TAM yesterday confirmed its A350-900 order announced at the Paris Air Show ( ATWOnline, June 17), increasing the number of firm orders to 10 from eight and decreasing the number of options to five from seven. Deliveries of the three-class aircraft will begin near the end of 2012. "The A350 is the ideal solution for our long-haul network development," TAM President Marco Bologna said. The airline will be the A350's launch customer in Latin America. It already is the region's largest Airbus operator.
Ryanair announced a major expansion at Dublin with the unveiling of 18 new routes and additional frequencies on eight existing routes. It will base five new 737-800s at DUB beginning in April and will launch service to Marseille, Nantes, La Rochelle, Baden, Hamburg, Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw, Milan, Venice, Gothenburg, Malmo, Valencia, Porto, Salzburg, Bratislava, Kaunas and Humberside. The carrier said its traffic at Dublin will increase from 5.5 to 7 million passengers annually and that it will create 250 jobs.
FedEx Corp. reported a net income of $471 million for the fiscal second quarter ended Nov. 30, a 33% rise from the $354 million earned in the year-ago quarter that Chairman, President and CEO Frederick Smith attributed to "customer demand. . .a disciplined pricing approach [and] solid economic growth year-over-year in the US and Asian economies."
Japan Airlines revealed yesterday that it had been flying a 747 with the left and right outboard engines reversed for seven months, Japanese media reported. The engines were misplaced during maintenance work at ST Aviation Services in Singapore last spring.
Air Nauru, the only airline providing service to the Pacific island nations of Nauru and Kiribati, was grounded last weekend when its only aircraft, a 737-400, was impounded in Melbourne by the US Export-Import Bank. The carrier also flew to destinations in Fiji, the Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands.
United Airlines Chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton said the carrier "disappointed" its customers Saturday "by not being prepared, as we should have been, for the extraordinary volume of passengers." The admission, contained in a taped message to employees, referred to a situation that developed at Chicago O'Hare on Dec. 17 when thousands of United customers were inconvenienced by long check-in lines and waits of up to 4 hr. or more. The terminal became so crowded that some passengers were forced to stand in lines that snaked outside, where they were exposed to subfreezing temperatures.
Ryanair pared its schedule for the first quarter of 2006 because of a one-month delay in the delivery of four 737-800s. The aircraft, delayed owing to last fall's strike by assembly line workers at Boeing ( ATWOnline, Sept. 5), will arrive in April to replace dash 200s scheduled to be removed from service this month. The older aircraft already have been sold, the carrier said. The schedule cuts will reduce monthly traffic by 200 departures and an estimated 100,000 passengers during January, February and March.
LOT Polish Airlines' supervisory board dismissed Marek Grabarek, president of the carrier's management board, as well as board members Piotr Dubno and Wladyslaw Metelski. The sackings took place at a supervisory board meeting Monday. No reason was given for the action. LOT also announced that supervisory board President Piotr Czyzewski and member SBawomir Lachowski resigned. Supervisory board member Tomasz Kopoczynski will replace Grabarek on an interim basis pending a formal selection process that will commence following a Dec. 29 supervisory board meeting.
United Airlines and its United Services maintenance division signed a three-year, $180 million deal with Pratt & Whitney for MRO on more than 200 F117 engines powering US Air Force C-17s. Work will take place at United's facilities in San Francisco and Charleston.
Lufthansa wants to reduce pilot costs further to help boost profitability and meet increasing competition in the global airline market, Chief Executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber said. In an interview with Reuters, Mayrhuber questioned how long LH can continue to pay its pilots "significantly above the market rate" and said market conditions should apply to new pilots joining the company. "We have to convince the unions that lower pay is advantageous for them, as only profitable jobs are secure jobs," he said. "We have to negotiate with the unions. It is not easy.
AirAsia confirmed to ATWOnline that it has submitted a proposal to the Malaysian government to operate all but three of Malaysia Airlines' domestic routes. The plan is part of the government's review of a domestic airline system that has been a continual loss-maker for MAS. Earlier this month, AirAsia took delivery of the first of 100 A320s and announced an additional eight destinations in Indonesia from Kuala Lumpur.
Australian High Court let stand a lower court ruling ordering Air Nauru to return a 737-400 to a trustee for the Export-Import Bank of the US. Air Nauru stopped making payments on the aircraft in 2002.
PACE Aerospace Engineering and Information Technology said UK aerospace design consultancy Engaero has chosen Pacelab Cabin, a cabin configuration tool, to develop interior concepts for aircraft cabin refurbishment. Also, Bombardier signed PACE to help develop the computerized flight manual for the CRJ705.
Air New Zealand said it will proceed with plans to outsource heavy maintenance of widebody engines but has deferred until February a decision on the future of its widebody airframe MRO activity amid signs it may be able to reach accommodation with its engineering union to keep the work in-house. Sending the engine work offshore next year will result in elimination of around 110 jobs. Outsiders already perform engine MRO on ANZ's narrowbody jets and turboprops.
Rolls-Royce and American Eagle extended their agreement for on-site engineering services for the carrier's 206 AE3007-powered ERJs. The new Engineering Care program provides the airline with an RR-certified engineer and enhanced engineering service team assistance.
AirNet Systems announced it was unable to reach a merger agreement with the private investment firm with which it had signed a letter of intent on Oct. 26. The aviation services company, which operates 113 cargo and 14 passenger aircraft, said it will continue as an independent company and will consider offers from "a qualified potential acquirer."
United Airlines' pilots union joined the chorus of dissent against a management plan to set aside 18.75 million shares of stock representing 15% of equity in the reorganized carrier for its salaried and management employees. "The so-called Management Equity Incentive Plan reeks of immorality," Air Line Pilots Assn.
World Air Holdings, parent of World Airways and North American Airlines, signed a letter of intent to lease for three years a 767-300ER for delivery to North American in December 2006. It also signed a two-year extension on a leased 757-200ER, now set to expire in May 2008.
Volito Aviation of Sweden purchased two 737s from Tombo Aviation. The six-year-old aircraft will remain on lease to Copa Airlines until April and June 2009.
Cintra SA said its shareholders unanimously approved the sale of Mexicana and low-cost airline Click to Grupo Posadas, the country's largest hotel chain that agreed last month to purchase the carriers for $165 million, the assumption of $294 million in debt and $997 million in aircraft lease obligations ( ATWOnline, Dec. 1). Posadas also will take a 50% stake in other airline units including ground services and cargo, the Associated Press reported. Cintra declined to sell AeroMexico after bids from Posadas and pharmaceutical company Grupo Xtra were considered insufficient.
Singapore Changi Airport will open its dedicated low-cost carrier terminal on March 26, offering passenger charges that are nearly 40% below those at Terminals 1 and 2, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said. The total per-passenger charge will be S$13 ($7.77) versus $21 for the full-service terminals. The fee covers two components comprising a S$7 passenger service charge and a S$6 passenger security charge.
Alitalia secured an eight-year, $445 million loan from GE Corporate Banking last week, bringing the beleaguered carrier one step closer to stability following the €1 billion ($1.2 billion) rights issue that concluded earlier this month ( ATWOnline, Nov. 14). The deal with GECB will be guaranteed by mortgages on 28 Alitalia aircraft, according to media reports. Separately, Alitalia was fined €30,000 ($35,600) by Italy's antitrust agency for displaying "misleading" advertising on the carrier's website.
