China Eastern Airlines has selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 566 to power its five Airbus A340-600s on order. Part of the 10-year $100 million agreement includes an engine maintenance package. Rolls-Royce said service agreements accounted for 41% of its revenue for the first six months of 2002.
Qatar Airways recently expanded the maintenance facilities at its Doha base to keep pace with rapid fleet expansion. The latest addition is a new aircraft wheels and brakes overhaul facility, built at a cost of $2.2 million. The shop is equipped with a nitrogen reservoir that can serve up to 40 wheels without refilling. The airline said the workshop is expected to pay for itself within nine months with its present workload, and additional revenue could be generated from other airlines. Currently, the airline has 17 Airbus aircraft.
Northwest Airlink partner Mesaba Airlines is furloughing 50 pilots and shutting down flight crew centers in Wausau and Rhinelander, Wis. Furloughs are scheduled to begin immediately and continue through January. The crew facilities will close Dec. 31. Mesaba said declining traffic levels and lower passenger load factors projected for the fall led to the decision. Year-to-date revenue passenger miles are down 12.1% and load factors are off 2.8 points. The carrier's net income for the third quarter decreased 66%.
Senate Majority Chief Deputy Whip John Breaux (D-La.) added his voice to those urging DOT Secretary Norman Mineta to make a "formal determination" on United's December 2001 application to allow cockpit-stored stun guns. As the U.S. approaches the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, "allowing a determination to linger any further does little to bolster public confidence in air travel or enhance security," Breaux wrote to Mineta.
Alaska Air recently launched a two-month field test of a computer tracking system that will tell the carrier the exact location of a passenger's bag at any time. The airline told employees in an internal newsletter this week that it is "borrowing a concept from FedEx in an effort to get a better, higher-tech handle on its already stellar baggage-handling proficiency." Alaska claims to be the only airline in the U.S. pursuing the idea, which executives believe could "revolutionize the way the industry" handles baggage.
FAA recently signed off on an advisory circular (AC) seen as an important step for the widespread introduction of precise instrument airport approaches using Required Navigation Performance (RNP). Alaska Airlines, the first operator of RNP approaches in the U.S., says FAA is making good progress in developing the regulations required for RNP approaches in the lower 48 states.
A letter of intent for building a new airport at Berlin Schoenefeld is expected to be signed today, according to industry sources. Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit and Brandenburg Prime Minister Matthias Platzeck are to attend a news conference announcing the deal. If the agreement goes through, the airport will be built and operated by a consortium consisting of Hochtief AG and IVG Industrieverwaltungsgesellschaft AG. Hochtief has stakes in the airport operators at Athens and Hamburg and has a role in the privatization of Sydney Airport.
All Nippon Airways has taken delivery of its first Boeing 767-300 freighter, powered by two General Electric CF6-80C2 engines. The carrier's parent company, ANA Group, operates 137 Boeing aircraft -- 34 747s, 21 777, 55 767s and 27 737s. The next aircraft scheduled for delivery is the 737-300ER.
Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines reported an operating profit of 826 million yuan (US$110.13 million) for the first six months of the year ended June 30, up 36.5% from the same period last year. Group turnover was 8.56 billion yuan, with passenger traffic contributing 7.62 billion yuan and cargo 726 million yuan.
Turkish Airlines ordered two blended winglet shipsets for two of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft and took options for an additional 50. Currently, there are 26 -800s in the airline's fleet. The carrier also has received approval as a winglet installation center.
Northwest pilot union leadership agreed to negotiate a letter of agreement (LOA) to allow the airline to enter a code share with Delta and Continental. Contract clauses require both Northwest and Delta to win agreement from the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and the code-share agreement also is subject to approval by the DOT.
Delta yesterday signed a deal with Hotwire to begin offering specially negotiated discount fares through the web site. With the addition of Delta, Hotwire offers discount fares with from seven U.S. major airlines. Delta was absent from the list of Hotwire founding partners when the online travel agent was launched in October 2000. The founding airline partners include American, America West, Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways. The web site also has financial backing from the Texas Pacific Group.
International Association of Machinists (IAM) workers at Boeing are moving closer to a strike after the union's leadership recommended members reject the manufacturer's final proposal during today's scheduled vote. Director of Strategic Resources for IAM Steven Slay told The DAILY a strike was likely and "the company went backwards" in the final proposal on the union's three main issues of concern -- job security, pension and benefits.
Mexicana experienced average load factors as low as 45% on some of its routes to resort destinations, particularly to Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast, according to Mexico City's financial daily El Economista. Overall traffic to such areas fell 3% from last year.
Australian Industrial Relations Commission yesterday ruled that a nationwide strike proposed by Australian air traffic controllers would not be legal. The five-hour strike, scheduled for tomorrow, was prompted by the controllers voting last week to reject a tentative agreement for a new contract.
FAA this week issued its final ruling on deicing that grants chief pilots final authority to decide on holdover times and pre-takeoff check procedures. Swissair (now Swiss), the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of European Airlines (AEA) said they were concerned about using holdover as the sole factor in making a decision for takeoff.
Vanguard this week filed a motion in U.S. bankruptcy court to extend interim financing for an additional three weeks while it prepares forecasts and analyses for an interested investor group, Hooters Air, headed by the owner of the Hooters restaurant chain, a Vanguard spokeswoman confirmed to The DAILY.
Continental signed a marketing deal with Cendant's Travel Distribution Division and Trip Network that will offer discounted airfares, including web fares, through several sites. The new deal follows a previous partnership between Cendant and Continental, and encompasses Trip.com and Cheaptickets.com, which are operated by Trip Network, Inc., an independent affiliate of Cendant, and Cendant's offline travel agency, which operates eight contact centers for Cendant-affiliated brands.
The final chapter of the criminal proceedings against SabreTech concluded yesterday when a U.S. District Court judge issued a revised fine of $500,000 on the single upheld conviction in the case. "SabreTech is a defunct corporation with no assets, no operations and more than $22 million in negative net worth," said SabreTech attorney Martin Raskin. "We argued there should be no fine, since sentencing guidelines make it clear that financial resources are key elements in imposing a sentence."
The Transportation Security Administration delayed implementation of security screening requirements for passenger charters using aircraft of 95,000 pounds or more until Dec. 1, acknowledging the "unique characteristics" of many of those operations. It seeks comments by Sept. 30. TSA had published a no-notice final rule June 19 that garnered more than 100 comments, including a joint response by several airline trade groups urging TSA to reconsider its "practice of routinely issuing final rules without prior notice and opportunity for comment."
Transportation Security Administration is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, DOT affirmed this week. DOT published a final rule in the Federal Register updating the department's FOIA and Privacy Act regulations "so that they clearly reflect the addition of the TSA to the department."
Following similar moves by other major carriers in Europe, Lufthansa unveiled major changes to its pricing system hoping to fend off no-frills competition and improve profitability at the same time, (DAILY, Aug. 27). The airline will introduce lower fares across its domestic network with fewer restrictions, such as minimum stay or advance booking requirements. Prices will vary according to availability and de-mand. The structure will be introduced simultaneously on routes to the U.K. and Turkey and will expand across Europe later.
Australian air traffic controllers have announced a five-hour nationwide strike on Friday, following the failure of a tentative contract agreement. Local air traffic provider Airservices Australia is challenging the strike. The Australian Air Traffic Control Association's national executive said the strike will begin at 5 p.m. local time, and end at 10 p.m. According to the union, the strike is a result of 20 months of "fruitless negotiations" with Airservices Australia on a new contract.
