Private equity firms sell 10% of Amadeus Sabre says American is ‘threatening’ agents with new fee Expedia Inc. to spin off TripAdvisor Group European Commission to revisit passenger rights rule GetThere launches ground transportation network In Focus: Have a question about a vacation rental? Just Wise Ask World news briefing
Sabre Travel Network sent an e-mail letter to subscribers warning that American Airlines had "threatened" some travel agents with a new fee of $5.50 per segment booked through a GDS. Sabre said American made the threat to the agencies "through a new 'Content Commitment Policy,' which would essentially force them to either accept AA's one-off, fragmented approach" -- its direct-connect strategy -- "or face the consequences: less than full content through the GDS and a new fee.”
News from Travel Technology Update: Sabre Travel Network sent an email letter to subscribers warning that American Airlines had "threatened" some travel agents with a new fee of $5.50 per segment booked through a GDS.
KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH was mandated by BOC Aviation as arranger and sole lender for a seven-year commercial debt financing of three new Aeroflot-operated Airbus A320-200s. The transaction closed in March and aircraft deliveries are scheduled for April and May this year. ILFC reached a five-year lease agreement with Aerolíneas Argentinas for 10 Boeing 737-700NG aircraft. Deliveries are expected to begin this month and be completed by October 2012.
United Continental Holdings announced that for every customer who uses a mobile boarding document on Earth Day, April 22, the company will donate $1 to support the "Protect an Acre" program in partnership with Conservation International. “For customers who use the Continental Mobile App for Android or iPhone, the company will double the contribution to $2,” it said.
ARC reported that ticket sales through participating travel agencies climbed 9.8% in March compared to March 2010 to $8.34 billion despite a 1.2% decline in the number of transactions. Credit card sales rose 8.9% to $7.44 billion on a 2.8% dip in transactions while cash sales jumped 17.7% to $909 million on a 10.5 hike in transactions. Total fares excluding taxes and fees rose 9.3% to $7.01 billion. Domestic fares climbed 8.4% to $3.58 billion on a 2.3% decline in transactions and international fares rose 10.3% to $3.4 billion on a 1.5% rise in transactions.
Norwegian Air Shuttle said its free inflight Wi-Fi is a “hit” with its passengers and that on some routes—such as Oslo Gardermoen-Geneva—between 40% and 50% of all passengers logged on.
US FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Sunday announced changes to air traffic controller scheduling practices giving controllers “more time for rest between shifts,” as yet another air traffic controller was suspended Saturday for falling asleep while on duty during the midnight shift at the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center.
Fokker Aircraft Services reached a contract with Germania Airlines to provide nose-to-tail maintenance and C checks for its five Boeing 737s. After service work, three of the aircraft will retire to FAS’s Boeing storage program, while the remaining two will return to operation until October, after which they will also join the FAS Boeing storage program.
Alaska Airlines last week launched its new and enhanced touch-screen digEplayer inflight entertainment devices, which boast a lighter weight and smaller size than its predecessor that debuted in 2003. At the time of its introduction eight years ago, AS "was the first carrier in the world to offer customers portable video-on-demand technology from a convenient handheld device," it said.
Concern that travel plans for millions of Qantas passengers could be severely disrupted next month grew after the airline's engineers voted overwhelming to take industrial action to support wage and job security demands.
Southwest Airlines, AirTran Airways, the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Assn. and the Air Line Pilots Assn. on Thursday signed a "four-party process agreement" that allows the two carriers' pilot groups to move forward with seniority list integration discussions in advance of SWA's acquisition of AirTran closing.
British Airways and its cabin crew, represented by the Unite union, pledged to seek “an honorable and fair settlement to the long-running dispute” and both agreed to continue negotiations, lifting the threat of strikes over the Easter and the Royal Wedding bank holidays.
[Updated] Southwest Airlines, AirTran Airways, the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Assn. and the Air Line Pilots Assn. on Thursday signed a "four-party process agreement" that allows the two carriers' pilot groups to move forward with seniority list integration discussions in advance of SWA's acquisition of AirTran closing.
Iran has reacted angrily to a ban on sales of aviation fuel to its airlines by an Austrian company and has retaliated by refusing to supply fuel to Western airlines landing in Tehran
NASA awarded contracts for what are termed N+3 aircraft designs that could enter service between 2030 and 2035 and would be on the cutting edge of the industry’s goal of carbon-neutral flight in 2050.
Certification of biofuel for commercial aviation use has been delayed until August owing to an oversight in the testing process. According to ATAG Executive Director Paul Steele, an error occurred in the testing protocol and USAF overlooked a test for contamination. Ironically, the missed test relates to standard jet fuel. Boeing Director-Biofuel Strategy Darrin Morgantold ATW’s Eco-Aviation Today that the tests were repeated by the USAF Research Laboratory and the report is scheduled to be submitted to the fuels subcommittee in June.
Airbus is sponsoring an electric concept technology demonstrator aircraft. The "eGenius" is an electrically propelled two-seater designed by the Institute of Aircraft Design at the University of Stuttgart. The concept aircraft made its debut at the international Aero-Expo in Friedrichshafen.
Boeing and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne announced the creation of the Sustainable Biomass Consortium, a “research initiative focused on increasing collaboration between voluntary standards and regulatory requirements for biomass used to create jet fuel and bioenergy for other sectors.” The consortium also will “seek to lower overall sustainability certification costs,” Boeing said.
Air Transport Action Group Executive Director Paul Steele will address ATW's 4th Annual Eco-Aviation Conference May 3-5 in Washington. Steele will deliver the morning keynote on May 5. Also on the agenda is a panel discussion among executives from Aeromexico, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and WestJet discussing the biggest environmental challenges they face.
The Air Transport Action Group released a report, Powering the Future of Flight,at the World Biofuels Market in Rotterdam last month to assist governments in forming policy to take advantage of the opportunities that the fuel source presents.
The European Commission said it is committed to a “complete modernization of Europe's air traffic control system by 2020, delivering the Single European Sky … and the completion of the European Common Aviation Area of 58 countries and 1 billion inhabitants by 2020.”
US President Barack Obama directed the Energy and Agriculture Depts. and the US Navy "to work with the private sector to create advanced biofuels that can power not just fighter jets but trucks and commercial airliners."
Europe’s controversial Emissions Trading Scheme for aviation has been criticized by Chinese airlines while Lufthansa has repeated its call for a 12-month delay because "too many problems remain unresolved" regarding implementation of airlines' inclusion in the ETS.
