S7 Airlines will launch thrice-weekly Moscow Domodedovo-Bangkok Suvarnabhumi on Dec. 23 using 767-300ERs. Separately, S7 said passenger numbers through the first eight months of 2008 rose 16.1% year-over-year to 4.2 million, while load factor was down 1.1% to 80.1%.
Air India parent National Aviation Co. of India Ltd. sealed $548.6 million in loan guarantees from the Export-Import Bank of the US for the purchase of Boeing aircraft. The bank concluded $1.2 billion in financing for NACIL last year.
American Airlines said it will introduce "PriorityAAcess" for first and business class passengers and top frequent-flier program members from Sept. 30, an initiative that will include fast-track security screening lanes at 10 major US airports. "Where permitted by airport policy and government security regulations, American will offer exclusive. . .security screening lanes," it said. Airports that will have the new security lanes are Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O'Hare, Miami, Los Angeles, New York JFK , New York LaGuardia, St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston and San Juan.
Air Astana said it continued to experience strong growth during the first half of 2008, recording a 16% year-over-year increase in passengers carried to 1.3 million. The carrier expects to carry 2.4 million for the full year. First-half revenue lifted 26% to $312 million.
Qantas Executive GM John Borghetti told a cheering crowd of more than 4,000 Qantas staff Sunday that the airline's new A380 will give it an edge over the competition.
China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines experienced a sharp traffic decline in August, another sign of China's sagging domestic passenger market. CEA posted a 23.1% year-over-year drop to 2.92 million passenger boardings with a load factor of 69.4%, down 8.6 points. HNA transported 1.2 million passengers, a 5.2% decrease, as load factor fell 7.8 points to 74.3%. China Galaxy Securities Co.
World Airways signed a two-year contract with Allied Air to operate one MD-11F on a full-time basis between Belgium and Nigeria. World Airways will begin the Allied service on Oct. 1, flying from Ostend to Lagos and continuing on to Nairobi to uplift perishables. The flights will be operated 3-4 times weekly. Nigeria-based Allied Air operates four 727 freighters, working with its worldwide sales agent ANA Aviation Services to provide scheduled flights and ad hoc charter services.
Alitalia Administrator Augusto Fantozzi made an open plea for an investment plan to rescue the failing airline, calling on "anyone" who could "assure continuity of the air transport service in the medium term" to make a bid on all or part of the carrier by Sept. 30, but Italian regulators warned that AZ could be shut down before then for safety reasons.
Sensis Corp. won a contract from the US Dept. of Transportation to provide its Aerobahn surface operation monitoring technology to FAA at New York JFK. Technology combines flight schedule and operational information with airport ground surveillance data to provide real-time surface views.
Skyservice Airlines, based at Toronto Pearson, launched Skyservice Maintenance initially focusing on "all phase letter checks for the A320 and 757 airframes with developing capabilities on the 737."
AviIT said it launched its AviTag module extending its AviCheck handheld wireless check-in system. Technology connects to DCS and secures real-time credit card approval authorization, enabling airlines to collect excess baggage fees before passengers reach check-in counters or baggage drop locations.
Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan told reporters in New York that the carrier believes it can lift passenger numbers from the current 6 million per year to 25 million annually by 2020 while doubling the number of cities served from 48 to 100. It plans to grow its workforce from 6,600 today to 27,000 in 2020.
Afriqiyah Airways reached a deal with Air France Industries to provide component support for 14 A319s and A320s. Contract includes access to a spare parts pool managed by AFI at Paris de Gaulle.
DayJet, Services, which described itself as the world's first "per-seat, on-demand jet service," ceased operations last Friday and laid off most of its staff less than a year after launching service among five cities in Florida. It attributed its failure to the inability to "arrange critical financing in the midst of the current global financial crisis." It said it would be unable to honor customer reservations and/or issue refunds for unused travel.
Jat Airways on Friday countered assertions that it is in serious financial trouble, insisting in a statement that "the situation. . .is stable and there are no signs of bankruptcy."
Embraer named Luiz Carolo Siqueira Aguiar executive VP-finance and CFO and Emilio Kazunoli Matsuo executive VP-strategic planning and technology development.
Qantas used the ceremony commemorating the handover of its first A380 in Toulouse Friday to announce that it is likely to add to the 20 of the type it already has on order. CEO Geoff Dixon and his successor, Alan Joyce, made clear that a new order is a virtual certainty, though Dixon qualified that any order would have to be within QF's current A$35 billion ($27.9 billion) budget for capital spending on aircraft, meaning that it may be interested in aircraft swaps with Airbus. Qantas Group last year ordered 60 A320s/A321s for its LCC Jetstar.
Frontier Airlines is considering moving some of its maintenance operations outside the US, Denver's Rocky Mountain News reported. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents Frontier maintenance workers, said the bankrupt carrier sees outsourcing as a way to save money but complained that the move could result in the loss of 150 jobs. The Teamsters said Frontier management shared with the union a proposal to outsource heavy maintenance, which includes major repairs and checks.
Amadeus said Air France finalized implementation of its Ticket Changer Shopper solution featuring online rebooking and revalidation capabilities. Since launching the technology across 80 websites in July, the carrier has seen a 35% increase in online rebooking transactions.
FedEx reported net income of $384 million for its fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31, down 22% from the same period last year, citing "challenging" economic conditions. Chairman, President and CEO Frederick Smith said the delivery giant will "continue to hold the line on costs across all segments." It also will raise shipping rates 6.9% from Jan. 5 for domestic US and US export services as part of its effort to compensate for "weaker global macroeconomic conditions."
Singapore and Japan Friday announced an expanded air services agreement that will nearly double the number of passenger flights Singaporean airlines can operate to Tokyo and also allow carriers from both nations to operate unlimited passenger and cargo flights between Singapore and all cities in Japan other than Tokyo. Under the agreement, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Singaporean carriers will be allowed to operate four daily flights between Singapore and Tokyo Haneda from October 2010.
American Airlines expects third-quarter mainline unit revenue to increase 9.5%-10.5% year-over-year, VP-Corporate Development and Treasurer Beverly Goulet said yesterday. Speaking at the Calyon US Airline Conference, she said, "In spite of our continued concerns about the economy, our revenue results have held up reasonably well." She cited the carrier's increased emphasis on "unbundling" prices, including checked bag fees, and higher fares as key drivers of revenue growth. "The pressure we are under because of fuel has upped the ante. .
