The US and EU failed to settle their dispute over civil aircraft launch aid by yesterday's mutually agreed-upon deadline, leaving both parties free to make their case at the World Trade Organization.
Iberia will hold up to 11.7% of Amadeus after the €7.35 ($9.53) per share bid by Cinven Ltd. and BC Partners Ltd. is completed, the carrier said in a statement. The stake could be reduced to 11.4% if 100 directors of the travel distribution group take up their option to acquire a stake in the new company.
Cathay Pacific flew 5.33 billion RPKs in March, up 22.1% over the year-ago period. Capacity rose 14.4% to 6.78 billion ASKs and load factor gained 4.9 points to 78.5%. For the three months ended March 31, RPKs increased 17.7% to 15.51 billion, ASKs jumped 12.8% to 19.75 billion and load factor rose 3.3 points to 78.5%.
JetBlue Airways flew 1.66 billion RPMs in March, up 33.7% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 24.1% to 1.84 billion ASMs and load factor gained 6.6 points to 90%. For the three months ended March 31, RPMs increased 31.5% to 4.34 billion, ASMs rose 22.5% to 5.17 billion and load factor jumped 5.9 points to 85.8%.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace subsidiary ST Aerospace Supplies will provide maintenance-by-the-hour component support to Chinese new entrant Okay Airways. The five-year agreement covers a complete range of components on Okay's fleet of six 737s and is worth approximately $12 million, according to STA.
Astro-Med said Airbus placed an order for the development of a special airborne digital data recorder for "final pre-delivery testing" of the A380, A400M and other aircraft. The order is a follow-on to a contract awarded to Astro-Med in 2003 for a special airborne version of the Everest Telemetry Recorder-Workstation for use in the development and flight testing of the A380.
JAT Airways continues to operate a much-reduced schedule as its mechanics' strike is in its fourth week. JAT has wet-leased a 737-300 from Islandsflug and an A320 from Jetclub. Its mechanics went on strike on March 17. The Serbian flag carrier operates on a day-to-day basis and said flight schedules can be checked on its website.
Munich Airport formed a new subsidiary, MUC Ground Services Flughafen Munchen GmbH. The entity will begin ground handling operations before the end of summer and initially will employ 40 workers.
Iberia will implement four components from Sabre Airline Solutions' integrated planning and scheduling suite AirFlite beginning later this month. As part of the arrangement, the airline will utilize Sabre's consulting services to help improve its hub structure and transform its business to exploit the new technology solutions.
Bulgarian Transport Ministry chose Copenhagen Airports to overhaul and manage its two Black Sea airports, Varna and Bourgas, Reuters reported citing a source close to the ministry. The government plans to award a single 35-year concession for the two terminals to the selected investor.
US Transportation Security Administration said Miami International Airport will receive a new explosives detection trace portal to screen passengers at the Concourse E security checkpoint, becoming the tenth airport to participate in the pilot program.
Pan Am International Flight Academy is closing its Career Pilot Development training campus in Ft. Pierce, Fla., and relocating equipment and aircraft to its CPD campus in Phoenix. The move will be completed by midsummer. The decision "was spurred primarily by the devastation caused by last year's hurricane season and the strong likelihood of future hurricanes," the company said.
Germanwings is planning to start new services from Berlin Schoenefeld to Moscow Domodedovo. It also is evaluating opening a fourth base in Germany and is considering Hamburg and Duesseldorf. It now operates from Cologne, Stuttgart and Berlin.
Emirates launched three weekly flights from Dubai to Sydney via Bangkok last week. The services, which are operated using 777-300ERs, will increase to daily from May 1. The new flights will boost Emirates' service between Dubai and Bangkok from twice-daily to three per day and the current daily service between Dubai and Sydney to twice-daily from May.
AirTran Airways will introduce service to Richmond, Va., from Atlanta and Philadelphia beginning June 23 with continuing service to Boson. It will operate four daily Richmond-Atlanta nonstops and two daily Philadelphia services. Beginning Nov. 8, Richmond will receive one daily roundtrip to Orlando as well. All service will be flown with 717s configured for 12 business class and 105 coach seats.
Citing higher fuel prices that will cost it an additional A$1 billion ($770 million) in 2005-06 compared to the current fiscal year, Qantas is almost doubling its surcharge for domestic travel in Australia and New Zealand from A$12 to A$20 per sector. For transtasman travel the surcharge will increase from A$29 to A$40 per sector, and for other international travel including on Australian Airlines the surcharge will more than double from A$29 to A$60 per sector. Jetstar will increase its surcharge from A$10 to A$19 including GST per sector.
United Airlines COO Pete McDonald told employees Friday that the carrier "is on track to beat our first quarter goal of 8.13 cents for mainline cost per ASM excluding fuel and we expect to beat that goal by a significant margin." In a recorded message, McDonald added that "in every area of the company with the exception of fuel, we are ahead of plan and expenses."
Cathay Pacific Airways may be further away from a new long-haul aircraft order than has been speculated previously. COO Tony Tyler told ATWOnline that the airline is evaluating both the 747ADV and A380 and the 777-300ER/A340-600, plus "other possible available options for long-haul aircraft," but that it "will not approach the market until we are ready. . .Our needs until the end of 2007 are already provided for, so we are not in a rush to make any decisions on future acquisitions."
Airbus Spares Support and Services and Mexmil signed an MOU that provides the basis for a future agreement under which Mexmil will manufacture, market and distribute specific Airbus proprietary spare parts for the thermoacoustic insulation blanket market.
Today's near-record energy prices will overwhelm a "gradually improving" airline revenue picture and create a liquidity challenge for some struggling US airlines, according to JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker. In a report released Friday, Baker forecast that oil will remain at or above the $50-per-barrel mark for the rest of 2005 and fall only a few dollars to $47 per barrel in 2006. With most airlines lacking hedges, the result will be a significant cash drain and an approaching "liquidity crunch time" for America West, Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
