Comair, a regional subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, will close its maintenance base at Orlando International on Sept. 7 and eliminate 81 jobs, according to a "Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification" filed with the state of Florida and cited by the Orlando Business Journal. Comair said "unprecedented financial challenges due to difficult economic times" prompted the decision. Some employees will be eligible for employment elsewhere within the airline.
The British Airline Pilots Assn. announced a tentative "pay and productivity package" it said would deliver permanent annual savings to British Airways of £26 million ($42.5 million) beginning Oct. 1. The deal, which it said "will help BA get through the current economic downturn whilst, for the first time, giving pilots the mechanism to take a real share in the wealth they will help to create," remains subject to membership ratification. Some 95% of BA's 3,200 pilots are BALPA members.
Thai Airways appointed Piyasvasti Amranand, who served as Thailand's energy minister in 2006-08, as its new president. He will fill the vacancy left by Apinan Sumanaseni's resignation last year. In addition, Chairman Ampon Kittiampon told reporters that Thai will borrow THB23 billion ($670.5 million) from four domestic banks but still needs an additional THB14 billion from foreign lenders for aircraft financing, according to press reports ( ATWOnline, March 2).
Honeywell Aerospace was selected by Gulf Air to provide 15 131-9A APUs for Gulf's A320s scheduled for delivery from this year through 2012. The contract is valued at more than $8 million and covers maintenance through 2022.
Continental Airlines 777 landed safely at Newark yesterday morning after Capt. Craig Lennel, 60, died during the flight from Brussels. CO said the pilot "apparently [died] of natural causes," according to CNN, and the first officer and a reserve officer took the controls. The Associated Press reported that the 247 passengers onboard were not told of the pilot's death, although several passengers, including a doctor, approached the cockpit after the crew asked for the help of any medical professionals onboard.
US Airways named Northwest Airlines Assistant Treasurer Keith Bush as VP-financial planning and analysis and promoted MD-Technology Delivery Todd Christy to VP-business technology.
WestJet and the WestJet Pilots Assn. announced the ratification of a four-year labor agreement effective July 1 with 89% of those voting approving the deal. WJPA Chairman Dave DeVeaux said the contract provides for "fair and market-driven pay scales" and maintains the pilots' position as stakeholders in the LCC.
Mercator, the Dubai-based business technology provider has introduced Jupiter, its new passenger services package, into the marketplace with Kuwait Airways becoming the launch customer
Lufthansa Technik signed a 10-year contract with SAS Scandinavian Airlines covering MRO on landing gear on four A319s, eight A321s, four A330s and seven A340s. AJW Aviation expanded its power-by-the-hour contract with Bulgarian charter airline BH Air to include an additional three A320s.
Continental Airlines said that its 737-800 biofuel demonstration flight conducted Jan. 7 resulted in a 1.1% increase in fuel efficiency in the engine fueled by a 50/50 blend of algae-derived biofuel and traditional jet fuel. Greenhouse gas emissions from the CFM56-7Bs were estimated to be reduced 60%-80%. The flight was conducted over Houston in partnership with Boeing, GE Aviation/CFM International and Honeywell subsidiary UOP and was the first such test conducted by a commercial airline in North America.
Cyclone Manufacturing of Ontario won a three-year, $12 million contract from Embraer to supply structural components for the E-190/195 and the Legacy 450-500. E-jet component deliveries (for eight aircraft per month) are scheduled to begin in late July.
Singapore Airlines flew 5.92 billion RPKs in May, down 22.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 13.9% to 8.85 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 7.8 points to 66.9%. Turkish Airlines flew 13.88 billion RPKs from January through May, up 10.8% from the year-ago period. Capacity rose 18.5% to 20.56 billion ASKs and load factor fell 4.7 points to 67.5%.
GKN Aerospace selected Brotje Automation of Germany to provide automated assembly equipment for A350 wing structures. The assembly line will begin operating in 2010.
Japan Airlines said the strikes scheduled to start yesterday by four JAL International unions were cancelled ( ATWOnline, June 16) and that all flights were expected to operate normally.
SITA announced a three-year deal with Aeroflot to implement its airport management system at Moscow Sheremetyevo. System already is in use in Terminals 1 and 2 and will be implemented in T3 when it opens later this year. Deal includes the provision of SITA's AirportResource Manager and AirportHandling Manager.
News from Travel Technology Update: Virgin Blue, the Australian low-cost carrier, will migrate to Navitaire's New Skies platform later this year. Virgin Blue has been using Navitaire's Open Skies system since its launch.
Air Corporation Employees Union, Air India's largest union, will go on "indefinite strike" beginning July 1 if the airline carries through with its plan to delay employee wages ( ATWOnline, June 16), General Secretary J.B. Kadian told the Indo-Asian News Service. "This has never happened in Air India. We are not going to accept this at any cost," Kadian said.
IATA said April international premium traffic fell 22% year-over-year, a steeper decline than the 19.2% reported in the first quarter and a number distorted by the shift in this year's Easter holiday to April, which often depresses business traffic. The number of passengers traveling on economy tickets inched up 0.3% year-over-year. "It is too soon to say whether April marked a turning point in the current down cycle of air travel," IATA said. "Unfortunately, fares and yields are falling at an increasing rate so even if traffic volumes are stabilizing, revenues are not."
Continuing its effort to improve airline safety, US FAA said this week that it wants to improve training and make it easier for prospective employers to access complete FAA files for pilot applicants. The renewed focus on safety was sparked by February's fatal crash of a Colgan Air Q400 outside Buffalo. The pilot, Marvin Renslow, did not reveal to Colgan that he had failed check rides prior to his employment at the regional carrier.
US Dept. of Transportation reported that the 10 US carriers collecting the highest amount in baggage fees racked up a total of $566.3 million in the first quarter, more than four times the $122.6 million collected in the year-ago period. American Airlines led with $108.1 million, followed by Delta Air Lines (excluding its Northwest Airlines subsidiary) at $102.8 million and US Airways at $94.2 million.
SAS Group flew 2.29 billion RPKs in May, down 18.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 16.7% to 3.2 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 1.2 points to 71.5%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 2.11 billion RPKs, down 19%, against a 17.5% fall in ASKs to 2.93 billion. Load factor was down 1.3 points to 72%. Alaska Airlines flew 1.5 billion RPMs in May, a 7.5% drop year-over-year. Capacity fell 6.3% to 1.95 billion ASMs and load factor was down 1 point to 76.8%.
