While asserting that the industry downturn has reached bottom with load factors returning to pre-recession levels and yields experiencing a timid recovery, IATA has become less positive about prospects for 2010 and yesterday deepened its forecast for global industry losses to $5.6 billion from $3.8 billion owing to renewed pressure on passenger yields, higher fuel prices and low aircraft utilization. The organization maintained its forecast of an $11 billion net loss this year ( ATWOnline, Sept. 16).
Air France A380 was held at New York JFK Monday night because of a fuel transfer problem. Passengers scheduled to fly to Paris Charles de Gaulle on Flight AF007 were put on alternate flights yesterday. AF took delivery of the aircraft on Oct. 30 and it first flew from CDG to JFK on Nov. 20 ( ATWOnline, Nov. 2).
Aeronautical Engineers announced it has become a Boeing Licensed Third Party STC Provider for the 737-200SF, 737-300SF and the 737-400SF passenger-to-freighter conversions.
AerCap signed two debt facility agreements that will provide $127 million in funding, the lessor announced. The first, worth $67 million, was inked with Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale for two existing A330s on long-term leases. The second, worth $60 million, was signed with Natixis Transport Finance to finance AerCap investments.
OnAir said it is offering airlines the chance "to communicate directly with their passengers once onboard through personalized text messages." OnAir chose Halys to provide the SMS system that allows carriers to communicate with individual passengers during the flight.
AerData, which provides software and back office services for aircraft asset managers, said that DVB Bank acquired a 2% stake. Other shareholders are AerData Management and AerCap with 49% each.
India is making a considerable effort to join commercial aviation's environmental effort, Civil Aviation DG Nasim Zaidi said at the US-India Aviation Partnership Summit in Washington this month, with authorities committed to establishing a national inventory of carbon dioxide emissions for the sector (with a base year of 2005) along with programs compelling both airlines and airports to be more efficient and green.
The US Environmental Protection Agency, as expected, on Dec. 7 issued a formal finding that greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide emissions "threaten the public health and welfare of the American people," clearing the way for the agency to regulate a wide range of CO2-emitting industries, including aviation, under provisions of the Clean Air Act.
As airlines grapple with the challenges of implementing the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, it turns about that most passengers don't really care very much about offsetting their flights. Dutch bank ING's economic survey team interviewed travelers about their opinion on their CO2 output, asking if they cared about the environmental impact. According to the survey of 41,900 passengers, only 3% actively try to offset their emissions while a further 12% make a minor effort. A staggering 76% didn't care and 9% had no opinion.
ATW announced that the third annual Eco-Aviation Conference will be held June 22-24 at the Marriott Metro Center in Washington. Topics to be discussed will include the development and certification of alternative aviation fuels, the impact of potential EPA CO2 regulations and cap-and-trade legislation in Congress, preparing for and participating in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, identifying and implementing operational and air traffic efficiencies, and other topics related to the industry's efforts to become greener.
Fifteen US and non-US airlines, under the umbrella of the Air Transport Assn., entered into MOUs with AltAir Fuels LLC and Rentech Inc. for the purchase of up to 325 million gal. of alternative fuel. The new fuel, which includes second-generation biojet and biodiesel, could begin flowing as early as the fourth quarter of 2012.
US Dept. of Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Dept. of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced in early December the selection of 19 integrated biorefinery projects to receive up to $564 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate construction and operation of pilot, demonstration and commercial-scale facilities. The projects in 15 states will validate refining technologies and help lay the foundation for full commercial-scale development of a biomass industry in the US.
Nearly a year after it operated the first second-generation biofuel test flight, Air New Zealand continues to be focused on ensuring that "a material portion of its annual fuel use comes from sustainable second-generation sources," according to GM-Operations and Chief Pilot Dave Morgan.
UK Committee on Climate Change report published on Dec. 8 said that the country's aviation policy should be based on the assumption that demand growth between now and 2050 cannot exceed 60% if the UK is to meet the government's target that aviation emissions in 2050 must not exceed 2005 levels. The CCC said that left unchecked, aviation in the UK would grow by 200% by 2050.
Colgan Air and the Air Line Pilots Assn. issued contradictory findings regarding the cause of the February Q400 crash that killed 50 people near Buffalo. The airline said the pilots' "loss of situational awareness and failure to follow Colgan Air training and procedures," along with a lack of low-speed warnings from the aircraft, were the principal causes, while the union blamed the carrier for inadequate training ( ATWOnline, May 15).
International Aero Engines named Executive VP-Customer Business Ian Aitken president and CEO, succeeding Jon Beatty, who will return to United Technologies Corp. Aitken joined IAE in June 2008 after nine years at Rolls-Royce.
The US and Japan announced late Friday that they reached agreement on an "open skies" accord that will liberalize access, largely removing restrictions on the number of airlines allowed to serve each market as well as the number of flights.
GE said that KLM Engineering & Maintenance selected GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies' USM Go inspection device to perform nondestructive aircraft and engine testing.
Garuda Indonesia pilot in command of the 737-400 that crashed at Yogyakarta in March 2007, killing 21 people, won his appeal against a two-year prison sentence that was handed down last April ( ATWOnline, April 7). All charges against Marwoto Komar were dismissed by the Yogyakarta High Court, which ruled that he did his best to save the aircraft.
US airlines collected more than $2 billion in ancillary fees in the third quarter, up 36.4% year-over-year, helping the seven network carriers post their first combined operating profit margin since the 2007 third quarter, the US Dept. of Transportation reported yesterday ( ATWOnline, Nov. 12). Network airlines' third-quarter operating profit was $338 million, reversed from a loss of $1.62 billion in the year-ago period. Operating margin was 1.4%, reversed from a loss margin of 5.4% in the 2008 third quarter.
Republic Airways Holdings CFO Hal Cooper said the CSeries represents "a pretty interesting opportunity" as the company considers fleet renewal at its Frontier Airlines subsidiary. Republic also in talking with Airbus and Boeing, he said at an investor conference last week, according to Reuters, but "unlike Airbus and unlike Boeing, we believe we can tap into some very attractive export financing through the [Export Development Canada] there," he said.
Tiger Airways parent Tiger Aviation suffered a S$50.8 million ($36.5 million) loss in its fiscal year ended March 31, reversed from a S$9.9 million profit in 2007-08, according to a recent company statement cited by press reports. Revenue rose 24.3% to S$378 million.
US Airways said consolidated November RASM was flat year-over-year, while mainline unit revenue fell approximately 2%. It flew 4.35 billion consolidated RPMs, down 1.6%, against a 1.4% cut in capacity to 5.65 billion ASMs. Load factor slipped 0.1 point to 76.9%. Air Canada and Jazz flew 3.18 billion RPMs in November, a 1.2% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.7% to 4.26 billion ASMs and load factor declined 2.9 points to 74.7%.
Hawaiian Airlines and the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers-Clerical Division, which represents 1,245 HA airport customer service, ramp, reservations, schedule planning, purchasing, records and crew scheduling employees, announced a tentative agreement on a four-year labor contract. A ratification vote by union members is expected in the coming weeks.
The US Transportation Security Administration said it is moving ahead steadily with procuring and deploying next-generation airport security technology to screen both checked and carry-on baggage, spurred by $1 billion that was allocated to the agency for aviation security in the $787 billion stimulus passed by the government.
