The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published a long-awaited notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) yesterday on new air cargo security requirements, establishing its first overarching policy on cargo screening since Congress charged TSA with the responsibility in its Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA).
The head of Peru's airline association is faulting the country's move to support government-owned and operated airline Tans, calling it unfair to the country's privately controlled airlines. Carlos Palacin, president of the APEA group representing Peru's airlines, questions the government's US$700,000 investment in Tans, announced by Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo.
Alaska Air in January expects to become the latest U.S. airline to try selling meals on board as way to cut catering costs. The test will run from Jan. 9 through April 30, during which time the airline will sell $5 meals to coach passengers. The meals, provided by LSG Sky Chefs, will be offered on flights from Seattle and California to several destinations in Mexico, including Los Cabos, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo.
SilkAir will raise fuel surcharges on all of its 15 routes, effective Nov. 15. The fee grows from US$7 to US$10 per sector for flights to Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, Yangon, Thailand and Indonesia, and from US$10 to US$22 per sector for flights to Macau, India and China.
Sabre's GetThere credits companies' rapid shift toward online booking for a new booking record in the third quarter with more than 3.1 million bookings. During the quarter, GetThere won several renewals and customer signings worth about $700 million in annual air travel, including Bank of America, Black and Veatch, and Mellon Financial. The company also signed deals with several top European companies, and its third-quarter European booking volume grew 144% from year-ago levels.
European Union sources say that if the European Parliament's vote on the new, reshuffled team of European commissioners is positive, a fast-track procedure could allow the new EU executive to take office on Nov. 22. The parliament, in a vote scheduled Nov. 18, may either accept the new team presented by EC President-Elect Jose Manuel Barroso or reject it entirely. Parliament's opinion must subsequently be rubber-stamped by EU governments.
Slot auctions for New York LaGuardia will be tested twice early next year in an effort to find a system to replace the High Density Rule by the end of 2006, Airports Council International says. An FAA-sponsored group and some airlines ran simulated slot lotteries and three variations of peak pricing at the airport Nov. 3-5 (DAILY, Nov. 4).
After 25 months of uninterrupted growth, in September Chile's international passenger traffic slipped 0.5% from the same month last year, according to the national civil aviation board, JAC. Year-to-date traffic is still up, 6.7% higher from January to September than in the same period last year.
Boeing plans to manage All Nippon Airways' (ANA) spare parts inventory through an Integrated Materials Management (IMM) deal it signed with the carrier. Boeing will oversee purchasing, inventory and logistics management for many of ANA's expendable aircraft parts. Boeing and other suppliers will own the parts that will be stored near ANA's operations, and the carrier pays only for parts as it uses them. ANA is the fourth carrier to sign an IMM deal with Boeing. -LR
Headed by a former British Airways executive, New York-based new-entrant carrier Atlantic Express applied to the U.S. Transportation Dept. for authority earlier this week to operate scheduled service between New York Kennedy and several European points starting in August 2005.
House and Senate backers hope to bring a bill to a vote next week during Congress's lame-duck session that would extend FAA's commercial aviation regulation authority to manned space flight, congressional sources told The DAILY. Congress has been taking a hard look at legislation covering passengers in space, a trend certain to continue gaining momentum with the success in October of the SpaceShipOne flight under the auspices of the Ansari X-Prize.
TACA Peru, which reached its fifth anniversary at the end of October, recently showcased its Lima hub as a strategic gateway to South America that offers a wider choice of destinations and services for business travelers and vacationers.
Qatar Airways plans to launch service to five new cities next spring as its works to rapidly grow its international network. New scheduled flights to Osaka will mark the airline's first entry into the Japanese market, while Melbourne becomes Qatar Airways' first Australian destination. The Tunisian and Algerian capitals, Tunis and Algiers respectively, will be another expansion into North Africa, and Athens will become the airline's 10th European city served from Doha. The flights will start in March, the airline said.
Runway incursions continue to top the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) most wanted list in aviation recommendations, with the board using a recent incident in Los Angeles to illustrate its concern that runway incursions remain a high priority. During a meeting this week, NTSB said a near collision between a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and an Asiana Airlines 747 flight at LAX in August not reported as an operational error prompted board concern. The 747 had to abort a landing and fly over the 737 to prevent a collision.
After several informal governmental consultations this year, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to hold formal negotiations to liberalize their air services agreement Dec. 8-9 in Washington, The DAILY has learned.
British Mediterranean Airways changed its name to "BMed" and unveiled a new logo for its corporate identity. The independent airline operates scheduled services from London Heathrow to 15 destinations across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia under a franchise agreement with British Airways. The airline decided to change its name and logo to reflect "the development of its business" since it first started flying to Beirut in 1994. It will continue flying with the BA "Chatham Historic Dockyard" livery.
ATA is putting together a $15 million debtor-in-possession financing package to help it emerge from bankruptcy protection. The package involves a sale-and-leaseback arrangement with the Indiana Transportation Finance Authority and Bank One. The carrier is currently operating using its available cash, with the permission of the Air Transportation Stabilization Board.
Brazil low-fare carrier Gol yesterday posted 96.9 million reais (US$34 million) net profit, which was about flat from last year, including special items, thanks to higher revenues that offset record high fuel prices.
FAA has denied approval of privately bankrolled Houston JetPort with a proposed 7,000-foot runway, citing airspace concerns that could not be mitigated. David Johnson, FAA's VP-terminal services, told airport planners last week that the proposed site would overlap with existing traffic patterns at other Houston-area airports. "From an operational perspective...establishment of the airport would create a circumstance in which aircraft flying in accordance with federal regulations would routinely be placed in conflict."
Northwest told the Air Line Pilots Association it plans to recall 200 pilots during the first half of next year. The airline said it can't provide a firm recall forecast for the rest of next year, but the total could exceed 400. As of Oct. 31, Northwest had recalled 203 pilots, and 725 are on furlough. Another 100 will likely be recalled through the rest of this year, ALPA said.
Aerolineas Argentinas/Marsans Group subsidiary Aerolineas del Sur (ADS), which recently upped its capitalization to $16 million expecting to enter Chile's domestic market before yearend (DAILY, Oct. 11), is having problems getting certified by the country's civil aviation board (JAC).
Qatar Airways signed its second code-share deal with an Arabian airline this year, a new accord with Yemen Airways that will link their respective networks.
