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.
The UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee asked the government to "urgently seek reform of the Chicago Convention so as to allow governments to impose a tax on international aviation fuel," arguing that declining oil prices make such a policy "especially timely and desirable."
Turkish Airlines flew 4.8 billion RPKs in January and February, up 8% over the year-ago period, against an 11.6% increase in capacity to 7.2 billion ASKs. Load factor fell 1.7 points to 66.2%.
European Court of Justice ruled last week that the EU's list of articles prohibited onboard aircraft, which is attached to the European regulation on aviation security, cannot be enforced because it has never been published in the Official Journal of the European Union and thus passengers cannot know exactly what is banned. An Austrian passenger brought the case after security staff at Vienna ordered him to leave an aircraft because his cabin baggage contained tennis rackets, which were considered prohibited.
Ryanair pilots voted "overwhelmingly" to accept a 12-month pay freeze and productivity increases in lieu of the 10% pay cut originally sought by the airline. "We are still lowering air fares, which means we will suffer losses in both our third and fourth quarters of the current year," Director-Flight Operations and Ground Operations David O'Brien said ( ATWOnline, Feb. 3). "Our pilots have recognized the difficulties we face and are making their contribution."
Nav Canada and Sensis Corp. were selected by Airservices Australia to participate in Airservices' National Tower Program Technology Project, intended to "provide controllers with immediate access to flight data and voice communications and to monitor the airfield and surrounding airspace." Under the agreement, Nav Canada and Sensis technology will be used to upgrade ATC towers at Melbourne, Adelaide and Rockhampton, "with the potential for additional towers." The solution also will be installed at the Airservices Melbourne Air Traffic Centre and Learning Academy.
Delta TechOps announced an eight-year, $55 million power-by-the-hour contract extension with Star Air covering MRO on the 22 CF6-80A2/C2 engines powering the Copenhagen-based cargo carrier's 11 767-200SFs. Deal also includes APU and component support.
US Airways President Scott Kirby said in a Monday conference call with investors that March ticket revenue has improved over the first two months of 2009 and that the carrier has "been cautiously optimistic the last couple of weeks" even though leisure fares are falling. Demand is stable and ancillary revenue initiatives are mitigating the impact of falling yields, he said. CFO Derek Kerr said US has arranged financing for 20 of the 25 deliveries scheduled for this year, excluding five A330s.
Air New Zealand will incorporate fuel surcharges into all fares from March 30 as a lure for travel agents to book clients on the carrier. The practice of excluding surcharges, which have been substantial, has caused significant rifts between travel agents and airlines around the globe. ANZ GM-Australia John Harrison said he expects the decision to have a "positive effect" on sales.
Premium traffic continued its dive in January, with passengers flying on first or business class tickets declining 16.7% year-over-year, a drop that followed a 13.3% dip in December, IATA said yesterday, warning that "the bottom for the decline in premium travel numbers is not yet in sight."
European Commission VP-Transport Antonio Tajani said the EC's DG-Transport and Energy plans to ask for information from Airports Council International, Assn. of European Airlines "and other parties concerned" in order to investigate the "lost luggage phenomenon" reported in a study released yesterday by London-based, UK CAA-established Air Transport Users Council. The study revealed that airlines mishandled 42 million bags worldwide in 2007, up 40% from 2005, and that "passengers often struggle to get reasonable redress from airlines after the event," the AUC said.
Lufthansa Group's summer capacity will be up 0.6% year-over-year owing to Lufthansa Italia, which will compensate for a 0.5% reduction on the rest of the network ( ATWOnline, March 5). The March 29-Oct. 24 summer schedule will feature 14,038 weekly flights to 206 destinations. European capacity will rise 1.5% and intercontinental ASKs will climb 0.2% owing to the addition of 22 additional economy seats on LH's 747-400s.
EC Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas reiterated yesterday that aviation and maritime, which were left out of the Kyoto Protocol, should "be discussed and made part of the [climate] agreement" at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Speaking yesterday to media in Washington, Dimas said that if ICAO "takes the right actions, we shall get a solution for the world and a level playing field for everybody. . .
Honeywell said Qantas received approval from Australia's CASA to use the Honeywell SmartPath Ground-Based Augmentation System at Sydney for satellite-based landings on QF's A380s. The airline previously had been approved to fly GBAS approaches with its 737s, recording more than 1,600 GBAS landings at Sydney to date.
Singapore Airways has selected National Air Services (NAS) to provide ground handling and support services for its flights into Kuwait International Airport.
UK government's proposal to grant the Environment Agency the power to fine airlines that do not comply with the EU's aviation emissions trading scheme and fail to report emissions data--with fines rising from £5,000 ($6,998.55) and potential seizure of aircraft for nonpayment--could open a legal can of worms, according to Christopher Norton, who heads the environment and climate change practice at international law firm Lovells.
Oneworld carriers American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Royal Jordanian yesterday jointly filed answers to the US Dept. of Transportation's request for additional information regarding their transatlantic antitrust application and expressed confidence that a decision will be made by DOT in the second half of 2009.
Unisys extended contracts with Air Canada under which the airline will continue using its Hosting & Integration Services and Cargo Portal Services programs for cargo operations through 2015 and 2011 respectively. The HIS contract entails Unisys hosting AC on its Logistics Management System at its data center in Minneapolis. CPS is an Internet portal that brings together a range of carriers and forwarders in a neutral online forum.
Indian airlines carried 3.3 million passengers on scheduled flights last month, about level with January. Kingfisher Airlines led with 904,000 (27.1% market share, 74.3% load factor), followed by Jet Airways at 597,000 (17.9%, 68.7%) and Air India at 574,000 (17.2%, 66.3%). Iberia flew 3.66 billion RPKs in February, down 10.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 7.6% to 4.79 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 2.7 points to 76.4%.
Delta Air Lines Executive VP-Human Resources and Labor Relations Mike Campbell said in a merger update sent to employees yesterday that "seniority integration has already been resolved for pilots, dispatchers, AMTs and meteorologists" and that progress is being made on "a fair and equitable integration for flight attendants." If Northwest Airlines flight attendants agree to recommendations made by their DL counterparts last week, "we would have seniority integration issues resolved for the vast majority of our combined employee groups," he said.
Airports Council International-Europe said it was "alarmed" by the European Commission's proposal for a temporary freeze of the 80/20 slot rule during the upcoming summer schedule, which would allow airlines to reduce capacity while retaining historic rights to slots at coordinated EU airports ( ATWOnline, March 11).
Air New Zealand endorsed a government proposal to subsidize one work day over a two-week period to help national businesses through the economic downturn. CEO Rob Fyfe said ANZ would embrace the aid if it is forced to reduce capacity further and consider redundancies ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27).
