Air India and Aerostar Asset Management of Sharjah announced the launch of an engine MRO partnership called The A Team, which will use AI's Mumbai facility and Aerostar's marketing connections in the Middle East to secure third-party work on CF6-50/80, PW4000, GE90 and CFM56-7 engines, as well as CFM56-5s in the "near future."
The US National Mediation Board yesterday issued a proposed rule change that would allow an airline work group to unionize if a majority of those casting ballots in a union-certification vote approve, potentially lowering the threshold for unionization.
Iberia launched the upgrade of its long-haul business class, part of a €150 million "Total Customer Care" program aimed at enhancing customer service. IB's remodeled Business Plus cabin will feature lie-flat seats versus the previous 170-deg. Recline, and an extended 2.2 m. between rows. It will reduce the number of business class seats on its 12 A340-600s to 42 from 52 and on its 20 A340-300s to 36 from 42. Three aircraft already have been fitted with the new cabin by IB's maintenance unit, with the fleetwide upgrade scheduled to be complete in March.
IATA, following up on its recent court victory in its dispute with Travelport, said it is seeking "an EU-wide declaratory judgment from the Amsterdam District Court confirming that the PaxIs product does not infringe on Travelport's database rights in any of the member states of the European Economic Area." On Oct. 1, the Amsterdam District Court denied an application for a preliminary injunction preventing IATA's use of airline data stored in Travelport databases ( ATWOnline, Oct. 21).
Amadeus and ICAO announced an agreement under which ICAO will supply Amadeus with data from its carbon emissions calculator, which Amadeus said, "will allow Amadeus's worldwide customer base to estimate the carbon footprint of air travel." Amadeus will integrate the data into its travel reservation platforms by mid-2010.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a draft determination finding that the planned transpacific joint venture between Virgin Blue and Delta Air Lines "is likely to assist Virgin Blue and Delta to compete more effectively against the incumbents on the routes, Qantas and United Airlines." The partnership also requires approval from the US Dept. of Transportation ( ATWOnline, July 10).
CIT Group, parent of operating lessor CIT Aerospace, filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday, proceeding with a so-called "prepackaged" financial restructuring approved by most of the company's debt holders. In a statement, CIT said that "none" of its operating subsidiaries were included in the filing. "As a result, all operating entities are expected to continue normal operations during the pendency of the cases." According to Ascend Online, CIT Aerospace is the industry's fifth-largest operating lessor with a fleet of 237 aircraft.
Qantas joined the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group, the industry coalition established to accelerate the development and commercialization of sustainable aviation fuel ( ATWOnline, July 14).
S-Air BAe 125-800B crashed on approach to Minsk last Thursday, killing the two crew and three passengers onboard. The flight originated at Moscow Vnukovo. There was a "light drizzle," according to the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. The aircraft first flew in 1986. S-Air also operates two Yak-42s, three Tu-134s and two additional 125s.
Embraer reported third-quarter net income of $60.6 million, slightly ahead of the $59.3 million earned in the year-ago period, and warned that 2010 likely will be another difficult year for sales. CFO Luiz Carlos Aguiar told analysts Friday that the manufacturer is "going through a rough ride in terms of new sales" and cautioned that "a decline of 10% in our revenue" in 2010 is possible. He added that its firm order backlog, which stood at 306 commercial aircraft valued at $18.6 billion at the end of the third quarter, would "make the business sustainable" until sales rebound.
Amadeus reached a 10-year agreement with Air France and KLM for implementation and operation of its Altea Inventory system. The solution will replace the carriers' legacy inventory systems by year end and will be fully integrated with the Altea Reservation sales platform.
Bmi suffered a €10 million ($14.8 million) operating loss in the first nine months of 2009, according to the interim report released last week by Lufthansa. The UK carrier reported €301 million in revenue during the period and EBITDA of -€14 million. Comparisons with the year-ago period were not provided. Lufthansa was scheduled to become bmi's sole shareholder Sunday following the purchase of SAS's 20% stake ( ATWOnline, Oct. 2).
US Dept. of Transportation Inspector General Calvin Scovel and US Government Accountability Office Director-Physical Infrastructure Issues Gerald Dillingham last week told Congress that FAA faces considerable challenges in implementing a satellite-based NextGen ATC system, ranging from delays in approving new procedures and technology to skepticism among airlines regarding investment in new equipment.
Hainan Airlines parent HNA Group launched a business jet subsidiary in Shanghai last Friday in an attempt to tap the increasing potential of the high-end business and general aviation market. Deer Business Jet Co. has registered capital of CNY300 million ($43.9 million), with HNA subsidiaries Deer Air and Yangtze River Express the main stakeholders. The ownership structure has not been made public. It initially will operate two Hawker 800s. China currently has no more than 30 business jets, but it is estimated the country will need 600-1,200 over the next 10 years.
The dispute between Expedia.com and Choice Hotels International may seem like déjà vu to those who remember the battle between the online agency and InterContinental Hotels Group in 2004. But there is a key difference between the old fight and the new, according to observers close to the issue.
OAG, which has played an integral role in the history of commercial aviation, is marking its 80th anniversary this year. For decades, the Official Airline Guide, its flagship product, was essential for travel agents, tour operators, interlining carriers--anyone who needed to know which airline flew where and when. The OAG brand is venerable. That's a nice word for "old." In May, OAG's parent company, United Business Media Ltd., appointed Peter von Moltke chief executive officer of its UBM Aviation division.
Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines DG Andrew Herdman expressed his frustration with the current system during his organizations' Presidents Assembly meeting in Singapore last week: "If Nokia was operating under the same framework as the airline industry, you would have to have a Finish passport to buy one of its phones. [Regarding the automobile industry] you could only buy a Japanese car in the US if you were going to drive it on roads outside the US."
