Boeing's chances of flying the 787 this year took another hit after the company acknowledged further fastener problems with the first aircraft on the production line. A spokesperson confirmed the problem, telling ATWOnline that the manufacturer "recently discovered some fasteners on the 787 airplanes in Everett Final Assembly were incorrectly installed and do not conform to specifications. The fasteners themselves are fine."
GHS Aviation Auditing of McLean, Va., was certified to conduct IATA Operational Safety Audits by IATA. GHS was founded in 2004 by George Snyder, who led airline safety departments in the US and Asia. He is a founding member of the IOSA development committee.
Greek Transport Minister Costis Hadzidakis said "at least" 10 companies expressed interest in acquiring Olympic Airlines' flight, maintenance and ground handling operations, with six being interested in all three, according to press reports from Athens ( ATWOnline, Nov. 3). He confirmed that neither Aegean Airlines nor Lufthansa are among the interested parties.
Frontier Airlines won US Bankruptcy Court approval to cancel its labor agreement with mechanics and material specialists represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union announced yesterday. IBT agreed to wage concessions last week but would not consent to permanent outsourcing of heavy check maintenance to Aeroman. The court said Frontier may outsource "only as a last resort, after it has exhausted all other options to perform the heavy check work at its Denver repair station," according to IBT.
EU's revision of the third package of its aviation regulation became law Saturday ( ATWOnline, Dec. 5, 2007). The regulation lays down rules for the granting of operating licenses, control of airlines and market access. It also requires carriers to include all taxes and charges in published ticket prices and bans price discrimination based on place of residence. "Fair competition is the key to success.
IATA late last month extended its e-freight pilot program to the US, New Zealand and Australia. American Airlines, United Airlines, British Airways and KLM began transporting a portion of cargo between New York JFK and London Heathrow and Amsterdam without most paper documents. Similarly, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and DHL began paperless cargo carriage on flights from New Zealand to Singapore and Hong Kong.
Olympic Airlines employees walked out again last Thursday, grounding nearly 100 flights and disrupting other air traffic in a runway protest against Greece's plan to sell the ailing state carrier ( ATWOnline, Oct. 1). The Greek government is looking for an investor to bail out Olympic, which has been losing nearly €2 million per day. Deadline for bidders was Sunday, and as of last week Qatar Airways was the only potential investor whose interest had been made public ( ATWOnline, Oct.
APG Global Associates added Transaero and Daallo Airlines of Djibouti to its interline e-ticketing program. More than 20 carriers have signed with APG-GA in the past five months and 13 more are expected, according to President Jean Louis Baroux.
A J Walter Aviation will provide Jet Time with power-by-the-hour for four 737s under a five-year deal. Consignment stock will be positioned in Copenhagen.
US Airways confirmed last week in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it expects mainline CASM excluding fuel, special items and transition expenses to rise 6%-8% year-over-year as it cuts capacity 5%-7%. Fourth-quarter Express capacity will fall 1%-3%, with unit cost excluding fuel rising 4%-6%. In 2009, US plans to cut mainline capacity 4%-6% and Express ASMs by 5%-7%. At year end it will operate 354 aircraft in the mainline fleet and 296 in the Express fleet.
Boeing's ambitious plans to ramp up 787 deliveries may be under serious threat, according to forecasts from New York-based Bernstein Research. In a wrap-up following the manufacturer's third-quarter earnings teleconference, Bernstein warned that 787 deliveries may be a further 53 short of plans in the first four years of production (2009-12) and 153 short of plans from last January.
AAR was selected by Allegiant Air to perform maintenance and modification services on six MD-80s on a nose-to-tail basis at AAR Aircraft Services-Oklahoma. Work on the first aircraft began last month.
IN THE LATE 1990S, THE AIRLINE industry was making big profits, traffic was rising, manufacturer assembly lines were humming and Airbus and Boeing were locked in a battle trying to sell their proposed giant people-movers, the A3XX and 747X. The future of commercial aviation was clear to everyone: More people flying more places at steeper and steeper discounts.
Farelogix said it is building an open-source front end for its FLX platform that will better meet the needs of travel management companies and enable airlines to merchandise their products more easily. Dubbed Project Hawkeye, it can be used as an off-the-shelf agent desktop or customized and extended to fit a particular customer's business, preferences or workflow needs.The application can be used separately from FLX when it is developed against a user's own travel source connections, Jim Davidson, chief executive officer of Farelogix, said.
MUCH OF THE FOCUS IN THE airline industry over the past year has been on the soaring cost of fuel and the multitude of revenue-raising possibilities, such as charging for checked bags, that some carriers have undertaken to survive the current crisis--with good reason. IATA is predicting an industry loss of $5.2 billion this year as oil prices remain high while demand weakens, and it suggests that 2009 won't be much better.
FACC AG recently won a contract with Airbus to provide flap track fairings (wing components made of composite materials) for A330s/A340s, a deal expected to create 100 new jobs and expand the supplier's core competencies in aerostructures. The agreement follows a contract FACC signed last year with Airbus to produce FTFs for A330 and A340-200/-300 aircraft as well as design and procure the necessary tools to manufacture them. The order value, FACC estimates, will amount to $75 million over the next four years and could be worth more as the contract is open-ended.
PHOTO CREDIT: Thales Thales won Level D certification in China for an A320 full flight simulator for Sichuan Airlines. One of two FFSs in a package that also includes a formation systems trainer device, the simulator was awarded to the company earlier this year in a contract valued at more than $20 million.
THE DELIVERY IN SEPTEMBER OF Qantas's first A380 afforded ATW an opportunity to talk with CEO Geoff Dixon, who retires at the end of this month. Dixon assumed leadership of the carrier in March 2001 and has led it successfully through some of the greatest challenges the airline industry has faced. This year Qantas recorded another record profit while continuing to enjoy an enviable reputation for safety and market leadership.
IT'S 10:45 ON A SUNLIT SATURDAY morning. The passengers onboard an ExpressJet (Delta Connection) ERJ-145 from Vancouver can actually see the Los Angeles Basin. Beautiful day. Beautiful flight, made more so by the fact that the pilot just chirped over the cabin PA that it will be 50 min. early. A happier cabin of campers would be hard to concoct.
PHOTO CREDIT: Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce opened a 1,127-sq.-m. service center in Brazil to support its Trent engines in South America. The $1 million facility will feature Rolls' On-Wing Care service, initially supporting the Trent 700 on A330s and eventually the Trent 1000 on 787s.
A NEW BEGINNING" was how Chinese Minister of Taiwan Affairs Office of State Council Wang Yi characterized the July 4 launch of weekend (Friday through Monday) flights between the mainland and Taiwan. Although cross-straits flights had occurred infrequently since 2003-typically during peak leisure travel periods such as the Spring Festival and Chinese New Year-this is the first time that such flights have been conducted on anything like a regular basis.
SURVEYS CONSISTENTLY reveal that more than 90% of commercial air passengers travel with a mobile phone and/or PDA. Even in countries where cellular technology is more limited, airline passengers usually are among the most technologically savvy citizens. With such devices able to carry 2-D barcodes and receive and transmit more and more information, airports and airlines are seeking ways to take advantage of the fact that nearly all of their customers are carrying them.
FOR TURKISH AIRLINES PRESIDENT AND CEO TEMEL KOTIL nothing is aggressive or unrealistic about the carrier's five-year business plan, which aims to double passengers carried to 40 million and more than double revenue to $10 billion by 2013. THY's recent RFP for 25 twin engine widebodies and 50 narrowbodies plus 10 widebody and 10 narrowbody options confirms its intent to become one of Europe's major players. It carried 10.3 million passengers in the first half of 2008, representing 6% of all passengers carried by the Assn. of European Airlines' 35 members and a respectable seventh position.
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation announced plans to launch its CAPA AeroPark best practice aviation training campus in India. Facility will accommodate operational and educational training requirements for airlines, airports, ANS providers, government and suppliers. Sites in Bangalore, Navi Mumbai and Pune are under consideration. Final location will be announced in early 2009. First phase is slated for 2010.
