Hawaiian Airlines (HA) flight attendants have ratified a tentative agreement on a new contract that the airline said balances increased compensation for HA’s flight attendants with gains in productivity for the company.
AirPlus exec: Airlines need to rethink credit card surcharges Maritz Travel acquires Experient A chat with Amadeus about distribution, Google and direct-connect Frequent flyer awards go wild and wacky For hotels, jury is still out on flash sales In Focus: Are customers struggling with your app? CX Mobile knows World news briefing
Retailing is not easy, especially in an industry that has no tradition of true product differentiation. But according to Gianni Cataldo, general manager and vice president for the Americas at Datalex, at least one airline is close to getting it right. Datalex has been working with Delta Air Lines on its online merchandising platform, and Cataldo provided some pointers gleaned from the experience at the OpenTravel Alliance Advisory Forum in Miami. First, he said, the carrier hired a retailing pro, “the e-commerce guy from Target.”
Ten months after its $491 million acquisition of EMS Technologies—a connectivity solutions provider for mobile networking, mobile computers, and satellite communications—Honeywell has signed an exclusive agreement with Inmarsat valued at $2.8 billion over 20 years to develop, produce and distribute the onboard hardware for its Global Xpress connectivity network.
Air Berlin (AB) CEO Hartmut Mehdorn has strongly criticized the North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state government’s decision to ban passenger flights between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. at Cologne/Bonn (CGN).
The latest Boeing 787 to be received by All Nippon Airways (ANA) was partially powered on its delivery flight Tuesday by biofuel, marking the first time a Dreamliner has used alternative fuel.
Porter Airlines (PD) on Tuesday conducted Canada’s first biofuel-powered revenue flight, operating a Bombardier Q400 between Toronto City Centre and Ottawa using a 50:50 blend of biofuel and Jet A1fuel in one of its engines.
Only two months remain until ATW’s 5 th Annual Eco-Aviation Conference and Awards Ceremony. Vigorous debate on the most pressing eco-aviation issues will be the foundation of this year’s Conference with its new, all-panel format.
Airbus, Boeing and Embraer have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together on the development of drop-in, affordable aviation biofuels. The companies said in a joint statement that they have "agreed to seek collaborative opportunities to speak in unity to government, biofuel producers and other key stakeholders to support, promote and accelerate the availability of sustainable new jet fuel sources."
Qantas (QF) and SkyNRG operated Australia’s first commercial biofuel flight April 13 between Sydney and Adelaide. The flight, using an Airbus A330, used a 50:50 blend of biofuel derived from used cooking oil and conventional jet fuel, QF said in a statement. The fuel, supplied by SkyNRG, has been fully certified for use in commercial aviation. Its life cycle carbon footprint is around 60% smaller than that of conventional jet fuel.
Emphasis is shifting among biofuel manufacturers toward chemical production and away from fuel production, according to early presentations at the Advanced Biofuel Leadership Conference held in Washington in early April. The major reasons: bio-chemicals are both easier to produce from biological feedstock and are more valuable than fuels.
Biofuels are unlikely to provide significant relief from high fuel prices any time soon or before oil prices climb considerably further. But they could eventually limit the degree of escalation in fuel costs and evade restraints that governments may put on hydrocarbon fuels.
Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA) and Ulyanovsk Higher Civil Aviation School (UHCAS) have signed an MOU for a long-term training partnership under which they will co-develop flight training programs for “modern aircraft” in the Russian Federation. OAA will place a Boeing 737 full-flight simulator at UHCAS’s training center.
Finnair (AY) said last week it will cut 280 maintenance jobs as it outsources engine and component services to Swiss SR Technics in a further move to cut costs.
Qantas (QF) launched Australia’s first commercial biofuel flight Friday, operating an Airbus A330 between Sydney and Adelaide using a 50:50 blend derived from used cooking oil and conventional jet fuel.
Russian and French aviation authorities have agreed to designate a second airline from each country to operate 7X-weekly services on the Paris Orly (ORY)-Moscow route.
Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS) will appeal the European Commission’s (EC) decision to allow British Airways’ (BA) parent International Airlines Group (IAG) to take over debt-racked British Midland International (bmi).
Baltic Ground Services signed a contract with Russia’s Ak Bars Aero to provide integrated ground and passenger handling and fueling services at Vilnius International. BGS will service Bombardier CRJ200LR flights from Vilnius to St. Petersburg twice a week.
“The US government has very serious concerns” about the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) carbon tax, FAA assistant administrator-Policy, International Affairs and Environment Julie Oettinger said Thursday.
Brazil’s GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes said its maintenance center at Tancredo Neves International in Belo Horizonte has been approved by the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC).
The International Air Cargo Assn. (TIACA) said a German court’s decision earlier this month to uphold a night-flight ban at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) will likely result in “economic and environmental damage” and reduced investment in FRA by cargo airlines.
Chinese carriers reported a net loss of almost CNY200 million ($31.6 million) in March, reversed from a collective net profit of CNY1.71 billion in the year-ago month, due to high fuel prices and a decline in cargo traffic.
Inflight Productions was selected by TransAsia Airways to provide an inflight entertainment audio and movie offering for its Taipei-Singapore route. Panasonic Avionics inked an agreement with Airbus to line-fit its Global Communications Suite on one A380. The suite provides two-way broadband connectivity to an aircraft, supporting both broadband internet access through Wi-Fi, mobile phone services in collaboration with AeroMobile, and a global live television service.
