The House Appropriations transportation subcommittee yesterday angrily demanded that the Transportation Safety Administration, which according to DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead will run out of money by the end of May, justify its $4.4 billion budget supplemental request and should not plan to get the 72,000 employees it wants. Subcommittee Chair Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) chided TSA for lack of budget accountability because it justified only about half its supplemental budget request.
China will hold the fourth China International Aviation and Aerospace Exposition in Zhuhai, one of the country's special economic zones, Nov. 4-10. More than 40 companies from the U.S., Canada and France, including Boeing and Airbus, have confirmed their attendance at the exposition. Two websites dedicated to the air show will be launched, at www.airshow. com.cn and www.airshowchina.com.
Media reports on confusion surrounding FAA's inspection visit to Lima April 24-26 prompted Eduardo Guislein, safety director for Peru's civil aviation agency (DGAC), to clarify that the FAA assesses the capabilities of each country's authorities responsible for safety oversight (in this case the DGAC), and not the individual airlines involved. These, in turn, must answer to the aviation authorities for any failures that might jeopardize this oversight process.
The House Appropriations transportation subcommittee yesterday angrily demanded that the Transportation Safety Administration, which according to DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead will run out of money by the end of May, justify its $4.4 billion budget supplemental request and should not plan to get the 72,000 employees it wants. Subcommittee Chair Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) chided TSA for lack of budget accountability because it justified only about half its supplemental budget request.
The new draft bill to create the future National Civil Aviation agency for Brazil was delivered to airlines this week by Carlos de Almeida Baptista, Brazil's acting minister of defense. The measure replaces the bill the government withdrew last December in order to amend several controversial items. Conscious of the urgency of the bill to help solve some of the industry's most pressing problems, Baptista's timetable calls for a meeting with airlines this week to obtain their input so the draft can be submitted to the legislators in 10 days.
As Colombia's No. 1 Avianca/SAM and No. 2 Aces consummate their operational integration in May, AeroRepublica will replace Aces in the No. 2 slot. Comparing AeroRepublica's position to that of David vs. Goliath, CEO Alfonso Avila's strategy will concentrate on business travelers and lower fares. Avila hopes to achieve both with fleet renewal, which involves five new leased MD80s at an investment of $40 million, due to bargain prices after Sept. 11.
Pan Am will begin service on May 3 to Martha's Vineyard, Mass., with flights from Baltimore, Portsmouth, N.H., and White Plains, N.Y. operated by affiliate Boston-Maine Airways on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, using 19-seat Jetstream 21s. The service schedule will provide options for weekend and longer stays at the summer vacation destination, Pan Am said. The carrier starts service on May 15 to Freeport, Bahamas, from Orlando Sanford, offering connections with its other Florida and eastern U.S.
GE Capital Aviation Services took an equity stake in parts planning software vendor Logistechs Inc. Terms were not made public. GE Engine Services uses Logistechs products to offer customized inventory fulfillment through GE Rotable Solutions. Other Logistechs customers include America West and Southwest.
In an effort to bring its struggling airline business back into profitability, SAS has announced far-reaching changes to its operations. The airline said yesterday that it would drop 13 mainly intra-Scandinavian routes, of which six will be transferred to subsidiaries Wideroe, Air Botnia, Braathens and Spanair. In its mainline system, SAS will position its aircraft in three main bases -- Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo.
GE Capital Aviation Services took an equity stake in parts planning software vendor Logistechs Inc. Terms were not made public. GE Engine Services uses Logistechs products to offer customized inventory fulfillment through GE Rotable Solutions. Other Logistechs customers include America West and Southwest.
British Airways CEO Rod Eddington acknowledged yesterday that his airline likely will never gain antitrust immunity (ATI) with alliance partner American, as the U.S. and U.K. have no plans to renew serious open-skies talks in the near term. "We just have to recognize that we're not going to get ATI and we need to work within that constraint," Eddington told reporters in New York after his speech to the Wings Club.
AMR Corp. yesterday reported a record first quarter net loss of $548 million, as weak yields did not offset improving traffic trends. This compares with a net loss of $43 million for the same 2001 period. In spite of what company executives describe as a "tough quarter," they say there are signs that financial performance is improving.
Opodo, the online travel portal set up by nine European airlines -- Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa -- launched its French site this week. The Italian site is scheduled to go live by June, while The Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain will follow suit in the second half of the year. The first portals of the agency were introduced in November 2001 in Germany and in January 2002 in the U.K.
United's management has made little progress in its attempted negotiations with its several of its largest labor groups as part of its largest efforts to bring costs down. In his weekly message to employees, CEO Jack Creighton said the airline has had "positive discussions" with our pilots' union, but its talks with the International Association of Machinists and the Association of Flight Attendants "have not been as productive."
The new draft bill to create the future National Civil Aviation agency for Brazil was delivered to airlines this week by Carlos de Almeida Baptista, Brazil's acting minister of defense. The measure replaces the bill the government withdrew last December in order to amend several controversial items. Conscious of the urgency of the bill to help solve some of the industry's most pressing problems, Baptista's timetable calls for a meeting with airlines this week to obtain their input so the draft can be submitted to the legislators in 10 days.
GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) is stepping back from its order for the Fairchild Dornier 728 regional jet. A GECAS spokesman confirmed to The DAILY, "We have notified Fairchild Dornier that we have canceled our order according to the terms of our agreement." He noted that "the uncertainty surrounding the situation" was too great to keep the contract on the books. GECAS had ordered 50 728s, plus options for an additional 100 aircraft, for a total list value of $1.5 billion.
Cargolux Airlines yesterday announced a net profit of $15.4 million for 2001. Operating profit was $22.3 million on revenues of $731.1 million. Cargolux carried 433,096 tonnes of freight in 2001, and flew 3,768 million freight tonne-kilometers, 1.2% fewer than last year's total. However, this was a better result than the industry-wide FTK reduction of about 8%, the company said.
Rolls-Royce has secured a $530 million contract from Cathay Pacific for a Total Care maintenance package for the Trent 700 engines powering the airline's 20 Airbus A330s. The carrier's Trent 700 engines have flown more than 450,000 hours with the lead engine approaching 20,000 hours.
Cargolux Airlines yesterday an-nounced a net profit of $15.4 million for 2001. Operating profit was $22.3 million on revenues of $731.1 million. Cargolux carried 433,096 tonnes of freight in 2001, and flew 3,768 million freight tonne-kilometers, 1.2% fewer than last year's total. However, this was a better result than the industry-wide FTK reduction of about 8%, the company said.
With new fare reductions announced Monday by Gol and VASP on the Rio/Sao Paulo Shuttle ("Ponte Aerea"), industry analysts fear a new fare war may develop. Gol's lowest fare is 98 reals when booked electronically and 108 reals over the counter, with VASP lowering its fare from 138 to 120 reals, subject to space and other conditions. Passengers are pleased, but analyst Alexandre Cunha warns, "A fare war is not healthy for any carrier."
Boeing lost $1.25 billion in the first quarter as an accounting change took a $1.8 billion bite out of profits to push $578 million in earnings into the red, the company said yesterday. Revenues rose 4% to $13.8 billion. Boeing earned about $1.2 billion in the 2001 first quarter on revenues of $13.2 billion.
In an effort to bring its struggling airline business back into profitability, SAS has announced far-reaching changes to its operations. The airline said yesterday that it would drop 13 mainly intra-Scandinavian routes, of which six will be transferred to subsidiaries Wideroe, Air Botnia, Braathens and Spanair. In its mainline system, SAS will position its aircraft in three main bases -- Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo.
British Airways CEO Rod Eddington acknowledged yesterday that his airline likely will never gain antitrust immunity (ATI) with alliance partner American, as the U.S. and U.K. have no plans to renew serious open-skies talks in the near term. "We just have to recognize that we're not going to get ATI and we need to work within that constraint," Eddington told reporters in New York after his speech to the Wings Club.
