Ryanair yesterday announced winter cuts at both Dublin and Shannon, blaming Ireland's €10 ($13.84) "tourist tax" for an 11% year-over-year fall in passenger traffic at DUB in the first five months of 2009. From the start of the winter schedule it will reduce the number of aircraft based at DUB to 16 from 17 and at SNN to three from four. It will cut 44 weekly flights from its DUB schedule and 36 from SNN, resulting in 350 and 300 job losses respectively. "Further cuts can be expected in the coming months if the €10 tourist tax is not scrapped.
Air Canada launched daily Calgary-Portland, Ore., service. AeroMexico will launch six-times-weekly Mexico City-New Orleans service on July 7. Insel Air of the Netherlands Antilles will operate weekly Miami-Bonaire service beginning July 4 aboard an MD-80.
Shenzhen Airlines is taking advantage of the upturn in Chinese domestic demand and is ramping up its expansion, announcing an agreement yesterday with the Harbin municipal government to establish a branch company in the northeastern city.
Delta Air Lines petitioned the US Dept. of Transportation for permission to make the following scheduling adjustments "in light of the adverse global market conditions that are continuing to suppress demand for international air travel": Dormancy waivers from Sept. 1, 2009, to Sept. 1, 2010, on seven weekly frequencies from Atlanta to Shanghai and Capetown (via Dakar); a delay in the launch of five-times-weekly seasonal New York JFK-Buenos Aires service from this December to Dec.
Qatar Airways will launch four-times-weekly service from Doha to Amritsar (Oct. 11) and Goa (Oct. 25) aboard A320s. Wizz Air will launch thrice-weekly Kiev Boryspil-Memmingen service on Sept. 22. Dragonair will launch twice-daily Hong Kong-Guangzhou service Sept. 14 aboard A320s/A321s. AirTran Airways launched thrice-weekly service from Orlando International to Asheville and Atlantic City. American Eagle will launch daily Los Angeles-Santa Fe flights on Nov. 19.
Dubai Airport has signed a contract with the UK's Serco Group worth $400m over ten years to renew and expand its air traffic services at Dubai International Airport.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company has signed MoUs with three more companies for its Al Ain Aerospace cluster. They are: Swiss engine manufacturer Mistral Engines and the UK's Beagle Aerospace and Generation Metals.
EgyptAir yesterday completed its move to the new Terminal 3 at Cairo International, joining six other Star Alliance carriers as part of the group's "move under one roof" initiative. "T3 brings high connectivity for us and our partners," Chairman Tawfik Assy told ATWOnline at last week's IATA annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur. "Our membership in Star Alliance changed our image and we are getting a lot of positive response.
Citing the "slow recovery in air transport demand," Japan Airlines yesterday said it would "strive to improve profitability by adjusting capacity" and announced a reduction in its international schedule effective July 1. The company reported a ¥63.1 billion ($640.9 million) net loss in the fiscal year ended March 31 and said it expects a similar result this term ( ATWOnline, May 13).
Qantas will take delivery of its fourth A380 at the end of next month and will increase its Sydney-Singapore-London Heathrow service to five-times-weekly from thrice-weekly and its Sydney-Los Angeles flights to four-times-weekly from thrice-weekly beginning Aug. 6. By November, when it will have six A380s, QF will operate SYD-LAX and SYD-LHR daily while Melbourne-LAX gets a third weekly flight. Total weekly A380 flights will number 34. QF also announced and expanded codeshare deals with American Airlines and its first arrangement with Iberia.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) today signed Memorandums of Understanding with three respected German aerospace companies, Aerotech Peissenberg, Aircraft Electronic Engineering and MT Aerospace at the Paris Air Show.
Aer Lingus said it has offered pilots and cabin crew unpaid leave, will cut long-haul winter seat capacity by about 25% for 2009-10 compared to the 2008-09 winter and also will trim short-haul capacity at Belfast and Dublin while adding frequencies and routes at Shannon and London Gatwick.
