Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport opened its fourth runway last week. The new 8,000-ft. Runway 17/35 increases airfield capacity by 25%, according to the Metropolitan Airports Commission. Approximately 37% of departing flights and 17% of arrivals will use the new runway.
American Airlines began full operations Saturday from the new international Terminal D at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport. Initially, AA will operate about 78 flights per day from the terminal, expanding to approximately 115 in the coming months.
Chicago O'Hare's massive expansion program can move forward while a US Court of Appeals hears arguments from opponents of the plan, the court ruled earlier this week. FAA approved the modernization program at the end of September.
Continental Airlines said yesterday that it will launch daily nonstop service between Newark and Cologne May 10 using 757-200s in two-class configuration. Air France will start a five-times-weekly service from Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 to Bangalore Oct. 30 using three-class A330-200s. During the winter schedule it will operate 35 weekly flights to five cities in India. Aer Lingus will launch thrice-weekly service between Dublin and Dubai in March aboard A330s. The carrier said the new route is the "first step in the expansion of its new long-haul network."
Eleven people were killed and 15 injured in a late-night fire at the detention center at Amsterdam Schiphol. The blaze broke out soon after midnight in the center, which houses illegal immigrants and suspected smugglers awaiting deportation from the Netherlands. The prefabricated complex is located close to one of the runways on the east side of the airport. Media reports indicated the fire's cause is unknown and flights were unaffected.
Southwest Airlines will inaugurate its new Denver service ( ATWOnline, October 21) on Jan. 3 with 13 daily nonstop flights to three destinations. Chicago Midway will get four daily roundtrips, Las Vegas five and Phoenix four. Southwest will occupy two gates on the C concourse at Denver International Airport and start with approximately 40 local employees. "Denver is a market that has been a significant gap in Southwest's system for many years, and now we can connect Denver customers into our coast-to-coast operations," CEO Gary Kelly said.
United Airlines announced several new services to begin Feb. 8: Daily service between Knoxville and Denver operated by Skywest Airlines aboard Embraer 170s and CRJ700s, twice-daily service between Washington Dulles and Daytona Beach operated by Mesa Airlines with 50-seat CRJs, daily service between Chicago and Palm Springs aboard United A319s and daily service between Chicago and Tucson using 737-300s. The Tucson route will close May 3. Australian Airlines, a Qantas subsidiary, is eliminating its Perth-Bali service until Jan.
US and international carriers coping with near-record fuel prices were hit hard by Hurricane Wilma, which barreled ashore in southern Florida on Monday after devastating Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and stranding thousands of vacationers in Cancun and other resort areas over the weekend. According to some estimates, more than 2,000 flights to and from southern Florida were canceled and both Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airports were shut down for much of Monday and Tuesday.
AirBaltic's winter timetable, in effect Oct. 30-March 26, will feature new nonstop service from Riga to Dnepropetrovsk thrice weekly and from Vilnius to Stockholm six times per week. Frequency on several other European routes will be increased, service between Riga and Stuttgart will be discontinued and the carrier will add two F50s to its Vilnius hub. Iraqi Airways launched new direct service between Baghdad and Beirut. The twice-weekly flights should build up to a daily operation by year end.
Air France-KLM Group is extending its French spoke network to KLM's Amsterdam hub with a new twice-daily service between Strasbourg and Schiphol. The route, on which AF and KLM will codeshare, will commence Oct. 31 and will be operated by Regional, an AF partner, with ERJ-135s. Air France and KLM already link Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Toulouse to Amsterdam. They will launch a Paris-Eindhoven route Oct. 30 with two daily flights, increasing to three Dec. 12.
Nordic Leisure and Iraqi Airways are evaluating a connection between Stockholm and the city of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of the Republic of Iraq. Nordic Leisure plans to use MD-80s to operate between Stockholm and Istanbul while Iraqi Airways will conduct the Istanbul-Erbil sector with 737s or 727s. Malev will launch thrice-weekly service from Budapest to Tirgu Mures, Romania, by Jan. 16, becoming the first international carrier to serve the Transylvanian city.
British Airways' weekly frequencies between London Heathrow and India will increase from 19 to 25 starting Oct. 30. Service to Mumbai will grow to two flights per day, a new service to Bangalore will operate five times per week and service to Chennai will rise from two to six flights weekly. Service to Delhi will double to two daily flights beginning next summer. The carrier said the expansion is due to the lifting of restrictions on the two nations' bilateral agreements. Meantime, BA will launch service from Gatwick to Grenoble Dec.
Frontier Airlines is adding one daily flight each from Denver to Salt Lake City (starting Nov. 6), Dallas (Dec. 18), Phoenix, Las Vegas and Chicago Midway (all Jan. 4) aboard A318s and A319s. Phoenix and Las Vegas now are Frontier's most popular markets with seven flights per day.
Eastern Airways will launch new service Nov. 1 to Brussels from Southampton with two flights each weekday and one on Sunday. The service represents the Regional carrier's first international flights from the UK. Also, Eastern started service yesterday with three daily flights and one on Sunday from Bristol to Durham Tees Valley.
Swiss International Air Lines and United Airlines will start codeshare operations beginning Nov. 1 from Zurich to Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington and domestically between Zurich and Geneva. Further cooperation routes will be provided from Kenya, Italy, Israel, France and southern Germany via Zurich.
Port Authority Board of Commissioners authorized on Thursday $17.1 million in capital improvements at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports. Investments include $2.1 million for roadwork at JFK, $9 million to retain contractors at Newark and $6 million for runway repairs at LaGuardia.
Ukraine International Airlines plans to boost capacity 35% next year as part of a strategy to gain a larger presence in its home market. "With more foreign carriers coming to the Ukraine, we have to react," President Yuri Miroshnikov told ATWOnline in Kiev. The fleet will increase from nine 737 Classics to 12 with the addition from next spring of two 737-500s and one 737-400, and will rise to 20 by 2009.
Continental Airlines said it received final approval from the US Dept. of Transportation to begin daily nonstop service between Houston and Buenos Aires. It will offer through service between Newark and Buenos Aires via Houston. Flights begin Dec. 14 using 767-200ERs. United Airlines will offer service between Chicago O'Hare and Liberia in northwest Costa Rica from Dec. 17 through April 29 with A320s.
WestJet Executive VP-Operations Tim Morgan left the airline Oct. 18 "for personal reasons," the company said in a statement. Morgan was one of the founders of WestJet. President and CEO Clive Beddoe expressed regret at his departure, noting that he "contributed greatly to our success over the past 10 years." Morgan also was a member of the airline's board. Separately, the Calgary-based LCC said its board approved the purchase of a 737-700 through conversion of an option. Delivery will occur in December 2006.
Southwest Airlines yesterday said it will launch service to Denver International Airport early next year, marking a return to the city after a 20-year absence. Schedules, fares and routes will be announced next week. "We'll have a modest start," CEO Gary Kelly said during a conference call to discuss the news. The carrier served Denver Stapleton International Airport in 1983-1986. Stapleton was closed when DIA opened in 1995. In the past, Southwest declined to operate at DIA, United Airlines' second-biggest hub, citing high costs.
AirAsia launched flights from its base in Kuala Lumpur to Chiang Mai, reconnecting the two cities after Malaysia Airlines cut flights after 9/11. AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes told ATWOnline that the carrier "sold over 12,000 seats for the route since opening for sale two weeks ago." Chiang Mai is the fourth major Thai city served by AirAsia after Bangkok, Phuket and Hat Yai.
Japan Airlines announced a reduction in frequency on its Japan-Indonesia flights Oct. 30-Dec. 22 due to traffic declines following the Oct. 1 terrorist attacks in Bali. JAL currently provides three daily direct services to Indonesia: Tokyo-Denpasar, Osaka-Denpasar and Tokyo-Jakarta. It will continue to serve Denpasar and Jakarta from Tokyo on a daily basis by consolidating flights and will reduce its Osaka-Denpasar service from seven to three flights per week.
Royal Jordanian will stop operating to India if it has to continue paying royalties to the Indian government, President and CEO Samer Majali told ATWOnline in Amman. "The board of directors decided recently that if India does not cancel the royalty scheme, we will be shutting down our operation in early 2006," he said. "We feel that we carry the full burden of operating flights between Jordan and India. Not only do we incur losses on our Indian operations as a result of these royalties, but we pay Indian airlines for their privilege of not operating to Jordan.
LAN Argentina intends to begin nonstop service between Buenos Aires and Miami on Dec. 1. Belgium-based VLM will launch weekday service between London City Airport and Isle of Man Nov. 1. VLM now serves four UK destinations from London City.
