JetBlue Airways announced its intention to maintain its headquarters in New York City. It had been considering a move to Orlando. It will combine its corporate offices currently located in Forest Hills, N.Y., and Darien, Conn., into one Long Island City location by mid-2012. CEO Dave Barger said New York City "is an important part of our heritage and culture, our brand and our customer connection, as well as our operation with our base at JFK's Terminal 5."
Philippine Airlines expects to post another loss in its fiscal year ending March 31, President Jaime Bautista told reporters in Manila. PAL was $301.4 million in the red in 2008-09, but anticipates an improvement in 2009-10. It lost $40.2 million through the nine months ended Dec. 31. It expects to report more than 9 million passengers and revenue of approximately $1.4-$1.5 billion for the full fiscal year.
Royal Jordanian will take delivery of two A330-200s on May 21 and an E-175 in the fourth quarter. A330s will seat 24 in business class and 259 in economy and will operate to London Heathrow, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Colombo and Kuala Lumpur. A twice-weekly Amman-Madinah service will launch on March 28 and the thrice-weekly KUL flights begin in June. RJ currently operates 29 A330s and seven E-175s/195s. Delivery of its 11 787s is scheduled to start in 2013. It did not reveal the source of the aircraft it is receiving.
Jat Airways lost €23.5 million ($31.8 million) in 2009 and expects another deficit this year, CEO Srdjan Radovanovic told reporters in Belgrade. The carrier had expected a €15 million ($31.8 million) loss in December ( ATWOnline, Dec. 8, 2009). Full-year operating loss was €16.5 million.
Aviastar-TU Tu-204 crashed on approach to Moscow Domodedovo Monday morning. There were no fatalities among the eight crew on the flight from Hurghada, although several were injuried seriously. The flight had no passengers, according to reports, which indicated that there was heavy fog at the time of the incident. Aviastar is a charter carrier based at Ramenskoye. Russian authorities banned the airline from operating passenger flights following the accident, PRIME-TASS reported.
Dubai-headquartered JetEx Flight Support was today enjoying the thanks of world record breakers for enabling them to set a new mark for circumnavigation of the globe.
Universal Aviation in Shannon's clients can now preclear all U.S. Customs and Immigration, proceeding directly to a growing list of approximately 200 airports within the U.S.
US Air Transport Assn. and the Defense Logistics Agency's Defense Energy Support Center last week signed a strategic alliance agreement designed to spur the development and deployment of alternative aviation fuels.
Denmark's Cimber Sterling cited "extraordinarily tough competition, falling demand and thus significant pressure on yield," as it reported a loss of DKK95.2 million ($17.4 million) for the fiscal third quarter ended Jan. 31 compared to income of DKK12 million in the year-ago period. Three weeks ago the carrier reduced its forecast for its fiscal year ending April 30 to an operating loss of DKK200-DKK220 million
Copa Airlines parent Copa Holdings announced the pricing of 1.6 million nonvoting shares held by seller Corp. de Inversiones Aereas at $56 per share. The secondary offering is expected to close Wednesday.
Gol announced the conclusion of the BRL65 million ($36.4 million) expansion project at its Confins maintenance center that added a hangar, offices, storage and support areas and a larger ramp. The facility could serve 60 aircraft per year when it opened in 2005. The expansion began in 2008 and it now can handle 120 aircraft annually. It has 47,000 sq. m. dedicated to maintenance and support. Gol said it is seeking FAA certification, after which it will pursue third-party work.
British Airways flight attendants represented by Unite will conclude their three-day walkout today amid contradictory claims regarding the impact of the airline's first strike in 13 years.
US National Transportation Safety Board determined that last October's Northwest Airlines overflight incident occurred "because the pilots became distracted by a conversation unrelated to the operation of the aircraft."
FAA yesterday proposed a $300,000 fine against American Airlines for an MD-82 maintenance violation, adding to the company's bill that already features a $787,500 penalty levied last week and $5.4 million in proposed fines against American Eagle Airlines ( ATWOnline, March 15). The latest violation concerned five flights operated improperly during a period of deferred maintenance on an MD-82 pitot probe heater.
China Southern Airlines announced the introduction of a premium economy product on all domestic routes operated by 777, 737NG, A320 family and A330 aircraft. Seats will be available for purchase from March 28, and CZ said it expects to have 7,000 premium economy seats available on nearly 300 aircraft by July. The service currently is available on its Guangzhou-Los Angeles flights and features seats with a 35-37-in. pitch rather than the 31 in.
CAAC joined FAA in issuing an Airworthiness Directive requesting domestic operators of 737-600s, -700s, -800s, -900s and -900ERs to inspect elevator tab control mechanisms
Continental Airlines joined the list of carriers requesting a partial exemption from US Dept. of Transportation's ground delay rule because of runway construction at New York JFK. It said that delays at JFK could impact traffic throughout the region, including at its Newark hub, according to a filing cited by the Associated Press. The rule is scheduled to enter effect on April 29 ( ATWOnline, March 17).
Continental Airlines and dispatchers represented by the Transport Workers Union reached a tentative four-year labor agreement. A ratification vote is will be held in the coming weeks.
Gategroup, which counts Gate Gourmet among its 11 subsidiaries, posted a 2009 net profit of CHF51 million ($48.4 million), down 12.8% from the CHF58.5 million reported in 2008, on a 6.7% drop in revenue to CHF2.71 billion. It said "new contract wins and increased volume among low-fare carriers mitigate[d] effects of [the] aviation industry downturn."
Sabre Airline Solutions reached an agreement with Air India to provide flight control solutions from its Sabre AirVision and Sabre AirCentre suites. Kale Consultants will provide its Revera passenger revenue accounting solution to LOT Polish Airlines.
IATA reported that the number of premium passengers on international flights grew 5.5% in January, the second straight month of gains following 18 consecutive months of declines. In its latest "Premium Traffic Monitor" released yesterday, the organization said the extreme drop in premium passengers that began in mid-2008 now appears to have been "a very large cyclical fall" rather than a structural shift, but warned that yields on premium traffic are still very low.
British Airways yesterday said it was increasing its March 20-22 schedule as "the number of cabin crew offering to work as normal has increased significantly," while Unite called on the UK government to "investigate standards" on flights featuring "strike-busting" crew.
CAAC implemented its toughest measures yet to combat domestic flight delays, announcing that it will suspend an airline's right to operate a particular flight for one year if the carrier is found to be at fault for a single delay exceeding 4 hr. According to the regulator, the regulation is targeted mainly at domestic airlines operating at Beijing, Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao and Guangzhou. These four airports handle 3,500 aircraft movements daily, accounting for half the country's total.
Air France flight attendants reportedly will strike March 28-31 in protest of an airline proposal to reduce crew numbers on some domestic and European flights. Six unions are involved. CGT Secretary Eyal Jonas told Bloomberg News that the walkout will occur unless the sides can come to an agreement, while The Connexion reported that AF plans to cut the equivalent of 750 fulltime cabin staff positions by the end of 2011. The airline did not acknowledge the threat.
Spring Airlines expects to earn a net profit of more than CNY200 million ($29.3 million) this year owing to the economic recovery and Expo 2010 in Shanghai, according to Chairman Wang Zhenghua. The LCC reported earnings of CNY158 million in 2009 and posted a profit in excess of CNY50 million through the first two months of this year (double the year-ago period) as demand rebounded. It plans to introduce seven A320s to the fleet before July, expanding to 21 aircraft. It took one this month and will add another on March 25.
