SR Technics appointed Andre Wall as COO. He also will become a member of the SR Technics Group executive board. SRT said that "the newly formed Operations Division will be home to all operating units within the group." Prior to joining SRT, Wall spent two years as COO of Jet Aviation in Zurich. Before that, he spent three years as president and CEO of MTU Maintenance in Berlin-Brandenburg.
Greek air traffic was suspended for about 6 hr. yesterday when controllers joined a national public sector strike protesting the government's handling of the recession. Numerous flights were cancelled as no air travel within, to or from Greece was possible during the period.
CSafe said Continental Airlines Cargo selected its AcuTemp RKN air cargo container with both cooling and heating capabilities as part of its structured cold chain program.
Colgan Air attempted to push back against allegations that the pilots of the Q400 that crashed Feb. 12 near Buffalo did not get adequate rest prior to the flight because of possible overscheduling, and the US Senate announced it will hold hearings next month to examine "stunning" issues raised by National Transportation Safety Board hearings on the accident.
Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson said yesterday that the US Dept. of Transportation's granting American Airlines, British Airways and other oneworld carriers antitrust immunity on transatlantic services "would create a monster monopoly on key routes between London Heathrow and the US." In a speech in Washington, he said BA/AA would control "nearly half of all takeoff and landing slots at London Heathrow" and that ATI would prove "disastrous" for the airline industry and consumers.
Bexair, the Bahrain-headquartered executive aviation operator has launched a new FBO company called Aventura Air Center, to own, operate and manage its FBO in Bahrain and expand FBO operations throughout the Middle East and other parts of the world.
Sabena Technics signed a five-year contract with Luxair to perform component repair and overhaul services, including pool access and consignment stock located in Luxembourg, on its 737 fleet comprising three 737-700s and one 737-500.
Ryanair said all new bookings from May 20 will be online check-in and bag-drop only as part of its policy to phase out the use of check-in desks at its 146 airports by Oct.1. The compulsory online check-in will come with a £5/€5 fee per person per flight. The LCC also will introduce a €40/£40 so-called "boarding card re-issue fee" for passengers arriving at the airport without a boarding pass. Additionally, it announced that it will not accept bookings for unaccompanied minors (under 16 years old) from May 20.
Continental Airlines announced yesterday that it will close its Tampa reservations office on July 19 with the elimination of 500 jobs. CO said it is offering "a number of voluntary programs to employees, including an early-out severance program and Company Offered Leaves of Absence. Tampa employees who would not otherwise be furloughed will have the option of transferring to other reservations centers located in Houston and Salt Lake City." The airline said the step is necessary in "response to reduced call volumes" caused by a "shift towards Web self-service" and the global recession.
China Eastern Airlines is expected to receive a further CNY2 billion ($294 million) capital injection from the Chinese government to help the struggling carrier survive. The Shanghai-based carrier was allocated CNY7 billion from Beijing at the end of 2008, which was approved by minority shareholders in February and is awaiting approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
Lufthansa Technik supervisory board reappointed executive board chairman August Henningsen to continue serving in that capacity for another five years until March 31, 2015. He was named to the position in January 2001.
The US Dept. of Transportation yesterday announced it intends to cancel proposed slot auctions at New York's three main area airports, reversing a controversial rule put in place by DOT in the waning days of the Bush administration.
Shanghai Airlines is expected to reduce capacity in its unprofitable cargo operation and expand into the South China market by establishing a second domestic base at Fushan in Guangdong Province for its subsidiary China United Airlines as it seeks to return to profit after losing CNY1.25 billion ($182.8 million) in 2008. "Our main task for this year is to survive the current difficult time," Chairman Zhou Chi said. Fushan is a military airport.
Airline ticket sales through the Arlington, Va.-based Airlines Reporting Corp. remained depressed for a fourth month, it reported yesterday. ARC handles US travel agency transactions. April total ticket sales, including airfares, taxes and fees, fell 26.1% compared to April 2008 to $5.79 billion. Total fares excluding taxes and fees declined 27.9% to $4.86 billion.
CHAMP Cargosystems announced that Cargolux will be the launch customer for what it says is "the first-ever graphical weight-and-balance solution specifically designed for the air freight sector."
AJW Aviation announced a five-year power-by-the-hour contract extension with Pakistani airline Air Blue, extending AJW support to cover a further 11 A319s and A321s being inducted into the fleet until 2011. The extension supplements an existing power-by-the-hour agreement between the companies.
AirTran Airways will leapfrog its competitors to become the first US major airline to offer wireless broadband Internet access across its entire fleet, the carrier said yesterday. It selected Aircell's Gogo Inflight to provide the Wi-Fi connection after spending about a year evaluating the offerings from four main suppliers, according to AirTran Senior VP-Marketing and Planning Kevin Healy. American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and others already are offering inflight broadband connectivity on selected aircraft but have not introduced it across their fleets.
Airbus has concluded testing of A320 Blended Winglets developed by Aviation Partners that it launched in December and is "4-6 weeks" from making a decision on whether to proceed with the program, Airbus Executive VP-Programs Tom Williams told media in Hamburg this week ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18, 2008). Director Product Marketing-A320 Family Stuart Mann said the manufacturer is "taking time to evaluate what we've learned" and that a conclusion will be reached "in a few weeks time, hopefully. .
The captain and first officer of the Colgan Air Q400 that crashed Feb. 12 near Buffalo were carrying on a "nonessential conversation" for at least 3 min. before the disastrous end of the flight, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed yesterday. Under FAA rules, pilots are to operate a sterile cockpit environment below 10,000 ft., confining any discussion to matters related directly to flight operations. During the conversation, both pilots voiced concerns about flying in icing conditions.
