American signed a deal with Weathernews Americas Inc. that will designate the company as the main provider of meteorological information for the airline's operations. Weathernews is building a new aviation service center in Norman, Okla., that will provide data to flight planning systems for American and American Eagle by late summer.
Lufthansa signed an agreement with Connexion by Boeing to equip all of the airline's 80 long-haul aircraft with Internet on-board service. The move follows a three-month trial on board a Boeing 747-400 (DAILY, April 23), and makes Lufthansa the first airline to make a firm commitment to Connexion.
While Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is celebrating Boeing's $17 billion deal with the federal government for 100 767 refueling tankers (DAILY, May 27), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee, said the deal may be good for Boeing and its lobbyists, but it's a "lousy deal for the Air Force and for the American taxpayer."
CanJet Airlines expects to take delivery today of its sixth Boeing 737 as part of a plan to boost domestic and charter service. The latest 737 will arrive at CanJet's Halifax headquarters after being reconfigured and repainted in CanJet's livery. Chief Operating Officer Julie Gossen said the plane allows not only new routes, but lets CanJet "quickly recover in the event of unavoidable operational delays." She added that the latest aircraft acquisition represents a 50% increase in CanJet's fleet size in less than one year of operations. -SL
Air Canada reached a tentative agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Airline Division -- the first of the carrier's major unions to reach a concession deal with the mainline airline -- that will include more than 400 layoffs.
DHL Airways yesterday launched a program to rebrand the company and change its name to Astar Air Cargo, Inc. as part of its overall strategy to distance the company from DHL International and the ownership dispute with Deutsche Post.
Brussels-based no-frills carrier Virgin Express reported a "seasonal" net loss of EUR11.7 million (US$13.8 million) in the first quarter of 2003, compared with a EUR6.7 million deficit in the year-ago period. Revenue dropped 8% to EUR 41.7 million (US$49.2 million) in the quarter ended March 31. "Global concerns about war and terrorism, together with Easter falling outside the first quarter, have both contributed significantly to the greater quarterly loss," Virgin Express said.
Bombardier said first-quarter net income was off 59% to C$80 million (US$58 million) from C$197.2 million (US$143 million) a year ago, battered by bizjet market declines, a tough economy and commercial aviation uncertainty, which "remain concerns" for the future, said CEO Paul Tellier.
Global airline traffic in April sank 18.5% from a year earlier, with Asia Pacific carriers taking the biggest hit at the hands of the SARS pneumonia, according to the latest IATA report. CEO Giovanni Bisignani said the "unprecedented combination" of the war in Iraq and the SARS pneumonia has "had a disastrous impact on the international air transport industry in an order of magnitude approaching that of Sept. 11."
The British Airways executive board is scheduled to meet later this week to talk over how the airline might respond to a possible link-up of U.K. rivals BMI British Midland and Virgin Atlantic. "As the leading airline in Europe, it would only be sensible to look at our options in the light of recent developments," a BA spokesman said without giving details. The Financial Times reported that BA was considering either a bid for Virgin or a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading to keep Virgin and BMI apart.
A provision in the 2004 defense authorization bill sets aside $1 million to help develop a U.S. version of the Paris Air Show. House lawmakers last week approved the bill, which included an amendment added by the House Armed Services Committee and drafted by Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.). Saxton also introduced a bill to block the Pentagon from taking part in this year's Paris Air Show. -AS
US Airways began preliminary talks with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on building a new regional jet terminal at Washington National Airport, a spokesman confirmed to The DAILY. CEO David Siegel will try today to win support for a new facility in a presentation to the Greater Washington Initiative annual meeting.
Bombardier signed a deal to sell Belfast City Airport to Spain's Ferrovial for C$77.7 million (US$56.4 million) as part of a recapitalization program the Canadian company unveiled in early April. The airport was a unit of Short Brothers, which Bombardier bought in 1989.
After months of fighting over the financing and industrial returns of Galileo, the future competitor of the U.S. Global Positioning System, the European Space Agency (ESA) has finally carved out a compromise for the creation of the "Galileo Joint Undertaking."
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is urging FAA to consider finding ways to ensure that back-up air traffic control radar processing systems have conflict alert functions. Two incidents spurred NTSB's move: a fatal mid-air collision in July 2002 of a DHL International Airways Boeing 757 and a Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev 154M, and a loss of separation between a Northwest Boeing 747 and US Airways 757 55 miles east of North Platte, Neb., in April 2000.
Midwest Airlines today in Milwaukee plans to unveil the routes and name of its new low-fare operation, which the airline hopes will start winning back leisure passengers this year. The new name will be a "brand extension," not a separate brand, according to General Counsel Carol Skornicka, who told The DAILY the new routes will go on sale this weekend. The new operation will likely operate on existing routes to points like Las Vegas and Florida that have strong traffic but lower yields.
As Brazil's Varig and TAM were poised at the end of last week to commit themselves "irreversibly" to a merger on Banco Fator's timetable (DAILY, May 17), a dispute over the future company's name threatened to stall the deal. "A name as prominent as Varig's domestically and internationally for over 75 years cannot be ignored," said Varig President Roberto Macedo, a sentiment echoed by the Rubem Berta Foundation (FRB), which controls 87% of Varig's shares.
The International Association of Machinists (IAM) says its challenge against the rival Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) to represent Northwest mechanics gained momentum in recent weeks, and the union expects to force an employee vote early next year.
The House Transportation Committee is thinking of changing the definition of commuter aircraft to any plane with 76 seats or fewer, which would let US Airways fly its larger regional jets into Washington National. Rep. Tim Holden (D-Pa.) is lobbying for the change. Right now, an RJ has to have fewer than 56 seats to be a commuter.
Airbus says it logged 114 orders in April, 71% ahead of the year-ago pace of 33 aircraft, based on data from AirClaims. JetBlue's order for 65 A320s helped boost the order book. Deliveries last month topped out at 23, 25% behind the 31 deliveries made in April 2002.
