Delta yesterday said it would adjust capacity for its summer schedule to meet customer demand. Delta will continue to build service between Atlanta and London Gatwick by offering a fourth flight. The airline will operate three flights daily and a fourth flight three days a week. All London flights will feature BusinessElite service. As Delta introduces the additional frequencies, it will discontinue nonstop service between Boston and London June 1 but will continue to offer nonstop daily service to London from Cincinnati.
Royal Air Maroc (RAM) took delivery of another Boeing 737-800, part of a previous order for nine 737s placed by the airline in 1996. The carrier also leases two 737-800s. RAM last year purchased 20 additional 737s to develop its routes to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The 737-800 will join the carrier's current fleet of 28 737s, nine of which are next-generation.
DOT yesterday granted antitrust immunity to a United-BMI British Midland alliance but made it conditional on the U.S. and U.K. reaching an open-skies agreement. DOT also granted the request of American and British Airways to dismiss their application for antitrust immunity. The agency already tentatively granted antitrust immunity to United-BMI and AA-BA in January on the condition of completing an open-skies pact and the divestiture by AA and BA of some slots to open the way for competition between the U.S. and Heathrow.
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines will sell two MD-11s to China Cargo Airlines (CCA) for US$120.8 million. China Eastern will use the cash in part to finance its acquisition of new aircraft in the second quarter of the year. CCA, the only Chinese cargo carrier currently, will convert the two aircraft into freighters. CCA is 45% owned by China Eastern, 30% by state-owned firm China Ocean Shipping Group and 25% by China Airlines.
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines will sell two MD-11s to China Cargo Airlines (CCA) for US$120.8 million. China Eastern will use the cash in part to finance its acquisition of new aircraft in the second quarter of the year. CCA, the only Chinese cargo carrier currently, will convert the two aircraft into freighters. CCA is 45% owned by China Eastern, 30% by state-owned firm China Ocean Shipping Group and 25% by China Airlines.
Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co. (GAMECO) has signed an agreement with Aviation Partners Boeing to participate in a project involving retrofitting the winglet system on Boeing aircraft. Under the agreement APB will provide the retrofit kits and GAMECO will perform modification and installation of blended winglets on the aircraft of the manufacturer's customers. GAMECO is the first MRO company in China to be appointed by APB to perform such task.
Construction recently started on a 156,000-square foot air cargo processing and distribution center at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport. The joint venture of AMB Property Corp. and Trammell Crow Company is the airport's first new air freight facility in eight years. The facility, which sits on 8.4 acres, is adjacent to an aircraft apron capable of accommodating 12 Boeing 747-400 freighters. The front dock of the building can process up to 50 tractor-trailer rigs. When completed in October, it will be the largest on-tarmac airfreight building at the airport.
Airlines "have powerful reasons other than noise performance" to upgrade and replace aircraft, and don't need outside pressure to add noise technology, European Regions Airline Association Director General Mike Ambrose said recently. ERA's Noise Study, due out soon, shows that members have "accomplished by their own volition" noise reductions to meet more stringent European standards.
Turkey's Inter Airlines recently took delivery of its first Boeing 737-800, leased from GATX Financial Corp. The carrier flies charters between its home country and European cities. It is slated to take a second 737-800 later this year.
Southwest ordered Boeing's MaintStream Planning Pack Plus maintenance management software. The software, developed by Boeing subsidiary AeroInfo Systems, will be part of Southwest's "Next Generation Maintenance Automation Project" aimed at improving operations while trimming costs. Other carriers that have used MaintStream or its predecessors include Canadian Airlines (before it became part of Air Canada) and Northwest.
FAA will continue to collect overflight fees based on an Aug. 20, 2001, rule that has been protested by several carriers and an association, but refunds triggered by the rule's retroactive fee reduction won't be paid until the protest is settled by the Washington, D.C., court of appeals. The agency clarified its policies in a March 25 letter to "overflight fee customers." It also said that bills for the June 1 through Aug. 19, 2001, time period would not be sent until a final ruling is issued.
LOT Polish Airlines has made a significant step towards joining the Star alliance after it signed a memorandum of understanding that will put it into a close partnership with Lufthansa. The move would represent a significant strengthening of the alliance in Eastern Europe, where, unlike the Delta-Air France-Czech SkyTeam alliance, it did not have a member carrier.
FAA, formalizing a long-communicated plan of ensuring one level of flight-deck security on airliners serving U.S. airports, plans to order short- and long-term cockpit door upgrades for non-U.S. operators that fly to the U.S.
American CEO Don Carty plans to focus more of his time on planning for the future of the company after Gerard Arpey becomes president and chief operating officer. Arpey previously was executive VP-operations and was appointed to the new post this week.
Washington-based Air Exchange signed a deal with Icelandair to market wet-lease service to other airlines. With "Planned Maintenance Subservice," Icleandair will provide pre-planned and pre-paid short-term capacity to replace aircraft that are out of service during scheduled maintenance.
EVA Air recently purchased an Airbus A330 full-flight simulator in preparation for delivery of eight of the new Airbus aircraft the carrier plans to add to its fleet, starting in May 2003. The order with Canada-based CAE includes an A330 flight simulator equipped with CAE TroposT, an image generator designed to achieve FAA's highest-level certification, Level D. The order also includes upgraded visual systems options for the airline's existing Boeing 747-400 and MD-11 simulator equipment.
Cargo carrier Alpine Air Express is negotiating to buy 23 planes it currently leases, including 17 Beech 99s and six Beech 1900s. CEO Eugene Mallette said buying the planes "would generate significant cost savings and allow us to increase earnings" for the year. The Provo, Utah-based company's goal is to grow 2001's $1.8 million in net earnings by 40% in 2002, despite a weak fiscal first quarter due to soft demand.
Small-aircraft operators are wondering how much reinforcing cockpit doors beyond what they've already done is going to cost and how to accomplish it. Douglas Voss, CEO of Great Lakes Aviation, which operates 40 1900D aircraft, said that shortly after Sept. 11 he installed latching mechanisms on the doors of his planes so that they open only from inside the cockpit and are tough to penetrate, but they are not bullet-proof and may not meet revised specifications. "There are a number of issues that FAA has to address," Voss noted.
IATA appointed David O'Conner corporate secretary, effective immediately. O'Conner will be based in Montreal and replace Lorne Clark, who recently retired. O'Conner will continue to represent IATA as senior director-U.S. government and industry affairs in Washington.
With a little more than a year to go until the deadline for having upgraded cockpit doors installed on all aircraft, U.S. airlines are growing increasingly concerned about the shrinking amount of modification time and rising costs associated with the immense effort. FAA continues to work on getting kits certified, and the resulting changes will be far more extensive than the interim fix.
U.S. carriers in February improved their on-time and mishandled baggage rates, with America West leading the 10 largest carriers in on-time arrivals for the third month in a row, according to DOT's Air Carrier Consumer Report. The average for February was 84.7%. America West saw 88.5% of its flights arrive within 14 minutes of the scheduled time -- a 30% increase in performance from the 68% it posted in February 2001.
Airlines around the world this week watched nervously as U.S. crude oil prices hit a new six-month high. While dipping slightly yesterday, oil prices topped $28 per barrel on Tuesday for the first time since September due to intensified fighting in the Middle East. To offset higher fuel costs, American Airlines Cargo yesterday added a fuel surcharge effective April 17. The surcharge was first applied in February 2000 when fuel prices reached similar levels. In December 2001, the surcharge was withdrawn as oil prices fell.
Boeing Air Traffic Management named Francisco Escarti VP-business development-Europe, and Tim Neale director-communications. Escarti will have offices in Madrid and in Brussels, while Neale will be based in McLean, Va.
The FAA office managing the En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) program will decide today whether it agrees with Raytheon's request that procurement be suspended until the company's dispute filed last week is resolved. The office is expected to recommend that procurement continues while the dispute is resolved, sources indicated. The program office recommendation is made to FAA's Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (ODRA), which also will handle the protest itself. ODRA is scheduled to meet Friday to begin work on Raytheon's objections.
Insolvent regional jet maker Fairchild Dornier has laid off 240 of its 680 U.S.-based staff after following the preliminary administrator's request to cut its North American work force to a core team. Affected by the layoffs are 180 employees in FD's San Antonio wing production and maintenance facility and 60 of 80 staff members in Herndon, Virginia.
