Fully funding FAA's air traffic control modernization program, ensuring adequate money for Essential Air Service (EAS) and putting an end to congressional bailouts for wobbly legacy carriers top the agenda of the regional and medium-sized carrier lobbyists in the upcoming Congress.
American has introduced three voluntary furlough options for its employees that it hopes will reduce the number of layoffs it needs. The airline said it won't know until next year how many employees will take the packages or how much this will save the airline. Not all employees will qualify for the voluntary furloughs. Each department will consider whether to offer the furlough packages, and how many employees qualify.
U.K. and Irish ATM organizations are the latest to take the first steps toward merging their upper airspace, a process that has to continue throughout the rest of Europe if the dream of a Single European Sky is to become a reality.
TACA, starting Dec. 4, will schedule 10 weekly flights between San Jose, Costa Rica, and Bogota, Colombia. Two daily nonstops will be operated on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and one the rest of the week. TACA GM for Colombia Carolina Ruiz said upgraded service will cater especially to business travelers and corporate accounts and provide the best available connections at both ends. Flights will be operated with Airbus 319 aircraft. -LZ
Continental Executive VP Jeff Smisek will replace Gordon Bethune on the airline's board of directors when Bethune resigns Dec. 30. Smisek will also become Continental's president and COO, replacing Larry Kellner when Kellner takes over as CEO. Smisek joined Continental in 1995 as senior VP and general counsel.
Italian entrepreneur Salvador Frieri is the financier supporting Avianca pilots in their last-ditch effort to bid for majority equity in the carrier (DAILY, Dec. 2).
Delta this week implemented interline electronic ticket agreements with British Airways, America West, Aloha Air, and Midwest. Delta reported that more than 93% of its passengers fly with e-tickets and the latest agreements are another step toward reaching the goal of 100% electronic booking by yearend 2005. In addition to many of its SkyTeam partners, Delta also offers eticketing with Alaska Air, American, ATA, Hawaiian, United and US Airways.
Alaska Air elected Patricia Bedient, VP-strategic planning for the Weyerhaeuser Co., to its board of directors. Bedient is a certified public accountant and was previously a managing partner at Arthur Andersen. She also is on the Oregon State University Foundation Board of Trustees. -LR
German regional and executive charter operator Cirrus Group yesterday bought Augsburg Airways in a surprise move that sees two of Germany's biggest regionals join forces. The transaction, effective Dec. 1, makes Cirrus the largest independent regional carrier in the country. The combined company will have a fleet of 45 aircraft. Its annual sales total about EUR150 million, and the group employs some 1,000 staff. Cirrus is based at Saarbrucken Airport, about 100 miles west of Frankfurt.
Title: Runway End Identifier Lights (REIL) Specification. Contact: Troy Teachey, 202-267-7386, [email protected]. Expires: Dec. 24. Posting: FAA is developing a screening information request-request for offer for the procurement of runway end identifier lights and related equipment/services. See FAA business opportunities Web site for specification FAA-E-2159e.
Infraero, Brazil's airport regulator, on Wednesday ruled that struggling carrier VASP must pay for airport taxes and other fees in cash or by registered check, report local sources. Infraero's bank returned two checks from VASP for payments dated Nov. 25 and 29 for lack of funds.
Executive officers and consultants from Colombia's civil aviation department (Aerocivil) this week met in Bogota with their counterparts from Korea to explore the prospects of formalizing a bilateral air transport agreement as signatory members of the Chicago Convention. Government officials and exporters and importers from both countries expressed interest in establishing air cargo links as a first step in developing trade between the two countries.
Despite its inability to pay short- and long-term financial obligations, Varig continued its recovery by posting net profits of $26 million in the third quarter, up from an $89 million loss last year. Varig reduced its accumulated losses by 42.8% from January to September this year and cut negative results from $195 million to $111.4 million. January-September revenues totaled $2.26 billion, but negative equity liabilities still reached $2.41 billion.
FAA has taken the unusual step of allowing a foreign air navigation service provider to operate some of its offshore contract towers, awarding a $15.6 million contract to an Airservices Australia subsidiary to manage six towers in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan. Airservices Pacific, Inc. won the contract over three other bidders. The previous contractor was a subsidiary of British company Serco, which operates other contract towers in the U.S. Serco recently won a five-year, $100 million FAA contract to continue operating 54 contract towers.
The global airline industry saw capacity and passenger traffic gains of more than 10% on international routes in October, although the growth rate was slower in Europe, IATA said. International traffic is "growing at breakneck speed" despite a negative economic environment and high oil prices, said IATA Director-General Giovanni Bisignani. He said the growth is not translating into profitability, however, and IATA still projects an industry loss of more than $4 billion this year.
Northwest yesterday expanded its Milwaukee schedule for the third time this year, adding two nonstop flights to both Pittsburgh and Toronto. The new flights will begin in February, boosting Northwest's Milwaukee schedule to 36 frequencies a day serving 16 nonstop destinations. Northwest Airlink carrier Pinnacle will operate the flights, using CRJs. The flights all operate daily or six days a week.
Title: En Route Software Development Support (ERSDS III). Contact: Audrey Lucas, 202-385-8364, [email protected]. Expires: Dec. 7. Posting: FAA plans to extend an existing contract with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) for a period of 14 months with three one-year options to allow completion of continuing requirements. CSC currently provides software development and engineering support services under the ERSDS III contract.
Title: Market Survey for FAA AWOS Visibility and Ceilometer Sensor Retrofit. Contact: Rick Conyac, 405-954-2602, [email protected]. The FAA intends to issue a contract for provisioning up to 200 replacement ceilometers and 200 visibility sensors for existing AWOS systems. This announcement will be followed by the issuance of a formal request for offer, with full specifications and qualification requirements.
Ryanair's November load factor dropped by one point to 82%, the airline said yesterday. Passenger numbers were up 10% in the period, a distinctly slower growth than over the past few months. Meanwhile, easyJet announced it will launch three new routes from Belfast to Geneva, Palma de Majorca and Inverness on July 1, 2005.
Air France this week started operating code-share services with Qantas to six destinations in Australia, the French carrier said. Air France passengers on the daily Boeing 777-300 service from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Singapore are offered daily Qantas flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, as well as three weekly services to Adelaide and Darwin. -MT
Alitalia picked Gabriele Spazzadeschi as its new CFO, following the departure of Luca Egidi. Spazzadeschi joins the airline from national railway systems Ferrovie dello Stato SpA. Alitalia CEO Giancarlo Cimoli headed Ferrovie until May, when he took over the top job at the airline.
LAN Airlines majority stockholder Sebastian Pinera this week sold a bloc of shares worth $11 million, or 0.63% of the company's equity. While reducing his participation in LAN to 28.15%, Pinera is still the airline's majority shareholder.
