EADS Sogerma Services subsidiary EADS Revima won a long-term contract for exchanges and overhauls of landing gears on Cathay Pacific Airways' fleet of 15 777s. Cathay is the launch customer for EADS Revima's 777 landing gear activities and this follows an "important" investment program by the company to develop the expertise to support 777 landing gear as well as A330/A340 gross weight gear. EADS Revima will use the EADS Sogerma Services Hong Kong offices to coordinate regional product support relationships with Cathay maintenance teams.
Southwest Airlines and Sabre Airline Solutions signed a seven-year agreement under which Southwest will use a customized passenger management solution for its reservations system and customer interactions at the airport. The new agreement replaces a previous contract signed in 1998.
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In its most aggressive customer satisfaction move to date, Travelocity unveiled a customer bill of rights and backed it with a series of specific guarantees. Notable on the bill of rights is Travelocity's statement that if something goes wrong on a trip, it will work with the appropriate supplier to correct the problem immediately. It also provided telephone numbers that travelers can use at any time -- before, during or after a trip -- to get help from a live agent.
Finnair Technical Services and Martinair signed a contract covering heavy maintenance for five MD-11Fs. The agreement contains an option for a sixth aircraft.
Qantas could face another major challenge to its dominance on Australia-US routes with Emirates emerging as a third potential contender for the lucrative transpacific corridor. Emirates Chairman Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum and President Tim Clark plan to hold discussions with the Australian government this month on prospects for the UAE airline to increase capacity between Dubai and Australia and in the longer term extend services to the US West Coast.
Alaska Airlines pilots took a 26% pay cut and will contribute more to their health care under a new contract crafted by an arbitrator that went into effect over the weekend, the airline said. The contract also includes "various" work rule changes designed to boost productivity, but no changes were made to the pilots' pension or profit-sharing plans. The Air Line Pilots Assn. and the airline have been negotiating a new contract since October 2003 and an arbitrator was called in to help when the parties were unable to reach agreement by the Dec. 15, 2004, deadline.
US and Paraguay signed a full open skies agreement that will allow carriers of the two countries to operate between them without restriction. With the new deal, the US now has full open skies agreements in place with 68 countries.
Flight attendants and mechanics at United Airlines both threatened to engage in strike action if the carrier's agreement to terminate its pension plans is approved by the US Bankruptcy Court at a May 11 hearing.
Japan Airlines will expand its inflight Internet service to flights between Tokyo and New York from May 10. The Pacific rollout will be the first for the region and is provided by Connexion by Boeing. The JAL Inflight Internet Service enables passengers to use their own wireless LAN-compatible PCs to gain real-time Internet access during flight. Using VPN technology, the service also lets passengers access their company's network, e-mail and Intranet sites securely. Initially the service will be available on alternate days but toward the end of June it will be available daily.
In its most aggressive customer satisfaction move to date, Travelocity unveiled a customer bill of rights and backed it with a series of specific guarantees. Notable on the bill of rights is Travelocitys statement that if something goes wrong on a trip, it will work with the appropriate supplier to correct the problem immediately. It also provided telephone numbers that travelers can use at any time before, during or after a trip to get help from a live agent. Less urgent matters can be dealt with by e-mail, and Travelocity said it would respond within four hours.
CTT Systems signed a letter of intent with Air Mauritius to equip its fleet of A340-300s with the CTT Cair System. Installation is expected to begin in mid-2005 and continue through mid-2006.
Aviareps was appointed as the new general sales agent for SN Brussels Airlines in the Ukraine. In cooperation with Ukraine International Airways, SN Brussels provides four weekly codeshare flights between Brussels and Kiev.
CSA Czech Airlines said it carried 964,000 passengers during the first quarter of 2005, up 17% over the same period in 2004. On UK-Prague routes there was an increase of 9%. CSA said it expects its net profit to rise to CZK521.5 million ($22.4 million) this year from CZK271 million in 2004, with passenger traffic growing to 5.4 million from 4.3 million.
AirTran Airways and its flight attendants, represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants, reached a tentative agreement on a new 42-month contract after two-and-a-half years of negotiations. Terms of the deal were not released but AFA has endorsed the agreement and will send it to members for a ratification vote, which is expected to occur within 30 days. If ratified, the new contract will take effect June 1. AirTran also is negotiating with its pilots, who are represented by the National Pilots Assn.
FAA lowered Ghana's safety rating from Category 1 to Category 2 after a reassessment of its civil aviation authority found that the country does not comply with international safety standards set by ICAO. According to FAA, a Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards or that its civil aviation authority is deficient in one or more areas such as technical expertise, trained personnel, recordkeeping or inspection procedures.
Hawaiian Airlines took a step closer to emerging from Chapter 11 after reaching a revised agreement with its pilots union last week on a new contract. The bankruptcy court had been preparing to rule on a request from the airline's management to impose a new contract on the work group. HAL said it will ask the court to defer a ruling until after the vote has been taken The carrier and negotiators for the Air Line Pilots Assn. reached a tentative agreement earlier this year but it was voted down by union membership ( ATWOnline, March 30).
Qatar Airways is offering premium passengers complimentary wireless Internet access at Doha International Airport in the first and business class lounges as well as in the Oryx lounge. The facility will be available to economy passengers using the Al Maha Meet and Assist service. Qatar's first and business class passengers arriving at London Heathrow and Gatwick from May will be able to use the arrivals lounges of United Airlines and Continental Airlines respectively.
Swiss International Air Lines may increase its fuel surcharge again to help cushion the impact of rising fuel prices, CEO Christoph Franz said during a media meeting in Zurich, Reuters reported. The carrier currently charges an extra CHF48 ($40) on long-haul services and CHF18 on European flights. Such surcharges only cover about a quarter of the additional costs, Franz added. Swiss previously said that it had hedged about 27% of its fuel needs for 2005 as of the end of 2004 after selling all of its 2004 hedges.
Alitalia intends to postpone its planned rights issue to September, which will be after the group approves its first-half results, Il Sole 24 Ore reported. The company also could reduce the amount of the capital increase to less than the planned €1.2 billion ($1.54 billion). The rights issue will dilute the stake of the Italian government to below 50% from the current 63%. Alitalia did not deny the report and no reason was given for delaying the rights issue. Separately, Alitalia cabin crews called a 4-hr. strike for May 18.
When members of the Regional Airline Assn. get together in Cincinnati this month for their annual meeting, they will discuss many of the same issues facing their Major airline partners. But they will do so from a decidedly different perspective, because unlike the US network carriers that have lost more than $27 billion since the end of 2000, the Regional segment is firmly in the black. According to FAA data, that part of the industry enjoyed an aggregate operating profit of $1 billion and net earnings of $432.8 million in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2004.
Chris Browne, the fashionable MD of Manchester-based First Choice Airways Ltd., does not mince words. The last three years have been "really, really" hard work, she says. "We suffered like everybody and had to downsize, reduce costs." But, she adds, "It forced us to refocus. We took a very long hard look at what we were doing with the business." Browne, who began her aviation career with Iberia and rose to the position of GM-UK and Ireland, was named to her current position in April 2002, three years after she joined First Choice Holidays.
China's airline industry is an improbable blend of state control and regulation, traditional culture, modern market reality and a zeal for profit, yet it works. Twenty-five years ago there were just 180 air routes in the country, 18 of them international, and only 3.43 million passengers took to the vacant skies annually. Today China has overtaken Japan as the largest air travel market in Asia and is second only to the US in terms of total scheduled departing seats, according to the ITTC consultancy division of Airclaims, which is headed by former IATA Chief Economist Peter Morris.
In the future, some observers believe, commercial airlines will continue to offer long-haul services, but some of their passengers will connect with a new generation of microjets operated by private charter companies to complete short-haul legs of their trips. George Khairallah, president of New York-based BusinessJet Class, is prepared for that day. His company has launched a GDS for private aircraft charters.
