Zoom Airlines of Ottawa will launch daily New York JFK-London Gatwick 767 flights on June 21 offering premium economy and economy service. It said it was granted permission to operate the route as a UK carrier. Five weekly flights will be nonstop and two will operate via Bermuda. Southwest Airlines will add an eighth daily Dallas Love Field-Albuquerque flight, a second daily ABQ-Seattle flight and a fifth daily DAL-New Orleans flight on June 4.
UPS and the Shanghai Airport Authority formally signed a lease agreement yesterday enabling the parcel delivery giant to establish a long-planned air hub at Pudong International Airport. UPS has been touting the Shanghai hub for some time and yesterday's signing ceremony, attended by US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, set the parameters for its construction. The new hub will be built on 1 million sq. ft. of land, with "rapid expansion" likely to follow, the company said in a statement. The hub's sorting capacity is projected to reach 17,000 pieces per hr. by 2012.
Having altered commercial aviation in Europe with its low-fare, no-frills service and brazen style, Ryanair appears prepared to make its mark on the newly opened skies over the Atlantic.
Claiming it has "no other option," United Airlines will add a $10 surcharge to tickets for flights originating from Los Angeles International Airport with immediate effect owing to a rent increase ( ATWOnline, Feb. 28). "We have a great interest in LAX developing into a world-class airport, supported by a long-term modernization plan, but we have no interest in paying higher fees without greater benefit for our customers," UA Senior VP-Planning Kevin Knight stated.
American Airlines and AeroSvit Airlines reached an interline ticketing accord. AeroSvit serves New York JFK five-times-weekly from Kiev. Gol launched a daily Rio de Janeiro Galeao-Sao Paulo Guarulhos-Lima service. Kingfisher Airlines launched a Bangalore-Tiruchirapally service. Japan Airlines and Thai Airways expanded their codeshare agreement to include Thai's twice-daily Bangkok-Krabi service.
British Airways yesterday began selling tickets for the first 380 scheduled flights to depart or arrive at London Heathrow's new Terminal 5, which will open March 27. The first scheduled departure is BA302 to Paris Charles de Gaulle. BA's move to its new facility is planned in four phases. Initially, more than 70% of its flights will transfer to T5, followed by an additional 20% at the end of April 2008. In June and October certain short-haul and BA/Qantas codeshare flights will move to Terminal 3 in order to collocate with oneworld partners.
The regional joint venture between Shenzhen Airlines and Mesa Air Group, announced last December, will be called Kunpeng Airlines and will launch operations in Xi'an with three CRJ200s at year end. The new carrier is expected to be approved soon by CAAC. The news came shortly after Hainan Airlines parent HNA Group unveiled its own regional subsidiary, Grand Xinhua Express, which also will fly to Xi'an. HNA said it intends to capture two-thirds of China's regional market by 2012 ( ATWOnline, April 2).
TUIfly, the merged carrier of Hapagfly and Hapag-Lloyd Express ( ATWOnline, Jan. 15), will expand its Cologne/Bonn operation with four additional 737NGs over the next three years. It currently operates eight 737s on 400 weekly flights to 39 destinations from CGN. It expects to transport 2.5 million passengers from the airport this year, a 30% increase over 2006, with ASKs rising 26% to make CGN its largest base in terms of capacity.
Bellview Airlines of Nigeria said it received UK approval to operate nonstop Lagos-London Heathrow service. It did not announce a launch date. It currently serves LHR through Sierra Leone. It flies four 737-200s, one 737-300 and two 767-200ERs. Virgin Atlantic Airways will launch twice-weekly London Gatwick-Plaisance, Mauritius, service on Oct. 29 aboard a 747-400. Norwegian will start thrice-weekly Oslo-Edinburgh flights on April 15. Spicejet launched daily Hyderabad-Ahmedabad-Jaipur service.
Delta Air Lines will take over Atlantic Southeast Airlines' customer service and ground operations in Atlanta from June 1. It took over for Chautauqua Airlines, Shuttle America and Freedom Airlines last year. "Our customers expect and deserve a convenient, reliable travel experience onboard all Delta and Delta Connection flights," Executive VP-Operations Joe Kolshak said.
Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber told ATWOnline that his company is keeping a close watch on the sales and consolidation rumors circulating through Europe, especially those involving Iberia and Alitalia, but that it will err on the side of caution regarding its own involvement. "Both carriers would theoretically fit us," he said aboard a flight from Munich to Busan last week. "But conditions have to be proper, otherwise one can get into financial difficulties."
American Eagle will launch daily Miami-Northwest Arkansas Regional service on April 10 aboard an ERJ-140. EasyJet launched a daily Madrid-Palma de Mallorca flight and announced the following new services: Daily flights from Berlin Shoenefeld to Lisbon and Venice starting May 11 and daily seasonal flights from London Gatwick to La Rochelle (July 14-Sept. 9) and from Geneva to Cagliari (June 29-Sept. 7). US Airways launched daily New York LaGuardia-Myrtle Beach service aboard ERJ-145s operated by Chautauqua Airlines.
Airport Coordination Ltd., which administers slot allocation at 16 airports in the UK and EU including London Heathrow, said the EU-US open skies agreement will not necessarily open up new opportunities for airlines at crowded LHR, where incumbent carriers will have "grandfather rights" to 97% of available slots when the new accord eliminates Bermuda II limits on March 30, 2008.
The subject of significant speculation following last month's execution of the new EU-US open skies agreement, bmi moved to strengthen its transatlantic operation through a tie-up with Star Alliance partner United Airlines. The pair filed a joint motion with the US Dept. of Transportation this week requesting approval for antitrust immunity, which the government put on hold five years ago absent an open skies accord.
JetBlue Airways will launch flights from San Francisco to New York JFK (five-times-daily) and Boston (daily) on May 3. Frontier Airlines will operate thrice-weekly Dallas/Fort Worth-Mazatlan service from June 7 aboard A319s. Southwest Airlines will launch daily Denver-Tampa service on May 4. Aer Arann will launch four-times-weekly Sligo-Manchester service on May 14.
American Airlines filed an application with US DOT to operate daily Chicago O'Hare-Buenos Aires service beginning Oct. 28 onboard 219-seat 767-300s. AA already serves EZE from Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami and New York JFK. The US and Argentina signed an expanded air services agreement last week ( ATWOnline, April 2).
Naverus was designated by US FAA as the first RNP Approval Consultant. "Airlines looking for the benefits of RNP are often frustrated by the implementation process. Having helped a number of airlines outside of the US through this process, Naverus has a unique perspective and significant experience from which applicants can benefit," VP-Flight Operations Hal Andersen said. The company has assisted Qantas, Air China and WestJet in securing RNP approvals from their respective civil aviation authorities.
Iberia will launch five-times-weekly flights from Madrid to Boston (from May 6) and Washington Dulles (from June 2) aboard A340s. EasyJet will commence six-times-weekly flights between Basel-Mulhouse and Olbia on June 29. SAS Braathens will launch twice-daily Oslo Gardermoen-London City service on Aug. 28, supplementing its five-times-daily flights to Heathrow.
SkyWest Airlines launched its Midwest Connect service Sunday, offering four-times-daily Milwaukee-Columbus service and twice-daily flights from MKE to Minneapolis-St. Paul and Philadelphia. The five-year agreement calls for SkyWest to operate 15-25 CRJ200s, all of which will be in service by October ( ATWOnline, Dec. 22, 2006). Next month it will start thrice-daily MKE-Pittsburgh flights and service from Kansas City to Columbus, Pittsburgh and San Antonio.
ExpressJet Airlines launched operations yesterday under its own name in eight markets--Ontario (Calif.), Austin, Boise, Kansas City, Omaha, San Antonio, Spokane and Tucson--aboard 50-seat ERJ-145s. The airline, which announced details of its independent operation two months ago ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5), also unveiled its JetSet loyalty program.
Brazil's air traffic control system will transfer from military to civilian control following a one-day walkout late last week by top-level ATC officials that forced the temporary closure of airports throughout the country and again highlighted the nation's ongoing ATC woes, which Brazilian airlines claim have cost them more than $48 million since September.
