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. .
Continental Airlines' October consolidated RASM rose an estimated 9%-10% year-over-year. It flew 7.14 billion RPMs during the month, down 7.3%, against a 6.7% fall in capacity to 9.04 billion ASMs. Load factor dropped 0.5 point to 79%. Southwest Airlines flew 6.21 billion RPMs in October, up 2.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose at approximately the same rate to 8.81 billion ASMs. Load factor dippedl 0.1 point to 70.4%.
Embraer, which yesterday reported a 70.5% drop in third-quarter net income to $57.7 million, revealed that it is considering building a larger aircraft potentially to compete with rival Bombardier's CSeries. CFO Antonio Luiz Pizarro Manso said during a conference call with media that the company is "studying the development of a larger plane," adding that it "could be carried out in partnership [with another manufacturer] or not."
Four unions representing Alitalia pilots and cabin staff said they would undertake "all useful actions leading to the cancellation" of Compagnia Area Italiana's agreement to take over the ailing carrier ( ATWOnline, Nov. 4), according to a statement cited by Agence France Presse. Other unions have agreed to terms with the new investors. "I hope good sense will prevail on the part of the pilots and flight attendants because there is no alternative," UIL union Secretary General Luigi Angeletti said on Italian television.
Boeing machinists in Washington, Oregon and Kansas voted overwhelmingly Saturday to ratify a new four-year contract and return to work following a costly 58-day strike. The vote by members of the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers was 74% in favor of ratification, IAM said, with only a simple majority required. The union represents approximately 27,000 Boeing employees.
Qatar Airways reached a 15-year agreement with Qtel for migration of its data center to the telecommunications provider's operations facilities in Doha. Migration includes systems supporting flight operations, finance, human resources and Internet booking activities.
US House of Representatives' New York and New Jersey delegations wrote a letter to House leaders expressing "outrage" at the US Dept. of Transportation's final rule on slot auctions and flight caps at New York JFK, LaGuardia and Newark announced last month ( ATWOnline, Oct. 16). Lawmakers charged that the DOT plan is an "illegal and untested auction scheme" that will not mitigate congestion at the crowded airports and will force DOT to spend taxpayer money to defend multiple lawsuits.
Flight Safety Foundation last week announced its support for new laws to protect against the release or use in judicial proceedings of information gathered by voluntary self-disclosure reporting programs. Examples of such programs include the Aviation Safety Action Program, the Flight Operational Quality Assurance program and the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system.
