Northern Hawk Aviation, a small carrier connecting communities with Vancouver and Calgary, has suspended operations. The two-year-old airline blamed rising fuel costs in a statement on its website.
Lim Chin Beng, who founded Singapore-based LCC Valuair and then sold it to Qantas ( ATWOnline, July 25), is now chairman of newly formed Changi International Airshow & Events, which plans to take over the biennial Singapore show beginning in February 2008 and rename it Changi International Airshow. The new entity is a joint venture between the Singapore CAA and the Defense Science and Technology Agency.
Guggenheim Aviation Partners ordered two 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighters (formerly known as Special Freighters) for delivery in 2008. The aircraft will be Combi-to-freighter conversions. Boeing's Commercial Aviation Services unit will manage the process.
Pegasus Aviation Finance Co. named Toby Bright as its chief marketing officer. Bright spent 28 years at Boeing, rising to the position of executive VP-sales. He left the company following a corporate shakeup last December in which he was replaced as Boeing's top airplane salesman by former Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson ( ATWOnline, Dec. 6). KLM appointed Ben Swagerman deputy chief of KLM Security Services effective Feb. 1. He will succeed Chief of KLM Security Services Teun Platenkamp upon the latter's retirement next autumn.
Hainan Airlines, China's fourth-largest carrier, will merge with three smaller airlines--Xinhua, Changan and Shanxi--to form Grand China Air. A Hainan spokesperson told Bloomberg News that US financier George Soros agreed over the weekend to invest $25 million for approximately 4% of the new carrier. Hainan is trying to raise $1.06 billion to buy aircraft and add routes ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.
Alitalia is seeking a medium-/long-term loan of up to $485 million from a major US bank in order to offset the rise in fuel costs, Reuters reported. The carrier said in a statement that it would offer its planes as a guarantee. As part of a new industrial plan approved Friday, Alitalia will speed up some elements of its restructuring, including the renegotiation of procurement contracts and labor cost reduction ( ATWOnline, Oct. 14). The airline said it expects to receive €85 million ($102.6 million) in government aid next year.
Delta Air Lines will announce a significant international expansion today at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Mayor Shirley Franklin is scheduled to be on hand as the carrier unveils nonstop service from ATL and New York JFK to 11 new markets in Europe and the Middle East. It also will expand service on two existing international routes next spring.
General Electric's Aviation Engine Services unit, in one of the largest such deals it has done, signed an eight-year OnPoint Solutions service agreement valued at $1.5 billion covering maintenance, repair and overhaul of the nearly 600 CFM56-7 engines in service or on order powering Southwest Airlines' 737-700s. According to GE, the new deal is a "hybrid" blending traditional OnPoint time-and-materials and cost-per-flight-hour agreements.
AirTran announced it will launch four daily roundtrips between Chicago Midway and Minneapolis-St. Paul and three daily nonstops between Midway and Boston beginning Dec. 6. All flights will be aboard 106-seat 717s. Sample one-way fares include $109 coach and $299 business to Boston and $89 coach and $249 business to MSP.
Royal Jordanian on Monday announced that it had accepted oneworld's formal invitation to join the alliance. "We are the first alliance to invite a carrier from the entire Levant, Middle East and Gulf region on board," Iberia and oneworld Governing Board Chairman Fernando Conte told ATWOnline in Amman, adding it is the first airline to join "our very select group" in more than five years.
Striking members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. will vote on a contract offer from Northwest Airlines that would allow just 500-539 mechanics to return to the airline, at least initially. More than 4,400 mechanics and aircraft cleaners walked off their jobs Aug. 20. NWA quickly replaced the cleaning positions and used a mix of new hires and third-party shops to handle its MRO needs. Prior to the strike, its final offer envisioned preserving 2,750 union mechanic jobs.
Aviareps announced Thursday it will handle Munich Airport's marketing and sales rights in North America. Munich is Aviareps' first European airport client.
Air New Zealand named Group GM-Airlines Rob Fyfe as CEO succeeding Ralph Norris, who left the company in August to become head of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Fyfe joined ANZ in early 2003 as CIO about a year after Norris was appointed CEO. He was promoted to group GM later that year. Like his predecessor, Fyfe has several years of experience in the banking industry. He also worked briefly in the telecom industry and served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force between 1979 and 1987.
Binter Canarias, which has added seven new ATR 72s to its fleet over the past 15 months, was honored by ERA as its Airline of the Year in ceremonies in Gothenburg at the group's General Assembly. "The airline has overcome challenges and has developed a firm base for a niche business," the judges declared in awarding the honor to the Canary Islands carrier. "They are not afraid to challenge themselves through reinvention, re-branding and a fresh approach." Binter operates a fleet of 13 ATRs, two 1900s and one 737.
SAS said it reached an agreement with Worldspan under which the carrier will obtain "lower distribution costs" while distributing its "full content" to the GDS. SAS reached a similar agreement with Sabre earlier this month ( ATWOnline, Oct. 4), while a deal with Amadeus occurred in August. Calling it "a step in the right direction," Senior VP-Airline Commercial Robin Kamark stated, "SAS wish[es] to give the market full access to our fares and products through the GDS, but while doing so, we also need to reduce our distribution costs to a competitive level."
Mesaba Aviation parent MAIR Holdings agreed to provide the bankrupt airline with debtor-in-possession financing during the carrier's Chapter 11 reorganization. According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, MAIR has provided a term sheet and commitment letter for $35 million, of which $15 million will be available immediately "subject to usual and customary conditions. The balance will be available "upon the satisfaction of certain additional conditions, including Mesaba's delivery of an acceptable five-year business plan by Jan.
Alitalia and its trade unions agreed to an additional €65 million ($78.2 million) in annual cost savings over the next three years. The savings will be included in the updated Business Plan 2005-2008, which will be discussed by the airline's board today. The accord involves efficiency measures and productivity improvements for pilots, flight attendants and ground staff, but does not contain further job cuts or pay reductions.
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft leased two 29-seat Jetstream 41s to Eastern Airways, raising the number of aircraft in the British airline's J-41 fleet to 19. Eastern is now the largest fleet operator of the type outside the US.
Sabre Holdings said it signed a five-year agreement with AirTran Airways under which the Orlando-based LCC committed to make "all its fares and inventory available through the Sabre Travel Network and Travelocity." Additionally, Travelocity Partner Network will become the sole supplier of hotel, cruise and AirTran Vacations packaging for the AirTran website.
US Airways named Hal Huele senior VP-technical operations. Huele, 57, most recently was senior VP-safety and regulatory compliance. He replaces John Prestifilippo, who joined Spirit Airlines as senior VP-technical operations. Also departing US Airways for Spirit was MD-Europe Tony Lefebvre, who becomes senior VP-customer service for the Ft. Lauderdale-based budget carrier.
Air Atlantique took delivery of the first of two ATR 72s purchased from Finnair. The Coventry-based carrier expects to have the aircraft in service, along with its three other ATRs, by the end of October.
Airbus, a week after the program received formal go-ahead, announced that Eurofly signed a letter of intent for three A350-800s for delivery from 2013 ( ATWOnline, Oct. 7). The Italian leisure airline also signed up to lease two A330-200s powered by PW4000s starting in late 2006. Including the Eurofly deal, Airbus now has 143 commitments for the A350 and expects to hit 200 by year end.
