Iberia introduced cell phone boarding for passengers flying from Madrid's Terminal 4. The new service is available on all mainline flights except the Madrid-Barcelona Shuttle.
LOT Polish Airlines said it will reduce its workforce from 3,500 to 3,100 by March and has secured agreement from its unions to eliminate bonuses, moves that it claimed will save €2.4 million ($3.5 million).
European Regions Airline Assn., which represents 66 European carriers operating intra-Europe flights, recorded a collective drop in passenger traffic of 7.2% for the first six months of 2009.
Emirates said yesterday that it issued a $413.7 million US bond offering guaranteed by the US Export Import Bank to finance the delivery of three 777-300ERs. The secured notes are due Aug. 21, 2021, and payable in installments of principal and interest on a quarterly basis, the airline said. "This transaction is very important for the industry as it represents the first offering of its kind directly into the global public capital markets," Senior VP-Corporate Treasury Brian Jeffrey stated.
Assn. of European Airlines warned that Europe's network carriers are facing not a "crisis" but "a paradigm shift with far-reaching and irrevocable consequences" as it forecast that its member airlines will post a combined full-year 2009 operating loss of €2.9 billion ($4.3 billion).
Saudi Arabian Airlines announced an agreement to install SwiftBroadband Mobile OnAir and WiFi Internet OnAir communications technology on its fleet of A330s that fly international routes.
ICAO yesterday commenced its three-day High Level Meeting on Aviation and Climate Change in Montreal, with nations aiming to come together under UN auspices to reach agreement on measures to manage aviation's carbon dioxide emissions.
Travelport acquired Galileo Polska from Galileo Distribution System. The entity will become the second wholly owned direct operation for Travelport in Poland. The former Galileo Polska employees will have new roles working for Travelport, it said.
Lufthansa plans to re-launch onboard Internet service, which it suspended in late 2006 when Connexion by Boeing shut down ( ATWOnline, Aug. 18, 2006). German news service dpa reported that LH and Panasonic Avionics will hold a press conference next week announcing the new service. Panasonic's solution will be able to use some of the Connexion infrastructure onboard the nearly 70 aircraft that LH previously equipped for Internet access.
Assn. of European Airlines pushed back against European pilots who earlier this week held protests across the continent calling for changes to EU flight/duty-time rules. At an "action day" Monday, pilots unions lobbied for "concrete legislative changes. . .to ensure passengers and crews are protected against fatigue-related safety risks" ( ATWOnline, Oct. 6).
US Dept. of Transportation yesterday issued a safety advisory regarding the shipment of lithium batteries in passenger and cargo aircraft, warning that battery-caused "fires in aircraft can result in catastrophic events presenting unique challenges not encountered in other transport modes."
Rockwell Collins was selected by Condor Berlin to supply its Airshow 4200 moving map and inflight information system for its new fleet of A320s. Upgrades are scheduled for between 2009 and 20011.
SITA signed a five-year contract with Norwegian Air Shuttle to provide ACARS services for the carrier's fleet of 58 737-800s, the last of which is due for delivery in 2014. The ACARS service will allow Norwegian to meet the EU's Single European Sky requirements for all new aircraft supplied after 2011.
EU and US negotiators commenced the fourth round of Stage 2 open skies talks in Washington yesterday, focusing on liberalization of traffic rights and foreign investment, state-aid, security and the environment. The Stage 1 agreement now in effect requires the conclusion of a Stage 2 accord by October 2010 ( ATWOnline, May 6).
Boeing yesterday pushed back first flight of the 747-8 freighter to "early next year" and first delivery to the 2010 fourth quarter and said it will report a $1 billion charge on the program in its third-quarter earnings.
Turkish Airlines and Asiana Airlines will extend their codeshare agreement to include TK's network beyond its hub at Istanbul Ataturk and Asiana's network beyond Seoul Incheon from Oct. 25. Separately, TK inked a six-year leasing agreement with Celestial Aviation Trading 66 for two 737-700s.
British Airways said it has accepted voluntary redundancy from 1,000 flight attendants and will allow an additional 3,000 cabin crew to down-gauge to part-time. It is seeking to cut 3,700 fulltime-equivalent positions by March 31. It said the latest flight attendant cuts/moves to part-time comprise 1,700 fulltime-equivalent position reductions.
Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe lashed out at governments for their "money-grabbing" emissions taxes and criticized ICAO for "its paralysis" on forging an agreement on limiting emissions from aviation.
News from Travel Technology Update: The unbundled fare is the airlines' new best friend, enabling them to boost revenues through fees for checked bags, seat assignments and other items that used to be included in the fare. And while the airlines know that the fees can be a lifeline -- the industry collected $669.6 million in baggage fees in the second quarter, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics -- they have difficulty pinpointing which flights are ancillary revenue generators.
Verizon Business signed a six-year agreement with JetBlue Airways to manage the airline's IT data center and network needs as well as provide security and IT consulting services. A newly built IP-based voice and data network will support airport kiosks, wireless Internet access and an advanced reservation system. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
TAM signed agreements with Austrian Airlines and bmi that allow members of its frequent-flyer program to accumulate and redeem points on flights operated by both airlines.
