Malaysia Airlines will consolidate its network and eliminate service to five cities in India and China as part of an effort "to contain its cost growth and improve performance," the carrier said yesterday. The announcement came nearly two months after Chairman Mohamed Munir Abdul Majid said MAS would "focus on significant short-term improvement initiatives and implement a longer-term plan to improve operating performance as well" in the wake of a MYR280.7 million ($74.5 million) second-period loss ( ATWOnline, Aug. 23)
Fourteen years ago, Delta Air Lines made a bad bet on international expansion during a period of heavy losses. Yesterday it raised the ante. In what it described as "the largest international expansion in its history," the bankrupt carrier said it will launch nonstop widebody service from its hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and base at New York JFK to 11 cities in Europe and the Middle East.
Midwest Airlines announced yesterday that it will launch daily nonstop service between Kansas City and Tampa Dec. 15. It also will add flights to its service between Kansas City and Ft. Lauderdale. It will continue its connecting service to both Florida markets through Milwaukee.
Delta Air Lines will announce a significant international expansion today at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Mayor Shirley Franklin is scheduled to be on hand as the carrier unveils nonstop service from ATL and New York JFK to 11 new markets in Europe and the Middle East. It also will expand service on two existing international routes next spring.
Jet Airways will begin new daily services to Singapore from Chennai, Singapore and Bangalore by the end of October. It also will start a daily Mumbai-Bangkok service and has plans to fly from Delhi to Heathrow via Amritsar. Separately, Jet announced it will be the first Indian airline to offer a Web check-in facility. The site was developed by Sabre Airline Solutions.
US FAA yesterday approved a proposal to build two new runways and conduct related improvements at Washington Dulles. The proposal includes constructing north-south and east-west runways, parallel and connector taxiways, concourse development and navigational aids.
AirTran announced it will launch four daily roundtrips between Chicago Midway and Minneapolis-St. Paul and three daily nonstops between Midway and Boston beginning Dec. 6. All flights will be aboard 106-seat 717s. Sample one-way fares include $109 coach and $299 business to Boston and $89 coach and $249 business to MSP.
Air Canada has begun freighter service between Toronto and Anchorage with flights continuing to Shanghai. Canada is Alaska's third-largest international trading partner, with the two-way flow of trade reaching $531 million in 2004.
Ratification of an open skies agreement between the US and EU would mean a significant increase in high-tech jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, according to a study released Friday. Kenneth Button and Jonathan Drexler of George Mason University's School of Public Policy presented their findings in Washington at a one-day seminar organized by United States Airports for Better International Air Service, a coalition of smaller international gateways. The GMU study concluded the number of high-tech jobs would increase by an average of 30,000 in each of the 29 EU regions examined.
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport reported that the number of passengers rose 11% to 2,322,687 in the first nine months of 2005 compared to the same period last year. Airfreight grew 58% in the period to 71,249 tonnes.
Lufthansa will offer three weekly flights using A330s between Frankfurt and Doha beginning Jan. 10, the carrier announced Friday. Flights will stop in Kuwait. JetBlue said it will offer daily service between Ft. Lauderdale and Oakland beginning Jan. 19. Regular fares will range from $149 to $349 each way on A320s.
Qantas will add a fifth weekly nonstop service from Brisbane to Los Angeles from Jan. 28 using a 747-400. It will go to double-daily service between Melbourne and Los Angles from eight flights per week, with seven operating nonstop and seven via Auckland. Services between Australia and the US mainland will rise to 39 per week from March when it commences new service to San Francisco.
Japan Airlines on Oct. 30, will begin codesharing with China Eastern Airlines on three domestic routes: Shanghai-Chengdu, Shanghai-Chongqing, and Shanghai-Shenzhen, a total of 42 weekly flights. JAL already codeshares with Hainan Airlines on seven weekly flights between Beijing and Chengdu. It also operates JAL China Express with Hainan Airlines from Beijing to three Chinese cities and on six routes from Beijing in cooperation with China Southern Airlines.
Emirates postponed launch of its second daily A340-500 nonstop between Dubai and New York JFK from Nov. 7 to Nov. 16. The carrier cited the impact of the strike at Boeing, which caused a delivery delay that forced it to continue to use the aircraft on other services. Separately, Emirates noted it is increasing its presence in five Asian markets. It added two weekly flights to Hong Kong on Oct. 1, bringing its weekly total to 14. At the end of October it will add three direct flights to Jakarta each week, returning to Dubai over Singapore.
EasyJet will set up a base at Milan Malpensa, its sixth in continental Europe and first in Italy, and launch new routes to Athens, London Gatwick, Madrid, Malaga and Paris Charles De Gaulle. These routes are in addition to the current Berlin service and the daily flight to Dortmund which commences on Oct. 30. Daily service to London begins Dec. 1. Daily services to Paris, Madrid and Malaga follow on March 27 and Athens comes on line the next day, also with a daily service.
Southwest Airlines' proposal to transfer its operations from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to King County International Airport, better known as Boeing Field, was rejected yesterday by King County Executive Ron Sims, who cited noise and traffic concerns as well as the potential cost to taxpayers and unresolved legal issues ( ATWOnline, July 22).
AirBaltic will launch service to Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, on Oct. 31, operating three weekly flights using F50s. Qatar Airways begins serving Madrid on Dec. 2 with thrice-weekly flights using A300-600s. LCC Iceland Express will start Reykjavik-Gothenburg services from May 17 using 737 Classics.
Repeal of the Wright Amendment, which limits air service from Dallas Love Field to cities in Texas and seven nearby states, would result in the loss of some 436 daily flights at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport and a gain at Love Field of 251 daily flights, for a net loss to the Dallas metroplex of 185 daily flights, according to a study prepared for American Airlines by Eclat Consulting. "To the affected communities, the losses are qualitatively more damaging than the 'wins' are beneficial," the report stated.
Germanwings will add Alicante, Jerez, Antalya, Heraklion, Gothenburg and Gdansk to its network from Cologne March 26. It also will start new services from Berlin Schoenefeld to Ibiza and Stuttgart to Antalya. Thai Airways is considering launching a four-times-weekly Bangkok-Los Angeles nonstop service to ease pricing pressure on its six-times-weekly nonstop Bangkok-New York service, which will be cut back to four weekly.
Guardian Technologies International received approval from the US Dept. of Commerce to export its PinPoint explosive detection technology to China and Russia. The export licenses will allow Guardian to install the technology on pre-existing x-ray scanning equipment installed at airports in Moscow and Shanghai for trial projects.
Air New Zealand will launch nonstop service between Auckland and Adelaide next March 26, operating three times per week using A320s. ANZ noted it is the first carrier to establish services at the new $180 million Adelaide airport terminal set to open officially today.
United Express is offering new service between San Francisco and Edmonton with daily roundtrip flights using a 70-seat regional jet. United also is adding three daily flights between Los Angeles and Albuquerque. The new service will begin Feb. 8. British Airways franchise partner Sun Air cancelled its services between London City and Copenhagen effective Oct. 30.
