US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano warned last month that airports must diversify their security regimens in order to keep terrorists off balance, while governments and airports continued to respond to the failed Christmas attack and the role full-body scanners will play in the future.
Southwest Airlines announced the end of the "equipment testing" phase of its Row 44 onboard Wi-Fi product and said it has signed an equipment purchase contract with the provider. The airline will start full fleet installation in the second quarter at a rate of 15 aircraft per month, aiming to increase to 25 as it "ramp[s] up the process." Under that schedule, SWA estimated that its full fleet of more than 540 aircraft will be equipped by early 2012. It will announce pricing for the service in the second quarter.
Flybe on Friday released select financial figures from its fiscal year ended March 31, 2009, during which it posted a £6.1 million ($9.9 million) operating profit that compared to a £30.8 million surplus in 2007-08. Revenue rose 6.8% year-over-year to £572.4 million on a 4.3% increase in passenger numbers to 7.3 million. Pre-tax profit of £100,000 plunged from the £30.4 million reported the prior year. Excluding special charges, the 2008-09 figure rose to £12.8 million. Flybe currently operates 54 Q400s and 14 E-195s.
The Competition Commission of South Africa said it has launched an investigation into collusion on fares and pricing strategies for flights during this summer's World Cup. It named British Airways and its Comair subsidiary, South African Airways, Airlink, SA Express, 1Time and Mango as subjects of the inquiry.
EasyJet appointed EMI Music executive Chris Kennedy as its new finance director, ending the carrier's lengthy search to fill the role following Jeff Carr's May resignation. Wataniya Airways named former Gulf Air VP-Marketing and Sales Lee Shave as CCO.
Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey watered down speculation raised in Australia that the airline may join SkyTeam. In a US Dept. of Transportation filing related to the proposed transpacific codeshare between Blue subsidiary V Australia and Delta Air Lines ( ATWOnline, Dec. 15, 2009), there is mention that "it is possible that Australian-origin passengers might benefit if V Australia were to join SkyTeam." Through a spokesperson, Godfrey told ATWOnline, "I've never been in favor of joining alliances.
Farelogix formed a partnership with Ann Arbor-based Mobiata to integrate the Farelogix FMS2 merchandising solution into Mobiata's FlightTrack and TripDeck applications for smart phones. The result is a combined solution that enables airlines to deliver offers to customers tailored to their particular circumstances. FMS2 is a rules-based engine that allows an airline to determine how events trigger those offers. Farelogix CEO Jim Davidson said carriers can suggest add-ons and upsells, such as meals, upgrades or day passes to a lounge.
Ethiopian Airlines yesterday said the flight recorders from the 737-800 that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea Monday have been located and "will be recovered shortly" ( ATWOnline, Jan. 27).
Aeroflot confirmed the purchase of Alexander Lebedev's 25.8% stake in the flag carrier. It did not reveal the price, although Lebedev had indicated that SU paid approximately $400 million for the shares ( ATWOnline, Jan. 28).
IATA said 2009, "the worst year the industry has ever seen," according to DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani, concluded with a 3.5% drop in international RPKs and a load factor of 75.6%. "We have permanently lost 2.5 years of growth in passenger markets and 3.5 years of growth in the freight business," Bisignani said.
Aer Lingus reportedly is alliance shopping nearly three years after quitting oneworld ( ATWOnline, May 31, 2006). CEO Christoph Mueller told Bloomberg News that EI "will prepare ourselves for a discussion that the alliances might work on an exclusive basis in the future" and that a decision could come "very soon." He said alliance membership is attractive again because the "Irish market will remain low fare. .
Malev Hungarian Airlines transported 3.3 million passengers in 2009, up 6% from the prior year. It said a new pricing strategy designed to compete with LCCs, group rate guarantees, a fivefold increase in corporate clients, new tourism packages and three new destinations accounted for the increase. CCO Karim Makhlouf said he expects a double-digit gain in first-quarter 2010 passenger numbers.
Oxford Aviation Academy was chosen by LOT Polish Airlines as that carrier's "preferred training provider" for pilot and cabin crew training on 767 and 737 Classic aircraft for the next three years. Training will be performed at OAA's Stockholm Arlanda center.
Jamaica Finance Minister Audley Shaw said the government expects a final decision regarding Caribbean Airlines' potential takeover of Air Jamaica by the end of the month. He said some 70% of JM's staff of 1,200 will be laid off if the deal goes through, The Gleaner reported. "They'll probably need to keep the planes because they will keep the routes," he said. "We are seeking to divest Air Jamaica on the best terms available and to ensure that we have the seat-lift capacity from all those cities for which we have tourism and Jamaican market travelers.
SR Technics announced that Bernd Kessler will step down as CEO on Jan. 31 after just two years at the helm, "having successfully implemented major restructuring initiatives as well as the repositioning of the company in the market." He will be succeeded by CFO James Stewart, who joined SRT in August 2008 from Aerion Corp. Prior to that he spent 16 years at Bombardier Corp. including a stint as CFO of Bombardier Aerospace.
Japan Airlines Group named Japan Air Commuter President Masaru Onishi president of both the Japan Airlines Corp. holding company and the Japan Airlines International operating unit as well as COO for JALS. Onishi, who joined the company in 1978, will join recently appointed CEO Kazuo Inamori in leading it through bankruptcy ( ATWOnline, Jan. 20). The company also named Hisao Taguchi executive VP of both the group and JALI. He has run JAL's Kyushu operation since last April.
AAR signed a two-year deal with Hawaiian Airlines to provide 10-year checks on 12 HA 717s. Work will be peformed at AAR's Miami facility and will include repainting on certain aircraft.
Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines, which lost Qantas and Air New Zealand as members, is courting carriers from mainland China as it looks to compensate. "We welcome China's mainland airlines to become members of AAPA. Although their focus is the domestic market right now, their long-term growth is in the international market," DG Andrew Herdman told ATWOnline this week in Beijing. He revealed that the organization has held informal talks with major Chinese airlines and has maintained regular contact with CAAC and the China Air Transport Assn. regarding membership.
Jazeera Airways announced a $105 million financing agreement with Natixis Transport Finance for three A320s. It currently flies 11 of the type and has 29 more on order and scheduled for delivery through 2016.
American International Group has decided not to divest ILFC after deciding the profit from the sale would be insufficient, sources told the Financial Times. The paper said that Standard & Poor's has cut ILFC's credit rating to the lowest investment-grade level. Sources told FT that founder and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy has not decided whether to leave ILFC. He was replaced as chairman by Doug Steenland last month ( ATWOnline, Jan. 26).
Baboo reported revenue of CHF73 million ($70.2 million) in 2009, up 30% from the prior year, on a 38% rise in passenger numbers to 406,000. The Geneva-based carrier called 2009 "above all a year of consolidation and of establishing a coherent network based on partnerships." It currently operates three E-190s and two Q400s to 19 destinations. Last year it signed codeshare agreements with Air France, Tarom and Alitalia and linked to AF's loyalty program.
FAA expects to have a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking covering new flight/duty-time regulations for commercial airline pilots out this spring, Administrator Randy Babbitt said yesterday. Speaking to the Aero Club of Washington, he acknowledged he had missed his target of a new rule by year end 2009 but compared the rulemaking to running a "3-minute mile" compared to the normal regulatory process. He also said that the agency is "on track" with plans to update pilot training and qualification requirements, a step also arising from last year's Colgan Air crash.
US Air Transport Assn., Regional Airline Assn. and Air Carrier Assn. of America requested a 90-day extension of the US Dept. of Transportation mandate requiring airlines to publish flight delay information on their websites by April 29 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 22, 2009).
