AirTran Airways flight attendants, represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants, overwhelmingly ratified a new collective bargaining agreement reached in April. Terms of the 42-month accord were not released, but the carrier said it includes improved compensation and benefits.
US Bankruptcy Court Judge Eugene Wedoff late last week refused to rule on United Airlines' motion to abrogate contracts covering the carrier's International Assn. of Machinists-represented workers, deferring his decision until May 31. Wedoff urged the two sides to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a new deal.
Bmi is introducing at London Heathrow what it calls "Europe's first modular airline service," which will see the carrier switch to a single-class service with paid-for catering onboard and e-enabled ground services. Simultaneously, bmi will launch three fare types--tiny, standard and premium--giving three levels of flexibility and service.
Hawaiian Airlines last week received US Bankruptcy Court approval of its reorganization plan and as a result plans to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 1.
Air Bosna, a state-owned carrier from the Balkan region, plans to resume flights next month after clinching a financing deal with Hypo Alpe Adria Bank in Austria. According to several media outlets in Austria, Air Bosna, which went bankrupt with a debt of around $13 million nearly two years ago, will be renamed BH Airlines and restart services to Switzerland, Turkey and Germany using two leased 66-seat ATR 72s. More destinations will follow.
"It's a bit strange when Regionals start investing in bankrupt [legacy] airlines," said James Parker, MD of Raymond James & Associates. Air Wisconsin and Republic Airways agreed to invest more than $100 million apiece in US Airways, while Mesa Air Group agreed to invest $30 million in Delta Air Lines and assume its leases on some 30 328JETs previously operated by Atlantic Coast Airlines. Speaking at the RAA conference last week in Cincinnati, Parker said even more changes are in store for the industry.
The Irish government last week ended years of dithering and decided in principle to sell a majority shareholding in state-owned Aer Lingus and proceed with a second terminal at Dublin Airport.
Airbus announced the launch of its modular approach to aircraft maintenance data for the A380, an extension of the manufacturer's existing advanced technical data consultation tool called AirN@v. It will consist of five modules covering maintenance, engineering, repair, maintenance planning and workshops.
US Transportation Security Administration has revised its ban on the transport of lighters on flights operating to, from and within the US. Effective immediately, new, unfilled lighters can be packed in checked luggage on commercial flights; however, all lighters still are prohibited in the passenger cabin. In April, TSA banned all lighters from the secure areas of airports and onboard aircraft ( ATWOnline, April 18).
RASSA Holdings Ltd. said it intends to commercialize its [email protected] Web-based passenger services system offering flight information, fares management, seat inventory control, reservations, sales, ticketing, check-in, sales distribution and management reports. RASSA said it presently is implementing [email protected] at four airlines in Latin America and the US and is sponsored by Lockheed Martin.
US and Ethiopia signed a full open skies agreement that will permit US and Ethiopian carriers to operate air services between the two countries without restriction.
America West Holdings Corp. stockholders during their annual meeting voted to elect the four directors nominated by the board--Matthew Hart, Robert Miller, Doug Parker and John Tierney--to three-year terms expiring at the 2008 annual meeting.
SR Technics Switzerland signed a three-year component services contract with CSA Czech Airlines to support CSA's four A320s. Under the new agreement, SR Technics will provide a consignment stock of components at Prague for the exclusive use of CSA. In addition, CSA will have access to SR Technics' main stock of Airbus components at Zurich. Also, SR Technics and Garuda Indonesia signed an MOU with the intention of launching a full support program for that carrier's six A330s.
Lufthansa Systems said Air Bosna signed a contract for hosting services. Following migration to the new system at the end of June, core processes such as sales, ticketing and passenger processing will be automated.
Farelogix appointed David Cerino as its chief marketing and product officer. Farelogix provides independent fare and multisource distribution technology to the global travel industry. Prior to joining Farelogix, Cerino spent four years with Orbitz as VP and GM and also served in senior positions with Amadeus.
Astar Air Cargo said the US Air Force Air Mobility Command recently presented awards to 102 of its employees who operated and provided support for missions during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom at a ceremony at Andrews AFB near Washington.
Rolls-Royce and Dragonair signed an 11-year TotalCare maintenance contract covering the Trent 700s that will power 11 A330s the airline has leased from ILFC. Dragonair has placed seven of the A330s into service and expects to take delivery of the remaining four soon. The agreement is in addition to the existing TotalCare contract that covers Dragonair's five purchased A330s.
American Airlines yesterday said it reached an agreement in principle on a multimillion-dollar contract with Synergy Aerospace to perform heavy maintenance on 29 F100s formerly leased by American. The aircraft, which have been in storage, recently were sold to Brazil's Synergy Group, which holds controlling interest in Avianca of Colombia, OceanAir of Brazil and Wayra Peru.
Flight Explorer said Hawaiian Airlines has opted to use Flight Explorer Professional within its operations center to monitor its flights from Hawaii. According to the company, by using the system the carrier can "more effectively manage its flight operations, apply its staff and aircraft more effectively, and reduce its operating and fuel costs." Hawaiian also is able to "display NEXRAD weather on Flight Explorer Professional for a common operating picture that will enhance safety and efficiency."
International Air Carrier Assn., representing 35 European leisure and discount airlines, expressed "dismay" at the decision by the meeting of EU Finance Ministers to introduce a levy on air passengers to fund development aid ( ATWOnline, May 17). IACA DG Sylviane Lust commented: "The imposition of a development tax on airline passengers unfairly discriminates against passengers who choose to fly.
Alitalia flight attendants and ground staff members of the SULT union called a 24-hr. strike for May 28. SULT previously called a strike for May 18, but it was blocked by Transport Minister Pietro Lunardi.
Boeing announced that beginning this summer it will add four channels of television to its Connexion by Boeing inflight Internet service that will be accessible through passenger laptops connected to the service. Initially, the TV service will be available on Singapore Airlines flights; it will be expanded later this year to include other airlines that are offering Connexion. The company also said it is working with its airline customers and inflight entertainment service providers to deliver television content to the seatback. Separately, Boeing selected Astronautics Corp.
US National Transportation Safety Board yesterday determined that the probable cause of the Dec. 18, 2003, crash of a FedEx MD-10F while landing at Memphis International Airport "was the first officer's failure to properly apply crosswind landing techniques to align the airplane with the runway centerline and to properly arrest the airplane's descent rate" before touchdown.
Iberia is preparing a follow-up program to its Director Plan 2003-05 that will target savings of €550-€600 million ($695.2-$758.3 million) in 2006-08 through a series of cost-cutting and productivity-boosting measures that may include creation or acquisition of an LCC to cater to the low-cost air travel segment. "There are markets where we can't compete anymore in current conditions. We either create a second brand or we convince trade unions of the need for a second salary scale for new employees," CEO Angel Mullor told Expansion.
AirTran Airways completed an aircraft pre-delivery deposit financing with BNP Paribas S.A. and separately entered into a new line of credit facility with Bank of America N.A. Under the pre-delivery deposit financing agreement, BNP Paribas provided $19.6 million for six 737-700s to be delivered in 2005 and 2006. SkyWorks Capital LLC advised the carrier on the transaction.
