Lufthansa said the four-day pilots strike scheduled for next week will cost it approximately €100 million ($136.9 million) and that the company's attorneys are examining whether the Vereinigung Cockpit action is legal ( ATWOnline, Feb. 18). Its plan to weather the strike includes help from subsidiaries Austrian Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines. For example, OS will operate larger aircraft on flights from Vienna to Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich.
The Indian government yesterday announced final approval of an INR8 billion ($173.7 million) equity infusion into Air India parent National Aviation Co. of India, with the release of the funds "calibrated to the achievement of milestones laid down by the [cabinet]" including a 28% fleet reduction.
IATA reported that the accident rate in 2009 for Western-built jet aircraft was "the second-lowest in aviation history" at 0.71 hull losses per million flights, "equal to one accident for every 1.4 million flights."
FAA yesterday proposed a $2.9 million civil penalty against American Eagle Airlines for operating more than 1,000 flights using four CRJ700s "on which improper repairs were performed on landing gear doors," the second significant fine for an alleged safety violation proposed against AMR Corp.'s regional subsidiary this month.
Bombardier Aerospace opened a commercial aircraft service center in Macon, Ga., and signed a 10-year agreement with Atlantic Southeast Airlines to be the exclusive heavy MRO provider for the regional's 108 CRJ200s, 38 CRJ700s and 10 CRJ900s. The 8,529-sq.-m. facility formerly was operated by ASA and has been under Bombardier management since Jan. 18. It offers heavy maintenance and C checks on the CRJ family and can accommodate up to six simultaneously. Bombardier also operates service centers in Bridgeport, W. Va., and Tucson.
Lufthansa pilots represented by Vereinigung Cockpit voted overwhelmingly yesterday to strike at midnight next Monday through 11:59 p.m. Feb. 25, a four-day stoppage that the airline called "totally inappropriate."
AirBaltic took over facilities and equipment at Riga International formerly belonging to Oxford Aviation Academy and is establishing airBaltic Training, which President and CEO Bertolt Flick said "is crucial to meet the growing needs of airBaltic and to generate additional revenue by providing flight crew training services to other airlines." The airline operates 10 737-500s, eight 737-300s, two 757-200s and 11 F50s and plans to open at least nine new routes from Riga in 2010 ( ATW's Airports Today, February 2
IATA reported that the number of premium passengers on international flights grew 1.7% year-over-year in December 2009, the first year-over-year rise in premium travel since May 2008.
Lufthansa Systems announced the release of its Integrated Commercial Platform, which it said combines and integrates products from the NetLine and ProfitLine suites. LHS said the ICP is "completely modular."
News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus has formalized a change in the way it draws up airline contracts, replacing the Participating Carrier Agreement with a Global Distribution Agreement, covering core GDS services, and an Optional Services Agreement.
Lufthansa Cargo will cut more than 400 jobs and has extended reduced work hours for ground staff imposed in March 2009 through Feb. 28, 2011. "We suffered steep losses in revenue and tonnage last year, the worst in the history of Lufthansa Cargo," a spokesperson told Bloomberg News.
Rossiya transported 2.9 million passengers in 2009, down 15.3% from the prior year, owing largely to the spinoff of its Moscow branch and its concentration on operations in St. Petersburg. It flew 6.09 billion RPKs last year. Rossiya is scheduled to be merged into Aeroflot, along with five other smaller airlines, this year ( ATWOnline, Feb. 4). United Airlines said January consolidated passenger RASM increased an estimated 9.5%-11.5% year-over-year.
British Airways announced that in conjunction with Washington-based Solena Group it will establish a "sustainable jet-fuel plant" to convert "waste biomass" to "low-carbon fuel to power part of its fleet from 2014." It said the plant would be a first in Europe. It did not set a date for when the plant will be operational. "The new fuel will be derived from waste biomass and manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility that can convert a variety of waste materials, destined for landfill, into aviation fuel," it said.
Jazeera Airways announced the purchase of Sahaab Aircraft Leasing for KWD25.6 million ($88.3 million), a transaction the carrier said will offer "a platform to pursue strategic vertical integration initiatives lined up for 2010 and 2011 that include an airline acquisition and access to global leasing markets." Sahaab currently owns nine A320s that Jazeera operates under a sale-and-leaseback deal and has firm orders with Airbus that will see its owned A320 fleet increase to at least 38 units by 2016.
Amadeus has formalized a change in the way it draws up airline contracts, replacing the Participating Carrier Agreement with a Global Distribution Agreement, covering core GDS services, and an Optional Services Agreement.
Tripology lays off staff, seeks investor Kuoni buys TBA Global's U.S. DM division Sabre to launch multi-source, graphical agent desktop New Amex brand to serve small, medium-size companies Citing market conditions, Travelport drops plans for IPO Rue La La's private sales let travel products shine World news briefing
US Dept. of Transportation on Saturday issued a show cause order tentatively approving the application for antitrust immunity from oneworld partners American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian and also tentatively approved the three-way transatlantic joint venture among AA, BA and IB under which the carriers jointly will plan and manage capacity and share revenues.
Continental Airlines fleet service employees comprising ramp, operations and cargo agents voted in favor of representation by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Virgin America is raising its flat fee for checked bags from $20 to $25 for bookings made on or after Feb.12 for travel on or after March 1. The fee will be the same for "a first checked bag. . .through a tenth checked bag," the airline said. First-class passengers' first and second checked bags will be exempt, as will the first bag checked by business-class passengers and economy passengers with refundable tickets.
GuestLogix and Jetera Precision Media announced OnTouch Ads, available to carriers using the GuestLogix Onboard Retail Solution. GuestLogix will print destination-based advertisements on receipts issued from its POS handheld devices "featuring offers related to the passenger's various attributes and their travel itinerary." It said the long-term rollout "will include the integration of the new advertising service from GuestLogix with other OnTouch services deployed on travelers' mobile devices, including smartphones."
Spirit Airlines on Friday unveiled a feature on its website allowing potential customers to see how much of a given fare is comprised of fuel costs. "When a fare is $137 and fuel makes up $78 of that fare, customers can decide if the remaining $59 makes this a good time to buy," it said. The Miramar, Fla.-based LCC provides a chart showing how much fuel is used per passenger for A319 trips of various lengths with an 80% load factor. It also shows the current price of fuel and a per-passenger, per-trip fuel cost.
Kingfisher Airlines named former Delta Air Lines MD-Revenue Management, Pricing and Network Amit Agarwal senior VP-corporate development and planning. Air Berlin named SR Technics Senior Executive VP Helmut Himmelreich its new chief maintenance officer. Oman Air named former Coca-Cola executive Philippe Georgiou chief officer-corporate affairs.
