Delta Air Lines will operate thrice-daily Atlanta-Hilton Head service March 17-Sept. 4 aboard an Atlantic Southeast Airlines ATR 72. DL also will add seats to its ATL-Myrtle Beach service with the introduction of an MD-88 on the route.
SAS Ground Services UK established a ground handling organization at Aberdeen Airport that will include passenger handling, ramp services and deicing operations. The company said it expects to secure third-party customers by spring. Separately, Icelandair chose SAS Ground Services for handling at Oslo, Bergen, Stockholm Arlanda and Gothenburg.
Air Nostrum will operate a thrice-weekly Santander-Amsterdam service from March 25 aboard a CRJ200. Bmi will stop flying to Paris Charles de Gaulle from London Heathrow and Leeds Bradford airports on March 25.
Worldwide Flight Services was awarded a contract by Nippon Cargo Airlines to handle freight at London Stansted. The deal coincides with the appointment of Air Logistics as NCA's GSA in the UK. NCA's cargo formerly was sold and handled by ANA but the carriers now are "pursuing separate cargo strategies," according to WFS.
Verified Identity Pass, which was approved by the US Transportation Security Administration last month to operate its Clear Registered Traveler program at select US airports ( ATWOnline, Dec.
LTU German Airlines MD Juergen Marbach announced yesterday that after talks between LTU, investors and Spanish authorities, LTU will not establish a new company to take over some South American routes from collapsed Air Madrid ( ATWOnline, Jan. 11). Marbach said there was not enough time to put together a plan "on a solid economic basis" and that LTU's offer to absorb the routes was void.
Japan Airlines Group is responding to strong passenger demand by increasing frequencies on seven international routes and putting its 2007 inflight product through a major revamp. From March 25 it will up its New York JFK frequencies from 10 to 13 per week and from June 1 Paris Charles de Gaulle will be served twice-daily, up from the current 10 weekly flights. JAL also will add a frequency on routes from Tokyo Narita to New Delhi and Moscow Sheremetyevo and from Osaka Kansai to Hanoi, Dalian, Hangzhou and Qinqdao.
Etihad Airways launched a six-times-weekly Abu Dhabi-Kuala Lumpur service Tuesday using its sole A340-300. Qatar Airways, which launched four-times-weekly Doha-Dar Es Salaam service last week, said it will add flights this year to Denpasar, New York JFK, Lagos, Ho Chi Minh City, Chennai, Ahmedabad and two yet-to-be-announced cities in northern and/or eastern Europe. Air Canada Jazz launched a seasonal daily Calgary-Palm Springs flight aboard a CRJ705. Service will operate until April 10.
Iberia launched twice-weekly Madrid Barajas-Algiers flights from Jan. 7 and will start twice-weekly MAD-Bucharest flights from March 3 aboard A319s and A320s. Royal Jordanian will resume operating twice-weekly Amman-Montreal flights from May 25 aboard an A340. Air Baltic will launch thrice-weekly Riga-Gomel service from March 25 using F50s. Frontier Airlines will begin daily Denver-Hartford service from March 2 aboard an A319. AirTran Airways launched twice-daily Atlanta-Phoenix flights Monday aboard 737-700s.
Qantas will increase its thrice-weekly Sydney-San Francisco service to five-times-weekly from March 26 by shifting flights from Los Angeles. It will add 18 "supplementary flights" to LAX between June 19 and July 28, after which it will fly 35-times-weekly to LAX and five-times-weekly to SFO.
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation called 2006 a "bumper year for airport transactions, with 15 major airports/airport groups privatized," according to the consultancy's "Global Airport Privatization" report issued last week.
Airports of Thailand last week approved the use of Don Muang Airport for domestic flights with no international connections beginning in March, according to press reports. Don Muang was to have been closed to commercial traffic in September when the new Suvarnabhumi Airport opened for business ( ATWOnline, Sept. 29, 2006). The Bangkok Post said reopening DMK, which now handles only charter flights, would give airport officials "flexibility" to solve problems at the new facility.
Oasis Airlines of Hong Kong is expected to expand its low-cost long-haul operation to Oakland in June. Plans call for four flights per week. Earlier this month the airline celebrated its 25,000th passenger on its Hong Kong-London Gatwick service. It launched in October and operates two 747-400s. EasyJet will launch four-times-weekly Newcastle-Krakow service from April 1, a twice-daily Newcastle-Mahon service from July 14 and a thrice-weekly Bristol-Bordeaux flight (launch date not provided) that will become daily in June.
Malev Hungarian Airlines and American Airlines this week signed a codeshare and frequent-flier program harmonization agreement. From the summer timetable, AA will add its code to Malev's New York JFK flight as well as numerous other services to Eastern Europe and Balkan destinations. MA's code will appear on several domestic flights operated by AA. Malev will join oneworld this year. Air Transat will launch a weekly Toronto-Montreal-Vienna service in May using A310-300s.
Jet Airways will expand its international network this month to Bangkok, with flights to the US set to commence later this year. Jet told media that it plans to launch services to Newark in August and to San Francisco via Shanghai in November. It will operate A330s on the Bangkok route and 777-300ERs to the US. It currently flies to London Heathrow, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Kathmandu and Singapore. This week it inked a codeshare agreement with Thai Airways.
LTU German Airlines MD Juergen Marbach confirmed to ATWOnline that the carrier intends to launch a Spanish subsidiary ( ATWOnline, Jan. 10). "We are having intensive talks with Spanish co-investors as well as Spanish authorities to establish a new company, which should be in position to take over some Air Madrid routes to South America as soon as possible," he said. He also reiterated that LTU has no plan to take over Air Madrid.
The EU, which hopes to jumpstart transatlantic open skies negotiations this week in meetings with US officials in Brussels, said yesterday that it plans to seek a separate open skies accord with Canada. The European Commission said an EU-Canada deal "may generate consumer benefits of at least $94 million through lower fares and could create 3,700 jobs in the first year." Canada currently has separate bilateral agreements with 17 EU member states, accords the EC said are in conflict with current EU law.
Citing the "potential to benefit the greatest number of passengers," the US Dept. of Transportation yesterday awarded United Airlines the tentative right to operate a new daily service between Washington Dulles and Beijing as early as March 25, thus ending months of lobbying by the four legacy carriers hoping to fly nonstop to the world's fastest-growing large aviation market.
LTU German Airlines wants to take over certain Latin American routes belonging to Air Madrid, which shut down operations Dec. 15 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18, 2006), but an LTU spokesperson told ATWOnline that the airline does not plan to take over the bankrupt Spanish carrier despite rumors to the contrary. Spanish transport authorities reportedly said that LTU also plans to absorb 568 Air Madrid employees, some 52% of the total, as part of its plan to create a subsidiary named LTU Espana within six months.
Ryanair will launch service from Dublin to Bydgoszcz and Gdansk in May, bringing to 22 the number of new European destinations it will serve from the Irish capital this summer. It also will increase frequencies from DUB to Bratislava, Biarritz, Carcassonne, Kaunas, Krakow, Malaga, Murcia, Riga and Rome Ciampino. The LCC expects to carry 9 million passengers through Dublin this year. Kuwait Airways and Alitalia will codeshare on KU's thrice-weekly service to Rome Fiumicino effective Jan 14.
Etihad Airways confirmed yesterday that it will launch service to Australia "within the next few months" thanks to the conclusion of an "extended aviation bilateral agreement" between the UAE and Australia. "I believe that our service will significantly drive and support the development of trade and tourism between the UAE and Australia," Etihad CEO James Hogan said. "We are finalizing the arrangements and hope to announce the details shortly."
Air Berlin will start a weekly Munich-Ras Al Khaimah service from Feb. 10 aboard 737-800s. It will be the first AB flight to the Persian Gulf and will be operated for a German tour company.
US National Transportation Safety Board said it will investigate a Friday morning runway incursion incident at Denver International Airport in which a Frontier Airlines A319 was forced to execute a missed approach in order to avoid a Key Lime Air Swearingen Metroliner that "inadvertently" entered the runway. The aircraft missed each other by 50 ft., NTSB said. The Airport Movement Area Safety System alerted the tower at the same time that the Frontier pilots spotted the Metroliner.
EasyJet cancelled most flights to and from Bristol Friday and Saturday and diverted the remainder to Cardiff because of concerns over the reliability of a newly resurfaced runway in wet weather conditions. British Airways and XL Airways also canceled or diverted some flights, according to press reports. "The safety of its passengers, crew and aircraft is easyJet's first priority and this decision has been taken following extensive discussions with Bristol International Airport and the UK Civil Aviation Authority," the LCC said in a statement.
FlyAsianExpress will operate flights to destinations in Asia and Europe as AirAsia X, a new long-haul, low-cost carrier launched Friday by AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, who owns 50% of FAX, a small Malaysian domestic airline that operates seven 50-seat F50s and five 19-seat Twin Otters on short-haul routes.
