SAS Group said June yield dropped an estimated 5.3% year-over-year. Group airlines flew 2.52 billion RPKs during the month, down 17%, against a 13.2% cut in capacity to 3.29 billion ASKs. Load factor dropped 3.1 points to 76.7%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 2.32 billion RPKs, down 14.9%, against a 15% fall in ASKs to 3.01 billion. Load factor rose 0.1 point to 77.2%. Aer Lingus flew 1.6 billion RPKs in June, a 0.7% decline year-over-year. Capacity dipped 0.5% to 1.97 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 0.2 points to 81.3%.
US House of Representatives today will unveil legislation that, if passed, will require more stringent screening and training for pilots flying commercial aircraft. The Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009 is being introduced by bipartisan leadership of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the subcommittee on aviation including James Oberstar (D-Minn.), John Mica (R-Fla.), Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) and Thomas Petri (R-Wis.). The proposed law follows a series of Congressional hearings on the February crash of a Colgan Air Q400 that killed 50.
Embraer broke ground Sunday on a 15,000-sq.-m. facility in Evora that will be "dedicated to manufacturing complex airframe structures and components in composite materials." It is due to be completed at the end of 2011 and represents an investment of €48 million ($68.2 million), the manufacturer said.
OpenSkies said it will suspend its daily Amsterdam-New York JFK service on Aug. 16, citing a significant drop in demand due to the current economic environment. The British Airways subsidiary launched the route late last year and said it developed a 16% market share since then, but "it was not enough to sustain a profitable service at this time," CEO Dale Moss conceded.
Cambodia Angkor Air, a joint venture between the Cambodian government (51%) and Vietnam Airlines (49%), was launched at a Phnom Penh ceremony yesterday. Officials said the startup is capitalized at $100 million and will begin flying today to Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City with two ATR 72s, according to press reports from the capital. Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said the carrier will operate an A321 in the "near future," and eventually will serve Sihanoukville and Bangkok. The country's Royal Air Cambodge shut down in 2001.
Airports Council International-World said the number of arriving and departing passengers worldwide was 4.87 billion in 2008, up just 0.1% from 2007. A record 1,357 airports, which account for 98% of global traffic, were included in the report released yesterday. "We are a long way from the dynamic 6.8% growth witnessed in 2007," ACI-World DG Angela Gittens said. Domestic freight dropped more than 5.4% while international freight was reduced by 2.5%. Aircraft movements fell 2.1% to 77 million. The impact of crude oil prices and the global recession were cited as reasons for the decline.
United Airlines said that around 2,100 flight attendants have accepted voluntary furloughs, eliminating the need for involuntary measures. By Aug. 31 UA will reduce its cabin staff by 2,100 positions, including the original 1,550 voluntary furloughs announced last fall ( ATWOnline, Sept. 29, 2008).
Aircell Chairman Ron LeMay and President and CEO Jack Blumenstein have swapped titles, the inflight Internet and communications service company announced.
Volga-Dnepr Group, the outsize air cargo specialist that also operates scheduled 747 freighter carrier AirBridgeCargo Airlines, said its overall traffic for the first six months of 2009 fell 5% to 835,000 FTKs. ABC actually saw an uptick as it transported 65,100 tons of freight during the half year, a 4.6% year-over-year increase.
American Airlines Friday raised its fee for a first and second checked bag on flights within the US by $5. The fee for the first bag will be $20 instead of $15 and for the second $30 instead of $25. The change, which also applies to American Eagle and AmericanConnection flights, will take effect for tickets purchased on or after Aug. 14.
Aria Air Il-62 originating in Tehran crashed on landing at Mashhad Friday, killing at least 16 including the carrier's managing director, in the second fatal crash in Iran in fewer than 10 days. Mehdi Dadpey, who was one of Aria's founders in 1999, headed the Iranian airline and also served as a flight captain including on Friday's doomed Flight 1525. The carrier was grounded by Iranian authorities following the crash.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Friday he would approve Air Canada's agreements with its unions and retirees for a 21-month moratorium on pension fund contributions and fixed payments for the 2011-13 period ( ATWOnline, July 21). He added that he "would not have [granted approval] without the consent of the unions."
Garuda Indonesia last week rolled out a new product, service concept and corporate identity. The carrier, which earlier this month was removed from the EU's list of banned airlines ( ATWOnline, July 15), is in the process of taking delivery of 64 aircraft over the next two years including 10 777-300ERs in 2011.
UK passengers have been making claims against British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways in increasing numbers relating to the carriers' price-fixing practices on long-haul flights between Aug. 11, 2004, and March 23, 2006, Dow Jones reported ( ATWOnline, July 14). More than 211,000 refunds have been processed so far, of which 170,000 are from UK passengers, claimant law firm Hausfeld & Co. LLP said. Payment has been authorized in 133,000 of these cases.
Kales Airline Services was appointed by Canadian carrier Air Transat Cargo to be its GSA in Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic states, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania and Ukraine.
Travelport GDS announced a new full-content agreement with Finnair providing Travelport GDS-connected travel agents worldwide with access to Finnair's entire published inventory and fares.
MyAir suspended all operations following a decision by Italian civil aviation authority ENAC to revoke the LCC's AOC effective July 24. ENAC said MyAir's service became unreliable owing to persistent financial difficulties and that it failed to meet restructuring-related obligations. The carrier had been flying on a provisional AOC since June 25. It operated scheduled services linking a dozen Italian cities and destinations in Europe and Morocco with a mixed fleet of A320s and CRJ900s. It commenced operations in December 2004 and had its main bases at Bergamo and Venice.
Air France KLM flew 17.07 billion RPKs in June, down 6.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 5% to 21.25 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 1.1 points to 80.3%. Air Canada and Jazz flew 4.17 billion RPMs in June, a 9.1% drop year-over-year, against a 7.6% cut in capacity to 5.15 billion ASMs. Load factor slipped 1.3 points to 80.9%. AirTran Airways flew 1.76 billion RPMs in June, down 6.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 5.3% to 2.11 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 1.1 points to 83.6%.
Lufthansa could be headed to another showdown with its pilots. The Vereinigung Cockpit union, which staged a strike last summer ( ATWOnline, July 24, 2008), is asking for a 6.4% pay increase for its 4,500 pilots over the next year or a 9.6% rise over the next 18 months, plus bonuses depending on LH's profitability, a spokesperson told several German media outlets. LH said talks with the union have been constructive, but neither side revealed specifics.
Continental Airlines, which announced 1,700 job cuts this week ( ATWOnline, July 22), told the Air Line Pilots Assn. that 310 pilots, or 7% of the total, could be furloughed, the Houston Chronicle reported. "If reductions are necessary, we expect to begin furloughing pilots as early as Sept. 23. We expect these furloughs to be temporary but at least six months in duration," the airline said in a letter sent to 310 pilots who were selected based on seniority, ALPA told the newspaper.
Copa Airlines said the US Export-Import Bank offered a final commitment for financing two 737-800s scheduled for delivery this year and preliminary commitments covering 10 additional aircraft for delivery in 2010-12. Copa has 25 737NGs on order from Boeing.
Oxford Aviation Academy signed a five-year agreement with British Airways covering provision of pilot training and simulator time for BA CityFlyer's incoming E-170s and E-190SRs.
Aeroflot carried 758,100 passengers in June, an 11.1% decline year-over-year. Load factor fell 3.8 points to 70.7%. Through the half-year, SU's passenger numbers fell 12.1% to 3.9 million, with load factor at 63.5%.
British Airways and unions are set to resume discussions today on 3,700 job cuts and working conditions, a GMB union spokesperson told Sky News. "Following three days of talks at [the UK Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service] last week, talks are due to resume. . .and some progress has been made. We do not expect the talks to conclude until later in August," the spokesperson said. BA had sought agreements by June 30 but has reached one only with its pilots ( ATWOnline, July 14).
