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.
Barfield won a 10-year contract from Avianca-TACA to provide full component support for the Airbus A320 fleet operated by the group’s four airlines, Avianca, TACA, Aerogal and Ocean Air. Barfield’s MRO support includes an option to provide logistics in Miami as well as the supply of consumable items. As part of the agreement, the US subsidiary of Sabena Technics committed to setting up specific repair capabilities in Bogota to better support Grupo Avianca-TACA’s airlines. The facility will also support other operators in South America.
ST Aerospace joint venture company ST Aerospace (Guangzhou) Aviation Services Co. received a business license from the Guangzhou Municipality Administration of Industry and Commerce to establish its aircraft repair facility in Guangzhou, China. It already received endorsement from CAAC and approval from the Ministry of Commerce.
OnAir, under an expanded contract, will install its on-board connectivity system in 26 TAM aircraft following a "successful pilot project" with the Brazilian carrier. Passengers will have access to voice, SMS, and Internet on their BlackBerrys and Smartphones, making TAM the first airline in the Americas to offer onboard mobile calling services.
Pratt & Whitney announced that Trans States Holdings finalized an order for engines to power 50 firm and 50 option Mitsubishi Regional Jets the airline ordered. Pratt said the order covers 100 PW1200Gs, plus eight spares and options for up 100 more with deliveries scheduled to start in 2014. Value of the contract was not disclosed.
SR Technics reached a seven-year contract with Airblue to provide the carrier with overhaul, repair and engine on-wing condition monitoring services on its CFM56 engines, covering Airbus A319s and A320s. Lufthansa Technik signed a multi-year contract with USA3000 Airlines to provide Total Component Support services for five A320-200s.
Air China said Sunday it plans to operate a transpacific demonstration flight partially powered by biofuel in the second half of this year. CA is expected to use a Boeing 747 powered by Pratt & Whitney engines on the test flight, and the aircraft manufacturer has agreed to partner with the Beijing-based carrier to provide technical support.
The situation at Cairo airport was described as chaotic as thousands of stranded people waited for information about flights out of the city in the face of continuing civil unrest and rioting in Cairo against the government of President Hosni Mubarak.
Airbus and Boeing both claimed victory from Monday's World Trade Organization decision in their long-running dispute over state aid to their respective commercial programs.
Sharjah- based provider flight support services provider Avjet Routing has announced plans to open offices in Istanbul and Geneva as part of its expansion goals for 2011.
US FAA upgraded Croatia to a Category 1 safety rating, up from the Category 2 rating it received in September 2008, following a reassessment of the country's civil aviation authority. Croatia now complies with international safety standards set by ICAO, FAA said.
Preliminary figures for 2010 released last week by the Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines confirmed the strong rebound in traffic demand in the region. In 2010, RPKs for AAPC member airlines grew 9.8% to 700.8 billion while ASKs increased 4.1% to 892.5 billion, resulting in a 4.1 point improvement in load factor to 78.5%. AAPA DG Andrew Herdman said that Asia/Pacific carriers enjoyed a year of “solid growth, with robust demand for both leisure and business travel, and the strong rebound in international trade, led by dynamic growth of the Asia/Pacific region.”
Turkish Technic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, is hoping to be a “world class MRO provider” with the completion of its new facility at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen airport.
Gategroup won a four-year contract with Iberia valued at CHF400 million ($424 million) for catering and provisioning services at the carrier's main hubs in Madrid and Barcelona, as well as at 20 other airports in Europe, the US and Latin America. The agreement takes effect in May and will also cover ancillary services. The Assn. of European Airlines expanded its membership to 36 with this month's addition of Air Berlin.
African Airlines Assn. and the African Union signed an MOU to cooperate on matters related to commercial aviation and recognizing AFRAA as the representative organization for Africa's airline industry. The MOU was signed by AFRAA Secretary General Elijah Chingosho and AUC Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Elham Ibrahim.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Tuesday he is looking at plans to cut the government's stake in Air New Zealand to help slash the country's debt. According to the Associated Press, Key, whose conservative national government faces an election this year, said New Zealand needed to reduce its reliance on foreign debt, which he said was equivalent to 85% of the country's GDP.
The European Commission said it sent Poland a reasoned opinion requesting to establish “transparent and non-discriminatory” procedures for allocating air traffic rights between Poland and non-EU countries in accordance with its obligations under EU law. The respective EU regulation entered into force more than six years ago.
The European Commission said it initiated infringement procedures against Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK regarding their bilateral air service agreements with Russia.
Cargolux confirmed on Tuesday it will appeal the European Commission’s penalty of €79.9 million ($109.4 million) for allegedly taking part in an international airfreight cartel. In 2010, the EC imposed fines totaling €799 million on 11 companies for their involvement in fixing fuel surcharges and security costs from 1996 to 2003 ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 10, 2010).
The European Commission blocked a merger between Aegean Airways and Olympic Air, concluding that the proposed tie-up would have resulted in a “quasi-monopoly on the Greek air transport market.”
The Boeing Company said it expects to deliver 25 to 40 787s and 747-8s this year, roughly equally split between the two types, as it reported that earnings for the 2010 fourth quarter dipped 8%, to $1.16 billion from $1.27 billion in the year-ago period on fewer transport deliveries and higher pension expense.
Turkish Technic signed an APU repair services contract with Thomas Cook Airlines, covering one APS3200 model APU repair. Services will be carried out at Turkish Technic's APU shop in Istanbul. Separately, it announced it signed a total care contract for one Airbus A319 with Bosnia and Herzegovina Airlines. It additionally said it will perform one C check on a Spanair A320 this month and one C check on a Kolavia Airlines A320 in February.
