Airbus said Dublin-based leasing company Avolon ordered eight A320s, which will be equipped with "Sharklet" winglets. Avolon will make an engine selection for the aircraft in the near future.
According to AirAsia, the new carrier "will leverage on AirAsia's strength to forge into markets in China, Korea and Japan from the Philippines, AirAsia intends to launch a Philippines-based low-cost airline joint venture in which
Virgin Atlantic Airways said it has been contacted by a number of companies regarding potential tie-ups after its 51% owner, Virgin Group, contracted Deutsche Bank to assess the airline's position and growth opportunities in the rapidly consolidating European airline industry.
Southwest Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly told the Wings Club in New York City that SWA has notified Boeing that it will “substitute 20 of its 737-700 orders for -800s,” with the first delivery scheduled for March 2012. The airline had made known its desire to add the larger type into its fleet of 737-700s, -300s and -500s but needed to get approval from its pilot and cabin crew unions first.
TAM Airlines together with Airbus on Nov. 22 conducted the first jatropha-based biofuel flight in Latin America using an A320. The biofuel, processed by UOP LLC, a Honeywell group, was a 50:50 blend of locally sourced Brazilian jatropha-based bio-kerosene and conventional aviation kerosene. On board the CFM56-powered A320 were 20 employees from TAM and Airbus.
US airlines collected a total of $1.5 billion in baggage fees and reservation cancellation/change fees in the 2010 third quarter, up 10.6% from $1.35 billion in the third quarter of 2009 according to US Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Baggage fees in the third quarter accounted for $906.4 million, up 22.5% from $739.8 million in the year-ago period. Reservation cancellation/change fees accounted for $590.4 million, down 3.8% from $613.5 million in year-ago quarter.
Ryanair announced further cuts to its German operations next year, citing the new flight tax as reason for its decision. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the new tax in June as part of a €80 billion ($106 billion) package of austerity measures, although she justified it on environmental grounds.
The US Dept. of Transportation Monday announced it assessed a civil penalty of $600,000 against JetBlue Airways for “violating rules protecting air travelers with disabilities and for failing to disclose when flights sold by the carrier were being operated under a codesharing arrangement.” DOT noted that “$350,000 must be paid by the carrier” and “up to $250,000” may be used to improve its service to disabled passengers beyond what is required by law.
Ryanair on Monday said it will take legal action against the Spanish air navigation and airports authority AENA, the aviation regulator AESA and the USCA traffic controllers union, over the unauthorized and unannounced work stoppage by air traffic controllers on Dec. 3 and 4, which forced the LCC to cancel over 500 flights.
United Parcel Service announced it is expanding its policy to require customers who ship packages from retail shipping locations to present a government-issued photo ID for verification of identification. The directive will apply at The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. locations as well as authorized shipping outlets worldwide.
Dutch Antilles Express Airlines, which celebrated its fifth anniversary earlier this year, said Arnold Leonora has purchased the airline from Niek Sandman, who is leaving to pursue other interests. DAE, which launched April 30, 2005, has a fleet comprising of two ATR 42-320s, one ATR 42-500 and two Fokker-100s. It flies to nine destinations: Curacao, Bonaire, Valencia, Santo Domingo, Aruba, St. Maarten, Caracas, Bogota and Cartagena.
Boeing on Wednesday delivered its 200th direct-delivery jetliner to Air France. The aircraft also launches AF’s new business-class seat; it is outfitted with 42 of the 78.74 in. (2 m.) -long lie-flat seat beds that include 15-in. (38cm.) IFE screens. The 383-seat GE90-115B-powered 777-300ER will operate its first commercial flight Dec. 20 and will be used on the carrier's Paris-Montreal service, as well as on Paris-Ho Chi Minh City beginning in January.
Delta Air Lines told investors at the Hudson Securities airline conference in New York that it is focusing on top-line revenue growth, cost discipline, delevering its balance sheet, improving profitability, and using free cash flow to pay down debt.
In an interview with the Royal Aeronautical Society, one of the five pilots aboard the Qantas Airbus A380 that suffered an uncontained engine failure after take-off from Singapore Nov. 4 gave insight into the handling of the emergency on that “extraordinary day.”
Oneworld has tapped former SpiceJet and Sama Airlines Chief Executive Bruce Ashby to lead the alliance, which will relocate its headquarters from Vancouver to New York City.
Lufthansa ordered eight more Embraer E-195s, in a deal valued at $338 million, based on list prices and January 2010 economic conditions, according to the Brazilian manufacturer.
Bombardier announced Thursday that SpiceJet has placed a firm order for 15 Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners and has taken options on an additional 15 airliners.
Travelport and Brussels Airlines announced a global, full content agreement for Galileo and Worldspan-connected users, effective immediately. CTC Aviation Group reached a three-year contract with flydubai to assist with pilot recruitment. The carrier said it is required to add 140 pilots annually over the next three years.
Cathay Pacific Airways unveiled its new cabin design that includes new business class seating on its long-haul aircraft from March 2011 to be better positioned with the rising demand spurred by the rapid economic growth in Asia. The Hong Kong-based carrier said it plans to spend more than HK$1 billion ($12.8 million) on the upgrades. The major change in the lie-flat seat/bed is the rearrangement of the alignment to face the windows on the sides and to face inwards in the center of the aircraft. This reverses the current herringbone layout.
Delta Air Lines announced Tuesday it received notification from the National Mediation Board that 70% of employees voting in the passenger service election rejected representation by the International Assn. of Machinists. This is the final major workgroup to reject unionization as a result of the Northwest merger in October 2008 ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 23).
Flybe, which is preparing for an initial public offering on Dec. 14, is facing a possible strike action by its 700 pilots over a “number of issues outstanding” including pay, pensions and work patterns.
