Both easyJet and Ryanair last week said they will significantly increase their capacity to Italian destinations after Italy's civil aviation agency ENAC suspended low-cost airline Volare's operating license for a month due to the carrier's troubled financial situation. Volare suspended operations Nov. 19 and filed for bankruptcy late on Nov. 22 (DAILY, Nov. 23).
The Teamsters union ended a strike by Canadian UPS employees yesterday after a new contract agreement was reached. The strike lasted only one day, but it caused tremendous disruption to UPS pickup and delivery services. Delivery guarantees were reinstated from today for all Canadian UPS shipments. The Teamsters union said UPS's latest proposal for a six-year contract was acceptable and will be submitted to members for ratification. The union represents 3,800 employees in Canada.
Southwest plans to expand its new terminal at Islip, N.Y., next year, and will add more flights at the airport when new gates have been completed. The airline opened a new $51 million terminal at Islip in August and wants to complete the extension by 2006. The $20 million extension will double the number of gates to eight.
Chile's civil aviation board (JAC) last week unanimously approved the operating license requested by Marsans/Aerolineas Argentinas group Aerolineas del Sur (ADS), which plans to get off the ground in December with long-haul domestic flights to Iquique and Punta Arenas. ADS next year will add service to Chile's Easter Island.
WestJet this week ordered 29 self-service kiosks from Kinetics and plans to install them in many of its larger stations. NCR Corp. subsidiary Kinetics also will supply the software for the airline's "Check n' Go" passenger check-in program, including both airport-based and web-based check-in technologies. Several of the 29 kiosks are already installed and operational at Calgary, Ottawa and Edmonton. The units will be installed in Winnipeg within two weeks.
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB), which three years ago had no capital for operations or fuel and four of 10 serviceable aircraft, is on the way to financial health and expects to operate in the black by mid-2005.
Primaris Airlines, one month after it signaled plans to buy 20 new Boeing 737-800s and 20 7E7-8s, this week hired Calyon Securities to help it raise money. As of last month, the airline operated a single 757 on charter flights but hopes to launch scheduled service next year if it can raise enough capital. CEO Mark Morris noted that the amount of working capital Primaris needs jumped in recent months to more than $100 million from earlier estimates of $75 million (DAILY, Oct. 22, June 15). Morris said the airline wants to launch scheduled flights in May.
Note To Readers: Because of the observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday, Aviation DAILY will not publish issues dated Thursday, Nov. 25, and Friday, Nov. 26. The next issue will be dated Monday, Nov. 29.
The U.S. and European Union are cooperating to keep track of lost and stolen passports, with both sides agreeing to crack down on passport fraud and misuse by reporting the information to the international police agency Interpol, which keeps a global database for customs and border security officials, says the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security.
The LAN airline group, betting on Oceania as a potential intercontinental market, plans to start daily nonstop service in 2006 to major destinations in Australia and New Zealand, CEO Enrique Cueto said at last week's Asia Pacific Summit 2004.
A four-hour air traffic controller's strike grounded hundreds of flights in Italy last week as unions protested plans to reorganize air traffic control in Europe. The involvement of ATC staff in the strike was "extremely strong," said the unions that organized the strike. Some four-fifths of Italy's traffic controllers went on strike, with peaks of 100% of strikers at the radar center in Padova and at Naples Airport. Alitalia alone had to cancel 172 services, including 94 international flights.
Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair in March 2005 will launch nine new routes and base four new Boeing 737-800 aircraft at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport in what will become the carrier's 12th base in Europe.
Thai Airways' long-awaited order for eight long-haul Airbus aircraft, including six A380s, may be delayed for weeks after the European Commission yesterday refused to ease restrictions on Thai food imports that would have secured the aircraft order.
Northwest yesterday finalized a $975 million loan restructuring deal, one year before its maturity date, which represents the final conditions of its concession deal with its pilots.
While Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela holds a 70% domestic market share and is poised to do well in its regional markets with the introduction of MD-80 aircraft next year, its president urged the AITAL Latin American airline group and IATA to push for airport and air traffic control fee reforms to alleviate financial pressures on other carriers. Aeropostal President and majority shareholder Nelson Ramiz sees the airline market recovering at estimated rates of 12% both in 2004 and 2005 and leveling off to 4% every year until 2010.
Spurred by a decade of losses, Air Jamaica plans to launch a $270 million restructuring plan that could see the government taking more of a stake in the airline. Questions posed on the floor of the senate gave a clearer picture of the state of the airline. Since its privatization in 1994, Air Jamaica has lost $682 million and incurred liabilities of some $560 million, Information Minister Burchell Whiteman said.
WestJet plans to buy one additional Boeing 737-600 by converting the second of 12 purchase options with Boeing into a firm delivery. The 737-600 aircraft will be delivered in 2006. WestJet serves 24 Canadian cities with a 54 aircraft, including 36 Boeing 737-700s.
Italian low-fare airline Volare filed for insolvency after shareholders failed to reach an agreement on a EUR60 million recapitalization on Monday. The carrier, which operated 21 short-haul and three long-haul aircraft, stopped flying late last week when it was no longer able to pay its leasing fees (DAILY, Nov. 22). Several hundreds of Volare employees protested against the filing.
Delta is following United and US Airways in gaining scope relief from its pilots to add larger regional jets in its regional network, with the potential to add more than 500 planes by 2009. Pilots at Delta ratified a five-year deal earlier this month to help the carrier avoid bankruptcy. Contract details included an increase in Delta Connection flying to 50% of Delta's flights, with wholly owned subsidiaries Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) and Comair flying half those flights (DAILY, Nov. 15).
U.S. airlines pulled out all the stops this week in their competition for 2005/2006 service opportunities to China, with each carrier enlisting support from lawmakers, employees and customers by the thousands to help make its case to win valuable new rights. Final briefs were due Monday to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, which will now work quickly to review the applications and distribute two new designations and 26 passenger and cargo frequencies soon enough to give the chosen carriers time to start their proposed new service (DAILY, Nov. 23).
