Indonesian private carrier Lion Air has signed an agreement with the Indonesian government to lease the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta for 25 years as part of its aggressive expansion plan.
Delta pilots' maximum salary of $23,971 a month is the highest of the 14 largest airlines and cargo carriers, followed by Northwest pilots at $20,213, a new Air Inc. study shows. Proposed cuts would see Delta's maximum salary drop to $16,180 a month, and Northwest's to $17,181. This would make the FedEx maximum salary the highest at $17,943, followed by UPS at $17,290.
American Eagle pilots ratified a tentative deal that will improve pilot wages and benefits. The Air Line Pilots Association reached the tentative agreement in September, and since then has been working with the airline to draft final contract language. This was the second of three amendment rounds built into the pilots' 16-year contract.
Hainan Airlines has placed an order for three Boeing 737-800s with delivery firmed up for July, August and September next year. The aircraft will be based in Shanxi Province in central China. Last week the carrier ordered eight Airbus A319s, which together with the 737-800 order, will grow its fleet by 26 aircraft.
Strict cost controls helped British Airways achieve a significantly improved net profit in the July-September quarter, but yields were still below expectations, raising concern for the coming winter season. BA shares were down 2.45% in afternoon trading following the results announcement yesterday. It posted a GBP123 million (US$228 million) net profit on GBP2.02 billion (US$3.75 billion) in sales. The profit was up 26% from the comparable 2003 period, which was still reeling from the SARS pneumonia outbreak and the traffic slump following the Iraq war.
JAL's parent company, Japan Airlines Corp., last week reported a net profit of 83 billion yen for the first six months of its fiscal year thanks to a sharp turnaround in its international route network.
Colombia's airlines together will invest some $77 million a year to upgrade and improve passenger services in an effort to avoid the fate of domestic carrier Internacional de Aviacion, which folded under the mounting toll of lawsuits and complaints. The move by airlines to train their employees to field passenger complaints has lowered the number of complaints and claims for compensation that Colombia's civil aviation department (Aerocivil) receives from consumers.
Delta on Thursday hopes its pilots will ratify a $1 billion concession agreement that will go a long way toward avoiding bankruptcy, but the airline disclosed yesterday it will still need an additional $135 million in cash in early 2006.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said agency employees will miss their maximum pay increase for the second consecutive year because FAA fell short on too many performance goals in the fiscal year that ended in October.
Five labor unions linked to Varig and subsidiary companies last week told Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva in an open letter that they solidly support federal guidelines for the prompt and effective restructuring of the airline (DAILY, Nov. 4).
The European Union could use the U.S. abrogation of the 1992 agreement on large aircraft subsidies in presenting its case against the U.S. before a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel if consultations between the two sides do not yield a new solution to their competing complaints about Boeing and Airbus subsidies.
About 250 Avianca creditors representing some $446 million in liabilities concluded the voting started Oct. 1 on the carrier's restructuring plan, adhering to the timetable of the carrier's Chapter 11 proceedings in the New York federal bankruptcy court presided by Judge Allan Gropper.
Macquarie Airports has won the bid to acquire 70% of Brussels International Airport Company (BIAC) for EUR735 million, Belgian Minister for State-Owned Companies Johan Vande Lanotte said yesterday.
Mexico is considering levying an additional tax on airline passengers for the use of the country's airspace, warned the CEO of a domestic carrier last week. Aviasca CEO Eduardo Morales-Mega told industry that the government is about to collect a new tax from airline passengers and others for "the use and enjoyment of Mexico's air space," according to Mexican wire reports.
Mesa posted double-digit growth in its revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for October, and boosted its load factor. RPMs grew 51% to 485 million miles from 320 million in October 2003. Seat miles increased 40% to 674 million from 498 million. Mesa's 71.8% load factor was five points higher than the 66.7% posted last October.
The former United maintenance center in Indianapolis named another tenant after AAR reached a deal with Indianapolis Airport this year to lease 10 hangars at the facility (DAILY, June 21).
Aloha Airlines parent Aloha Airgroup Inc. named David Banmiller president and CEO of Aloha Airgroup and Aloha Airlines, effective Nov. 14. Aviation Protection Systems, Inc. appointed Robert Heber VP-flight operations.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation last week finalized Chautauqua's authority to fly larger planes, validating oral confirmation it gave the carrier last month (DAILY, Oct. 27).
Guatemala-based Tikal Jets Airways requested rights from El Salvador's civil aviation authority (AAC) to operate to Comalapa Airport-- with Ilopango as alternate -- in El Salvador on its routes linking Guatemala with San Pedro Sula in Honduras and Managua in Nicaragua.
Delta's 75.3% on-time arrival rate in the third quarter is the worst of the 19 carriers the U.S. Transportation Dept. tracks. Some delays may be due to the hurricanes and bad weather between July and September; however, AirTran, which also has a hub in Atlanta, ranks 10th with 77.6% of flights arriving on time. Of the major airlines, United has the most on-time flights.
To offset spiraling fuel costs, Colombia's civil aviation department, Aerocivil, upped fuel surcharges for domestic and international fares and cargo rates, but said the cargo surcharge is not compulsory because of the strategic importance of international trade.
