Okay Airways began its one-month passenger service suspension on Saturday rather than the originally scheduled Dec. 15 after airports began demanding cash for fueling services, the Xinhua news agency reported ( ATWOnline, Dec. 8).
Boliviana de Aviacion, a state-owned startup designed to replace Lloyd Aereo Boliviano, will take delivery of its first two aircraft by year end, GM Ronald Casso told Reuters. Three more will be leased soon, he added, and BdA will begin flying domestic services next year.
Delta Air Lines flew 8.91 billion system RPMs in November, a 4.9% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 5.3% to 11.5 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 0.3 point to 77.4%. Northwest Airlines flew 5.67 billion system RPMs in November, down 7.4% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 4.7% to 7.08 billion ASMs and load factor fell 2.3 points to 80.1%. Republic Airways flew 727 million RPMs in November, down 6.5% year-over-year. Capacity declined 0.2% to 1.08 billion ASMs and load factor was down 4.6 points to 68.8%.
A J Walter Aviation opened a Dubai office to support hubs in London, Singapore, Miami and Prague. Site will advance management services across the region.
News from Travel Technology Update: Brand loyalty among U.S. online leisure travelers is disappearing into the mists, according to the latest study from Forrester Research. The percentage of U.S. online leisure travelers who consider themselves brand-loyal has plunged by 19%, from 31% in 2006 to 25% this year, according to Forrester's North American Technographics Retail, Travel, Customer Experience and Financial Services Benchmark Survey, Q3 2008.
EADS said Friday that it will "simplify" Airbus's corporate structure by merging the Airbus France unit into the Airbus SAS entity next year, but denied European news reports that it would be forced to inject as much as €2 billion ($2.54 billion) collectively into Airbus's French, German, British and Spanish units to cover cost overruns. "We are simply going to move the Airbus France capital into the Airbus SAS holding company," an EADS spokesperson told Agence France Presse. "There is no EADS money involved in this process.
Southwest Airlines reached a tentative four-year labor agreement with mechanics represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. that it said is "cost neutral" and offers raises in exchange for work rule improvements and contract flexibility.
Aer Lingus said Friday that a "sufficient" number of SIPTU employees accepted voluntary leave at Dublin, Cork and Shannon to deliver the carrier's targeted savings of €25 million ($31.7 million), which also will include work rule and pay changes accepted by the union last week ( ATWOnline, Dec. 5). EI CEO Dermot Mannion said the restructuring "will provide an excellent platform for growth at each base in the future."
Ryanair transported 4.3 million passengers in November, up 11% year-over-year. Load factor rose 1 point to 79%. EasyJet transported 3 million passengers in November, up 3.4% year-over-year. Load factor rose 3.1 points to 83.9%.
European Commission is expected to announce on Dec. 16 its decision on the proposed merger of Vueling Airlines and Clickair. Competition authorities were notified of the merger on Nov. 11 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 1).
Continental Airlines completed installation of Panasonic eFX on-demand inflight entertainment systems in the economy cabins of its 39 757-200s. All aircraft will be in service by Dec. 23. In-seat power ports also were installed. IFE installations continue on CO's 777s, with 14 of 20 aircraft outfitted and the remainder scheduled to be complete by May. CO also announced an agreement with LiveTV allowing it to offer 80 channels of DirectTV programming throughout its 737NG and 757-300 fleets.
US Bankruptcy Court judge Friday blasted Mesa Air Group's plans to re-brand its Hawaiian inter-island subsidiary go! as Aloha Airlines and refused to approve Yucaipa Cos.' purchase of Aloha Airlines' intellectual property rights. Yucaipa, the former controlling shareholder of Aloha, outbid Hawaiian Airlines in a bankruptcy auction (it paid $750,000) last week for the rights to the Aloha name and, under on an agreement it reached with Mesa ( ATWOnline, Dec. 2), go!
The chairman of Okay Airways' controlling shareholder Juneyao Group, Wang Junjin, promised Friday that the troubled airline will resume flying "as soon as possible" following a one-month shutdown imposed by CAAC. China's first privately run carrier, launched in 2005, Okay announced last week that it will suspend passenger transport for one month starting Dec. 15 owing to conflicts between Juneyao and airline management. Okay's cargo cooperation with FedEx will continue to operate as usual.
Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies will provide Dubai-based Silver Air with MRO services on three 737-200s and a 737-300 under a Total Care Solution agreement.
US Air Transport Assn. announced the election of United Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Glenn Tilton as chairman, effective immediately. He will serve two years and succeeds former Northwest Airlines Chairman and CEO Doug Steenland. CFM International named Chaker Chahrour executive VP, effective Feb. 1. He is currently head of sales and pole executive for GE Aviation in the Asia/Pacific based in Singapore. He will succeed Bill Clapper, who will be on special assignment as he transitions to retirement later in 2009, CFM said. Chahrour joined GE Aviation in 1979.
French Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses, responsible for investigating aviation accidents, said it cannot explain why an Air New Zealand A320 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on approach to Perpignan on Nov. 28 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 2). "At this stage of the inquiry, nothing explains why the aircraft left its trajectory and crashed into the sea," BEA said in a statement.
Compagnia Aerea Italia's purchase and relaunch of Alitalia received final approval by Italian and European competition authorities yesterday, with the former stipulating that at least 10% of seats on each flight be available at the "cheapest price." Those fares would be based on the lowest prices offered by AZ and Air One in the previous travel season. The Italian authorities also reserved the right to issue an additional ruling once CAI chooses either Lufthansa or Air France KLM as its foreign investor.
Sun Country Airlines received US Bankruptcy Court approval for a line of credit that will allow it to restore employees to full pay and meet other financial obligations. The Minneapolis-based carrier, which is working its way through Chapter 11 restructuring ( ATWOnline, Oct. 20), was paying workers just 70% of their salaries. SCA did not reveal the origin of the debtor-in-possession financing, but news reports named Elite Landings, another subsidiary of SCA parent Petters Group Worldwide.
United Airlines said 1,190 of the 7,000 workers it plans to cut by the end of 2009 ( ATWOnline, Oct. 9) will be laid off early next year. It did not break down the cuts, but the Chicago Tribune reported that 700 mechanics and 490 customer service representatives will be let go beginning Jan. 11. UA said the layoffs "are part of the difficult but necessary actions we are taking to enable United to compete."
Turkish Aerospace Industries reached a $500 million deal with Airbus to produce parts for A350s. Agreement will create 400 direct jobs and indirectly employ 1,200, the companies said.
Finnair said the one-week closure of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (see story above) will cost the carrier approximately €4 million ($5.1 million), with "consequential effects. . .expected to increase the final cost total further."
Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Argentine congress, approved a bill Wednesday to expropriate Aerolineas Argentinas, calling it a "public utility." It is expected to be passed by the Senate this month. AR owner Grupo Marsans has threatened to make a $1 billion claim at the World Bank's arbitration tribunal if the expropriation goes ahead ( ATWOnline, Nov. 25).
Bombardier Aerospace reported a 3.5% increase in operating profit to $199 million for its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 31 despite a 4.2% decline in revenue to $2.3 billion.
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi will be "open for full services including check-in and immigration" today, Airports of Thailand said yesterday, but foreign governments and airlines warned that the airport may not be ready to resume operations safely. After a one-week siege by antigovernment protesters shut down BKK ( ATWOnline, Dec. 4), leaving more than 200,000 foreign passengers stranded in Bangkok and stalling international cargo transport, Thailand is eager to get the capital's main airport up and running.
A US-EU Open Aviation Area that would include a relaxation of US foreign ownership and control restrictions "is not going to happen in the near term," US Dept. of State Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs John Byerly cautioned yesterday, adding, "I don't see any changes coming to cabotage, for example."
