ARINC this week reported a deal to design and install passenger and baggage processing systems for Murtala Muhammed International Airport at Lagos, Nigeria. ARINC began work in April, and the first phase of the project -- comprising 85 new common-use check-in stations -- is scheduled to be finished in June. ARINC is installing its iMUSE technology, which enables airlines to share airport work stations. ARINC's customer for the project is Nigerian Aviation Handling Co. of Lagos, and the installation services are being sub-contracted to NATEC Nigeria. -SL
Alaska Air has postponed indefinitely its plans to place a large order for new Boeing or Airbus narrowbody aircraft as the airline aggressively tries to lower its costs. CEO Bill Ayer revealed the news this week at the carrier's annual shareholders meeting. Alaska has already received initial proposals from Boeing, Airbus and aircraft lessors on how it would replace its MD-80s and 737-200 Combis. But further analysis has been put on the "back burner," with no schedule established for when the matter will be revisited, he said.
Swiss International Air Lines will suspend its services from Zurich to Beijing from May 29 until Aug. 15 at least, as the SARS pneumonia is wiping out demand. "Seat load factors on these flights have been below 20% for the past two weeks, and advance bookings offer little prospect of recovery in the short-term future," the carrier said. -MT
SkyWest appointed W. Steve Albrecht to its board this week, replacing Henry Eyring, who is leaving to serve a three-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan. Albrecht is the associate dean of the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University.
Alterra Partners, the private consortium that has managed Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica, for the past two years (DAILY, April 16), has challenged a report on overcharges by a Costa Rican congressional investigative body.
Representatives from airlines, CRSs, online travel agencies and associations -- 26 in all -- yesterday told DOT in a marathon one-day Washington hearing the agency still has significant work to do before it issues its final rulemaking on computer reservations systems.
The National Mediation Board (NMB) let stand the results of last November's election in which America West customer service employees and ticket agents rejected representation by the Teamsters. The Teamsters had asked the NMB to overturn the results. -AS
The Washington, D.C., area's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) is giving air traffic controllers at the new Potomac center up to 2,000 extra flights a day to handle. FAA officials say clear days now cause more headaches than stormy days because there are more general aviation pilots checking in.
Airbus yesterday opened the new A380 Major Component Assembly (MCA) hall in Hamburg at a ceremony attended by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder. The new MCA hangar is 750 feet long, 394 ft. wide and 75 ft. high. The facility will house the structural assembly and the fitting with equipment of the forward fuselage sections and the complete rear fuselage sections. To date, the manufacturer has 103 firm orders and commitments from 10 customers.
Mexicana, Aeromexico's sister company and the other large asset of Mexican public sector holding company Cintra, has made progress in its cost-savings plan, reducing expenses by about $600 million.
The National Mediation Board told America West it has denied a request from the Teamsters union to overturn the result of a November 2002 election, in which customer service and ticket agent employees rejected representation by the Teamsters. The NMB decision means the 2002 election results will stand.
Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings yesterday reported a $15.5 million net loss, a slight improvement from the $18.6 million loss posted last year, but the carrier's yields still remain depressed.
Venezuela's airlines, already struggling to obtain hard currency for pressing payments in dollars, are up against other "life or death" problems, says Simeon Garcia, president and CEO of Aserca Airlines. Domestic traffic in Venezuela has plummeted 60% since November, from 14,000 passengers a day to 6,500. While most employees have cooperated with management's request for fiscal relief by taking pay cuts and accepting payroll delays, the industry has had to lay off some 4,000 employees because of the declining market. One-time layoffs now occur regularly.
Bowing to intense pressure from low-fare rivals, American yesterday unveiled plans to abandon its "More Room Throughout Coach" program on nearly 25% of its fleet and to cap fares in several markets.
Swiss charter airline Odette Airways is looking to significantly expand its fleet, according to Swiss weekly Sonntagszeitung. The carrier is evaluating a fleet of up to 10 Fokker F100s and four to six MD-83s, the paper reported. Odette has confirmed it wants to acquire a second aircraft. It now operates a single MD-83. Swiss International Air Lines has sharply cut back its charter capacity. -JF
Rep. William Lipinski (D-Ill.) wants non-U.S.-built aircraft barred from using slots added at Washington National Airport, and could introduce an amendment to the FAA reauthorization when it hits the House floor. Airbus aircraft account for 23% of all flights in and out of DCA, May schedule data from the Airline Planning Group show, and non-U.S. aircraft fly 73.5% when RJs are added to the mix.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is probing what role dropping steps from the elevator rigging and cable tension process during maintenance played in the fatal crash two days later of an Air Midwest Beech 1900D in January. Two mechanics and an inspector worked on the plane Jan. 6 at Raytheon Aerospace's Huntington, W. Va., maintenance site. One mechanic told NTSB he skipped several steps of the complete rigging process in the Beechcraft Maintenance Manual while adjusting tension in the elevator cables.
Alaska Air Group's Chairman John Kelly this week officially retired at the conclusion of the company's annual shareholders meeting after nine years in the position. As previously announced, Kelly's successor is William Ayer, president and CEO of Alaska Air Group and president, chairman and CEO of Alaska Airlines (DAILY, Feb. 14). Ayer also assumes Kelly's responsibilities as chairman of Horizon Air. Jeffrey Pinneo, president and CEO of Horizon, will report to Ayer.
The House Transportation Committee yesterday sent an amended version of the Flight 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2115) to the full House with an amendment that further reduces the number of new slots for Washington National Airport to 12 outside and eight inside perimeter slots, down from 24 and 12 respectively. Several jurisdictional issues remain unresolved, according to sources, and members want to move the measure through the full House before the August recess.
