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.
EU and US yesterday jointly declared that "urgent measures" related to aviation security should be "considered" at a high-level meeting planned for Luxemburg in April, though the two sides continue to differ on specifics.
Delta Air Lines private jet service subsidiary Delta AirElite acquired Segrave Aviation, a North Carolina company specializing in wholesale charter aviation services, private aircraft management, aircraft maintenance and fixed-base operations. DL said the transaction was "all cash" but declined to state a figure. It said the acquisition will "double the size of the Delta AirElite fleet."
United Eagle Airlines will re-launch as a state-owned carrier Friday and will be renamed Chengdu Air. In October, Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, manufacturer of the ARJ21 and C919, purchased a 48% stake in loss-making UAE from Sichuan Airlines for CNY1 billion ($146.3 million) ( ATWOnline, Oct. 19, 2009). Sichuan's stake was reduced to 41% and Sichuan Communication Investment Group holds the remaining 11%. Sichuan Airlines is controlled by the provincial government and China Southern Airlines.
The UK revealed a further set of measures to enhance aviation security, including introduction of a "no-fly" list, suspension of Yemenia Yemen Airways' direct flights "pending enhanced security" and its intention to "promote enhancements to the international aviation security regime, including stronger security arrangements in airports and greater sharing of information" with ICAO, the EU and G8 nations.
Gulfstream International Airlines parent Gulfstream International Group will convert $1.5 million of subordinated debt to convertible preferred stock under an agreement with Gulfstream Funding II, a lender that issued the loan in October.
US Air Transport Assn. said members' December passenger revenue fell 4% year-over-year, the 14th consecutive monthly decline, and 2009 full-year revenue plunged a record 18%. December passenger traffic was down 3% and the average price to fly 1 mi. dropped more than 2%. Full-year passenger volume was down 6% from 2008, with a 13% fall in the average price to fly 1 mi.. The largest previous full-year revenue decline was the 14% slip from 2000 to 2001.
LOT Polish Airlines has three bidders interested in participating in the carrier's privatization, according to reports from Warsaw. A Polish treasury spokesperson said a major airline and a financial investor are among the suitors. Air France KLM denied reports that it is participating, and Aeroflot denied interest when asked by Bloomberg News. The treasury spokesperson said the sale is unlikely to happen this year. The treasury holds 68% of the carrier.
Fokker Services announced a €130 million ($186.5 million), 10-year FLYFokker Take Care service agreement with Austrian Airlines covering nine F70s and 15 F100s.
OnAir will go live with its Internet and VPN connectivity service next month but sees a profitable future for its phone and PDA inflight connectivity service, with CEO Benoit Debains telling ATWOnline yesterday, "We are, and we remain, a phone company." The Airbus/SITA joint venture provided no further details concerning Internet OnAir's launch but Debains insisted that the company's Mobile OnAir service and Internet are complementary. "Contrary to what people believe," he said, "it's not phone versus Internet."
British Airways cabin crew represented by Unite pledged not to strike over the April 2-5 Easter holiday. The union plans to hold a new strike ballot Jan. 25-Feb. 22 and has said a work stoppage could begin soon thereafter ( ATWOnline, Jan. 12). "We are making this announcement now so families can plan their travel arrangements in confidence," Unite Assistant General Secretary Len McCluskey said.
