US House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) on Thursday named Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.) chairman of the aviation subcommittee. First elected in 1979, Petri this month began his 17th term in office. He takes the subcommittee gavel from Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.); Republicans' takeover of the House in last November's Congressional elections gave the party control of committee chairmanships when Congress convened this month. Costello was named the subcommittee's ranking member Thursday.
Travelport signed a multi-year agreement with Air Canada under which the carrier will provide all Travelport travel agency customers access to all fares, seat availability, fare families and optional services that they offer. The agreement also provides the ability to purchase optional services such as paid seat assignments. Under terms, Travelport will launch an enhanced version of the travel agency desktop tool Travelport Agencia in Canada in the first half of 2011
Lufthansa said Wednesday it has reached a mediated settlement with the UFO union representing 16,000 flight attendants, that includes a 22-month pay freeze retroactive to March 2010 and concluding in December 2011 and significant improvements in working conditions. According to an LH statement, the pay accord is to "be extended and the collective wage agreement redefined." LH said the new collective bargaining agreement is in effect until Feb. 28, 2014.
US FAA on Wednesday reported that incidents of lasers pointed at airplanes in 2010 almost doubled compared to 2009 to more than 2,800 reported cases, the highest number recorded since it began keeping track in 2005. Reports have steadily risen from 300 in 2005 to 1,527 in 2009 and 2,836 in 2010.
US Air Transport Assn. said US airlines' passenger revenue increased 9% in December compared to the year-ago period, making 2010 the first year since 2006 in which US carriers' recorded rising passenger revenue in each of the 12 months. Miles flown by paying passengers aboard US airlines in December rose 3% compared to the prior-year month, while the average price to fly one mile lifted 6%.
The Chinese government on Wednesday formally approved orders for 200 Boeing aircraft, a mix of 737s and 777s, for delivery to Chinese airlines from 2011-2013, clearing commitments valued at $19 billion at list prices that the manufacturer has booked over the last several years.
US Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday proposed $359,000 in civil penalties against Utah-based SkyWest Airlines stemming from three separate alleged incidents. It assessed a $220,000 penalty against the carrier for allegedly operating five passenger flights between April 21 and May 25, 2010, with incorrect weight and balance data after failing to document heavy checked bags, motorized mobility aids and a heavy shipment carried in the cargo compartment of the passenger aircraft.
Ryanair on Tuesday announced it will seek a repeal of a Barcelona Commercial Court ruling deeming the carrier's €40/£40 ($53.26) boarding card reissue fee unlawful. The fee is charged if a passenger fails to bring a self-printed boarding card to the airport after checking in online (online check-in is mandatory at Ryanair).
Virgin America placed a firm order for 60 Airbus A320s including 30 A320neos, marking the first firm order for the re-engined narrowbody offering. Indian LCC IndiGo last week signed an MOU with Airbus to place an order for 180 A320s including 150 A320neos ( ATW Daily News, Jan.12).
Hong Kong Airport Authority and 40 airport business partners pledged to reduce... IATA updated the GHG savings the airline industry has achieved since 2004
Nav Canada, Canada's air navigation service provider, said it has achieved better-than-expected results in its efforts to reduce aviation greenhouse gas emissions and is rolling out a new initiative. The gains described in the company’s "Collaborative Initiatives for Emissions Reductions Status Update 2011" include an increase in projected fuel and GHG emissions savings of C$300 million ($302 million) and 700,000 tonnes compared to projections made a year ago.
Southwest Airlines this month commenced Required Navigation Performance procedures for approaches at 11 airports, asserting that "these new efficient flight procedures and enhanced avionics" will save the LCC $16 million annually. The airports at which SWA is inaugurating RNP are Amarillo, Birmingham, Boise, Corpus Christi, Los Angeles, Chicago Midway, Oakland, Oklahoma City, West Palm Beach, Raleigh-Durham and San Jose.
Qantas signed an LOI with Washington-based Solena Group to investigate the feasibility of a waste-based aviation biofuel production plant in Australia. A Qantas spokesperson told ATW’s Eco-Aviation Today that the aim is to get a business case for a plant within a year, although the airline is some way from establishing cost estimates and investment requirements.
A new report, "Regulating Air Emissions from Ships--The State of the Art on Methodologies, Technologies and Policy Options," has thrown into doubt the EU’s ability to include shipping in its Emissions Trading Scheme and may have significant implications for the legal challenge by airlines to the ETS. The EU previously warned the maritime sector that unless it reached an international agreement to reduce GHG emissions, the sector would be included in its ETS from 2013.
Sun-drenched and arid Western Australia is set to become a future biofuels hub, according to Michael Borowitzka, professor of marine phycology at Murdoch University. Borowitzka told ATW’s Eco-Aviation Today that Western Australia "has abundant sunshine, a key requirement for high productivity; large areas of marginal land, and, for algae production, abundant sources of saline water such as saline groundwater and seawater."
Kale Consultants conducted a survey on the airline industry's readiness for IATA's Simplified Interline Settlement initiative, and over 80% of respondents from more than 55 airlines rated SIS compliance as a "high" or "very high" priority. It is considered to be "an essential initiative for the airline industry," Kale said. The industry-wide platform, aimed at removing paper from the billing and settlement process, is slated to go live later this year.
US Dept. of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that US airlines carried 62.1 million scheduled domestic and international passengers in October, up 5.6% from the year-ago month. Traffic rose 7.7% to 68.2 billion RPMs on a 6.5% rise in capacity to 82.1 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 83.1%, up 1 point year-over-year. Load factors for domestic and international flights were 83.4% and 82.3%, respectively.
IATA won what it called "a major court victory" in its dispute with Sabre over IATA's use of billing and settlement data stored in GDS databases for its PaxIS airline intelligence product when the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed Sabre's claim that PaxIS violated confidentiality obligations. Sabre filed the suit in 2006.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week issued a proposed rule to place "position limits" on a number of commodities, including oil, that would restrict the amount of holdings a speculator could own, theoretically lowering the cost of commodities.
IATA won what it called "a major court victory" in its dispute with Sabre over IATA's use of billing and settlement data stored in GDS databases for its PaxIS airline intelligence product when the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed Sabre's claim that PaxIS violated confidentiality obligations.
Lufthansa Systems said that Ethiopian Airlines signed a five-year agreement to use its Lido/TakeOff aircraft performance solution. Separately, Lufthansa Systems announced it has fully implemented its flight planning solution for Nouvelair, which signed a 10-year contract for Lido/Flight earlier this year.
ITA Software announced US Airways has deployed ReShop on its website, a solution that enables customers to change partially and wholly unflown domestic tickets through the "Manage Reservations" feature, reducing the number of manual transactions handled by the airline's reservations call centers.
Airspace closures following the "unprecedented" snow disruptions, the Icelandic volcanic eruption and labor strikes were among the notable incidents that slowed down recovery in the European airline industry in 2010, the Assn. of European Airlines said.
