Continental Airlines will make economy seats with 7 in. of extra legroom available for purchase at check-in or within 24 hr. of departure beginning March 17. Number of available seats will depend on the aircraft and pricing "will vary depending on a number of factors, including the length of flight and the market," CO said.
Dutch authorities arrested a Swedish man about to pilot a Corendon Airlines 737 from Amsterdam to Ankara with a forged license Tuesday evening. The suspect used to have a valid Commercial Pilot's License but had been flying for 13 years with the forged document for companies in the UK, Belgium and Italy, spending some 10,000 unlicensed hr. in the air. Apparently he had received a validation of the forged Airline Transport Pilot License allowing him to operate Turkish commercial aircraft. An arraignment hearing has been scheduled for Friday.
Turkish Airlines applied to the country's Capital Markets Board for approval to increase its registered share capital from the current TRY500 million ($325 million) to TRY2 billion.
FAA yesterday announced that two New York JFK tower employees, a supervisor and an air traffic controller, are on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into "an incident last month when a child was permitted to talk with pilots on an air traffic control frequency." The widely available audio clips feature a child making five transmissions to pilots preparing for takeoff.
Both passenger and cargo demand are rebounding, particularly in Asia and developing markets, but there are "very large geographical differences" in the recovery and rising fuel costs hamper the "ability to turn stronger demand into profit," IATA stated in its latest "Airlines Financial Monitor" released yesterday.
Optimism regarding the gradual recovery of India's commercial aviation industry was dampened yesterday in Hyderabad as the India Aviation show and conference opened amid concerns that a new 10% tax on domestic tickets could stifle growth. On the bright side, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said the industry handled the recession "with composure" and that he has "cautious optimism" about 2010.
British Airways CEO Willie Walsh said he believes the carrier is "as prepared as we can be" for a flight attendants strike with a contingency plan including 23 aircraft wet-leased from other UK and European airlines.
Panasonic Avionics Corp. will install its overhead Panasonic Digital Multiplexed Passenger Entertainment System on three Israir Airlines A320s. DMPES incorporates the company's X Series System, "which reduces space, weight and power when compared with traditional overhead systems." Oman Air yesterday completed its first A330 flight offering Honeywell Inmarsat SwiftBroadband mobile and Wi-Fi Internet access.
Spatial Composite Solutions of Dubai received a $2.6 million order from Oman Air for two cabin evacuation trainers (one A330-300 and one 737NG). Delivery is expected in October.
IATA reported that international passenger traffic grew 6.4% year-over-year in January on a 1.2% lift in capacity, pushing load factor up 3.7 points to 75.9%. International cargo traffic jumped 28.3% compared to the prior year, when the airfreight traffic decline was near its lowest point. Cargo traffic is still 3%-4% below early 2008 levels, the organization noted. January passenger and cargo demand reflected "a steady improvement from the precipitous fall in demand that characterized the early part of 2009 rather than a dramatic improvement," it said.
Qantas Group CFO Colin Storrie announced his resignation "for personal and health reasons" effective March 5, the airline announced yesterday. Gareth Evans, currently CFO of the QF airline unit, will fill in for Storrie on an interim basis. The company said it "will consider internal and external candidates" in its search for a permanent successor. Storrie, 41, was appointed CFO and finance director in September 2008.
Vereinigung Cockpit union, which represents the Lufthansa pilots who went on strike briefly last week, now plans to call on pilots at Air Berlin and its LTU subsidiary to stage 3-hr. wildcat strikes over the next few days. Negotiations on new working conditions have stalled, and VC complained that AB has not presented a viable offer to the union since the pilots presented their demands in January 2009. A key issue is the union's request for a third pilot to be added on certain long-haul routes. A tentative labor deal reached last October will expire on Dec.
Japan Airlines announced that it has ended negotiations related to a possible merger of its cargo operations with Nippon Cargo Airlines. JAL and NCA parent Nippon Yusen announced last August that talks about a merger were underway ( ATWOnline, Aug. 24, 2009).
Air Canada said more than 1,000 mechanics who perform MRO work on its aircraft via Aveos Fleet Performance, formerly Air Canada Technical Services, will be laid off owing to reduced utilization of its A320 family aircraft resulting in lower MRO demand. Machinists based in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver will be affected, with 470 dropped in April followed by an additional 540 in June. AC said that as many as 815 could be recalled later. International Assn.
In a clear sign that it is moving its product offering up-market, Virgin Blue yesterday confirmed widespread speculation and appointed former Qantas Executive GM John Borghetti, 54, to take the reins from retiring founder and CEO Brett Godfrey.
News from Travel Technology Update: Orbitz Worldwide launched Orbitz for Agents, a program that provides access to Orbitz' global hotel inventory and discounted rates and pays commissions to travel agents for hotel and customized travel package bookings. The program signals a shift in the company's focus to "the distribution portion of our business," a spokesman said. "Orbitz.com is not the only place in town where you'll see our inventory." Essentially, Orbitz would become what its original opponents claimed it was: not just a distributor, but a distribution system.
Orbitz Worldwide launched Orbitz for Agents, a program that provides access to Orbitz' global hotel inventory and discounted rates and pays commissions to travel agents for hotel and customized travel package bookings. The program signals a shift in the company's focus to "the distribution portion of our business," a spokesman said. "Orbitz.com is not the only place in town where you'll see our inventory." Essentially, Orbitz would become what its original opponents claimed it was: not just a distributor, but a distribution system.
Carlson Wagonlit to explore outsourcing of IT to Amadeus Tripology CEO says he has found a buyer Lufthansa Systems unveils Integrated Commercial Platform Omega is first TMC to adopt Sabre’s TripCase mobile app Moneydirect to automate commission payments for Gogo In Focus: How a TMC uses technology to tame a snowstorm World news briefing
Singapore Airlines will replace its 777s with A330-300s on flights to Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Kuwait City, Male (all from March 28), Fukuoka, Taipei (each April 28) and Colombo (May 1) as part the carrier's "product enhancement efforts." SIA currently flies the A330 to Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Nagoya Chubu and Osaka Kansai. It has nine of the type, seating 30 in business class and 255 in economy, and will take an additional 10 by year end.
ACT Airlines A300F operated on behalf of DHL "suffered a landing mishap" yesterday at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, leading to "a collapse of. . .[its] left hand main undercarriage," according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. The Turkish airline operates a fleet of seven A300Fs, according to its website. ASN said the CF6-powered aircraft involved in the accident first flew in November 1980.
Gol expects domestic demand to increase 12.5%-18% in 2010, more than double the rate of Brazil's expected 5%-6% growth in GDP. The LCC said it anticipates yield this year in the BRL0.195-BRL0.21 (10.79-11.62 cent) range and an operating margin of 10%-13%. It plans to operate 111 aircraft by year end compared to 108 on Dec. 31, 2009, and to transport 31.5-36.5 million passengers. Gol was BRL493 million in the black through the first nine months of 2009. It is scheduled to release its full-year results on March 11.
Gulf Air yesterday launched a combined premium product called Falcon Gold, "offering the very best elements of Gulf Air's first class for the price of a traditional business class fare." Cabin will feature former first class catering, new bedding and overnight amenity kits and beginning at the end of 2011 a new lie-flat seat on flights longer than 4.5 hr. In the interim, passengers traveling on a more expensive, fully flexible FG ticket will have priority access to Gulf's lie-flat first class sleeper seats. Interior refurbishment in the combined cabin will be finished by April.
Air Line Pilots Assn. and the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Assn. issued statements last week protesting a proposal from Sen. Jim DeMint (R.-S.C.) that data from cockpit voice and flight data recorders be available to use as evidence when disciplining individual pilots. DeMint is the ranking member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's subcommittee on aviation operations, safety and security.
British Airways cabin crew represented by Unite last week announced they "unanimously backed the work of their negotiating team attempting to resolve the current dispute" and steered away from setting a date for strike action. Unite members endorsed strike action in a vote that saw 80.7% call for a walkout ( ATWOnline, Feb. 23). The union reportedly has until March 22 before its strike mandate expires under trade union legislation.
