Flydubai said it has hired 61 captains, 18 first officers and 80 cabin crew in preparation for its upcoming launch. The carrier said it received 11,500 applications.
LAN Airlines flew 2.46 billion RPKs in February, an 8.2% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 9.7% to 3.08 billion ASKs and load factor dipped 1.2 points to 80%. Aer Lingus flew 992 million RPKs in February, down 7.5% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 14.4% to 1.38 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 5.3 points to 72%. SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew a combined 1.2 billion RPMs in February, a 9.2% drop year-over-year. Capacity fell 9% to 1.61 billion ASMs and load factor slipped 0.1 point to 74.9%.
Continental Airlines Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner told the Houston Chronicle that "if the government wanted to re-regulate the business, I wouldn't be opposed to it" and that "what we've got today doesn't work. It isn't creating a stable industry." He told the paper that managing labor costs was key and "the structure of the [Railway Labor Act] creates a very cumbersome process." Separately, CO received tentative approval from the US Dept.
Virgin America will begin charging passengers $15 for their first piece of checked luggage on travel booked from May 5. The second through 10th checked bags also will cost $15 each, replacing VX's old policy of $25 for the second bag and $50 each for subsequent pieces. First class passengers will be permitted to check two bags for free, and those purchasing VX's Main Cabin Select product will get one free bag. "Because we fly to primary airports, we mainly compete with the large network carriers, all of whom already charge this fee," VP-Planning and Sales Diana Walke explained.
Universal Air Repair of Tennessee, a subsidiary of Universal Asset Management, received FAA certification to operate its10,000-sq.-ft. facility as an approved repair station with Limited Accessories ratings. It marks UAM's first venture into commercial aviation maintenance.
Cathay Pacific and Dragonair flew 6.65 billion RPKs in February, a 4.9% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity was down 3.7% to 8.68 billion ASKs and load factor fell 1 point to 76.6%. GM-Revenue Management Tom Owen said premium cabin demand is "persistently weak" and that yields are under "tremendous pressure." TAM flew 1.84 billion domestic RPKs in February, down 1.9% year-over-year. Capacity climbed 13.6% to 3.02 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 9.6 points to 60.9%. International RPKs rose 12.6% to 1.37 billion against a 16.9% lift in capacity to 1.92 billion ASKs.
US airlines saw passenger revenue fall 19% year-over-year in February, the fourth straight month of declining revenue figures, the US Air Transport Assn. reported Friday. "12% fewer travelers paid 8% less to fly one mile on US airlines, with declines extending beyond the mainland US to transatlantic, transpacific and Latin markets," ATA said. Carriers also are taking a hit on the cargo front, ATA noted, reporting that RTMs lowered 21% year-over-year in January following 17% drops in both November and December. Transpacific cargo traffic sank 32% in January.
Malaysia Airlines Engineering & Maintenance said it is targeting a 15% year-over-year increase in 2009 revenue to MYR520 million ($142.4 million). Senior GM Mohd Roslan Ismail said third-party revenue has doubled in the past two years to MYR438 million in 2008 and that "there continues to be a high demand for our services." The company also said its MRO joint venture with GMR Hyderabad International is scheduled to be operational by the third quarter of 2010 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 22, 2008).
Scheduled service airline passenger fatalities fell 25.2% to 439 in 2008 from 587 in 2007, though the actual rate of accidents decreased only "marginally," according to preliminary figures reported by ICAO last week.
Finnair said it will begin negotiations to furlough employees at Finnair Technical Services for 2-3 months each in an effort to save approximately €7 million ($9.5 million).
Abu Dhabi based Royal Jet, has announced what it describes as a 'world-first' by becoming the only private jet charter company to offer its guests a personal chef, providing them with bespoke gourmet dining based on their own individual preferences.
Austrian Airlines flew 1.06 billion RPKs in February, down 17.8% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 14.2% to 1.53 billion ASKs and load factor fell 3 points to 69.1%. Pinnacle Airlines flew 326.5 million RPMs in February, down 3.6% year-over-year. Capacity rose 5.1% to 490.5 million ASMs and load factor was down 6 points to 66.6%. Germanwings transported 432,072 passengers in February, down 10.4% year-over-year. Load factor fell 3.8 points to 74.7%.
Malev Hungarian Airlines said parent company AirBridge has committed to a HUF3 billion ($13.1 million) capital injection. The airline also said that the ownership structure of AirBridge has changed in order to maintain majority Hungarian control.
Air New Zealand asked the High Court to forbid the New Zealand Commerce Commission from withholding evidence in litigation concerning air cargo price-fixing. ANZ has protested its innocence and last year claimed NZCC was "grandstanding to justify its existence" after announcing plans to bring charges against it and 12 other carriers ( ATWOnline, Dec. 16, 2008).
US Dept. of Transportation said 2.3% of scheduled domestic flights were canceled in January, an improvement from 2.9% in the year-ago month. Comair canceled 6.2% of its flights, the highest rate, followed by American Eagle at 4.1% and American Airlines at 3.5%. Hawaiian Airlines and Frontier Airlines canceled just 0.5%. The industry's ontime arrival rate was 77%, up from 72.4% in January 2008. HA led at 90.8%, followed by Southwest Airlines at 83.3% and ExpressJet Airlines at 79.8%. Comair was worst at 56.7%, followed by Atlantic Southeast Airlines at 68.3%.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said the organization's December forecast of an industrywide $2.5 billion loss in 2009, based on a 3% drop in passenger numbers and a 5% decline in cargo, "is now looking very optimistic." He said IATA will release a revised forecast next week ( ATWOnline, Dec. 10, 2008). "The only good news is that the spot price of fuel is low. Unfortunately, immediate relief is being delayed by hedging at higher prices," he said yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.
Oracle and SITA yesterday announced a 15-year agreement "to develop the most open and agile airline reservations system ever designed." Oracle Executive VP-Europe, Middle East and Africa Loic Le Guisquet said SITA will be represented on its CIO and customer advisory boards and have "access to Oracle Labs and the Oracle Excellence Centre for co-innovation programs."
Superjet International, which provides marketing and support for Sukhoi's Superjet 100, signed an agreement with Lufthansa Technik Logistik to provide global logistics services for the new regional aircraft. Sukhoi will have access to Logistik's Frankfurt facility, which provides parts and customer support.
Embraer said the Regional Labor Court in Campinas "ruled in favor of maintaining the layoffs" conducted in February, when it cut some 20% of its workforce ( ATWOnline, Feb. 20), and determined compensation payments. Embraer said it would "determine its position" following the rule's formal publication. Separately, the manufacturer yesterday launched its Lifetime Program that will provide support services for customers of pre-owned commercial aircraft.
ANA pilots flying for its Air Nippon (473 pilots), Air Nippon Network (57), Air Next (23) and Air Central (53) subsidiaries staged a 24-hr. strike yesterday "despite prolonged and urgent negotiations," the company said. Prior to the strike, ANA said the work action would result in cancellation of 137 domestic flights and an additional 30 delays, together comprising 18.6% of the total domestic program.
Air Cargo Management Group released its latest 20-year freighter forecast yesterday, projecting 2028 fleet sizes for both an "optimistic" scenario in which air cargo traffic averages 6% annual growth and, taking into account the weak global economic situation, a "low growth" scenario in which traffic rises just 3%-4% per year ( ATWOnline, March 4). "The baseline assumption used by ACMG is that the current downturn will prove to be a short-lived event in the context of a 20-year forecast," MD Robert Dahl said.
US FAA's ability to transition to the NextGen ATC system is threatened by the lack of a detailed plan with measurable goals, airlines' reluctance to spend money to equip aircraft and questions over who ultimately is in charge of implementation, a series of witnesses testified at a House of Representatives hearing yesterday.
El Al announced the appointment of Amikan Cohen as chairman. He most recently was president of telecommunications firm Partner Communications. He replaces interim Chairman Amnon Lipkin-Shachak.
Honeywell provided upgraded satellite communications equipment to Malaysia Airlines that will permit passengers to use mobile phones and PDAs inflight as part of a pilot program through mid-2009. Honeywell's HD710 high-speed data satcom unit replaces the high-power amplifier with a unit that contains both the HPA and a high-speed data unit.
