
International passenger and cargo traffic are both expected to grow 6% a year through 2008, IATA said this week. Passenger numbers are expected to be up 11% this year, and revenue passenger kilometers will likely grow 14%. "It looks like we will finish 2004 with the strongest traffic rebound that the industry has seen since the 1991 recovery from the effects of the Gulf War," said IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation finally granted permission this week for US Airways and its affiliates to code share with Lufthansa-affiliate Lufthansa CityLine, more than a year after the department approved the larger US Air-Lufthansa code-sharing deal. The latest approval will allow Lufthansa CityLine to carry US Air's code on its flights within Germany and between Germany and third-country points. DOT deferred decision for more than a year because US Air had not yet finished its code share safety audit of Lufthansa CityLine. -AK
As Independence Air attempts to renegotiate deals with its aircraft lessors to boost cash and avoid having to seek bankruptcy protection, the carrier is also saving cash in its operations through fuel cost reductions.
Delta this week unveiled plans to launch new daily service between New York Kennedy and Chennai (Madras), making Delta the only U.S. carrier serving two cities in India. The new flight will stop in Paris in both directions and will be operated with a Boeing 767-300ER. The service from JFK starts May 9 and the return flight begins May 11. Delta currently offers daily New York-Paris-Mumbai flights and daily seasonal service routed New York-Frankfurt-Mumbai. United served India for years but stopped the service after Sept. 11, 2001. -SL
Brazil's GOL said it plans to exercise options for four Boeing Next Generation 737-800s in January. GOL signed a deal with Boeing in May to buy up to 43 planes -- 15 firm orders and 28 options. GOL's firm orders have now grown to 21 with the latest conversion and two the carrier exercised in July.
Boullioun Aviation Services signed a deal with USA3000 Airlines for a medium-term lease on an Airbus A320. USA3000, which has an all-Airbus A320 fleet, plans to configure the plane for 168 seats in a single class. It's the first leasing deal Boullioun struck with USA3000.
Iberia and British Airways will jointly operate routes between London Heathrow Airport and Madrid, as well as Barcelona, the oneworld alliance partners announced yesterday. "The agreement to share revenue and costs...begins on Jan. 1, 2005," said BA. The airlines plan to operate 11 daily frequencies between Heathrow and Madrid and eight between Heathrow and Barcelona in their next summer schedule.
Non-European Union carriers may not operate direct or code-shared service to Milan Linate Airport because of legitimate Italian government regulations designed to control environmental and congestion problems, Alitalia said yesterday, defending itself against a formal discrimination complaint launched by American and United last month (DAILY, Nov. 30).
US Airways jumped another labor hurdle yesterday after concluding a tentative concession agreement with its flight attendants that will save the airline about $94 million annually.
The Air Transport Association says a record U.S. holiday travel season will likely boost this year's passenger total to nearly 38 million, up 6% from last year and an all-time record. Domestic passengers will likely grow 5.6% to 34.6 million, while international traffic will rise 5.7% to 3.3 million. Average daily traffic is expected to total 2.1 million.
Mexico's airport operators and airlines have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at improving services and infrastructure for the thousands of physically disabled passengers who travel every day to and in Mexico.
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) last week launched what it called passenger-friendly itineraries from its Santa Cruz hub aimed at enhancing customer service through improved connection times, more capacity and added flights. LAB operates 85 weekly flights to 27 domestic and international destinations from Santa Cruz. As part of its efforts, the carrier cut connection times for international flights and added domestic frequencies. Also, two replacement aircraft will remain on permanent standby to avoid delays.
DHL will probably shift the focus of its aggressive but highly successful U.S. marketing campaign away from FedEx and UPS, and highlight its own services more, a senior executive said. The first year of DHL's advertising campaign focused on the company's arrival as a new alternative in the marketplace, said Executive VP-Americas Richard Metzler at a Washington, D.C., event this week. "But we couldn't live on choice forever," said Metzler, so next year DHL will stress "the tangible points of difference" customers say are important to them.
