EasyJet CEO Andrew Harrison threw down the gauntlet yesterday, challenging airports to begin their own low-cost revolution and warning that the growing power of the green movement in Europe threatens the growth and well-being of the low-fare airline sector. Airports and potential environment-related taxes are "the two boundaries closing in on our industries," he declared.
Comair pilots who received an updated aeronautical chart of Lexington Blue Grass Airport have been told to exercise "extreme caution" when using the runways and taxiways where a Comair CRJ200 attempted to take off from the incorrect runway before crashing on Aug. 27, killing 49 people. Spokesperson Nick Miller told ATWOnline that the advisory was offered after company officials discovered that an updated chart received Sept.
Kenya Airways will launch thrice-weekly Nairobi-Paris Charles de Gaulle service from Oct. 26 aboard either 767-300ERs or 777-200s. It is KQ's fourth European destination after Amsterdam, London Heathrow and Istanbul.
American Eagle Airlines launched ERJ-145 service from Chicago O'Hare to Greensboro (twice-daily), Columbia (daily) and Jackson (daily). It also started daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Harrisburg flights aboard a CRJ700, daily New York LaGuardia-Jacksonville service and twice-daily flights from Raleigh/Durham to Columbus aboard ERJ-135s. It plans to increase its ATR 72 service from San Juan beginning Dec. 14, adding flights to St. Croix (one additional daily), Antigua (one additional daily), St.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport began reconstruction of Runway 8R-26L, the north departure runway, on Friday. Work on the 10,000-ft. runway will continue for 60 days during which time departure capacity will drop. Flight delays are "possible," the airport said. The project will cost around $90 million and is being funded by passenger facility charges.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is investigating whether ground noise can be reduced through treatment of the soil. The test, the first of its kind in the world, is being conducted on two plots of land between Runway 18R-36L and Hoofddorp-Noord and will last approximately four weeks. The plots will be plowed and measurements taken to see if the treated soil absorbs noise more effectively. Loud noises will be generated with loudspeakers and alarm pistols. Prior research has demonstrated that the condition of the soil may muffle noise, Schiphol said.
French slot coordinator COHOR said it reallocated a pool of 2,460 slots at Paris Orly to Air Berlin, Elysair and Karthago Airlines on an annual basis. The pool includes slots reserved for Public Service Obligations, especially the route to Epinal, that were returned by French authorities. It also includes slots made available for reallocation by other carriers, including Corsairfly. AB benefited from its new-entrant status and received 1,248 slots for 12-times-weekly flights to Dusseldorf.
Air Canada is adding capacity to Eastern Canada following the demise of Halifax-based CanJet Airlines' scheduled service. ( ATWOnline, Sept. 6). From October, AC and Air Canada Jazz will add weekday flights from Halifax to Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Deer Lake. "For November and beyond, Air Canada will analyze market conditions and look for opportunities to increase Air Canada and Jazz service to meet customer demand," the company said.
Gol announced the withdrawal of the May registration statement filed in Brazil and the US for a secondary and primary preferred share offering totaling 14.4 million nonvoting shares ( ATWOnline, May 18). The carrier did not give a reason for the move, but Bloomberg News reported that prospects for the sale, worth approximately BRL1 billion ($463.5 million), were hurt by a 13% drop in the Bovespa index since May. Separately, Gol launched daily Sao Paulo Guarulhos-Ilheus flights.
Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport failed critical luggage handling tests Thursday, flagging problems for the scheduled opening on Sept. 28. Twenty-two airlines participated in tests involving all 460 check-in counters handling 4,000 bags. Breakdowns related to integration of "passenger" data with the airport authority, resulting in problems with the luggage system, while some carriers did not give the authority relevant information.
Bmibaby pilots, represented by the British Airline Pilots Assn., reached a deal with the company last week and will not strike, the union announced. The company has signed the agreement, which has been sent to membership for ratification. The pilots, along with those at bmi and bmi regional, voted to strike late last month over a variety of compensation and work rule issues ( ATWOnline, Aug. 25).
Qantas yesterday blasted a draft report from Australia's Productivity Commission that said it is too soon to tell whether regulatory restrictions on airport pricing removed in 2002 should be reinstated. The report called for six more years to study the current "light-handed" system. Qantas believes the system in place gives airports too much leeway to set landing and terminal rent fees, especially in major markets. Executive GM-Associated Businesses Grant Fenn said it was "particularly concerning" that Qantas's request that binding arbitration solve pricing disputes was rejected.
Continental Airlines said yesterday that its application to launch daily Newark-Shanghai service in March 2007 ( ATWOnline, April 8, 2005) should be approved by the US Dept.
United Airlines has begun using one dual-end, over-the-wing boarding bridge at Denver International Airport. "Our customers, especially those in the rear of the plane, are already telling us they love the convenience of the new bridges. Also, because we can board customers faster, we are able to eventually add more flights without adding new aircraft," VP-Operational Services, United Express and Ted Alex Marren said. The bridge was developed by Debridge Airport Systems. UA said it will expand its use to "additional gates and other airports" soon.
Dragonair is withdrawing from the Hong Kong-Bangkok route effective Sept. 27, flagging the first rationalization following its acquisition by Cathay Pacific Airways. New CEO Kenny Tang said the route "has not been performing to expectations for some time." Ryanair said its new Malta International Airport service will comprise flights from London Luton (daily from Oct. 31), Pisa (thrice-weekly from Oct. 31) and Dublin (thrice-weekly from Feb. 9, 2007). It said it expects to carry more than 200,000 passengers on the three routes in the first year.
VLM Airlines will launch an 11-times-weekly Antwerp-Manchester service beginning Oct. 30. It will add three F50s to operate the flights, bringing its fleet to 19 F50s. Jetstar Airways will replace Qantas on the Sydney-Townsville route from Oct. 29 with five weekly flights aboard an A320. Nok Air of Thailand will cancel 30 flights on Sept. 28 to avoid the expected chaos surrounding the opening of Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Berlin-Brandenburg International, which aims to replace the city's fractured three-airport system with a single modern facility, was started yesterday as officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the €2 billion ($2.57 billion) project slated to open in 2011. "BBI will greatly enhance Berlin's ability to compete on an international level; it will bring more visitors to the city, create international air connections and generate more jobs," Governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit said.
Swissport International renewed its deal with United Airlines for an additional five years and now will provide cargo services for the carrier at an eighth US airport, New York JFK.
Israeli government today will lift the air and sea blockade of Lebanon at 6 p.m. local time, according to a statement from the prime minister's office cited by press reports. International forces will monitor the airports and coastline. Several airlines, including Qatar Airways, Gulf Air and British Airways, had expressed concern over the lack of access to Beirut and declared their intentions to fly there despite restrictions.
AirAsia wants to operate up to 20 flights a day between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, CEO Tony Fernandes told reporters Monday after a meeting with Singapore Transport Minister Raymond Lim, who reportedly indicated that the Singapore government is ready to open the doors to Southeast Asia's fastest-growing LCC, which has been blocked from the route. Its JV partner Thai AirAsia operates four flights a day to SIN from Bangkok.
Air Berlin will begin six-times-weekly Oviedo-Palma de Mallorca service on Nov. 1. Oviedo will become the carrier's 12th Spanish destination. Qantas will increase its Adelaide-Perth service to 31-times-weekly from 27 from Oct. 29.
It's being called a revolution in air traffic management, but as history shows, with any revolution there are complications and disappointments. And so it is with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, a technology that when fully implemented will offer radar-like coverage with more accuracy at a much lower cost and will give pilots the information about other traffic that currently is available only to ground controllers.
Runway safety and runway incursions shot up the priority list in Europe following the ground collision between an SAS MD-87 and a Cessna Citation in fog at Milan Linate in October 2001. The Citation strayed across the active runway as the MD-87 was taking off and 114 people on both aircraft were killed, as were four baggage handlers on the ground. It was Italy's worst aviation accident and made Europe sit up and take note.
Look around any airport terminal in India these days and you notice the change from even five years ago. Gone are the gents in suits and women in muted silks; people in the waiting areas today are a truer reflection of the country at large. A rapid increase in the number of airlines and the reduction in fares that followed have brought air travel within the reach of millions of people who had never flown before.
