United Airlines promoted VP-Pacific Mark Schwab to senior VP-alliances, international and regulatory affairs and named James Mueller, leader of the customer solutions team, to succeed him. Schwab succeeds Mike Whitaker, who is leaving the company.
ATR has launched a 'Door-2-Door' service, a new option for its comprehensive range of ATR customer services. The company has aircraft in service with both Oman Air and Iran
Messier Services will overhaul landing gear on LAN Airlines' fleet of 68 A320 family aircraft under an exclusive agreement with the Chilean carrier. Work will commence immediately at Messier's Queretaro facility. A second deal with LAN covers exchange and overhaul of landing gear for its A340s beginning in 2010. Work will take place in Mosheim.
TIMCO Aviation Services and Hindustan Aeronautics signed a joint venture agreement to provide MRO in India and the "neighboring region," focusing on scheduled C checks and heavy maintenance services for operators of Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies. They plan to operate out of a facility at HAL's Bangalore complex and said they are "assessing groundbreaking schedule alternatives with a focus on the shifting growth outlook for the Indian and regional fleets."
Mxi Technologies announced that its software supporting the first three A380s within the Qantas fleet has gone live. Implementation of the Maintenix software "provides Qantas with such features as Field Loadable Software configuration management and Civil Aviation Safety Authority-approved electronic certification and recordkeeping," Mxi said.
SR Technics announced that Mubadala Development Co., the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, "acquired sole control" of the company and increased its shareholding to 70% by acquiring the 30% held by Istithmar. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise holds the remaining 30%. SRT said it will continue to operate as an independent brand. The three UAE-based companies acquired it in 2006 from 3i (56%) and Star Capital (20%), other institutional investors (12.7%) and SRT management ( ATWOnline, Nov.
Nordam Repair Group of Tulsa announced a three-year contract with Boeing to provide MRO on 737NG CFM56-7 thrust reversers. A service bulletin calls for inspection of the thrust reverser inner walls and insulation blankets and correction of any heat-related issues.
Japan Airlines applied for a ¥200 billion ($2.03 billion) loan from the Development Bank of Japan, a spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg News, which said the carrier has ¥35 billion in bonds maturing over the next four months. JAL forecast a ¥34 billion net loss for the fiscal year ended March 31 ( ATWOnline, Feb. 9).
Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras, the Campinas-based startup, expects to be operating in the black by year end and is flying at more than 70% capacity this month. It posted a 67% load factor in March, founder David Neeleman told Bloomberg News, and currently flies nine E-190s/195s. "People can afford to fly," Neeleman said. "They just have not been in the habit of doing it because fares have been so high in the past and service hasn't existed."
The European Commission confirmed yesterday that it has opened antitrust investigations against four Star Alliance members and three oneworld carriers regarding concerns that their current or planned agreements to coordinate commercial, marketing and operational activities on transatlantic routes might breach EU rules.
News from Travel Technology Update: Bill Me Later likes to keep it simple, for both consumers and merchants. The company can approve U.S. residents for deferred payment in a matter of seconds, with just the address, the last four digits of a customer's Social Security number and a birthdate. For merchants, Bill Me Later provides a guaranteed payment: Bill Me Later takes the risk of consumer defaults, although John Reistrup, vice president of travel marketing, said that rarely happens. "We've been pretty conservative," he said.
Macquarie AirFinance closed the purchase of two CFM56-5B3/P-powered A321-200s from Aercap. Aircraft are on lease to Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia through 2015.
Jamaica Defense Force counterterrorism unit stormed a CanJet 737 that had been hijacked on the ground for more than 8 hr. at Montego Bay by a lone gunman early yesterday morning, arresting the perpetrator and freeing six hostages. The ordeal began at around 10 p.m. Sunday night when "a young man armed with a gun. . .forced his way through security checkpoints" and boarded the 737, which was on a stopover en route to Santa Clara, Cuba, from Halifax, according to CanJet. The perpetrator demanded to be taken to Cuba.
Austrian Airlines Group flew 1.24 billion RPKs in March, an 18.1% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 14.3% to 1.72 billion ASKs and load factor was down 3.3 points to 72.1%. Pinnacle Airlines flew 407.1 million RPMs in March, up 0.5% year-over-year, against a 6.4% increase in capacity to 550.4 million ASMs. Load factor dropped 4.3 points to 74%. SkyEurope Airlines transported 307,540 passengers last month, down 39% year-over-year. Load factor rose 2.7 points to 73.6%.
US Environmental Protection Agency last Friday issued a proposed ruling that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases "contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare." The ruling, which had been expected, sets the stage for the agency to regulate and even restrict CO2 emissions under the Clean Air Act. The proposed finding now moves to a public comment period. In addition to CO2, EPA identified five other gases--Methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride--that it said are contributing to global warming.
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.
