Air France planned to return to an almost-normal schedule today following a four-day pilots strike that ended last night at midnight local time ( ATWOnline, Nov. 14). AF said it planned to operate 95% of its short- and medium-haul schedule and all long-haul flights from Paris and that all ticketed passengers will be able to travel. Yesterday it operated 76% of its long-haul schedule, around half of its short/medium-haul schedule and about 90% of its regional partners' flights.
Thales said its TopSeries IFE system was selected by British Airways for the 777-300ER, 787 and A380 aircraft it has on order. Screen size will be 15.4 in. in first class, 12.1 in. in business class, 10.6 in. in premium economy and 8.9 in. in economy. BA will offer USB and RCA ports at each seat.
Hit hard by the continuous decline of the domestic market, China Southern Airlines parent China Southern Group and China Eastern Airlines parent China Eastern Group are expecting their requests for government aid to be approved. An industry source requesting anonymity told ATWOnline that Beijing is expected to inject CNY3 billion ($439 million) into each airline, allowing China Eastern to reduce its net debt ratio to 94.7% from 98% and China Southern to reduce its net debt ratio to 80.5% from 83%.
Boeing Friday revealed its latest aircraft program delay, saying that the first 747-8 Freighter will be delivered in the third quarter of 2010 instead of late 2009 as planned and the first 747-8 Intercontinental will be delivered in the second quarter of 2011 instead of late 2010. The manufacturer said that "issues that have slowed the program's progress . . .include supply chain delays driven by design changes to the airplane, limited availability of engineering resources inside Boeing and the recent machinists' strike that halted production in the company's factories."
Skyways Aviation concluded five F50 lease transactions with airBaltic on behalf of Largus Aviation. Largus purchased three aircraft currently operated by BT and extended leases by 4.5 years each. Remaining two are operated by Sweden's Skyways Express and will be released this month and in April. AWAS leased a second 767-300ER to S7 Airlines ( ATWOnline, Oct. 10).
Airbus parent EADS reported a €679 million ($848.4 million) profit in the third quarter, reversed from a €776 million loss in the year-ago period, and said it "faces the impacts of the financial crisis in a position of strength" thanks to a "large and well diversified order book."
European Commission added Cambodia's Siem Reap Airways International to its list of airlines banned from flying into the EU. It also extended its ban on TAAG Angola Airlines to all Angolan carriers in light of "significant safety concerns" raised by ICAO in its Oct. 1 audit report. The updated blacklist released Friday does not mention any EU carriers, in contrast to earlier press reports.
Moog's Aircraft Group was selected by Airbus to supply flight control actuation for the A350 XWB's high-lift system. Its trailing edge actuation system will include the power control unit, inboard and outboard geared rotary actuators, gearboxes and wingtip brakes.
United Airlines Friday completed an ASPIRE (Asia and South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions) flight from Sydney to San Francisco and said it saved 1,564 gal. of fuel and 32,656 lb. of carbon dioxide emissions. UA said that 11 fuel-saving initiatives were deployed "from gate to gate." The 777 flight, dubbed "ASPIRE United," followed in the footsteps of a similar flight operated by Air New Zealand in September ( ATWOnline, Sept. 15).
British Airways confirmed that passengers using its all-business-class London City-New York service will be able to clear US customs at the Shannon stopover. The twice-daily A318 service, set to launch next autumn, will require a fuel stop on the westbound segment ( ATWOnline, Aug. 19).
IBM reached a deal with Philippine Airlines for IT enhancement and consolidation focused on streamlining response capabilities and decreasing file maintenance time on ALCS systems.
SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew a combined 1.37 billion RPMs in October, down 12.3% year-over-year, against a 14.6% fall in ASMs to 1.72 billion. Load factor rose 2 points to 79.6%. Hawaiian Airlines flew 644 million RPMs in October, down 8.6% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 0.8% to 777.2 million ASMs and load factor fell 7 points to 82.9%. Copa Airlines flew 489.1 million RPMs in October, a 20.6% year-over-year increase. Capacity rose 15.4% to 648.7 million ASMs, lifting load factor 3.2 points to 75.4%.
Alitalia pilots and flight attendants continued work disruptions for a fourth day yesterday, part of a series of protests against the carrier's sale that has forced AZ to cancel some 300 flights this week ( ATWOnline, Nov. 13). ENAC fined the airline €250,000 ($313,618) because of a lack of assistance to passengers, an agency spokesperson told Reuters.
Russia Federal Antimonopoly Service will attempt to block Aeroflot's effort to acquire the state's 25.5% stake in S7 Airlines ( ATWOnline, Oct. 24), FAS head Igor Artemyev said yesterday on Vesti television. "We have concerns about transferring the blocking stake in the private company to SU. A monopoly could form in this situation. . .We will try to block this deal," Artemyev said, according to Reuters. The Ministry of Transport said this week that it supported SU's bid.
The four-day strike called by French pilot unions to protest a potential change in the retirement age is expected to cause "severe disruption" to Air France's schedule beginning today and could cost the carrier up to €100 million, AF KLM Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta said.
Royal Air Maroc reportedly is planning to establish a regional subsidiary called Atlas Inter, which will start flying in March with eight leased turboprops (most likely ATR 72s). Local media are reporting that RAM is looking to cut costs on regional routes it currently operates with A321s or 737s.
The JetBlue Pilots Assn. filed a petition with the US National Mediation Board this week seeking to become the bargaining agent for the carrier's nearly 2,000 pilots. JBPA leaders said they want formal recognition in order to provide career protection for pilots that will help "redefine pilot-labor relations in our industry." The in-house body would be not affiliated with a national union.
EasyJet transported 4 million passengers in October, up 18.4% from the year-ago month. Load factor rose 1.4 points to 83.9%. Republic Airways flew 795.7 million RPMs in October, down 2.8% year-over-year, against a 0.4% fall in ASMs to 1.09 billion. Load factor dropped 1.8 points to 73%. Allegiant Air flew 248 million RPMs in October, up 8.6% year-over-year. Capacity fell 2.4% to 284.1 million ASMs, lifting load factor 8.9 points to 87.3%.
US Dept. of Transportation task force comprising representatives from airlines, airports, consumer groups and DOT this week issued recommendations for treating passengers during extended tarmac delays, calling for better communication and improved preparedness to provide stranded passengers with food and water. But the nonbinding "model contingency plan," approved by a 34-1 vote, did not include a suggested set time for returning delayed aircraft back to a gate, a provision desired by consumer advocates and some lawmakers.
Hawaiian Airlines announced the acquisition of an additional 298-seat A330-200 on lease from CIT. It reached an agreement to lease two others from AWAS last month and has six of the type on order from Airbus ( ATWOnline, Oct. 28). HA will take delivery of two of the leased A330s in the 2010 second quarter, beginning its "transition to a new long-range fleet two years earlier than originally planned." The second AWAS aircraft will join the fleet in 2011 and the Airbus deliveries will begin the following year.
International Air Carrier Assn. urged the European Parliament to reject amendments adopted last month by its Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety relating to the inclusion of aviation in the continental emissions trading scheme ( ATWOnline, Oct. 13), and said the gradual increase in the percentage of emissions certificates auctioned (to 100% in 2020) will cost affected airlines "an unaffordable" €8 billion ($10.04 billion) per year.
Joy Air, the Xi'an-based regional launched by China Eastern Airlines and China Aviation Industry Corp. in March, will commence operation by year end, according to CAIC President and CEO Lin Zuoming ( ATWOnline, March 31). Joy plans to operate 50 MA60 series turboprops within the next 6-7 years. It has three MA60s on firm order and scheduled for delivery starting next month and has signed a letter of intent for 10 MA600s to be delivered from 2010. It also plans to order 50 ARJ21s. Chinese regionals are still losing money.
