Singapore Airlines suffered another record passenger decline in March, a 23% year-over-year plunge to 1.3 million. RPKs fell 21.8% to 6.27 billion against a 9% cut in capacity to 9.03 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 11.4 points to 69.4%. Loads fell in all regions, with the deepest reduction (18 points) on European routes. China Southern Airlines flew 7.29 billion RPKs in March, up 4.8% year-over-year. Capacity climbed 3.3% to 9.65 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 1.1 points to 75.6%.
European Low Fares Airline Assn. urged UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling to remove the Air Passenger Duty or at the very least scrap the proposed increases due to take effect in November 2009 and November 2010 ( ATWOnline, Nov. 27, 2008). ELFAA member airlines carry more than one-third of all passengers departing UK airports.
Air Berlin may face a pilots strike as 82.2% of voting Vereinigung Cockpit members voted to approve a walkout. The union board must confirm the move. Talks broke down after AB said the union's proposals would result in an additional €30 million ($39.6 million) in personnel costs per year.
IATA expanded its agreement with the Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee to include safety provisions aimed at reducing accidents in Russia and the CIS. IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani, speaking last week at a press conference in Moscow, warned that "Russia's safety record is well below international standards" ( ATWOnline, Feb. 20). He noted that Russian airlines have an accident rate of one per 155,000 flights, "far worse than the global average of one accident for every 1.2 million flights.
Aerospace and Defence Industries Assn. of Europe supported calls from Airbus and ATR for both EU and national authorities "to provide financial support to the industry's customers, in particular through the implementation of funding schemes aimed at facilitating airlines' access to liquidity for the purchasing of new aircraft."
Southwest Airlines Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly last week strongly rejected Wall Street advice that the LCC begin charging for checked baggage to generate more revenue. During a conference call to discuss SWA's third consecutive quarterly loss, multiple analysts pushed Kelly to follow other US carriers and implement baggage fees. But he insisted the move would drive away customers. "The bottom line assessment is we believe we're having a meaningful impact [telling consumers] that we are alone in not charging bag fees and that [impression] is increasing our demand," Kelly explained.
SIA Engineering extended the coverage of a three-year Fleet Management and Support Services contract with Gulf Air. Initial deal covered 14 A320s, six A330s and nine A340s and was valued at $100 million. Subsequently, the contract was extended to cover an additional four A330s, one A320 and increased scope of services, bringing the total value of to $135 million.
Airbus said it "achieved a significant maintenance cost improvement due to the optimization of scheduled maintenance program intervals" for the A330/A340 family. The A check interval has been extended from 600 to 800 flight hr. and the heavy maintenance check from 10 years to 12. The company said that as a result, operators typically will need to perform five A checks per year rather than seven based on "typical utilization" of 4,400 flight hr. per year.
Nice Cote d'Azur Airport and Air France, in partnership with Amadeus and IER, are trialing a new "Pass and Fly" boarding device through Oct. 30 on the Nice-Paris Orly route. It is being offered to members of NCE's Club Airport Premier program and AF's loyalty program.
Blue Wings' future is up in the air again following a threat from majority shareholder Alexander Lebedev to "probably file for bankruptcy. . .to make a point that it is the German government's fault." Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Lebedev said the LBA still has not reissued Blue Wings' operating license and that the suspended carrier has lost some €25 million ($33.1 million) this month ( ATWOnline, April 8).
ITA Software signed a multiyear contract renewal with Alaska Air Group covering ITA's ReShop and Reward pre- and post-departure itinerary change solution for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. SITA announced that Tarom selected its Flight Operations solution. The Romanian carrier, scheduled to join SkyTeam later this year, will employ FO's full suite including FleetWatch, CrewWatch, FleetPlan and FleetPlan Max to manage schedules, aircraft and crew.
Eroding international premium traffic showed no signs of recovery in February, plunging 21.1% year-over-year following January's 16.7% drop, IATA reported. International economy traffic also fell, lowering 8.3% in February after a 4.7% dip in January. But it is the steep slide in demand for premium tickets that truly has shaken the global airline industry ( ATWOnline, March 18).
SuperJet International, the Sukhoi/Alenia Aeronautica joint venture, received EASA Part 145 certification from ENAC allowing it to perform aircraft maintenance, completion and customization work. The Venice-based marketing, customization and support company for the Superjet 100 said it hopes to receive Part 147 training certification and Design Organization Approval, essential to the design and development of VIP and cargo variants, by year end. That certification also will enable it to carry out line maintenance on A320s at Venice.
Enerjet, a Canadian charter airline, signed a five-year component support contract with Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance covering maintenance and pool access for its 737NGs. Boeing and KLM E&M's 737NG component services program will offer Enerjet cost savings of up to 30% and can ship parts from a global pool within 24 hr., the companies claimed.
Ryanair confirmed that TUI UK agreed to stop "screenscraping" its website in settlement of legal proceedings filed against it. The English High Court approved the cease-and-desist agreement that was signed by TUI on March 26 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 19, 2008).
Lufthansa informed the European Commission formally of its plans to acquire Chairman Michael Bishop's 50%-plus-one-share stake in bmi, lifting its holding in the UK carrier to 80% ( ATWOnline, Jan. 14). The EC set a May 14 provisional deadline for its initial review. The regulator also is reviewing Lufthansa's planned takeover of SN Airholding, parent company of Brussels Airlines.
Air France KLM Group yesterday confirmed reports that it could cut up to 3,000 jobs in the current fiscal year that started April 1 and the 2010-11 fiscal year in response to falling demand.
Naverus signed an agreement with Sichuan Airlines to provide tailored Required Navigation Performance-based procedures at Lhasa. Naverus also will assist Sichuan in obtaining regulatory approval to fly the procedures with its fleet of A319s.
GE Aviation said US FAA certified the flight management system software Update 10.8 for 737NGs. The FMS 10.8 update is standard fit for all 737 production aircraft from February. According to GE, it provides improved operation and increased navigation data base size and supports the blended winglet installation on all 737s. It is compliant with RNP standards and provides output of aircraft 4-D trajectory.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce called for an overhaul of Australia's 10-year depreciation policy, which puts the airline at a significant disadvantage compared to carriers like Singapore Airlines, which has a three-year schedule. "All we want is a level playing field," he told ATWOnline yesterday.
Alaska Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Assn. announced the finalization of a tentative agreement covering 1,455 pilots, concluding more than two years of negotiations. Four-year deal will be presented to ALPA members for ratification next month. Terms were not disclosed.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew 7.58 billion RPKs in March, down 4.5% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 0.8% to 9.59 billion ASKs and load factor fell 3 points to 79.1%. WestJet flew 1.25 billion RPMs in March, up 0.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 6.3% to 1.52 billion ASMs and load factor fell 4.7 points to 81.9%. It said first-quarter RASM slid 10%-12% year-over-year.
Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme, the pension fund for Aer Lingus and Dublin Airport Authority employees, is likely to suffer a €628 million ($830.8 million) shortfall, according to a SIPTU report cited by The Independent. The union called the shortfall "an extremely challenging vista that must the addressed" and called on EI and DAA to set aside funds from cash reserves to "secure the viability" of the scheme. EI's and DAA's combined net cash balance is nearly €1.4 billion, SIPTU said.
PASSUR Aerospace announced that JetBlue Airways contracted for its ATC Portal, a "next-generation traffic flow management solution that helps improve hub reliability through advanced 'health of the airport' analysis, trend predictions, and alerts capabilities," according to the company.
