AirTran recently hired its 1,000th pilot, a first in the history of the growing carrier, which predicted hiring 1,000 more during the next four years. Vick Rhoden, 36, was recognized as the 1,000th pilot hire. The 14-year military and commercial pilot from Chicago will begin his AirTran career as a Boeing 717 first officer. The airline now has 6,000 crewmembers and expects that to rise in the "near future."
Virgin Atlantic this week finalized a code-share deal with its sister carrier Virgin Blue at the same time Virgin Atlantic started new service from Hong Kong to Sydney. The code-share partnership was expected once Virgin Atlantic started serving Sydney and the link is planned to start in April. The agreement will initially cover passengers traveling to and from London via Hong Kong to Sydney with a code-share service operated by Virgin Blue to Brisbane, Coolangatta and Melbourne. Both airlines plan to expand the code-share to other cities.
French Economy Minister Herve Gaymard hopes that EADS will "soon get out of its management problems" and "regain serenity," referring to the continued debate over who will succeed the French-German executive duo of Rainer Hertrich and Philippe Camus. Hertrich and Camus are scheduled to step down next July.
Frontier saw dramatic increases in both traffic and capacity in November, although yields were down. Traffic was up 26.2% to 517.8 million revenue passenger miles, and capacity increased 24.6% to 725.9 million available seat miles. Passenger yield dropped 6.4% to 10.65 cents, and revenue per ASM was down 5.1% to 7.6 cents. Load factor grew 0.9 points to 71.3%, and the 522,773 passengers carried in November was up 16.5% from last year.
Spirit's load factor sank 4.5 points in November but executives predict stronger bookings for the December holidays. Spirit's traffic grew 2.4%, but was only a fraction of the 8.2% capacity increase. Load factor was 78.3% compared to 82.8% last year. "In November, we introduced new service to Santo Domingo, and customers responded well to these flights," said CEO Jacob Schorr. "We look forward to strong bookings for the holiday season." -SL
Copenhagen Airport saw a 6.4% boost in passengers last month over 2003 figures. The rise in passengers was slightly outpaced with the airport's take-offs and landings, which increased 7%. International charter passengers are up as well, spiking 12.3% in November.
The U.S. Congress broke through a logjam yesterday and passed controversial intelligence reform legislation that includes $150 million for explosive detection systems for U.S. airports, though the airports could be forced to wait until fiscal 2006 for funding. Senate lawmakers affirmed the 600-page conference report late Wednesday afternoon, following a late Tuesday House vote of 336 to 75.
Jetsgo yesterday unveiled details of its Western Canada expansion plan that includes the start of service to four new cities, moves two cities from seasonal service to year-round, and adds 46 new city pairs to its schedule. The new service starts Jan. 10, which will then make Jetsgo the only discount airline serving all 10 Canadian provinces, the airline claims. The new Jetsgo cities are Prince George, Kelowna, Fort McMurray and Saskatoon, said CEO Michel Leblanc.
The Asia Pacific region should finish up 2004 with more than 300 million international visitor arrivals, the Pacific Asia Travel Association predicted this week, a record that's 10% better than the old mark of 275 million set in 2002. "If we can get through December with no new external shocks to travel and tourism, I am confident that we will break 300 million this year," said PATA Managing Director John Koldowski.
With bids due Friday, it was still unclear yesterday evening how many other airlines besides Southwest will try to compete with AirTran for parts of bankrupt ATA. A bankruptcy court in Indianapolis will consider any bids for ATA assets. Bids must be submitted by the end of the week, and the court is expected to pick winners by Dec. 16. The only firm bid is AirTran's $89 million offer for operating rights at Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.
Continental yesterday took the unusual step of blasting newspaper reports that the airline will be prosecuted by French authorities in connection with a 2000 Air France Concorde crash in Paris. A French daily newspaper reported that French investigators plan to formally investigate Continental and some of its employees.
Emirates obtained its foreign air carrier permit for combination and all-cargo services, culminating a two-year process to allow the airline to take full advantage of the open skies relationship between the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates.
A commercial court in the French territory of La Reunion yesterday affirmed the liquidation of local Air Bourbon, noting there was no financing to continue operations in receivership.
Though Thai Airways managed to end the year in the black, profits were down when compared with the previous year, results that President Kanok Abhiradee attributed to high oil prices. The carrier posted a net profit of THB10.1 billion (US$258 million) for the year ended Sept. 30, down 16.6% from last year. Revenue increased 13.4% to THB18.07 billion (US$462 million).
After years of losing market share to regional jets, turboprop airframer Saab reports it's seeing a small upswing in demand for turboprop-powered planes, thanks to escalating fuel costs that have dampened airlines' affinity for using 50-seat RJs on short hops. Saab Aircraft Leasing CEO Michael Magnusson said this week at the company's headquarters in Sterling, Va., that Continental's revival of turboprops by CommutAir and SkyWest in its Cleveland and Houston hubs was one of the more prominent examples in the U.S.
Continental this week pushed back the startup date for its proposed Newark-Moscow flight by about 10 months, saying it needs more time to implement the service at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. Continental amended the original May 5, 2005, start for its new Moscow service to March 25, 2006.
Iraq's Coalition Provisional Authority tapped New Mexico-based CSI Aviation to transport U.S. and Iraqi soldiers from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan, for training. CSI will operate five to 10 narrowbody roundtrips monthly between the Iraqi capital and Amman, plus other regional destinations. It's the first Iraq contract for CSI, which represents 11 U.S. carriers to the U.S. Air Mobility Command.
Virgin America is "making great progress towards a launch in 2005," Virgin Chairman Richard Branson says. But The DAILY reported last month that Virgin American has yet to finalize its financing deals, which has prevented the carrier from starting the application process with FAA and the U.S. Transportation Dept. Sources say that means the launch could slip to 2006 (DAILY, Nov. 12).
Boeing last week named Scott Carson to lead its Commercial Airplane Sales team, reporting directly to Commercial Airplanes chief Alan Mulally. Carson, previously President of the company's Connexion division, replaces Toby Bright, "who will be accepting new responsibilities in Boeing Commercial Airplanes," the company said. Laurette Koellner, VP of Internal Services, replaces Carson and becomes President of Connexion.
Following through on its pledge to win business travelers through use of global distribution systems, Independence Air signed a deal with Sabre to lists its flights in the company's system. The deal with Sabre follows agreements Independence reached with Galileo and Worldspan to list its flights. Originally Independence shied away from using traditional distribution channels, but opted to shift its strategy to garner more bookings from business travelers as part of a strategy to boost passenger numbers and profitability. -LR
United Chief Operating Officer Pete McDonald is vowing his airline's wages will remain competitive with those of its peers even though staff may see more cuts to further lower costs at the airline.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of cargo carriers Atlas and Polar, signed a $60 million revolving credit deal as part of Atlas' emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The initial term is four years, and the parties can renew for one-year periods.
With an eye on business travelers and vacationers who prefer nonstop flights to specific destinations and want to avoid connections at busy airports, Continental plans to increase its offerings to Mexico. Carlos Enrique Hernandez, who heads the airline's Mexico operations, said Continental continues to bet on the growth and profitability of Mexico's airline market.
