Safety, Ops & Regulation

Alaska Airlines and its management team led by CEO Brad Tilden maintain a laser-like focus on first-rate operations and performance.

Amadeus has completed its $830 million acquisition of low-cost and hybrid airline software specialist Navitaire from Accenture, having secured regulatory clearances from the US, the European Union (EU) and Brazil.

From the February 2016 issue of ATW

IT & Distribution-Jan. 27, 2016

The planned launch in February of A4E, a new association for some of Europe’s airlines, is notable for a number of reasons.

Little time passed in 2016 before the burgeoning and increasingly formidable ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC) sector in the US made seismic waves.

Oslo Airport has started supplying Air BP Biojet via its regular fuel hydrant system, naming KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa Group and SAS Scandinavian Airlines as launch customers.

Two Democratic members of the US Congress and several public advocacy groups came together to express their strong opposition to privatizing US air traffic control (ATC), though it is unclear whether the coalition—particularly the two Congressional Democrats—would oppose every potential plan to separate ATC from FAA.

Air Canada workers, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), ratified a new 10-year collective agreement.

More than 8,000 flights were canceled in the US over the weekend, according to flight tracking site FlightAware, as a major snowstorm hit the Mid-Atlantic region.

The rate of change in scheduled passenger airline full-time equivalent employment by airline group, displayed as year-over-year percentage growth or losses. Differential changes for each of the last 13 months are shown.

The airline industry is taking Italy and Norway to task for introducing new passenger taxes that it says will hurt visitor numbers.

IATA has denounced a 33%-38% Italian Council Tax levied on air passengers, which became effective in January.

Ryanair has called on the European Commission and European Parliament to either ban air traffic control (ATC) strikes, or allow other providers to step in and maintain service.

Ryanair has struck a five-year cabin crew pay deal that covers its network of 76 bases, building on the pilot agreement it secured in November 2015.

An American Airlines Boeing 767 transatlantic flight was diverted to Canada after it experienced severe turbulence that resulted in several flight attendants and passengers being hospitalized.

The European Commission has cleared Amadeus’ Navitaire acquisition, saying that the two companies’ businesses are complementary and raise no competition concerns.

Korea and Japan saw hundreds of flight cancellations over the weekend of Jan. 23-24 as unusually heavy snowfalls and high winds hit the region.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has summed up two subsidy programs—the regional flights and the Volga region subsidy programs—for 2015.

Lufthansa and the Independent Flight Attendants’ Organization (UFO) have agreed on arbitration talks, which will continue until June 30, 2016.

Lufthansa Group low-cost (LCC) subsidiary Eurowings Europe will hire 600 crewmembers as its fleet expands to 19 Airbus A320s by the end of 2017.

United Airlines pilots have voted to ratify a two-year extension to their labor agreement that pushes the contract through Jan. 31, 2019.

IT & Distribution-Jan. 21, 2016

The Russian Institute of Volcanology has issued a code orange alert after Russia’s Zhupanovsky volcano began erupting earlier this week, sending clouds of ash and gas to 27,000 ft.

The newly launched Airlines for Europe (A4E) is urging the European Commission to review its Airport Charges Directive in light of new data that shows charges at Europe’s top airports have increased 80% over the last 10 years.