European Commissioner for Transport Jacques Barrot intends to seek full ownership rights of US airlines by European companies, according to a report in the Financial Times. Barrot is scheduled to visit Washington March 21-22 to try to revive negotiations on a EU-US Open Aviation Area, which broke down last year when EU ministers rejected a proposal tabled by the US. The proposal excluded cabotage rights for EU carriers in the US, a priority at the time for European negotiators and politicians despite calls from the majority of European airlines not to concentrate on the issue.
KLM signed an agreement with OnAir to provide SMS text messaging and e-mail on its 10 777s, which operate on routes to New York, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Cape Town, Dubai, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and Manila. The accord follows a successful trial and the service will be available from mid-March onward. KLM also will install the OnAir service on six new A330s flying mainly to the Middle East and Africa from August onward. OnAir SMS and e-mail service will be available to KLM customers flying to the US on A330s of its partner Northwest Airlines as well.
American Airlines' Tulsa Maintenance & Engineering Base, the largest airline MRO facility in the world, aims to achieve $500 million in revenue through third-party work and turn the base into a profit center by the end of 2006. The goal is based on the outcome of a joint planning session held earlier this year between Tulsa base management and the Transport Workers Union that represents most of the 7,000 people at the base.
United Airlines flew 7.9 billion RPMs in February, down 1.8% from the year-ago period. Capacity decreased 4% to 10.55 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1.6 points to 74.8%. For the two months ended Feb. 28, RPMs were up 1.6% to 16.72 billion, ASMs declined 2.3% to 22.13 billion and load factor gained 2.9 points to 75.5%.
US scheduled airlines should record an operating profit of $500 million this year, but "with continuing interest costs and income taxes," they will probably lose $2-$2.5 billion at the after-tax level, according to a forecast from AeroEcon, which is headed by former Air Transport Assn. Chief Economist David Swierenga.
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 a new report from the ITTC consultancy division of Airclaims, which is headed by Peter Morris, former IATA chief economist.
Online travel sites such as Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity are "outperforming" most airline websites in terms of "customer experience," according to a study by California-based Keynote Systems. The study noted that "greater selection is a major inherent advantage for online travel agencies," but stated that the sites are "also creating a better overall online experience for customers." Among airlines, Southwest and JetBlue were rated among the best sites in terms of customer experience.
Ryanair's recent order for 225 Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglet Systems to outfit its entire fleet of 737-800s in service and on order represents the largest single order for the program. The deal was announced in conjunction with the Irish LCC's order for up to 140 new CFM56-7B-powered 737-800s ( ATWOnline, Feb. 25). Ryanair will begin retrofitting its existing fleet immediately, while from January 2005 all new 737-800s will arrive with winglets installed. Southwest Airlines also is a strong believer in the winglets.
British Airways flew 7.8 billion RPKs in February, up 1.4% on the year-ago period. Capacity fell 1.4% to 11.04 billion ASKs and load factor consequently moved up 2 points to 70.8%. The increase in traffic comprised a 6.8% rise in premium traffic and a 0.4% increase in nonpremium traffic. Passengers carried decreased 3.1% to 2.5 million. Cargo tonne-kilometers declined 5.9%. The traffic and capacity figures versus last year are impacted by some 3 points because 2004 was a leap year, BA noted.
American Airlines flew 9.6 billion RPMs in February, up 2.4% over the year-ago period. Capacity fell 2.3% to 13.3 billion ASMs and load factor gained 3.3 points to 72.2%. For the two months ended Feb. 28, RPMs increased 5.3% to 20.17 billion, ASMs dropped 0.3% to 27.71 billion and load factor was ahead 3.8 points to 72.7%.
Leading US and European airline trade organizations issued a joint statement yesterday calling on governments on both continents to "reduce obstacles to the economic recovery of the airline industry." The statement was released at the end of an extraordinary two-day meeting between the boards of directors of the Air Transport Assn. and the Assn. of European Airlines.
G2 SwitchWorks said it received funding from Norwest Venture Partners and Texas Pacific Group's TPG Ventures. G2 is a GDS new-entrant company that has stated its fees to airlines will be priced 80% below what GDSs currently charge ( ATWOnline, Feb. 28). As part of the investment, Jim Lusser of Norwest and Bill McGlashan of TPG Ventures will join G2's board. David Bonderman, managing general partner of Texas Pacific and chairman of Ryanair, will serve as a special adviser to the board, as will Promod Haque, managing partner at Norwest.
B/E Aerospace was selected by several Asian, European and other international airlines to provide a wide range of products. The company said the deals are valued at up to $145 million, including more than $100 million in firm orders. China Eastern Airlines selected B/E to manufacture and deliver a version of its MiniPod business class seat as well as a range of galley equipment for A330s. Turkish Airlines and AirAsia selected versions of B/E's Spectrum coach seats to outfit their new fleets of Boeing and Airbus narrowbodies. Turkish also chose B/E galley equipment.
South East Asian Airlines, a small regional carrier based in the Philippines that operates a fleet of 15 aircraft including nine Let 410s and two former Minerve Do-328 turboprops, plans to expand its network this year. SEAIR Chairman Irene Dornier told this website that the airline easily could add up to six more Do-328s to cover the demand for international tourism. It transported 200,000 passengers last year on 23 sectors and looks to double the figure this year. It is evaluating expanding into neighboring countries in the region, such as Cambodia.
US Dept. of Transportation said yesterday that the 19 carriers reporting ontime performance recorded an overall ontime arrival rate of 71.4% in January, down from January 2004's 74.9% rate and December 2004's 71.6% rate. Of all flight delays in January, 6.1% were caused by weather, down from January 2004 when 6.2% of flights were delayed by weather and up from December 2004's rate of 5.4%. Hawaiian Airlines again posted the highest ontime arrival rate at 92.6%, with Continental Airlines at 78% and Southwest Airlines at 75.6% rounding out the top three.
Swissport launched operations at Singapore Changi yesterday, well ahead of a planned start date in July, becoming the airport's third ground handling provider.
Continental Airlines flew 5.33 billion RPMs in February, up 6.6% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 0.1% to 7.21 billion ASMs and load factor gained 4.5 points to 73.9%. For the two months ended Feb. 28, RPMs increased 9.4% to 11.2 billion, ASMs rose 2.4% to 14.99 billion and load factor improved 4.8 points to 74.7%. Continental said consolidated passenger RASM is estimated to have increased 1%-2% in February compared to February 2004, while mainline RASM is estimated to have climbed 2%-3%. For January, both consolidated and mainline RASM were up 4.2% over January 2004.
Sabre Airline Solutions' revenue management application was selected by Air Malta. Products include the Sabre AirMax Revenue Manager, Sabre AirMax Group Manager and Sabre AirMax Low Fares Manager designed for the low-cost carrier market.
Hainan Airlines selected CFM56s to power eight A319s in an engine order valued at $90 million. Deliveries begin this year and continue through 2007. Hainan holds options on 12 additional A319s.
Airports of Thailand finally confirmed the widespread industry assumption that the opening of the new Bangkok airport, Suvarnabhumi, has been postponed by six months and now is scheduled for March 2006. Over the weekend, AOT Chairman Srisook Chandrangsu told Thai media that the postponement was not caused by construction problems but instead would give the company more time to test the facility. Thai media are viewing the delay as a blow to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who continually has assured the airline industry that the new airport would be operational by Sept. 29.
ASI Entertainment said it completed implementing the first stage of its G3CARS system, which provides electronic flight log and high-speed crew communications, with Italian carrier Air One. ASI signed a five-year agreement with Air One to install the system on its fleet of 28 737s.
Lufthansa Technik Philippines, a 51/49 joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and Philippines-based MacroAsia Corp., is looking to increase its third-party MRO activities, including potentially expanding into narrowbody work. The organization offers a four-bay hangar at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Two bays are dedicated for A330/A340 heavy checks. "We are looking for more business [in Asia]. There are around 180 A330s/A340s here in the region.
Hainan Airlines selected Rockwell Collins avionics for eight A319s/A321s and six 737NGs. In addition, the agreement calls for an option for 12 Airbus aircraft. Deliveries of both aircraft types are scheduled to begin this year.
Air-India, Viking Airlines and Uni Air have placed orders for the SafTGlo floorprox system. Air-India is fitting several of its 747-400s with the system, while Viking ordered one MD-83 kit and Uni Air placed an order for seven kits for its MD-90 fleet.
Pakistan International Airlines 777 caught fire at Manchester Airport yesterday at 9:15 a.m. local time shortly after touching down, prompting the evacuation of passengers via emergency chutes. Flight PK789 with 323 passengers and 12 crew had landed for refueling after flying from Karachi. It was en route to Toronto. Airport authorities said it suffered a small undercarriage fire while taxiing. Three people were taken to a hospital.
