Lufthansa's Supervisory Board yesterday gave approval for the airline to order 35 Airbus aircraft valued at more than $3 billion, including five new A330s that will "compensate for the delayed entry into service of the A380," the German carrier said in a statement.
All Nippon Airways, which launched the 787 program with an order for 50, has chosen the industry's first commercial electric braking system, Goodrich announced yesterday. "We anticipated demand for an alternative to traditional, hydraulically actuated braking and began the pursuit of electronically actuated braking more than a decade ago," Goodrich Airframe Systems Segment President Jack Carmola said.
Embraer 175 received US FAA type certification, paving the way for deliveries and service in the US. It previously was certified by aviation authorities in Brazil, Canada and Europe. The first US customer, Republic Airways, has firm orders for 30 of the 86-seat 175s, which will be operated on behalf of US Airways. Twenty will replace existing 50-seat aircraft currently operated for US Airways while the remaining 10 will replace other retiring aircraft or be used for growth in 2008.
Russia's National Reserve Corp., a major stakeholder in Aeroflot, signed a preliminary agreement for 22 787s, according to Russian daily Kommersant, which reported that the airline has transferred rights on the 787s to the shareholder because Russian authorities have not yet approved the deal for Aeroflot.
Royal Jordanian transported 223,000 passengers in August, up 15% over the year-ago month and the highest total for any one month in its history. Its fleet of 24 aircraft averaged 67 flights per day. President and CEO Samer Majali said RJ will achieve "satisfying" full-year results despite rising fuel prices.
Air Mauritius suffered a 59% decline in net profit in its 2005-06 fiscal year to €7.3 million ($9.3 million), according to its annual report cited by Reuters. Rising fuel costs, the government's decision to liberalize the country's airspace in order to attract more tourism and a decline in visitors from France were the key culprits in the slowdown, the carrier said, adding the impact will continue into the current fiscal year.
Ryanair yesterday announced the establishment of what will be its 17th base with the placement of two 737-800s in the German city of Bremen from April 2007 with a third dash 800 to be added the following September.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines Group announced changes to near-term corporate plans to place a higher emphasis on their China networks, with JAL stating that changes including "route suspensions, flight frequency adjustments and a review of aircraft scheduling" will result in a ¥13.5 billion ($112.5 million) income improvement in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2007. In its revised plan for 2006-07, ANA said it will nearly double its flights from Tokyo to Xiamen and Qingdao to a daily service using 767-300ERs and commence daily flights to Tianjing from Nagoya Cen
Goodrich is expanding its Aerostructures Prestwick Service Center in Scotland. The facility, originally opened in 2004, will double in size to 250,000 sq. ft. The plant provides maintenance support services for engine nacelles and thrust reversers, flight controls, quick engine change and engine buildup components.
Korean Air signed a contract with China's Sinotrans Air, a subsidiary of logistics giant Sinotrans Ltd., to form a cargo joint venture airline in China. Sinotrans is taking a 51% stake while Korean Air will own 25% and be responsible for filling the CEO and CFO positions. The balance of ownership was taken by two Korean investment companies, Hana Capital with 13% and Shinhan Capital with 11%.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, promoted General Counsel and Senior VP John Dietrich to Executive VP and COO, giving him oversight over all aspects of operations. Dietrich has been with Atlas since 1999 and previously worked as an attorney for United Airlines for 13 years.
SAS will launch a four-times-weekly nonstop route between Stockholm and Beijing in April using A340-300s. With the direct route to China from Stockholm, SAS intends to counter the growing success of Finnair's Helsinki-Far East services as well as secure its position in the Swedish market. "Sweden accounts for about 60% of the Scandinavian long-haul market," Swedish airports operator LVF Group Director-Aviation Marketing Mats Sigurdson told ATWOnline at the Routes conference in Dubai.
EgyptAir parent EgyptAir Holding placed firm orders valued at more than $160 million for six Embraer 170s with options for six more and plans to launch a Regional subsidiary to operate the aircraft. First delivery is slated for April 2007, with the 170s comprising the fleet of the new EgyptAir Express, described by its chairman, Mohamed Hassan, as "a high-profile domestic and Regional airline." No other details on the subsidiary, scheduled to launch in the 2007 second quarter, were released. The 170s will seat 76 in a single-class layout.
News from Travel Technology Update: Air Canada and ITA Software put the finishing touches on a contract under which ITA will build a new reservations management system for the carrier, replacing its old RES III system. Lise Fournel, the airline's senior vice president of e-commerce and chief information officer, said the new system will take a modular approach and include all reservations, inventory control, seat availability, check-in and airport operations systems.
Denim Air intends to widen its geographical scope, including the startup of operations in the Middle East. "The Middle East market is developing rapidly and I am convinced this offers huge potential for Denim Air," CCO Eric Hespeel said at the Routes conference in Dubai. "We are able to tailor our aircraft to our customers' needs at very short notice due to our flexibility, worldwide experience and creativity." Denim Air has been specializing in ACMI charter activity for 10 years.
Abanco International of Illinois will partner with Midwest Airlines to offer payments for services on Midwest flights from November using Abanco's mobile data technology inflight application to process credit card transactions.
TAM flew 1.68 billion domestic RPKs in August, up 32.5% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 25.2% to 2.28 billion ASKs and load factor rose 4.1 points to 73.7%. International traffic was up 33.9% to 604 million RPKs against a 34% rise in ASKs to 773 million, leaving load factor steady at 78.2%. The airline said its domestic market share was 51.3%, up 9.6 points year-over-year, and its international market share climbed 34 points to 54.6%. Horizon Air flew 254.6 million RPMs in August, up 7.7% from the year-ago month.
Skyways Aviation arranged the long-term ACMI lease of an F100 from Romania's Carpatair to PGA Portugalia. The aircraft, set for delivery at the end of October, will operate in Portugal through March 2007. Carpatair will provide flight crews and maintenance.
Alitalia said a 4-hr. strike yesterday by 6% of flight personnel and 20% of ground workers forced the cancellation of 67 flights. Workers are protesting a management business plan proposal that one union leader claimed "heavily penalized" labor, dismissing further talks with management as "useless, hollow," according to Italian media reports. The carrier was forced to cancel 105 domestic and 74 international flights on Sept. 7 because of a 24-hr. strike called by four trade unions ( ATWOnline, Sept. 8)
Virgin Atlantic Airways banned Apple and Dell laptop computer batteries from international flights following last month's recall of 1.8 million batteries by Dell as possible fire hazards. Virgin passengers must remove the batteries from the computer, wrap them and place them in carry-on bags, reported BBC. Passengers can use the computers sans batteries in flight if seats are equipped with electrical sockets and can transport two of the batteries in a carry-on bag. Korean Air and Qantas also have placed restrictions on laptop batteries in response to the recall.
US Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that a group of 21 US passenger airlines, consisting of the seven largest network, low-cost and Regional carriers based on operating revenue, reported a collective domestic operating profit margin of 7.9% in the second quarter, the largest quarterly margin for the group since 2000. BTS said yesterday that the LCCs reported a domestic operating profit margin for the quarter of 10.6%, up 5.3 points compared to the year-ago quarter.
Chinese airlines have been forced to cut fares to Tibet by up to 55% following the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, according to China Daily, as concern grows among carriers over the impact of rail expansion. The paper reported that nine flights operated by Air China, Sichuan Airlines and China Southern Airlines have been discounted 45%-55% since Sept. 13. The Qinghai-Tibet railway opened July 1 and the train fare between Chengdu and Lhasa is CNY331 ($41) with a sleeper fare of CNY712. Airlines now are offering fares on the route at CNY975.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., set up a strike center at an undisclosed location in Atlanta in apparent frustration over the status of four-year-old contract negotiations.
US Airways named Thomas Chapman VP-congressional and federal affairs effective Oct. 16. Currently legislative counsel for Southwest Airlines, Chapman replaces the retiring Rosemary Murray. Pratt & Whitney Canada appointed John Saabas executive VP and Benoit Brossoit senior VP-service centers and operations. Saabas, previously senior VP-engineering and operations, will be responsible for engineering, operations, quality, service centers, customer support and marketing. Brossoit, previously VP-service centers, will provide "strategic direction" and report to Saabas.
Midwest Air Group said its August yield rose 8.6% to an estimated 14.6 cents. Passenger RASM surged 17.5% to 11.5 cents. Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect flew 361.7 million consolidated RPMs in August, up 18.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 9.2% to 460.5 million ASMs and load factor increased 6 points to 78.6%.
