US airlines, represented by the Air Transport Assn., strongly objected last week to US FAA's proposed new traffic management system for New York LaGuardia that would force carriers to operate larger aircraft or risk losing slots. ATA called the plan "burdensome and costly" and "incoherent and overreaching." FAA imposed new "temporary measures" from Jan. 1 that maintain the 75 scheduled flights per hr. limit that has governed LGA traffic under nonpermanent rules that were mandated by Congress to expire by the end of 2006.
UK NATS won a contract from Romatsa, the Romanian air navigation service provider, to train air traffic controllers. Romania is predicting strong growth in air travel now that it is a member of the EU.
JetBlue Airways launched its Chicago O'Hare service yesterday. It will offer five daily flights to New York JFK and twice-daily service to Long Beach. ORD is the carrier's 50th destination. "Chicago consistently ranked No. 1 on our customers' wish list of destinations," CEO David Neeleman said.
Jat Airways and BH Airlines, formerly Air Bosna, signed a codeshare agreement covering flights between Belgrade and Sarajevo. TAM launched a second daily flight to Santiago, a nighttime A320 service originating at Rio de Janeiro Galeao and stopping at Sao Paulo Guarulhos. Mesa Airlines will start daily flights to Chicago Midway from Decatur, Marion and Quincy, Ill., on Feb. 1 aboard 19-seat B-1900Ds.
Korean Air will launch twice-weekly Incheon-Anchorage-Atlanta-Houston Bush-Anchorage-Incheon all-cargo service aboard a leased 747-400F from Jan. 25. Houston is a new city on KE Cargo's network. "Houston's dynamic business and logistics climate makes this an easy decision for us," KE VP-Cargo-Americas Derek Han said. EasyJet will launch weekly flights to Ibiza from Glasgow International from June 16, Belfast from July 7 and Bristol from July 14.
AirAsia is planning to establish a long-haul budget airline, according to local press reports, through regional affiliate FlyAsian Xpress, in which AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes holds 50%. AirAsia Executive Director Kamarudin Meranum holds a 30% stake in FAX and Raja Azmi, AirAsia's former CFO and current FAX CEO, owns the rest. FAX flies throughout east Malaysia using seven F50s and five Twin Otters. For the moment, all of its flights are domestic, but according to its website, "it will extend services to international destinations in the future."
US Airways yesterday announced a long-haul expansion from its Philadelphia hub that Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said "demonstrate[s] our commitment to. . .our international growth prospects." Subject to foreign regulatory approval, US will start 767 service to Athens on May 25, 757 flights to Brussels on June 1 and 767 flights to Zurich on June 8. All services will be daily. Athens flights end Oct. 6, with the remaining routes operating year-round. Next summer US will offer 22 daily flights to 19 European cities in 12 countries.
Qatar Airways will launch service to Lagos today and to Dar Es Salaam on Jan. 9. Hawaiian Airlines said it will suspend its daily San Diego-Maui service Jan. 9-March 15 due to "an unexpected delay in getting interior modifications completed and certified" on four 767s.
Madrid Barajas flights are operating normally this week even as rescue workers continue to clear rubble from last week's car bomb explosion that destroyed a large portion of a parking garage attached to Terminal 4, which opened in February 2006 and cost approximately $8 billion. The blast, which Spanish officials blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA, injured 26 and left two men missing and feared dead, according to press reports from Madrid. Terminal 4, where Iberia and other oneworld carriers are based, was evacuated shortly after the Dec.
Eurocontrol announced that the Maastricht Upper Area Control Center has been certified formally as compliant with Single European Sky requirements for the provision of air navigation services. MUAC provides ATC in the upper airspace of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and northwest Germany.
Air Berlin launched a thrice-weekly Nurnberg-Moscow Domodedovo service. Norwegian will begin a thrice-weekly Edinburgh-Oslo Gardermoen service April 15. Swiss International Air Lines announced that Zurich-Tokyo Narita flights will increase from six-times-weekly to daily on Feb 19. Five-times-weekly onward service to Los Angeles will operate six-times-weekly. Services to Santiago (via Sao Paulo) and Johannesburg also will increase to daily next summer.
London Heathrow is suffering another operational meltdown, this time owing to persistent severe fog. ATC placed restrictions on the number of flight movements at LHR, resulting in a 50% reduction in flow rates throughout yesterday. All airlines at the airport were affected. British Airways cancelled its entire domestic schedule from LHR as well as some European flights. Bmi, the second-largest carrier, cancelled more than 40 flights. Several other UK airports, including Gatwick, were affected, while others operated normally.
Delta Air Lines reached agreement with Massport, the airport authority for Boston Logan, to pay off construction debts related to the airport's rebuilt Terminal A, which was constructed exclusively for Delta but not used to the degree originally planned. According to The Boston Globe, DL will give up more than one-third of its 22 gates at the $500 million terminal, which opened in March 2005, leading to speculation about who will enter the new facility.
TAM launched daily Confins-Buenos Aires service via Rio de Janeiro Galeao aboard 156-seat A320s. It is the carrier's first international flight from Minas Gerais. Separately, TAM will operate daily Galeao-Paris Charles de Gaulle service from Jan. 12. It currently flies to CDG from Sao Paulo Guarulhos.
Malaysia Airlines decided to maintain its Kuala Lumpur-Stockholm Arlanda-Newark service, which it originally had chosen to suspend from Jan. 15. "Our earlier decision was guided by the initial findings from our route profitability exercise. However, in response to a call from the Malaysian government to reconsider our decision, we reviewed this route," MD and CEO Idris Jala said. MAS will continue operating the service thrice-weekly aboard a 777-200. American Airlines announced the launch of daily Chicago O'Hare-Shannon service on May 1 aboard a 757.
SkyEurope Airlines yesterday confirmed its intention to open a base at Vienna International Airport ( ATWOnline, Nov. 21) just 60 km. from its Bratislava hub, basing two 737-700s at VIE starting March 25 and flying to 16 European destinations.
Royal Jordanian last week confirmed that the government will proceed with the announced privatization of the carrier next year. The government will sell 74% of the company to the private sector and retain the balance. The shares to be sold to non-Jordanian investors will not exceed 49% in order to maintain traffic rights.
British Airways purchased BWIA West Indies Airways' seven coveted slot pairs and landing rights at London Heathrow for no more than £5 million, according to press reports in Trinidad & Tobago. BWIA will be shut down and replaced by Caribbean Airlines in January ( ATWOnline, Sept. 12).
Varig received its new operating certificate last week, Merrill Lynch said. The restructuring carrier is operating 15 737-300s and up to three MD-11s to nine Brazilian destinations plus Bogota, Buenos Aires, Caracas and Frankfurt. ML said Friday that Varig must relaunch service on abandoned domestic routes by Jan. 13 or risk losing them to other Brazilian airlines. It has 180 days to restart its international operations or face the same consequence.
Midwest Airlines added a fifth weekday flight between Kansas City and New York LaGuardia and an eighth weekday flight between MCI and Milwaukee. Separately, Midwest Connect upgraded the vast majority of flights on its Skyway Airlines services from Milwaukee to Columbus, Dayton, Appleton and Grand Rapids to 32-seat 328JETs. It took its 11th aircraft of the type last month.
The UK government last week reasserted the need for aviation capacity expansion in the crowded London market, including the building of a third runway at Heathrow and a second at Stansted, but cautioned that environmental concerns need to be a strong consideration in any expansion plans.
Austrian Airlines launched Vienna-Erbil service Monday with an A319. The flight will operate twice-weekly. Separately, OS Executive VP and General Secretary Peter Malanik was appointed chairman of the Star Alliance management board. He replaces United Airlines Executive VP and CCO Graham Atkinson.
