Ryanair yesterday said it has complained to the European Commission about Ireland's €10 ($14.23) air passenger duty, which it blamed for last month's decision to cut capacity at Dublin and Shannon ( ATWOnline, June 18).
Air France confirmed a Le Figaro report that one of its A320s flying from Rome Fiumicino to Paris Charles de Gaulle on July 13 had a "very brief six-second anomaly" in its airspeed data display that was "probably due to icing at high altitude." The aircraft was fitted with the new Thales BA probes, AF noted, adding that the crew applied the necessary procedures and the aircraft maintained its flight path with no change. The incident was reported and is being examined closely by manufacturers and authorities, AF said.
SpiceJet reported a INR263 million ($5.4 million) profit in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, reversed from a INR1.29 billion loss in the year-ago period. It said operating revenue rose 15% year-over-year on a 21% jump in passenger numbers. Unit cost fell 24% as ASKs climbed 12%. Load factor rose 6 points to 76%. "We had a great quarter given the challenges the industry continues to face. We saw an increased acceptance of our service by the consumers. This helped in absorbing the additional 10% capacity that we deployed over last year," CEO Sanjay Aggarwal said.
Air China (CNY1.5 billion ($219.3 million)), China Southern Airlines (CNY1.5 billion) and China Eastern Airlines (CNY100 million) are expected to receive additional capital injections from the Chinese government, according to Shanghai Securities News. CEA Board Secretary Luo Zhuping responded by saying that the airline will not receive any new money until its merger with Shanghai Airlines is complete ( ATWOnline, July 14).
Lufthansa asked the Austrian Takeover Commission to extend the deadline for its proposed acquisition of Austrian Airlines Group by one month to Aug. 31 because the European Commission has not yet cleared the tie-up, while the EC confirmed yesterday that it has received a new proposal from the German company addressing some of the competition concerns associated with the potential merger.
Cargoitalia operated its first commercial flight with an 87% load factor, the reorganized airline said. The MD-11SF departed Milan Malpensa on July 25 for Hong Kong and returned via Almaty on Monday ( ATWOnline, July 21).
News from Travel Technology Update: United Airlines told a group of congressmen and senators that it would delay by up to 60 days the implementation of a policy that denies certain agencies the right to use the carrier's credit card merchant accounts to process credit card sales for United tickets. In response to a request from the group to reconsider or at least delay the move, United said it would "individually notify and assist the impacted agents that request more time to adjust to this change, providing up to sixty additional days to transition."
East Star Airlines' effort to re-launch operations with new investment is facing a significant obstacle as the team charged with its restructuring, composed largely of Wuhan government officials, is insisting that bankruptcy is the only option ( ATWOnline, July 22). "Generally speaking, it is impossible for East Star to accept a takeover offer as it lacks the basic conditions to do so," said Zhang Jie, an attorney who represents the team.
Ryanair launched a booking service on its website allowing passengers to purchase their seats up to 6 hr. before departure and check in online up to 4 hr. before the flight. Separately, it confirmed that it has lodged proceedings in the High Court in Dublin against German ticket tout Travelviva. Ryanair said it is the first of a number of High Court cases it intends to bring over the coming weeks against European "screenscrapers."
Airbus parent EADS reported second-quarter net income of €208 million ($296.1 million), a 76% increase over a €118 million profit in the year-ago period, and noted that "the negative [macroeconomic] trend. . .stopped or slightly reversed recently."
US National Transportation Safety Board swore in Deborah Hersman, a member for five years, as chairman. She succeeds Mark Rosenker, who announced his resignation last week ( ATWOnline, July 22). Before joining NTSB she was a senior professional staff member of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Air Mauritius appointed Kamal Taposeea chairman.
Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents Northwest Airlines flight attendants, asked the US National Mediation Board to declare that NWA's merger with Delta Air Lines requires a representation election for all the new airline's cabin staff. DL flight attendants are not unionized.
European Commission yesterday described the number of mislaid, damaged or lost bags at EU airports as "excessive and unacceptable" and said it is considering ways to improve current legislation if the situation does not improve. "In order to protect passengers' rights adequately, we should provide citizens with the appropriate instruments. For the time being these instruments are not available," EC VP-Transport Antonio Tajani said.
AAR Corp. signed a letter of intent with SuperJet International to become a service center for the Superjet 100. AAR will provide heavy airframe maintenance, modifications, interior and exterior refurbishment, unscheduled maintenance service and will have field teams available for off-site support.
Singapore Airlines flew 6.46 billion RPKs in June, an 18.2% plunge from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 14.4% to 8.54 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 3.5 points to 75.7%. Air New Zealand flew 2.32 billion RPKs in June, down 10.1% year-over-year, against a 12.3% cut in capacity to 2.92 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 2 points to 79.5%.
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.
