OAG reported that January global seat capacity has increased 3% year-over-year to 294.6 million seats. It is the fifth consecutive month of growth. Frequencies will rise 2% to 2.4 million flights, boosted by a 10% lift among LCCs. North American airlines cut intra-regional flights 2.7% and seats 2.8% but grew to/from the region by 3% and 1% respectively.
US FAA announced that air traffic controllers in Houston have started using ADS-B for flights over the Gulf of Mexico. Administrator Randy Babbit called it a "significant, early step toward NextGen" for an area that has lacked radar coverage. Controllers previously "had to rely on an aircraft's estimated or reported, not actual, position," FAA said. Commercial aircraft at high altitude were kept as much as 120 mi. apart to ensure safety. ADS-B will allow the separation to be reduced to 5 nm.
Qantas yesterday said it remains confident in its 27% investment in Vietnam's Jetstar Pacific despite the emergence of a report highlighting maintenance deficiencies and the legal troubles facing several executives.
US FAA is ordering airlines to inspect 737 Classics' fuselages every 500 cycles to prevent further occurrences of an incident that took place last summer involving a Southwest Airlines 737-300 that developed a hole in its fuselage while flying from Nashville to Baltimore ( ATWOnline, July 17, 2009), according to The Dallas Morning News. FAA's notice requires carriers operating 737 Classics to conduct an inspection within the next five weeks. Inspections then must occur at least once every 500 cycles.
United Airlines is raising the fee charged for the first checked bag on domestic flights to $25 from $20 and on the second bag to $35 from $30 for travel from Jan. 21, matching increases announced this week by Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines ( ATWOnline, Jan. 13).
Astar Air Cargo announced that it will reduce its pilot workforce by 303 to just 153 this year. The carrier's business has been reduced dramatically owing to DHL's withdrawal from the US express delivery market ( ATWOnline, April 27, 2009). Astar's primary business was serving as a DHL subservice airline in the US. The furloughs will begin on March 6 and be completed by July 1, the cargo carrier said.
European Commissioner-designate for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding of Luxembourg told the European Parliament at a confirmation hearing this week that the use of full-body scanners at EU airports should not be compulsory owing to privacy and health considerations. "Human beings have dignity and every measure has to be clarified first. Does it respect human dignity, does it respect privacy and does it respect health," she argued. "Our needs for security can't justify every violation of privacy. Citizens aren't objects.
SR Technics said it plans to move its component services organization and all supporting functions from London Stansted to Zurich and is entering formal discussions with UK trade unions and employee representatives. The 24,672-sq.-m. STN facility employs 600 and the 330,000-sq.-m. Zurich location employs 3,570. "At the heart of the ongoing reorganization is our aim to raise our efficiency, lower our group's overall operational costs and to further develop our operational capabilities, service offerings and global footprint," CEO Bernd Kessler explained.
Wizz Air will introduce an airport check-in fee on April 1, by which time its Web check-in facility should be fully deployed, the LCC said. Airport check-in purchased at the time of booking will cost €5 ($7.25), or €10 if purchased at the airport on the day of departure. Web check-in will remain free.
Flybe and Nordic Aviation Capital concluded a sale/leaseback transaction for four new Q400s, the carrier announced. Transaction is worth approximately $100 million at list prices. Senior debt was provided by Export Development Canada. "In 2009 alone we financed the deliveries of 11 new aircraft despite the recent challenging economic and financial climate," Flybe Director-Fleet Planning David Attenburrow said. The airline currently operates 68 aircraft: 54 Q400s and 14 E-195s.
Chinese airlines earned a collective profit of CNY7.4 billion ($1.08 billion) in 2009, a big turnaround from the CNY31.8 billion net loss suffered in 2008, CAAC Vice Minister Wang Changshun revealed yesterday at the regulator's annual conference.
Airbus Executive VP-Programs Tom Williams told ATWOnline in Seville this week that the A320 final assembly line in Tianjin is performing "within our expectations." It delivered 11 A320 family aircraft last year. "We expect to deliver two A320s per month by the end of this year," he said, adding that all aircraft assembled there have been ordered by Chinese carriers.
Marshall Aviation Services of Cambridge, UK, has formed a partnership with Aerospace Resources of Surrey, UK, to provide a range of consultancy and management solutions to airport owners and operators, and air traffic management organisations.
Qatar Airways, Qatar Science & Technology Park and Qatar Petroleum announced establishment of the Qatar Advanced Biofuel Platform, which, with the support of Airbus, will carry out engineering and economic analysis into the development of a sustainable biofuel and "will also look into ways for production and supply," QR said. QABP will focus on creating a detailed engineering/implementation plan for sustainable production, a biofuel investments strategy, an advanced technology development program and market and strategic analyses.
Air France KLM said December unit revenues "continued their recovery thanks to a more marked improvement in long-haul premium traffic" but still were down from year-ago levels. The group flew 16.07 billion RPKs last month, a 4.6% decrease year-over-year, against a 5.5% cut in capacity to 20.16 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 0.8 point to 79.7%. British Airways flew 8.81 billion RPKs in December, a 4% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 4.2% to 11.48 billion ASKs and load factor rose 0.1 point to 76.8%.
United Airlines announced the pricing of two debt offerings worth a combined $700 million, comprising $500 million in aggregate principal amount of 9.875% senior secured notes due 2013 and $200 million of 12% senior second lien notes due 2013. Offerings are expected to close Friday and proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines raised their fees for first and second checked bags on North American flights to $25 and $35 respectively, matching US Airways' fee levels imposed in the second half of last year. United Airlines and American Airlines currently charge $20 and $30 respectively. DL said it now is charging $23 for a first checked bag and $32 for a second checked bag if the passenger checks in online, believed to be the highest fees among US carriers for online check-in. Premium passengers and military personnel are exempt from the new DL and CO charges.
Airbus yesterday announced a full-year delivery record of 498 aircraft in 2009 (up from 483 in 2008) including 402 from the A320 family, and a gross order intake of 310 aircraft, while admitting that its "biggest disappointment" in the past year was a slowdown in the A380 delivery schedule.
PASSUR Aerospace announced that US Airways contracted for its RightETA arrival management system. Kale Consultants said Jet Airways selected Zero Octa, Kale's audit subsidiary, to audit passenger accounting results. Mobiqa announced that Olympic Air is offering its mobile barcoded boarding pass delivery system for flights departing Athens. Mobiqa also is providing its mobile boarding pass solution to Malaysia Airlines as part of MAS's flymas.mobi suite of applications developed by SITA.
Tiger Airways is striving to raise S$273 million ($195.7 million) in an initial public offering that values its shares at S$1.35-S$1.65. The LCC plans to sell 165 million shares, approximately 30% of its final register, and the funds would be used to expand operations and pay off loans. Analysts have suggested the valuation is optimistic given that it is nearly 14 times the carrier's 2010-11 forecast earnings. It posted a net loss of S$51 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009, and an S$8.3 million deficit in the fiscal semester ended Sept.
CIT Aerospace said it signed agreements for the current and future lease of 130 commercial aircraft last year and added 13 new customers. It delivered 54 aircraft.
Unite union will re-ballot British Airways cabin crew members for industrial action starting Jan. 22, according to a union letter cited in UK press reports. A strike could begin as early as March 1. The new ballot comes despite last week's statement from Unite that it had reached agreement with BA to "hold talks aimed at finding a negotiated settlement to their dispute over cabin crew terms and conditions under the auspices of the [Trades Union Congress]" ( ATWOnline, Jan. 7).
The European Commission claimed that "creation and evolution" of its public list of airlines banned from operating in the EU, updated 12 times since its March 2006 launch, has been a "success story from every angle."
Assn. of European Airlines admitted airBaltic, Aegean Airlines and Montenegro Airlines as members. It now comprises 36 carriers. AEA also announced that British Airways CEO Willie Walsh will serve as the organization's chairman in 2010, succeeding Croatia Airlines President and CEO Ivan Misetic.
