Frontier Airlines officially cancelled plans to build a $25 million heavy maintenance base in Colorado Springs. It announced the project last year before entering bankruptcy ( ATWOnline, Nov. 5, 2007). "As part of the bankruptcy process, we've had to look at every project in the organization," a spokesperson told the Rocky Mountain News. "We've canceled those projects that don't make sense.
JetBlue Airways flew an E-190 being used by Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign from Anchorage to Buffalo last Thursday, a 2,694-nm. repositioning flight the carrier claimed was a record for the aircraft type, according to a message to employees cited by USA Today. Flight took 6 hr. 11 min. Its longest regularly scheduled 190 flight is a 1,476-nm. Boston-Austin. JetBlue flew 1.88 billion RPMs in October, down 5.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 11.1% to 2.33 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 4.8 points to 80.7%.
United Airlines canceled a planned 100% increase on the one-way fee for a second checked bag on domestic flights (it will remain $25) and said it will offer a 20% discount on the $15 first-bag fee if paid on UA's website between Nov. 10 and Jan. 31. Customers also will be able to purchase premium economy seats with 5-in. extra legroom and a $9 loyalty point program "accelerator" on the website beginning Nov. 10.
Delta Air Lines flew 9.93 billion system RPMs in October, down 2.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 4.7% to 12.17 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 2 points to 81.6%. Northwest Airlines flew 6.38 billion system RPMs in October, a 1.4% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 2% to 7.57 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.5 point to 84.3%. SkyEurope Airlines transported 304,669 passengers in October, down 10.1% year-over-year. Load factor declined 6.8 points to 68%.
Lufthansa Technik reached a 15-year deal with Norwegian to provide MRO on more than 100 CFM56-7Bs. Agreement is LHT's biggest engine service contract in Scandinavia to date, covering engines on 53 737NGs as well as seven spares. Work will take place at LHT's Hamburg shop, which is under construction.
Air Wisconsin, which operates 70 CRJ200s as US Airways Express, said it provided a $35 million, 12-month loan to US. Another Express operator, Republic Airways Holdings, provided a similar loan as part of a $950 million liquidity package that US announced last month ( ATWOnline, Oct. 24). Air Wisconsin said the loan includes optional monthly extensions totaling an additional 12 months.
AerCap Holdings, the Amsterdam-based operating lessor, has "suspended all future Capex other than existing contracted Capex with Airbus" and is reducing headcount by around 15% as it seeks to adjust to the impact of the ongoing credit crunch and airline traffic downturn. The company also is "in active discussions" to sell minority stakes in parts of its portfolio.
Greek Ministry of Transport and Communications announced the companies interested in bidding for some or all of Olympic Airlines, which the government intends to split and sell by year end. Interested in Olympic's flight operations are Athens Airways, Kuwait's Fouad El Ghanim Group, Italy's MyAir, Qatar Airways, SkyEurope Airlines and US charter services Chrysler Aviation and SkyOne. Interested in OA's ground handling division are Athens Airways, Greek construction firm Ellaktor, Fouad El Ghanim, Goldair, Hellenic Cargo Group and Swissport.
Ameco Beijing, the joint venture between Air China (60%) and Lufthansa (40%), announced deals with Jet2.com and Astraeus Airlines to provide MRO on RB211-535E4 engines (two for Astraeus and one for Jet2).
Boeing predicted this week that world air cargo traffic will grow 5.8% annually over the next 20 years, down slightly from the 6.1% rate it projected in previous forecasts. Its newly released "2008/2009 World Cargo Forecast" said worldwide airfreight traffic will triple by 2027 and that "current near-term market weakness and worldwide economic uncertainty" won't significantly affect long-term demand. "The industry has shown strong recoveries from previous economic downturns such as the Asian economic crisis, the 9/11 attacks and the SARS outbreak," it said.
Kingfisher Airlines defaulted on rental payments for four A320s on lease from GECAS, which complained to India's Directorate General for Civil Aviation and is seeking to repossess the aircraft.
US regional airline industry may benefit from a new presidential administration, but the difficult operating and economic environment will continue to pose problems, speakers said yesterday at the SpeedNews Regional & Business Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference in Indian Wells, Calif. Regional Airline Assn. VP-Legislative Affairs Faye Malarkey said the body is hopeful that Barack Obama's incoming administration will be a catalyst for needed legislative relief.
Air Mauritius lost €13.4 million ($17.3 million) in the fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, reversed from a €2.5 million profit in the year-ago semester. Revenue rose 8.5% year-over-year to €216.1 million but the airline said it could not overcome a 17.5% increase in operating costs driven by a 49% surge in fuel expenses. It said it was able to reduce nonfuel costs through schedule and capacity adjustments. Passenger numbers fell 2.7% to 596,587 and load factor slipped 3 points to 75.3%.
SITA won a five-year contract from Transaero to provide its passenger management system including reservations, ticketing, departure control service, revenue management and airfare technology.
Wataniya Airways is on track to launch its all-premium A320 flights in January and said it will have four aircraft operating next year and up to seven by the end of 2010 ( ATWOnline, July 8). The Kuwaiti carrier will lease three aircraft from ALAFCO, three from AerCap and one from ILFC, CEO George Cooper told Reuters. It has committed $250-$300 million for the leases. Qatar Airways also has plans to operate all-business-class service in the region.
Volga-Dnepr Group announced a 75% year-over-year increase in sales for the first nine months of 2008, with revenue from its charter and scheduled cargo services reaching $1.27 billion. Freight carried jumped 51% to 210,000 tons while charter sales were up 80% to $882.9 million. AirBridge Cargo's scheduled flights brought in $344.1 million in revenue, up 68% from the first nine months of 2007. The group operates An-124-100s (10) and Il-76TDs (12 including two Il-76TD-90VDs) in charter services as Volga-Dnepr Airlines and 747Fs (seven) in scheduled flights as AirBridge.
Air Berlin partner LGW, which is based at Dortmund, will begin operating the first of 10 new 76-seat Q400s on Dusseldorf-Stuttgart on Nov. 10 and Dusseldorf-Sylt the following day. Q400s will replace all A319/A320 services on DUS-Hamburg from Dec. 7, DUS-Stuttgart from Dec. 10 and DUS Nuremberg from Dec. 28.
Changes in US aviation policy as President George Bush transitions to President-elect Barack Obama will develop as part of a "long process" during which future priorities of the Dept. of Transportation and FAA will be debated, former US Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta said yesterday.
Honeywell signed a 10-year contract with Kunpeng Airlines to provide MRO on E-190 components, avionics and lighting. Valued at $21 million, agreement covers more than 65 Honeywell parts. Kunpeng took delivery of its first 190 in September and expects 50 aircraft over the next four years. Separately, Honeywell will supply China Eastern Airlines with its 131-9A APU for 30 forthcoming A320s. Deal includes a 10-year maintenance agreement and covers additional A320 deliveries over the next three years. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Sabre Airline Solutions opened a center in Bangalore to enhance customer service and expand support capacity. Scheduled to be fully operational by Jan. 1, facility is expected to complement Sabre's Montevideo customer care center.
International Aviation Club will feature Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey as its guest speaker at its monthly luncheon on Nov. 19 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington. Additional information is available at www.iacwashington.org.
BOC Aviation, which said it anticipates "ongoing demand for leased aircraft from the A320 family at both full-service and low-cost airlines around the world," placed firm orders for 20 aircraft, Airbus announced at the Zhuhai Air Show. The Singapore-based lessor, a subsidiary of Bank of China, now has ordered 98 single-aisle aircraft from Airbus, of which 58 have been delivered.
Boeing confirmed that the 787 will not fly in 2008, although it is blaming the recently concluded machinists strike and not software troubles or newly surfaced fastener issues for the latest delay.
Indian parliament passed legislation establishing the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority ( ATWOnline, Oct. 23). AERA is designed to encourage investment, regulate charges and foster competition among Indian airports. But IATA said more is needed, with DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani claiming that "many" of ICAO's principles of "transparency, nondiscrimination and user-consultation. .
