The European Commission on Monday recommended that the Council of Transport Ministers authorize it to negotiate "ambitious" air agreements with China and Russia "without further ado."
LAN Airlines (formerly LanChile) said it began negotiations to acquire an unidentified Argentine airline in partnership with Argentine investors. The airline will use the name LAN Argentina and will be part of the LAN airline group. LAN's efforts to establish a foothold in Argentina have been eased by an evolving drug trafficking investigation involving employees of Southern Winds, who are alleged to have used the airline to smuggle cocaine from Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires. Reportedly, one of the employees is the son of the former air force security chief at Ezeiza.
European Commission, stating that "a return flight for two persons from London to New York produces about as much carbon dioxide as an average passenger car in the EU does in a whole year," has launched an "Internet consultation" on how to reduce "the climate change impact of aviation" in the EU. Interested parties may respond to an online questionnaire regarding airlines and climate change at http://Europa.eu.int/yourvoice.
United Airlines will recall 500 more flight attendants from voluntary furlough this year in response to increased flying for the remainder of the year and to offset attrition. According to a taped message to staff, 300 will be recalled June 1 and the remaining 200 will return July 1. The recalls are in addition to the 244 flight attendants that will return to the carrier March 31 and the 175 that will come back Oct. 31. As of July 1, the company said it will have approximately 2,150 flight attendants on voluntary furlough and none on involuntary furlough.
Germanwings plans to set up its third base at Berlin Schoenefeld and initially will base two aircraft at the airport. It will launch direct service from Berlin to Ankara, Istanbul, Moscow, Split, Stockholm and Zagreb June 5.
Jouve Aviation Solutions was chosen by EVA Air to provide an integrated electronic maintenance manual and job cards system to support the airline's fleet.
Kitty Hawk reported net income of $5.4 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, which included a net one-time gain of $3.6 million. This compares to net income of $2.2 million in the prior-year period. Scheduled freight revenue rose 19.5% to $43 million. For full-year 2004, the company posted net income of $6.5 million, which in addition to the fourth-quarter special items included a further $1.8 million in net special charges. This compares to net income of $2.6 million in 2003, which included $3 million in special income.
Virgin Blue Deputy CEO and COO Rob Sherrard resigned for what he called "long considered and purely personal reasons." He was co-founder of the airline and oversaw its operations from its inaugural flight on Aug. 31, 2000. CEO Brett Godfrey paid tribute to Sherrard as a "strong leader" and "a mentor to many," adding he "made an outstanding contribution." Andrew David, previously GM-Pacific Airline for Air New Zealand, will replace Sherrard as COO.
Embraer inked an agreement with Chautauqua Airlines to manage and streamline the carrier's spare parts inventory using the Embraer Collaborative Inventory Planning program. According to the plane-maker, ECIP "shortens delivery times for contracted parts and establishes a baseline for carriers to better manage costs."
Cebu Pacific inked a 12-year maintenance cost per hour agreement with GE Engine Services for maintenance, overhaul and repair of the 31 CFM56-5Bs that will power its new fleet of A319s/320s. According to GE, the agreement is worth $50 million. Cebu Pacific is scheduled to take delivery of 12 new A319s it ordered last December between 2005 and 2007. It will take two A320s in April and May.
Paul Boghosian, head of Hawaiian Investment Partners Group, which has proposed a bankruptcy reorganization plan for Hawaiian Airlines, was arrested after he allegedly agreed to pay a $500,000 bribe to an FBI agent posing as a hedge fund manager in exchange for a $2.5 million loan, the Associated Press reported. In addition, Boghosian made a number of misrepresentations to the bankruptcy court, among others regarding HIP's ability to provide approximately $300 million in new equity funding and financing in order to carry out the reorganization plan, it was charged.
Goodrich Corp. was selected by LAN Airlines to provide overhaul services for its fleet of CF6-80C2-powered 767s. Under terms of the contract, Goodrich will restore as many as 55 thrust reversers on a schedule predicated on the operational needs of LAN.
Lufthansa Systems said Hapag-Lloyd Flug opted for the Lido Route Manual, a new electronically generated navigation chart system. The contract covers more than 40 Hapag-Lloyd and Hapag Lloyd Express aircraft and has an initial term of five years.
Cathay Pacific Airways flew 4.78 billion RPKs in February, up 18.6% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 11.4% to 6.18 billion ASKs and load factor rose 4.7 points to 77.4%. For the two months ended Feb. 28, RPKs jumped 15.6% to 10.19 billion, ASKs increased 12% to 12.97 billion and load factor gained 2.4 points to 78.5%.
Swiss International Air Lines flew 1.4 billion RPKs in February, down 12.4% compared to the year-ago period. Intercontinental traffic dropped 14.9% to 1.03 billion RPKs while European RPKs dipped 3.9% to 351 million. Total capacity (ASKs) declined 14.3% to 1.95 billion, driven by an 18% fall in intercontinental ASKs to 1.3 billion, while European ASKs were down 5.6% to 632 million. As a result, system load factor rose 1.6 points to 71.2%. On European routes, load factor was up 1 point to 55.6%. Intercontinental load factor climbed 2.8 points to 78.7%.
Judicial investigation into the role played by Continental Airlines in the July 2000 Air France Concorde crash began in Paris yesterday. According to the Associated Press, Investigating Judge Christophe Regnard placed the US carrier under investigation for manslaughter and involuntary injury, a preliminary step before formally charging it. Accident investigators determined that the crash occurred after one of the tires on the Concorde's main landing gear ruptured, sending pieces of rubber and metal into the jet's fuel tanks and spilling fuel, which ignited.
JAL Group yesterday raised its profit forecast for the current financial year ending March 31 to ¥27 billion ($260 million) from ¥23 billion and revealed further details of its previously announced restructuring plan for the three fiscal years from April 1, 2005, to March 31, 2008 ( ATWOnline, Feb. 7).
US Transportation Security Administration has not improved aviation security greatly since 9/11 and there are still some "gaping holes" that need to be addressed, a pilot union trade group said yesterday. According to the "Aviation Security Report Card" presented by the Coalition of Airline Pilots Assns., airline security still gets failing grades in more than a dozen subject areas, including screening airport and airline employees, screening cargo, biometric credentialing for crewmembers, self-defense training and countering shoulder-mounted missiles.
SideStep inked new marketing partnerships with six airlines--Lufthansa, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Aer Lingus and Air New Zealand. Under the deals, SideStep will use a "broad suite of marketing programs to drive consumers directly to the carriers' websites to book their travel."
Gol flew 553.7 million RPKs in February, up 5.8% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 15.1% to 782.3 million ASKs and load factor declined 6.2 points to 70.8%. The airline did not provide year-to-date results.
Delta Air Lines is eliminating pillows, dropping its food-for-purchase program and increasing the cost of alcoholic beverages on most of its flights as part of its Transformation Plan. Pillows will be eliminated on all flights within the continental US and to Bermuda, Canada and Central American and Caribbean destinations beginning in mid-March as "part of the airline's efforts to provide more room for carry-on luggage in overhead bins while reducing costs." Blankets still will be available.
Emirates closed a $239 million financing agreement with the US Export-Import Bank for 22 GE and Rolls-Royce engines. The financing was fully arranged and funded by Royal Bank of Scotland and comprises $129 million for seven spare GE90s using Exim support and $110 million for 15 Rolls engines using commercial debt.
