SuperJet International signed an LOI with Armavia Airlines for after-sales support of the carrier's fleet of Sukhoi Superjet 100s. The Armenian carrier, which has firm orders for two of the type plus two options, intends to finalize a five-year "SuperCare" agreement by the end of November. SuperJet also signed an MOU with Budapest-based Aeroplex for MRO services to support SSJ 100s.
ST Aerospace yesterday signed a three-year maintenance service agreement with Copa Airlines covering maintenance, repair and overhaul of the carrier's fleet of 28 737NGs and 15 E-190s as well as an additional 11 E-190s operated by subsidiary Aero Republica. The contract, an extension of a previous accord signed three years ago that allowed ST Aerospace to launch services in Panama, commences immediately and is valued at $18.5 million.
Austrian Airlines flew 1.71 billion RPKs in July, an 11.6% decrease year-over-year. Capacity was down 11.7% to 2.14 billion ASKs, leaving load factor level at 79.8%. Aer Lingus flew 1.72 billion RPKs in July, up 0.2% year-over-year, against a 1.5% increase in capacity to 2.09 billion ASKs. Load factor fell 1 point to 82.3%.
SITA announced that it became "the first platform provider" to achieve certification demonstrating that its Common Use Passenger Processing System "is fully compliant with the pre-released version of the IATA CUPPS Technical Specification." SITA's CUPPS pilot started in January at Orlando International.
CSA Czech Airlines detailed its workforce reduction plans, saying that 860 of its 4,600 employees will be let go and the cuts will affect all areas of the company. The carrier will lay off about 140 pilots (about 25%) and 240 flight attendants, the Mlada fronta DNES newspaper reported. The least affected group will be administrative employees, of whom 15% are to be dismissed.
Hawaiian Airlines said it has hired more than 100 maintenance, service, contract, ramp and cleaning personnel "in recent months" and plans to add 170 more employees (including 25 pilots and 30 flight attendants) by early next year as it prepares for the April delivery of its first A330-200. It currently has 3,756 employees. It signed an order for six A330-200s and six A350-800s, plus purchase rights for six of each type, 18 months ago.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accused Emirates of conspiring to fix cargo rates and fuel surcharges on international flights from 2002 to 2006 and initiated legal action aimed at imposing financial penalties on the Dubai-based carrier. EK told this website that it emphatically denied the charges and would defend itself in Australian court proceedings, which are expected to take place in Sydney next month. It becomes the ninth carrier to face ACCC charges related to cargo price-fixing; six including Qantas have been ordered to pay penalties.
IATA said that while June passenger traffic figures indicated "some stabilization in air travel demand," noting that even the fall in premium demand "moderated," premium revenue "was still declining at a rate close to 40% in June." In a "Premium Travel Monitor" issued yesterday, the organization explained that "the issue now is that this stabilization of passenger numbers is partly being achieved at the expense of much lower yields as airlines seek to boost cash flow by making more cheaper seats available. Revenue from premium travel fell an estimated 33% in Q1 and 41% in Q2."
An estimated 100 Midwest Airlines employees will lose their jobs following its acquisition by Republic Airways Holdings, a Republic spokesperson confirmed yesterday to ATWOnline.
Libyan Airlines signed an MOU with OnAir to install mobile and inflight Internet service on its seven new A320s, which it expects to start taking next year.
Gulfstream International Airlines parent Gulfstream International Group announced a $2.2 million second-quarter profit, reversed from a $3.5 million loss in the year-ago quarter. Result largely was due to a $2 million noncash tax benefit, although the Florida-based regional was profitable on the operating level as well with a $984,000 surplus comparing to a $5.5 million deficit in the second quarter of 2008.
Kenya Airways workers represented by the Aviation & Allied Workers Union called off a two-day strike Sunday after reaching an agreement with management on a pay increase, KQ said in a statement. Flights from Nairobi were delayed Friday and Saturday as some 3,000 workers went on strike over pay. The new plan includes an interim wage award of 10% for the first year and another 10% for the second, the airline said.
Southwest Airlines Pilots Assn. confirmed in a statement issued Friday that the union's refusal to integrate its seniority list with that of Frontier Airlines led to the impasse that scuttled SWA's bid for the Denver-based carrier ( ATWOnline, Aug. 17).
Turkish Airlines flew 21.3 billion RPKs during the first seven months of 2009, up 12.4% over the year-ago period. Capacity rose 19.7% to 30.6 billion ASKs and load factor fell 4.5 points to 69.5%.
US Air Transport Assn. predicted a 3.5% year-over-year drop in the number of passengers traveling globally on US carriers over the Sept. 2-Sept. 9 Labor Day holiday period. It expects that an estimated 16 million travelers, down from 17 million last year, will take to the skies. "Passengers should expect airports to be less crowded, but planes will be at or near capacity during this Labor Day holiday period," ATA President and CEO James May said.
Strategic Airlines, an Australian scheduled, charter and ACMI operator, said it received an AOC from the French DGAC last week. It plans to operate two A320s in Europe. One already is flying on wet-lease with Solomon Airlines and the second is expected to be available this month for ACMI and charter flights. Strategic acquired OzJet Airlines in June ( ATWOnline, June 30).
UK government will provide Airbus with up to £340 million ($562.2 million) of repayable launch aid for development of the A350, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson confirmed during a visit to Airbus's Filton facility Friday. At the Paris Air Show in June, European governments said they reached agreement to give Airbus €3.5 billion ($4.97 billion) in soft loans for A350 development. The French and German governments already have pledged a combined €2.5 billion for the project, while Spain is expected to loan around €400 million. A statement from the UK Dept.
British Airways said it held "positive" talks with Iberia last week in London about their planned merger. "We have now met twice with the new management team at Iberia and will meet again in due course," CEO Willie Walsh told BA News, the carrier's in-house weekly.
Spain's Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Commission released another report yesterday on the August 2008 crash of a Spanair MD-82 that killed 154 people, confirming that the pilots did not know the aircraft's flaps and slats were not extended as it attempted to take off from Madrid ( ATWOnline, Oct. 13, 2008). "The aircraft had the standard procedures and checklists in force. . .which included the selection and confirmation of the correct configuration for takeoff," the report said, according to Reuters.
LOT Polish Airlines suffered a PLN178 million ($60.9 million) loss in the first six months of 2009, which included the closure of its low-cost subsidiary Centralwings ( ATWOnline, April 2), and will bring in a financial adviser to help sell new shares, Reuters reported. "Options include selling a stake to another carrier, a financial investor or even floating the airline on a stock exchange," CEO Sebastian Mikosz was quoted as saying.
Aircraft Leasing and Management arranged the sale of and delivered an additional BAe 146-300 to Lima-based Star Peru on behalf of Flybe, which has replaced its BAe 146 fleet with E-195s. ALM is remarketing the remaining Flybe 146s.
Lufthansa Systems will run the most significant components of Swiss International Air Lines' IT infrastructure beginning in 2010, Swiss said. "By outsourcing central data center services to Lufthansa Systems, we can cut costs without compromising our high standards of quality, reliability and flexibility," the Lufthansa Group subsidiary said in a statement. The outsourcing agreement covers migration and operation of more than 100 business-critical applications on a variety of operating systems.
Belavia Belarusian Airlines acquired a 737-500 from ILFC, bringing its fleet to five 737-500s, three 737-300s, three CRJ100/200s, four Tu 154-Ms, and one Tu-134.
