Southwest Airlines said Tuesday it is this week commencing Required Navigation Performance procedures for approaches at 11 airports, asserting that "these new efficient flight procedures and enhanced avionics" will save the LCC $16 million annually.
Chinese carriers earned a collective net profit of CNY35.1 billion ($5.28 billion) in 2010 owing in large part to surging domestic growth, according to CAAC Vice Minister Wang Changshun.
American Airlines and Japan Airlines on Tuesday said their transpacific joint venture will commence on April 1 with cooperation on 10 routes initially.
News from Travel Technology Update: American Airlines was granted a temporary restraining order to prevent Sabre from biasing the carrier’s displays in the Sabre GDS. American also filed a lawsuit against Sabre in Texas state court in Tarrant County alleging that Sabre’s recent actions “violates agreements between American and Sabre and harms American, the travel agent community, and the traveling public.” The TRO will be in effect until the court considers American’s request for longer-term relief.
The Air Line Pilots Assn. announced Monday that 97% of cargo carrier Evergreen International Airlines crewmembers would support a lawful strike if a satisfactory collective agreement is not reached with management. ALPA, which represents EIA's 228 flight crew, said in a statement that 86% of eligible pilots voted in the poll. Crewmembers have been in negotiations since 2005 ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 18, 2010).
Financially troubled state-owned Adria Airwayshas been granted an additional credit of up to €4 million ($5.16 million) from Slovenian banks based on the carrier’s restructuring plan ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 2, 2010), Slovenia media outlets reported.
Iranian officials investigating Sunday's crash of an Iran Air Boeing 727 near Orumiyeh said they have recovered the aircraft's flight data recorder and are attempting to determine why the aircraft went down about 5 mi. from its destination airport, killing 77 of 104 passengers and crew aboard.
The Virgin Blue Group and Perth-based Skywest Airlines signed a 10-year strategic alliance to service regional Australia. In the deal, Skywest will operate up to 18 new Virgin Blue-branded turboprops to a number of existing and new destinations around Australia.
Saudi Arabian Airlines on Monday signed an agreement to join SkyTeam in 2012, when the Jeddah-based carrier will become the alliance's first Middle East member.
The Virgin Blue Group and Perth-based Skywest Airlines signed a 10-year strategic alliance to service regional Australia. In the deal, Skywest will operate up to 18 new Virgin Blue-branded turboprops to a number of existing and new destinations around Australia. The type selected will be announced shortly.
British Airways flew 8.08 billion RPKs in December, down 8.3% compared to December 2009. Capacity fell 7.7% to 10.58 billion ASKs while load factor dipped 0.4 points to 76.4%. For the fiscal nine months April-December, BA saw a 5.5% decline in RPKs to 81.9 billion, a 4% drop in capacity to 104.2 billion ASKs and a 1.2 point decrease in load factor to 78.6%.
US Dept. of Transportation fined Mesaba Aviation a civil penalty of $125,000 for violating rules protecting air travelers with disabilities. DOT said complaints from passengers filed during 2007 and 2008 revealed "a number of violations" suggesting that the airline did not provide adequate enplaning and deplaning assistance nor the required written responses to complaints from passengers within the mandatory 30-day period.
New York-based Bernstein Research believes the airline industry is firmly in the recovery period on a global basis, citing four key positive indicators—“increasing traffic, rising load factors, higher yield and positive operating profits.”
UPS Airlines President Robert Lekites on Friday announced his retirement, ending a 13-year tenure during which he oversaw the rapid international expansion of the delivery giant's airline unit, particularly to China.
Delta Air Lines flew 15.04 billion system RPMs in December, up 2.4% from the year-ago month, on a 3.9% increase in capacity to 18.78 billion ASMs. Load factor slipped 0.6 points to 79.6%. Full-year traffic grew 2.2% to 193.17 billion RPMs on a 1% lift in capacity to 232.68 billion ASMs. System load factor rose 1 point to 83%.
Long-planned US start-up Baltia Air Lines anticipates a second-quarter launch according to President Igor Dmitrowsky. The carrier is undergoing FAA certification. In April, Baltia signed a lease agreement for office space at St. Petersburg Pulkovo ( ATW Daily News, April 14, 2010) and in December it purchased its second Boeing 747 ( ATW Daily News, Dec. 9, 2010).
Passengers aboard a Turkish Airlines flight from Oslo on Wednesday overpowered a hijacker as the plane landed at Istanbul Ataturk, Reuters reported. According to the Turkish Dogan News Agency, the attempt took place as Flight TK1754 started its descent. A man tried to force his way into the cockpit of the aircraft saying, “I have a bomb,” but was subdued by passengers, the news agency reported.
In what it described as the "single biggest new product launch" in its history, Southwest Airlines on Thursday unveiled a revamped frequent flyer program particularly aimed at attracting business passengers and with the potential to generate "hundreds of millions" of dollars in incremental revenue annually according to the airline.
Xiamen Airlines is negotiating with Boeing on an order for six 787 aircraft as part of its international expansion plan, according to Xiamen GM Che Shanglun.
Asiana Airlines placed a firm order for six Airbus A380s to be delivered from 2014-2017, saying the aircraft will complement the 30 A350s it already has on order for delivery beginning in 2016.
Asiana Airlines placed a firm order for six Airbus A380s to be delivered from 2014-2017, saying the aircraft will complement the 30 A350s it already has on order for delivery beginning in 2016.
