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.
United Continental Holdings announced that Continental Airlines’ fleet service employees, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, ratified their collective bargaining agreement with the company Dec. 29 ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 30).
TAAG Angola Airlines grounded its fleet of three Boeing 777-200ERs Dec. 24 following two engine incidents within 17 days. “DT decided to suspend all flights for its 777-200ER fleet for the sake of caution and international security," a DT spokesman said. The carrier confirmed it canceled its Luanda-Dubai-Beijing service.
United Continental Holdings, parent of merger partners United Airlines and Continental Airlines, said it would comply with an arbitrator's ruling that placing the CO code on United Express flights operated with 70-seat regional jets violates the terms of the labor pact between Continental and its pilots. The accord prohibits CO from contracting out any flying on aircraft with more than 50 seats.
China Eastern Airlines said it expects its 2010 net income to increase tenfold over a CNY540 million ($81.6 million) net profit reported in 2009 owing to robust domestic market demand.
Continental Airlines said it reached a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers representing 9,300 CO flight attendants. A ratification vote is expected in the coming weeks. "The negotiation teams were able to reach a fair agreement that is another positive step forward as we work to combine our companies,” said CO VP-Inflight Service Sam Risoli.
Korean Air will launch its first A380 service in May 2011 with the entire upper deck of the aircraft devoted to business class flyers. The configuration is designed to give business flyers “exclusivity like they’re traveling in their own private jet,” according to Senior VP-Passenger Business Division Walter Cho.
Lufthansa said Monday it will create 4,000 jobs for its Germany-based locations in 2011. LH is looking to hire 2,200 flight attendants in Frankfurt and Munich, as well as 900 ground personnel, 270 student pilots, 300 apprentices and other technical staff. LH CEO Christoph Franz said the carrier is expanding because of increased passenger capacity owing to more regional routes and the use of the Airbus A380 on long-haul flights.
