Lebanese Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said yesterday that the Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 that crashed Monday into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut failed to follow the flight path established by ATC. All 90 passengers and crew are believed to be dead ( ATWOnline, Jan. 26). The control tower told the pilot "to correct his path, but he did a very fast and strange turn before disappearing completely from the radar," Aridi told the Associated Press.
Delta Air Lines intends to invest $1 billion over the next three years on a wide range of measures designed "to improve the customer experience in the air and on the ground," including new business class seats on 90 Boeing widebodies. The company did not directly address plans for the order for 18 787s inherited in its acquisition of Northwest Airlines, but President Ed Bastian said, "Rather than invest in new aircraft, Delta will be spending its capital to improve the quality and consistency of the onboard product and efficiency of the aircraft we already own."
China Eastern Airlines remains committed to choosing an alliance by the Feb. 14 New Year holiday and is scheduled to negotiate with each of the three global groupings this week, an internal source told ATWOnline. "We are still evaluating the decision on which airline alliance to join, which will depend on our negotiations with the three alliances regarding route network, frequent-flyer program, codesharing, etc.," CEA MD Ma Xulun said ( ATWOnline, Dec. 10, 2009).
The US National Transportation Safety Board said it is dispatching an investigator to Beirut to assist the Lebanese government with its inquiry into Monday morning's crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 that is believed to have killed all 90 aboard.
UK CAA approved British Airways' plan to train pilots and ground staff as cabin crew to be employed in the event of a strike by cabin attendants and will work with the airline and conduct inspections to ensure safety, BA said in its weekly in-house newsletter. The carrier planned to launch the first of nine training courses yesterday, when the Unite union started balloting its 12,000 BA cabin crew members on industrial action. The vote closes Feb. 22.
Air New Zealand, ATW's Airline of the Year, unveiled new economy and premium economy seats as part of a major cabin makeover ( ATW, February 2010). The economy seat features a unique swing-up, fully padded section that converts a triple seat into a bed. A single passenger can buy a set of three seats for little more than the cost of a premium economy seat.
ACE Air Cargo of Anchorage confirmed the loss of a Beech 1900C-1 on the evening of Jan. 22, killing both pilots. Aircraft crashed into the water shortly after takeoff from Sand Point en route to ANC, according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. Weather was described as overcast with wind at 19-26 kt. ACE operates scheduled cargo flights as well as passenger and cargo charters to 22 destinations.
Highland Airways, an Inverness-based regional, said it is "currently facing difficult trading" but that it is in advanced negotiations with a "potential investor that provides an excellent way forward" and should have an announcement in the coming days. It was not taking bookings on its website yesterday. Highland operates eight Jetstream 31s, two Jetstream 41s and one BN-2 Islander to nine Scottish and Welsh destinations.
Taban Air Tu-154 caught fire during landing at Mashhad Sunday morning, destroying the tail and rear section and injuring 42. Iranian officials said there were no fatalities and the government subsequently stripped Taban of its operating certificate. The flight originated in Abadan Saturday and diverted to Isfahan owing to poor weather in Mashhad, according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. It departed Isfahan for Mashhad early Sunday. ASN said the aircraft's first flight was in 1993.
Malaysia Airlines received shareholder approval for a MYR2.67 billion ($784.6 million) rights issue designed to fund future fleet growth and expansion. It said the rights shares priced at MYR1.6 each will be offered to current shareholders on a one-for-one basis. No date for the issue was announced. MAS is aiming to own at least a third of its fleet and is purchasing six yet-to-be-delivered A380s, two 747s and two 777s from state-owned Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad for INR3.19 billion. The airline expects to take delivery of three new 737-800s this year.
IATA, ICAO, US Dept. of Homeland Security officials and executives from 25 airlines held a "security summit" last week in Geneva designed to outline "a new era of industry/government cooperation to improve aviation security around the world," IATA said. "Governments understand the threats and the tools needed to mitigate them. Industry has the operational expertise for effective implementation. Working together is the only way forward," DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said.
American Airlines said Friday it has made the "painful but necessary decision" to furlough up to 175 pilots in the first half of this year, with the first round of reductions coming at the end of February.
Cargoitalia said it carried 6.8 million kg. of freight on 128 rotations in its first four months of service ended Dec. 31. Load factor was 80% on its routes from Milan Malpensa to New York JFK/Toronto and Hong Kong via Almaty. Flights to Dubai and Chicago O'Hare were added this month. It operates two MD-11SFs and will take a third in June. It has orders for five A330-200Fs plus three options.
Cargolux 747-400F landing at Luxembourg Findel last Thursday afternoon touched the roof of a van parked on the runway to facilitate repairs of the lighting system, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure confirmed, adding that the aircraft landed normally and no injuries occurred. Flight CV7933 was cleared to land on runway 24 in foggy conditions. The incident is under investigation.
Oman Air will install both Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir on its A330 fleet starting next month, with installation scheduled to be complete over the summer. Aircraft have been fitted with the Airbus ALNA V2 system, using Honeywell's SwiftBroadband solution.
Transaero Airlines said it concluded a "stable" 2009 with a 3.6% increase in passenger numbers to 5 million and a 6.7% lift in RPKs to 18.73 billion. FTKs rose 8.6%. It launched 12 domestic routes from Moscow Domodedovo and added seven aircraft: One 777, one 747-300, two 737-800s, two 737-500s and one Tu-214. It decommissioned two 747-200s and now flies 47 aircraft.
Aircell said it has secured $176 million in equity financing from both new and existing investors. It will use the funds for network expansion and operations "during this rapid growth phase of the business." Its Gogo inflight Internet service currently is available on more than 700 aircraft with nine airlines.
SAS Group airlines flew 1.59 billion RPKs in December, a 10.9% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 16.4% to 2.27 billion ASKs and load factor rose 4.3 points to 69.7%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 1.45 billion RPKs, down 11.7%, against a 17.3% cut in capacity to 2.05 billion ASKs that lifted load factor 4.4 points to 70.5%. Finnair said its fourth-quarter scheduled yield fell more than 12% year-over-year and the full-year figure was down 14%. "No rise in prices is perceptible," it said.
Star1 Airlines of Vilnius, which launched scheduled services in July, said revenue in its first six months of operation reached LTL28 million ($11.4 million) and that it carried 36,000 passengers on routes to London Stansted, Milan Malpensa, Dublin and Girona. The carrier said its market share at Vilnius International reached 5%. Load factor was 69%. Star1 operates a single 148-seat 737-700 on scheduled routes. It also flies charters.
Dubai-based Air Partner has joined the company's offices worldwide in providing aid to earthquake-stricken Haiti, arranging a number of humanitarian aid relief flights carrying vital cargo, medical personnel and support workers.
JetBlue Airways said it will decide by the end of the current quarter whether it will maintain its corporate headquarters in New York City or move to Orlando, where its training facility is located, the Associated Press reported. Following a meeting with Florida Governor Charlie Crist, JetBlue CEO Dave Barger told reporters that the airline is "in a jump ball at this point" regarding the possible move.
Iberia flew 3.85 billion RPKs in December, a 2.7% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity was cut 6.4% to 4.87 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 3 points to 79%. Air Berlin said December unit revenue fell 6.5% year-over-year to €4.98 cents (7.06 cents). It transported 2.1 million passengers, up 0.8% year-over-year, while load factor rose 0.5 point to 73.1%.
Blue Wings' 48% shareholder Alexander Lebedev said he has accepted an offer from CEO Jorn Hellwig to sell off his stake, according to the dpa news agency. Hellwig currently owns 26% of Blue Wings, which suspended operations last week ( ATWOnline, Jan. 14). Lebedev reportedly has invested more than €500 million ($709.2 million) in the German airline.
Los Angeles World Airports security chief Erroll Southers withdrew from consideration as head of the US Transportation Security Administration Wednesday after his nomination drew criticism from Republican lawmakers concerned about the possibility that he might allow TSA to unionize. They also cited false testimony to Congress in the late 1980s regarding improper access of legal records. "It is clear that my nomination has become a lightning rod for those who have chosen to push a political agenda at the risk of the safety and security of the American people," Southers said.
