Panasonic Avionics announced it signed a letter of intent with COMAC to provide communications systems for the C919 aircraft. Under the LOI, both parties will begin working on a custom communications system, though final terms are still being negotiated. Panasonic has partnered with Chengdu-based China Electronics Technology Avionics for the project.
United Continental Holdings said on Monday said it would cut up to 500 jobs at the Houston headquarters of Continental Airlines, which merged in October with United Airlines ( ATW Daily News, Oct. 4, 2010). The cuts would be management and salaried positions. UCH has about 6,000 such jobs and more than 80,000 employees worldwide, Reuters reported. Information was contained in a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission, according to press reports.
Aircell on Monday announced it closed $35 million in private equity financing, portions of which will be used to fund growth in commercial aviation markets. The inflight Internet provider said it plans to increase its base of installed airline-operated aircraft by an average of three per day in 2011.
News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus was obliged to restore distribution services to Air Astana after a Madrid court granted the Kazakh carrier injunctive relief on Feb. 3. Amadeus canceled Air Astana’s agreement on Jan. 21 after 15 days’ notice, alleging a breach of the terms of the agreement. Air Astana unveiled a “Competitive Booking Source Program” in July, slated for implementation on Jan. 1, and began renegotiating its GDS contracts with Abacus, Travelport, Sirena and Amadeus.
Empire Aviation Group (EAG), the Dubai-based private aviation specialist, has joined forces with RMSI, the Dubai-based MEDEVAC, emergency medical services and clinical services specialist, to launch a new Intensive Care Air Ambulance service.
Boeing Training & Flight Services reached a long-term agreement with Blue1 to provide 717 training capabilities in Stockholm beginning in the first quarter. Blue1 currently operates five 717s and is scheduled to add four additional 717s to its fleet by the end of March.
American Airlines flew 9.87 billion RPMs in January, a 2% year-over-year increase, while capacity rose 2.5% to 13.02 billion ASMs. Load factor fell 0.4 points to 75.8%. American Eagle Airlines operated 681.9 million RPMs in January, up 19.7% compared to January 2010, against an 18.2% lift in capacity to 1.06 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 0.8 points to 64.4%.
US National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating an operational error that occurred last month in which an American Airlines 777-200 came within approximately 1 mi. of a pair of USAF C-17s. According to NTSB, the incident took place on Jan. 20 at about 10:30 p.m. local time, approximately 80 mi. southeast of New York City. The AA aircraft had taken off from New York JFK en route to Sao Paulo. There were no injuries.
US Airways on Friday became one of the first US airlines to receive FAA validation of its company-wide implementation of the Safety Management System, a voluntary safety enhancement program. The carrier said it established systems and programs company-wide, and within each covered department, to help identify and predict where future safety risks might occur, or where existing risks might grow worse.
Aer Lingus confirmed Friday that it reached a successful conclusion to its industrial dispute with the IMPACT cabin crew union on the “full implementation of the Greenfield plan, including changes in [flight attendant work] rosters to deliver 850 annual flying hours."
US Transportation Security Administration head John Pistole on Friday issued a decision he said "provides a framework" to allow TSA's more than 60,000 airport screeners to unionize "for the purposes of engaging in limited, clearly defined collective bargaining at the national level only on non-security employment issues."
JetBlue Airways CEO Dave Barger said the LCC is "excited" about Airbus's recent unveiling of the A320neo, a re-engined version of the narrowbody to be offered with either the CFM International Leap-X or Pratt & Whitney's PW1100G.
Ramco Systems signed a contract with MAS GMR Aerospace Engineering to provide its Series 5 Aviation M&E and MRO software. MAS GMR Aerospace Engineering Co. Ltd. is a 50/50 joint venture between Malaysian Aerospace Engineering and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd.
US Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that US airlines employed “virtually the same number of workers” in November in 2010 as they did in the year-ago month. The November full-time equivalent employee total of 379,335 was only 23 below that of November 2009. The report noted that prior to November, there were 28 consecutive months of year-over-year cuts in FTE levels for US scheduled passenger carriers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission formally approved the alliance between Virgin Blue Group and the UAE’s Etihad Airways. It follows the interim approval granted on Sept. 23.
US FAA said Thursday that it will spend $4.2 million over the next two years to equip 35 JetBlue Airways A320s with ACSS's SafeRoute ADS-B equipment, enabling the LCC to operate "more precise, satellite-based flights from Boston and New York [JFK] to Florida and the Caribbean" starting in 2012.
UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and France’s Civil Aviation Authority last week reached a new bilateral agreement, allowing for a 63% increase in the number of flights operated between the two countries. The designated airlines of each side won the right to operate up to 57 weekly passenger frequencies combined, 22 more than at present. Furthermore, in addition to Paris, Nice, Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse, both delegations agreed to add Bordeaux as a sixth point of destination in France, according to the UAE’s state news agency WAM.
Singapore Airlines is inspecting its fleet of Airbus A380s after one of the aircraft experienced an in-flight smoke event Jan. 31. Flight 861 from Hong Kong was on descent into Singapore when smoke was detected in a lavatory. Cabin crew discharged a halon fire extinguisher as flight crew continued the landing.
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said President Barack Obama's proposed budget for the nation's 2012 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, to be delivered to Congress later this month, will "give very clear guidance" to lawmakers and the airline industry that implementing the satellite-based NextGen ATC system remains a "high priority" for the administration.
The world's largest aircraft charter company Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has reported high demand for flights out of Egypt as the country entered its ninth day of unrest.
Alaska Airlines said the carrier's 2,600 clerical, office and passenger service employees represented by the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers ratified a new three-year labor contract. More than 90% of union members casting ballots voted in the affirmative. The new contract includes wage increases, a signing bonus, job security protections, improved productivity measures and participation in the AS performance-based pay annual incentive plan.
