British Airways yesterday cancelled another 50 flights, or about 13% of its scheduled program, from the new Terminal 5 at London Heathrow and expects to do the same today ( ATWOnline, April 1). It expects to reduce the number of cancellations to 32 on Thursday and 34 on Friday. They affect domestic and European services whereas long-haul services have been operating as planned, BA said on its website. Its services from T1 and T4 are unaffected.
Star Alliance expects to make an announcement regarding a new Latin American partner this year, CEO Jaan Albrecht told ATWOnline on the occasion of Turkish Airlines' joining in Istanbul. He acknowledged that it is "no secret" Star is talking to TAM and that a number of members already have bilateral partnerships with the Brazilian carrier ( ATWOnline, May 22, 2007).
MATS JANSSON DID NOT GET A LOT OF TIME to grow comfortable in his new position as president and CEO of SAS Group. Like his predecessor, Joergen Lindegaard, he was presented with a crisis shortly after he came aboard. For Lindegaard, who took over in the spring of 2001, it was the Maersk price-fixing scandal and then, a few months later, far worse. Jansson's baptism by fire came four months into the job when Danish and Swedish cabin attendants walked out, costing the company an estimated SEK265 million ($43 million) in the 2007 second quarter.
PEERING DOWN FROM AIR FORCE One, the 42nd US President beckoned the leaders of his Secret Service detail. "I want you guys to look out the window," said Bill Clinton. "This is where I started my political career. I've been on every one of these roads."
PAY A VISIT TO RYANAIR.COM AND IT IMMEDIATELY will be apparent that it is no ordinary airline website. The large, flashing reminder that millions of seats are available for just £10--with "no hidden charges"--nvokes the mood of a used car dealership or a county fair. The bouncing cartoon bunnies on the right draw attention to the Irish LCC's Easter deals.
ETIHAD AIRWAYS IS THE KIND OF Persian Gulf carrier that frustrates the chief executives of European legacy airlines: Determined to expand its global footprint through the aggressive use of sixth and seventh freedom rights, always in talks with Airbus or Boeing for a large aircraft order and controlled by a shareholder that is keen to put its home base on the world map--and has plenty of petrodollars to do so (ATW, 2/08, p. 80).
V Australia, the long-haul international arm of Virgin Blue, announced yesterday that it will launch daily Sydney-Los Angeles on Dec. 15. It offered 1,000 fares at A$999 ($916) including taxes to celebrate the launch that were snapped up in minutes. Its standard economy return fare is A$1,899, which it claims is 16% lower than the current lowest available published fare. V Australia's 777-300ERs will be fitted with a three-class configuration including a business cabin with lie-flat seats. Premium economy will feature a 2-4-2 layout with 38-in.
Disruption at London Heathrow's new £4.3 billion Terminal 5, at which British Airways is the sole tenant, continued for a fifth day yesterday with 54 flights cancelled, bringing to more than 300 the number of cancelled flights since the opening of the modern facility. The backlog of hold baggage rose to some 28,000 pieces, according to several news reports, and an additional 50 flights have been struck from the schedule both today and Wednesday. Further disruptions are likely for the remainder of the week.
Austrian Airlines will add three new destinations to its network this month as part of its Focus East strategy, which it credits with helping its return to profitability in 2007 ( ATWOnline, March 14). The cities, Sochi and Nizhniy Novgorod in Russia and Baia Mare in Romania, bring to 48 the number of destinations in Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS served from Vienna. But OS still sees plenty of opportunity for growth, Executive VP Rudolf Mertl told journalists assembled in Vienna yesterday.
British Airways cancelled an estimated 150 flights over the first three days of London Heathrow Terminal 5's chaotic opening and CEO Willie Walsh conceded that the launch of operations at the highly touted facility was "definitely not British Airways' finest hour."
London Gatwick announced that passengers will be able to carry more than one bag through security from March 31. The restriction limiting passengers to one item of cabin baggage was lifted at other BAA airports in January ( ATWOnline, Jan. 7).
London Heathrow Terminal 5's long-anticipated opening yesterday was marred by numerous technical problems, including the failure late in the day of the facility's much publicized high-tech baggage handling system. The £4.3 billion ($8.6 billion) terminal, used solely by British Airways, has been touted as the antidote to customer service problems at the busy airport, but its first day of operation was far from smooth.
Air China is eyeing Shanghai Airlines and plans to deepen cooperation with its Star Alliance partner following the formal rejection of its bid for Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines last month. Sun Yu, CA's head of planning, revealed that the carrier keeps "close contact" with SAL and plans to expand their collaboration. "But whether we can reach an agreement with SAL is up to the Shanghai municipal government," the airline's controlling stakeholder.
Porter Airlines will launch service between its Toronto City Centre base and Newark beginning March 31 with seven daily flights. It marks the startup regional's first foray into the US. Porter initially ordered up to 10 Q400s, six of which are in operation. It recently exercised options for two additional Q400s for delivery in early 2009.
ANA confirmed to ATWOnline that it is looking seriously at establishing a low-cost carrier to take advantage of a fourth runway at Tokyo's downtown Haneda Airport. CEO Mineo Yamamoto yesterday flagged the new venture to Nikkei Business Daily. The LCC may be set up as early as the next fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2009. An ANA spokesperson told this website, "We are seriously examining the market and the likelihood of [other] LCCs flying into Haneda after its fourth runway opens in October 2010, and how we will take them on if they do."
Swiss airline Flybaboo reported 2007 revenue of CHF30 million ($29.5 million), up 50% from 2006, an increase it said hinged on the launch of flights from Geneva to Naples, Marseille, Biarritz and Rome Fiumicino. It transported 180,000 passengers last year and expects 350,000 in 2008. This year it will start flying from GVA to St. Petersburg (four-times-weekly from May 27), Kiev (thrice-weekly from May 26 pending approval) and Malaga (four-times-weekly from May 26). It intends to add five 100-seat E-190s over the next two years, with the first three arriving by June.
CSA Czech Airlines' summer schedule will include new services from Prague to Strasbourg (nine-times-weekly), Tbilisi (thrice-weekly) and Rostov-on-Don (thrice-weekly) beginning April 24. It also will launch thrice-weekly service to Damascus on April 30, twice-weekly to Almaty on May 1 and twice-weekly to Heraklion on May 30. CSA will serve 69 destinations this summer with 813 weekly flights, up 5% from summer 2007. Ethiopian Airlines will resume twice-weekly 737-700 service from Addis Ababa to Riyadh and Kuwait City in mid-June.
VRG Linhas Aereas, the new Varig, unveiled a revamped domestic schedule yesterday focusing on business markets, its new Brasilia hub and Sao Paulo Congonhas ( ATWOnline, Jan. 31). It will fly to nine domestic airports from CGH and eight from the capital, operating 737-700s/-800s on a majority of the routes. Korean Air will launch thrice-weekly Los Angeles-Sao Paulo Guarulhos on June 2 aboard a 777-200.
US Dept. of Homeland Security is scrambling to avoid a potentially chaotic scenario in which driver's licenses issued by three and possibly four states would become legally unacceptable for presentation as airport identification beginning May 11.
Dubai World Central Aviation City reached a AED40 million ($10.9 million) deal with Palm Aviation for a 24,400-sq.-m. FBO ground handling facility designed to accommodate flight support services. Contract calls for the extension of PA's existing center from Dubai Airport Free Zone to DWC Aviation City.
China Southern Airlines and Malaysia Airlines signed an expanded codeshare agreement in Guangzhou Friday that will include sales of tickets by each carrier for travel to regional destinations in the other country. CZ began codesharing with MAS in November on routes to Kuala Lumpur from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. "We can expand our route network from Kuala Lumpur to other cities in Malaysia as well as facilitate Malaysian passengers to reach our more than 100 Chinese domestic destinations," CZ Chairman Liu Shaoyong said at the signing ceremony.
S7 Airlines will launch thrice-weekly Moscow Domodedovo-Dublin on April 27 aboard an A319. American Eagle Airlines will begin daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Tampico on April 7 with ERJ-140s. Cathay Pacific Airways will launch four-times-weekly Hong Kong-Madras on June 1. Iberia will start twice-weekly flights from Madrid to St. Petersburg (April 1) and Dubrovnik (June 7).
SkyEurope Airlines will cut several routes from its summer schedule as it looks to stem its losses, starting with its thrice-daily Vienna-Innsbruck. CEO Jason Bitter told the Austrian Press Agency that the airline will become "more aggressive in avoiding economic risks" and that unprofitable routes will be cut quicker than before ( ATWOnline, Feb. 19).
Delta Air Lines has focused increasingly on building its international operations since its emergence from bankruptcy restructuring last year and, when announcing a 10% domestic capacity cut in the second half of 2008 earlier this week, emphasized that its domestic operations' most important function will be to feed its expanding global network.
