Argentina's Immigration Dept. announced last week that in January all of its control points at international airports would be fully computerized and linked to relevant databases. Buenos Aires' daily Clarin reports that to enhance security checks, all arriving and departing passengers will be fingerprinted and photographed, a formality that now takes only 90 seconds and provides instant crosscheck with databases.
Lufthansa was forced to cut 60 of its 80 daily services to Paris on Monday because of a wildcat strike staged by its local employees. Some 2,000 passengers were affected. The local staff was protesting the carrier's latest wage proposals, which workers regard as insufficient. The conflict is not related to Lufthansa's wage talks in Germany, a company spokeswoman said.
Unfinished aviation matters loom large on the agenda of the next Congress, among them the MANPADS shoulder-fired missiles, security fees and taxes and reopening Washington National to general aviation, coupled with airlines' continuing struggle to survive and deciding which committee will control aviation safety.
Anticipating its exit from a Chapter 11-like status in Argentina (DAILY, Nov. 5), Aerolineas Argentinas (AR) last week began to implement aggressive plans to expand domestically, regionally and internationally in the next few months.
India's Air Sahara unveiled a plan to create an international hub at Hyderabad that would link domestic flights to its growing network of international destinations.
Mexican airport management group Aeropuertos del Sur (Asur), which manages nine airports in southeastern Mexico, expects overall passenger traffic at its airports to grow about 15% in 2004 from the previous year. Asur currently handles 13 million annual passengers, who account for 80% of its revenues. Its busiest and most profitable airport is Cancun, gateway to a wide array of beach resorts and the ancient wonders of the Maya civilization in the Yucatan peninsula nearby.
DHL will move its European hub to Leipzig Halle Airport in Germany, with the expectation of creating about 3,500 jobs in the region. The Deutsche Post World Net subsidiary plans to invest EUR300 million (US$387 million) at the new site. The project is supported by EUR70 million in subsidies approved by the European Commission.
The combined passenger traffic of Air France and KLM in revenue passenger kilometers improved 6.4% year-over-year in October on 5.9% higher capacity, reports the French-Dutch company. The actual passenger number rose 2.1% to 5.7 million, and load factor gained 0.4 percentage points to 79.5%. Air France/KLM noted that "transatlantic routes continued to post sustained growth in traffic," up 9.3% in RPKs, with a 2.5-point improvement in the load factor to 86.0%.
Independence Air warned yesterday that may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early next year if can't negotiate a new payment schedule or terminate some aircraft leases. The carrier said in a SEC filing that it has enough cash to fulfill its obligations prior to the January lease payments.
Cargo carrier ABX earned a profit of $7.1 million in the third quarter, although it has also been told that primary customer DHL will cut its requirement by 26 aircraft next year. DHL said its 2005 budget planning assumptions include eliminating 16 DC-9s and 10 DC-8s, affecting 22 scheduled routes. Seven aircraft will be cut in January and the rest by the end of 2005. Taking these aircraft off DHL routes will reduce gross revenues by $86 million-$96 million, ABX said. ABX will also add four Boeing 767 aircraft into service under its DHL contract.
Mexicana on Dec. 10 will start daily nonstop service between Mexico City and Quito/Guayaquil, Ecuador, using Airbus 318 aircraft that will be delivered at the end of the month. Research has revealed there is a potential market for this new route of almost 50,000 annual passengers among business travelers and vacationers, who must now fly to Ecuador via Colombia, Panama or Costa Rica at substantially more time and money.
Brazil's low-fare, low-cost Gol Airlines reported a 30.8% increase in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) for October 2004, compared with the same month last year. Load factor gained 7.8 percentage points to 72.2%. Gol's market share grew to 22.5% from 19.8%. Gol expects estimated revenues for 2004 to remain at $670 million. -LZ
Lufthansa's traffic improved 14.8% in October, backed by strong demand on its Asian network. The airline expanded total capacity by 14.7%, leading to a 76.2% load factor, up 0.1 percentage point. The airline continued its large-scale expansion into Asia with 23.7% more capacity that was almost entirely sold as demand increased by 23%. Both the Europe and the Americas markets grew slower at 12.8 and 13.9%, respectively. Lufthansa's shares lost 0.85% yesterday. -JF
The airline industry has agreed to new voluntary standards for ensuring the purity of drinking water on aircraft, and the Air Transport Association says the measures should "address any lingering questions" about cabin drinking water that were raised by a recent Environmental Protection Agency study.
A Taipei district court has ordered Singapore Airlines (SIA) to pay TWD$1.34 million (US$41,000) to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) as compensation for damaging construction equipment in the Flight SQ 006 crash at Chiang Kai Shaik International Airport in Taipei on Oct. 31, 2000. Flight SQ 006, bound for Los Angeles, crashed on takeoff after lining up on a runway that was closed for construction (DAILY, Nov. 6, 2000).
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) yesterday said it found no evidence that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) or the Federal Air Marshal Service threatened air marshals who talked to Congress with action under the Patriot Act.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved the first airline to use Taser stunguns on board aircraft traveling to, from and over the U.S., more than two years after the debate about the safety and effectiveness of the non-lethal weapons began in the industry and on Capitol Hill. Korean Air submitted its Taser proposal to TSA in May, asking approval for its flight attendants and law enforcement officers to carry the weapons in the cabin.
US Air wants to expand its presence in Eastern Europe by offering new service from the U.S. to Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, initially through its code-sharing partnership with Lufthansa. The carrier asked the U.S. Transportation Dept. for an exemption to add the new service.
Canadian low-fare carrier CanJet yesterday unveiled plans to replace four of its 737-200s with four 737-500s, starting this month. When the replacement is complete next summer, the airline will have a fleet of nine 737-500s. The new planes will be leased from an unidentified U.S. leasing company. "These aircraft are more cost-efficient, have longer range capability and will put us in excellent position for the peak summer season," said Chris Kelly, director-finance.
An Air Asia Boeing 737-300 with 116 passengers and five crew on board last Sunday skidded and overshot the runway after landing in a heavy rain at Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, International Airport. Two passengers and the first officer suffered minor injuries during evacuation.
SN Brussels Airlines started code sharing with Air Malta in November on the Maltese carrier's four weekly flights between Brussels and Malta's Luqa Airport. Air Malta operates Boeing 737-300 or Airbus A319s/A320s on the route. Malta joined the European Union in May 2004. "The EU enlargement earlier this year created new growth opportunities for SN Brussels Airlines," said the Brussels-based carrier. In the summer of 2004, the Malta Tourism Organization registered a 25% increase in visitors from Belgium. -MT
