Great Lakes pilots voted to authorize a strike if contract talks go poorly, the Teamsters union said this week. Little progress has been made in two years of talks and another round is slated for March 17-20. A strike could happen when the National Mediation Board releases the union from mediation, the union said.
Thai Airways International posted a net profit of 3.51 billion baht (US$83.55 million) for the first quarter ended December 31, an increase of 42.7%. Passenger load factor jumped 6.7% to 72%, while revenue was 36.58 billion baht (US$ 857 million). Due to the threat of war in Iraq and the uncertainties surrounding the travel industry, the airline was unable to forecast its performance for the rest of the year. -WD
Canada's WestJet yesterday launched its new non-stop service between Halifax and Hamilton. The airline is making four daily flights on the route, with connecting service to 18 WestJet destinations. The new Halifax service is made possible by the addition of WestJet's fifteenth Boeing 737-700 delivered this month.
US Airways CEO David Siegel reported that the airline will likely sign a bilateral code-share and marketing deal with Lufthansa and receive an official invitation to join Star Alliance by yearend. Siegel said in November that that it would likely join in 2003, but confirmed yesterday in a speech to the National Business Travel Association's Masters Program in Washington that his plan to join Star is moving "ahead of schedule." US Airways has had "very substantive discussions" with Star and several of its members, including Lufthansa.
Sabena Technics signed a four-year contract with SN Brussels Airlines to support components on three Airbus A319s. Sabena Technics already works on BAe Avro regional jet components in the SN Brussels fleet. The airline uses its 35 aircraft for daily flights to 43 European and 13 African destinations.
Bucking the trend among Asian carriers buying new aircraft for future expansion, Thai Airways International will acquire seven Boeing 747-400s from ailing Star Alliance partner United Airlines, with an option to buy an eighth. The airline's acquisition plan has been submitted for approval to Thai's board, in addition to the Ministry of Finance in Bangkok, which holds a 93% stake in the carrier. A Thai Airways executive in Bangkok told The DAILY that the approvals are only formalities. The deal will be closed within the next month or two.
Air France cut projected capacity growth for this summer from between as much as 7% to 1.8%, but will boost Asian routes' capacity in search of growth. Citing economic slowdowns, Air France said it has "significantly decreased the level of its investments" in new aircraft, postponing deliveries of two Airbus A330s, four A320 family jets and two regional jets. Air France's last Boeing 767s will be withdrawn this summer. Further, the airline said plans could change again in the event of war with Iraq.
United expects to collect $17 million in additional revenue thanks to new Boston ground-handling contracts the airline recently secured with Air Canada and American Trans Air. The airline told employees that the opportunity to bid for the contracts arose when United cut its Boston schedule. "We were in a use-it-or-lose-it situation," says Station Manager Mark Hussey. "We had to find some way of using our capacity strategically to retain our presence here for the long term."
Mesa Airlines is replacing Chief Financial Officer Rob Stone with Peter Murnane, who will add the CFO's duties to his responsibilities as Executive Vice President. Stone will become Senior VP and Treasurer, focused on securing financing for planned regional jet growth. Also, Carter Leake was named Senior VP of US Airways Express and Scott Lyon is now VP of Planning. -LR
Chautauqua Airlines parent Republic Airways Holdings continues to press ahead with setting up Republic Airlines, revealing Louisville, Ky., this week as Republic's base even as the startup carrier faces mounting opposition from Chautauqua pilots. Republic management created the new airline after Chautauqua's pilots rejected the "Jets for Jobs" agreement, which provides jobs for furloughed US Airways pilots. Republic signed an agreement with US Airways late last year to fly 23 Embraer ERJ145s.
Mesa has officially rejoined the Regional Airline Association (RAA), after leaving the organization in 2001 to found Regional Aviation Partners (RAP). "We are delighted to rejoin RAA and look forward to a long and productive relationship," says Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein. He promised Mesa would continue to fully support RAP.
US Airways in March plans to become the latest major airline to start testing whether passengers are willing to buy meals on board, reports VP-Sales Steve Tracas. Northwest, America West and Delta last month conducted similar tests. Tracas told a National Business Travel Association conference in Washington yesterday it would benefit everyone if the airline could provide better food and cut costs at the same time. US Airways is still deciding whether it will participate in the LSG Sky Chefs program or sign a deal with another vendor.
Mesa has renewed a relationship with United Airlines to fly turboprops out of Denver after United abruptly ended a similar arrangement with Mesa in the late 1990s. United was unhappy with Mesa's performance in Denver and eventually terminated its contract, replacing Mesa with SkyWest. Mesa filed a lawsuit against United, arguing it was illegal for United to end the contract, but later dropped the case.
International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) has placed a new Airbus A330-300 to Dragon Air based in Hong Kong. Rolls Royce Trent 772-60 engines power the aircraft. The aircraft is scheduled for delivery in March 2004 for a seven-year lease term.
Cargo operators will be forced to comply with FAA's reinforced cockpit door regulations in October if the agency doesn't finalize rulemaking to give them another way to secure their cockpits. Language in the omnibus appropriations bill bars FAA from using its funds in fiscal 2003 to force cargo carriers to comply with the April 9 deadline for passenger airlines (DAILY, Feb. 25). In essence the legislation "bought the cargo carriers more time," an FAA spokeswoman said.
Frontier this spring plans to boost frequencies in nine existing markets across the country at the same time it amends its code-share deal with Mesa from a pro-rate-based payment method to a fixed-fee relationship.
Malaysia Airlines posted a net profit of RM250.71 million (US$66.33 million) for the nine months ended Dec. 31, compared with the massive RM882.3 million loss last year. Revenues rose 7.87% to RM6.72 billion (US$1.77 billion) from RM6.23 billion (US$1.64 billion) last year. The sale of a Boeing 747-400C contributed RM77.1 million (US$20.3 million).
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Jim Bunning (R - Ky.) are expected to introduce legislation next week that would let cargo pilots enter a controversial firearms training program. The legislation will be unveiled Tuesday, according to the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA). A similar bill has already been introduced in the House. Cargo pilots were excluded from the cockpit guns program after lobbying by cargo airlines.
Qantas subsidiary Australian Airlines this week unveiled its first major route expansion thanks to the addition of two new Boeing 767-300s to its fleet this summer. The carrier launched operations in October with four 767s in an all-coach class configuration and CEO Denis Adams reported that Australian is now operating nearly 30 flights per week between Cairns and six Asian destinations. It also offers connecting services for international passengers between Cairns and the Gold Coast region.
A piece of the rudder of an Air France Concorde was lost yesterday during a flight from Paris to New York. The aircraft landed safely in New York. An Air France spokeswoman said a technical investigation is underway. British Airways also lost part of a Concorde lower rudder on a flight late last year from London to New York (DAILY, Dec. 5, 2002). The U.K.'s Air Accident Investigation Branch is still probing the cause of that mishap. -LR
Hawaiian Airlines mechanics in a vote last week rejected a representation bid from the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, electing instead to remain with the International Association of Machinists. IAM said 85% of eligible employees voted, with a "solid majority" opting to remain with IAM.
