Eclipse Aviation told Eclipse 500 customers recently in Albuquerque, N.M., they could have their deposit money back upon request because the company will be unable to meet timing or price guarantees in their contract since it decided to change engine late last year.
FAA yesterday awarded important early development contracts for its Next Generation Air/Ground Communication (NEXCOM) program to Harris Corp. and ITT Industries. The 20-month contracts are valued at $21 million for Harris and $16 million for ITT. FAA said the NEXCOM program, which will integrate data link with digital voice communications, is aimed at making more efficient use of the available frequency spectrum. ICAO predicts congestion will limit growth in aviation in about seven years.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank last week approved a plan to cut its risk exposure fee by one-third on financing of U.S. large commercial aircraft for buyers in foreign countries that sign, ratify and implement the Cape Town Convention, a treaty that aims to facilitate asset-based financing and leasing of large commercial aircraft.
The European Commission took legal steps against Denmark and other countries for "golden share" plans, which let governments keep excessive influence over privatized companies. Denmark is targeted for its links with Copenhagen Airports, where the ownership of shares is restricted to a maximum of 10% for all shareholders other than the Danish state. Furthermore, the rules that govern the company stipulate the transport ministry must be consulted for certain strategic decisions or for changing these rules.
JetBlue, having a great time poking fun at the name of Delta's new Song subsidiary, today at a New York Kennedy event will name its newest Airbus A320 "Song Sung Blue." JetBlue names all its aircraft and had the name on a list for some time. But the new name quickly rose to the top for its 38th plane after rumors started flying in November about Delta's branding. The airline today also will announce new frequencies to Buffalo and San Juan (see Page 4).
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) faces a $3 billion shortfall each year and needs a cash infusion from the General Fund, DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead told the Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee yesterday.
Expedia founder, President and CEO Richard Barton yesterday announced plans to resign from the online travel agency. Erik Blachford, president of Expedia North America, will succeed Barton as president and CEO and will join the board. A "carefully planned transition" will allow for Barton's continued involvement with the company as director of parent USA Interactive. Barton said he will "pursue my long-standing dream to live in Europe for a year."
JetBlue, as expected, announced plans yesterday to add five new flights this spring to the West Coast from New York Kennedy and Washington Dulles. CEO David Neeleman last week at a New York analysts conference discussed the airline's plans to boost transcontinental flying, add frequencies on existing routes and "connect the dots" of destinations within its existing network (DAILY, Jan. 31). The airline will add sixth and seventh daily flights between JFK and Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 20 and June 26, respectively.
While most of us are happy to put 2002, one of the most painful years in the history of the airline industry, behind us, we must brace ourselves for another very tough year in 2003 -- in some ways a year that will challenge us more than the past 12 months.
Correction: ExpressJet said it has reached an operating margin of 10%, and that this minimum is guaranteed beyond 2004 in its agreement with Continental. The DAILY gave an incorrect timeline for reaching the operating margin (DAILY, Feb. 3).
In a bid to regain the country's FAA safety Category 1 status, Panama's legislative assembly recently adopted three bills aimed at modernizing the country's civil aviation system. Under the bills, an aeronautic code will be drafted, a civil aviation board created, and Tocumen International Airport would be converted into a corporation, with the government holding 100% of the stock.
Topping analysts' forecasts for third-quarter profits, Ryanair upped its guidance for full-year net profit from EUR230 million (US$250 million) to EUR235 million (US$255.5 million). Net profits jumped 50% for the quarter ended Dec. 31 to EUR43.2 million (US$46.97 million). The airline carried 46% more passengers, but an 8% yield decline left revenues up only 37%. The after-tax profit margin nevertheless improved from 21% to 23%, as total operating costs were up just 28%.
Cockpit doors, air cargo security and who should pay the costs for increased federally mandated security will be among topics tackled at today's Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee hearing.
In April, Argentina's Southern Winds Airlines will upgrade its current four weekly flights from Buenos Aires to Madrid to daily service with Boeing 767-300 aircraft. The carrier wants to increase its market share on the route to 12%, investing in advertising and promotion in key European markets aimed at positioning Argentina as one of the world's last quality travel bargains. According to official government statistics, from nominal numbers in previous years, in 2002 some 1,918,052 foreign tourists visited Argentina.
Air France claims its operations program is "significantly higher" than planned on Monday despite the ongoing pilot strike. The carrier said yesterday 89% of long-haul and 87% of medium-haul flights were operated on Monday. Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne (SNPL), the majority pilots union, issued a statement yesterday asserting the flight cancellation rate was about 50% and accused the company's management of "disinformation". The union said the company was using chartered aircraft to compensate for part of the canceled services. -MT
Korean Air, during the Lunar New Year holiday, carried a record-breaking number of passengers. The results were especially significant at both Seoul Gimpo and Busan Kimhae airports. On Jan. 31, 141 flights, including 42 charter flights, departed Gimpo carrying 30,514 passengers. This record tops the previous one of 30,109 passengers carried during the Korean Thanksgiving holiday on Sept. 20, 2002. Kimhae performed "equally well," breaking the previous record of 14,921 passengers set on Sept. 22 by carrying 15,118 passengers on Feb. 2. -SL
Transportation Security Agency head Adm. James Loy said this week he expects to reduce the agency's work force by about 3,000 by the end of fiscal 2004. Loy told an audience at a Department of Homeland Security press briefing that the total number of employees would fall from 62,000 to 59,000 by reducing screening staff from 51,000 to 48,000.
SilkAir plans to suspend its once-a-week service to Makassar, Indonesia, previously known as Ujung Pandang, following a "network review to streamline our operations." The last scheduled flight will be on March 25. SilkAir CEO Subhas Menon reported the route was "unprofitable for a long time, and traffic between Singapore and Makassar has dropped further over the past year." -SL
Anticipating heavy flower exports for Valentine's Day, Colombian cargo carrier Tampa Airlines has leased an extra DC-10 trijet and will operate 243 flights to meet demand.
Air Tahiti Nui this week took delivery of two Airbus A340-300s it had on firm order, part of a fleet modernization and expansion program that will increase its A340 fleet to four.
Frontier Airlines executives likely will tell analysts today in an earnings conference call it faces significant cost challenges in its upcoming fiscal year, blaming its dual fleet infrastructure, high fuel costs and expenses related to the return of 11 Boeing 737-200s that will be gone by August. On the bright side, CEO Jeff Potter said in New York that Frontier completed one sale/leaseback deal in December to improve its liquidity and a second will close this month.
Lufthansa and public services union Ver.di agreed to let Klaus von Dohnanyi arbitrate their stalled talks on a new wage deal. Von Dohnanyi is a former education minister and mayor of the city of Hamburg. He is highly regarded as an independent political mind in the country. Ver.di demanded a 9% wage increase for Lufthansa's 52,000 ground staff and cabin crew plus a profit sharing plan. Lufthansa rejects the demands as unacceptable. -JF
