Iran Air said it "may be necessary" to operate its London Heathrow–Tehran flights "with an unscheduled refueling stop at Hamburg or Vienna" owing to "ongoing fuel supply problems at London Heathrow." The statement comes as multiple media outlets report that a number of Western fuel providers are unwilling to conduct business with the carrier following sanctions imposed on the Iranian government earlier this year by the UN, US and EU.
Russia's S7 Airlines plans to buy a mix of up to eight 737-800s and A320 family aircraft in 2011 as part of its fleet modernization program, according to CEO Vladimir Obyedkov. "If the shareholders permit it, we will buy seven or eight aircraft," he told RIA Novosti. He said the 737-800s would operate for S7 subsidiary Globus Airlines while the A320s would join S7's mainline fleet. The carrier currently operates 28 A320 family aircraft, five A310-200/300s and two 767-300s. It also owns several Russian-built aircraft including Tu154s and IL-86s.
US Airways and Mesa Air Group signed a term sheet Tuesday that extends MAG subsidiary Mesa Airlines' contract with US to operate 38 CRJ900s on US Airways Express flights to September 2015. The contract would have expired on June 30, 2012.
Aerolineas Argentinas will sign an agreement by the end of this month "to officially start the process of joining SkyTeam as the first South American member of the airline alliance," SkyTeam said in a statement Tuesday.
Aerolineas Argentinas will sign an agreement by the end of this month "to officially start the process of joining SkyTeam as the first South American member of the airline alliance," SkyTeam said in a statement Tuesday.
Delta Air Lines said 425 furloughed flight attendants have accepted its recall notice ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 23) and will begin working again next year, and CEO Richard Anderson told employees in a widely cited message that "a few hundred" more are needed and will be hired. Including the recalled workers, DL said it plans to have up to 1,000 more flight attendants in 2011 compared to 2010.
Lufthansa said it will operate an average of 12,218 flights per week this winter, up 3.5% from 11,803 flights in last year’s winter period. Beginning Oct. 31, LH will offer flights to 197 destinations in 85 countries, compared to last year’s 191 destinations in 78 countries. The three latest additions to the route network are five-times-weekly Frankfurt–Bogota service using A340-300s and five-times-weekly FRA–Pointe Noire service via Libreville with a wet-leased 737-800. It will also operate twice-daily Munich–Luxembourg service with CRJ700s.
LOT Polish Airlines, which is on track to be privatized next year, is still on Turkish Airlines’ radar regarding a strategic investment, THY Chairman Hamdi Topcu confirmed to ATW last week in Seattle ( ATW Daily News, May 19). THY still has an interest in investing in LOT “but cannot give more details,” he said.
DHL said Monday it is adding time-definite guarantees to express shipping services to/from the US, calling the move an "update to its portfolio" in the country nearly two years after significantly scaling back its US operations.
Asiana Airlines reported third-quarter net income before taxes of KRW203.7 billion ($184 million), significantly widened from a KRW900 million pre-tax profit in the year-ago period, as revenue surged 34.1% year-over-year to KRW1.38 trillion.
Asiana Airlines reported third-quarter net income before taxes of KRW203.7 billion ($184 million), significantly widened from a KRW900 million pre-tax profit in the year-ago period, as revenue surged 34.1% year-over-year to KRW1.38 trillion.
Swiss International Air Lines announced it will operate an additional 130 weekly flights this winter compared to the year-ago period, owing to strong market demand. In total it will offer 2,894 weekly flights serving 72 destinations in 39 countries with a fleet of 87 aircraft (including eight that are wet-leased). Compared to the prior-year period, European flying will increase by 6% while the intercontinental network will see its capacity raised by 15%.
The Air Line Pilots Assn. last week elected Delta Air Lines ALPA Master Executive Council Chairman Lee Moak as its new president effective Jan. 1. In balloting among ALPA board members, Moak defeated the union's incumbent president, John Prater, and three other candidates. He will become ALPA's ninth head. He has worked for DL since 1988, currently serving as a 767-300ER captain. ALPA represents nearly 53,000 pilots at 38 airlines in the US and Canada.
ANA reached agreement with seven airlines to codeshare on 11 routes and 44 frequencies daily from Tokyo Haneda beginning Oct 31. The deals involve fellow Star Alliance members Air Canada, Air China, Asiana Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, as well as EVA Airways and Malaysia Airlines. ANA said the additional codeshare services effectively double the daily flight frequencies it can offer from HND after it opens for international services later this month. The codeshares will expand its route network by a third, it added.
The US Dept. of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Friday that the July systemwide passenger load factor for US airlines was 86.9% (86.9% domestic and 86.7% international), the “highest recorded for any July.”
Aeromexico said it operated its first "green flights" aboard a 737-700 between Mexico City and San Jose, Costa Rica, aiming to save 555 kg. of carbon dioxide emissions on the roundtrip.
Southwest Airlines reached a tentative agreement Thursday with its 5,800 pilots represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Assn. on switching some future 737-700 deliveries to -800s.
