Air Canada, Jazz Air, WestJet and Air Transat announced formation of the National Airlines Council of Canada, a new trade association "focused on promoting public policy and legislation favorable to the global success of the Canadian commercial airline industry." WestJet President and CEO Sean Durfy will be the NACC board's first chair. The airlines left the Air Transport Assn. of Canada last year.
Thales will supply Air France with a 777-300ER FFS under a deal announced this week. Technology includes Thales' eM2K motion system featuring hydraulic mass compensation and transmission. US FAA Level D certification is expected.
Finnair flew 1.92 billion RPKs in December, up 7.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 4.5% to 2.47 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.4 points to 77.6%. Spanair flew 441 million RPKs in December, down 25% year-over-year, against a 28.2% fall in ASKs to 704 million. Load factor rose 2.7 points to 62.6%. Allegiant Air flew 342.6 million RPMs in December, up 9.6% year-over-year. Capacity fell 2.6% to 386.1 million ASMs and load factor rose 9.8 points to 88.7%.
Kuwaiti startup Wataniya Airways took delivery of the first of seven leased A320s. Aircraft will seat 122 passengers. Wataniya plans to fly next month.
Agreement of Facilitation of Aerial Transport in Central America was adopted by the governments of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua and "will facilitate the transport of people between the participating countries because it reduces procedures and optimizes travel time," ALTA Executive Director Alex de Gunten said. The organization said the so-called CA-4 creates a "unified regulatory body and domestic Central American market."
Singapore Airlines yesterday took delivery of the first of six A330-300s on lease from AWAS. Aircraft is powered by Trent 700s, will seat 285 passengers in two classes and will be used initially on flights to Australia and Japan. Remaining aircraft will be delivered this year.
Baboo reported an 87% year-over-year increase in 2008 revenue to CHF56 million ($49.1 million) on a 75% rise in passenger numbers to 295,000. The Geneva-based carrier took delivery of three E-190s this year, increasing its fleet from two (Q400s) to five aircraft, and added seven destinations to bring its scheduled network to 18.
ILFC announced the following lease agreements: One used 737-800 to Vision Airlines for five years, delivery in March; three used A319-100s to WindJet (two for six years each delivered in December, one for 6.5 years with delivery this month); one used 767-306ER to Flyglobespan for five years, delivery in February; two used A330-200s to Atlasjet for five years each, delivery in April; two used A320-200s to Ural Airlines for six years each, delivery in May; two used 737-300s to Belavia for five years each, delivery in May and June; one used 737-300 to Boliviana for five years, delivered in
Turkish Technic reached an MRO agreement with Istanbul-based Onur Air to provide C checks on A300-600s. Work is slated for completion early next month.
Ukraine International Airlines said it "exceeded its projected targets" in 2008 and will report a full-year profit for the eighth consecutive year when it releases audited financial figures in April. It said passenger numbers rose 16.5% year-over-year to 1.7 million on an 18.5% lift in RPKs to 3.2 billion. Load factor climbed 3 points to 74.8%. It operates 17 737s.
Lufthansa flight attendants represented by the Independent Flight Attendant Org. are threatening industrial action in the coming weeks over a pay dispute, Reuters reported. The union left negotiations Friday and is demanding a 15% increase in pay and benefits for some 16,000 employees. LH has offered 10%.
European Commission authorized what it called "rescue aid" for Austrian Airlines Group in the form of a €200 million ($265.2 million) loan facility guaranteed by Austrian state holding company OIAG. The EC said the loan was issued at market rates and the amount was limited to what is needed to maintain the company ahead of its privatization ( ATWOnline, Dec. 8, 2008).
CSA Czech Airlines should be privatized this year following a Monday decision by the government to sell 91.5% of the national carrier by September. The sale reportedly is expected to generate up to CZK5 billion ($238.7 million) and will consist of a two-round tender.
SR Technics won a five-year extension on its contract with Air Caraibes Atlantique to provide MRO services for two A330-200s and two A330-300s. Valued at more than CHF100 million ($89.1 million), the contract covers technical fleet management, base and line maintenance and component services. SRT recently opened a line station in Cayenne and will continue to support operations at Paris Orly.
Japan Airlines plans to cut 2,140 jobs from its International unit by April 2011 and eliminate 1,640 of those positions altogether, while the remainder will be transferred elsewhere in the company, a spokesperson told Bloomberg News. The unit currently employs 16,240 and the move is part of an effort to reduce labor costs by an additional $109 million. JAL said there will be no layoffs and that the job cuts will come through attrition.
Singapore and the Czech Republic signed an open skies agreement on Jan. 19. There currently are no direct services between the countries. Singapore has concluded open skies agreements with more than 30 countries, including 16 in the EU.
Delta Air Lines is holding firm on a tentative agreement it reached last month with the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which manages Minneapolis-St. Paul International, saying that it will not renegotiate terms and expects the commission's board to approve the deal at a Jan. 26 meeting.
Fraport received approval from the Hessen state court to begin construction of the fourth runway and third terminal at Frankfurt Airport ( ATWOnline, Dec. 20, 2007). However, the approval contains a "proposed restriction on night flights," according to IATA, which "should be reconsidered in a future court ruling." Fraport said in June that the runway should be operational by the 2011 winter schedule.
Iberia flew 3.96 billion RPKs in December, down 7% from the year-ago month, against a 5.7% decline in capacity to 5.21 billion ASKs. Load factor fell 1.1 point to 76%. TAM flew 2.15 billion domestic RPKs in December, up 5% year-over-year, against a 14.3% rise in capacity to 3.25 billion ASKs. Load factor dropped 5.8 points to 66.1%. International traffic climbed 22.1% to 1.46 billion RPKs, capacity rose 21.9% to 2.05 billion ASKs and load factor was up 0.1 point to 71.4%.
Okay Airways applied to CAAC for permission to resume operations following its suspension last month ( ATWOnline, Dec. 8, 2008). CAAC North China Regional Administration spokesperson Sun Defu confirmed to ATWOnline that the regulator received Okay's application on Jan. 15 and will conduct a safety check before granting approval, for which Sun did not provide a timetable.
A preliminary US FAA report released Friday said a US Airways A320-200 "made a forced landing on the Hudson River after striking birds and losing engine power" moments after taking off from New York LaGuardia. Flight 1549 was on its way to Charlotte but wound up ditching in the river ( ATWOnline, Jan. 16). A National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. spokesperson told the Associated Press that Capt. Chesley Sullenberger III, 57, reported a "double bird strike" less than a minute after taking off.
ACSS said it was selected by Air Berlin "to launch a collaborative program to implement and certify its SafeRoute Merging & Spacing function in the European airspace." ACSS is a joint venture between L-3 Communications and Thales. SafeRoute uses ADS-B to improve situational awareness and enhance an aircraft's operating efficiency during takeoff, flight, approach, landing and taxi, according to ACSS. The Merging & Spacing Function "makes flying more efficient by providing the pilot with speed cues that enable an aircraft to reach its approach point with greater precision. .
US Dept. of Transportation named Dr. Karlin Toner to serve as a senior staff adviser and coordinator of inter-agency development of the NextGen air transportation system. She will chair the Senior Policy Committee overseeing NextGen and will work directly under the Secretary of Transportation.
Cabot Aviation, on behalf of Aircraft Solutions A320, arranged the purchase of three V2500-A1-powered A320-200s from Cyprus Airways. First aircraft was delivered on Jan. 14 and the other two are due in the first half of this year.
Finnair will lay off 120 employees as part of an effort to save €25 million ($33 million) in personnel expenses. It said it will achieve the remainder of the targeted savings through furloughs and the scheduled upcoming conclusion of 400 fixed-term contracts. Senior VP-Human Resources Anssi Komulainen said the layoffs will be "widely applied" and "arranged so as to minimize disruption to the flight program." Finnair said it offered employee representatives a 5% temporary pay cut, the cancellation of holiday bonuses and salary freezes but was rejected.
