Sensis Corp. reached agreement with Nav Canada to provide its Multistatic Dependent Surveillance multilateration for surface surveillance at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International. Contract also calls for Sensis's VeeLo NextGen vehicle locators to be used for tracking airport vehicles in maneuvering areas. "MDS's use of nonrotating sensors significantly enhances surveillance coverage from the current surface radar, especially during inclement weather conditions such as rain and snow storms," Sensis Air Traffic Systems VP and GM Tony Lo Brutto explained to AP.
Honeywell signed a 10-year contract with Kunpeng Airlines to provide MRO services on components, avionics and lighting equipment for ERJ-190s. Valued at $21 million, the agreement covers more than 65 Honeywell parts. "Honeywell's service program provides one manageable package that incorporates maintenance, logistics and spares access, giving Kunpeng Airlines the parts and services they need, when and where they need it," said Honeywell Airlines VP Mike Madsen.
Sabre Travel Network has devised a way for travelers and travel agents to compare the true costs of flights when factors such as checked-bag fees and preferred seat selection are taken into account. Called Attribute-Based Shopping, the application will be available to consumers and travel management companies in 2009. It will be available both to airlines that are hosted on the Sabre system and to airlines that simply distribute through the Sabre GDS.
HOW QUICKLY THE PRESENT BECOMES the good old days in the air transport industry! Twelve months ago, providers of maintenance, repair and overhaul services were confidently eyeing new markets and growth opportunities in line with rising airline traffic and capacity. The aging of the fleet and higher aircraft utilization meant that demand for MRO services was increasing. Private equity was turning its attention to the sector and places like India seemed ripe for exploration (ATW, 11/07, p. 46).
Compagnia Aerea Italiana, the consortium of investors negotiating a bid for Alitalia, reportedly walked out of talks with labor unions late Wednesday night, putting its bid for the failing flag carrier in doubt ( ATWOnline, Oct. 30). It was scheduled to present its offer this evening. CAI head Roberto Colaninno said he was "very worried about the situation caused by the breakdown of negotiations" in a statement cited by press reports.
Northwest Airlines closed a $500 million secured revolving credit facility led by U.S. Bank with Citigroup and Morgan Stanley as co-lead arrangers and joint book runners. Financing comprises a three-year, $200 million secured revolving credit facility priced at LIBOR plus 4.5% with a final maturity on Oct. 28, 2011, and a 364-day, $300 million secured revolving credit facility with a final maturity on Oct. 28, 2009, bearing interest at LIBOR plus 3.5%.
Arab Air Carriers Org. is urging Arab governments to take responsibility for security costs, to relax bilateral agreements and ownership rules and to "genuinely review" taxes and charges imposed on air transport in order to revitalize traffic and reduce the impact of the global economic crisis on the industry.
Silver Air, a charter and ACMI carrier based in Dubai, said it has received its UAE air operator's certificate. It has three 737-200s and one 737-300 and said it plans to operate 10 737 Classics by 2010.
Boeing this week forecast that China will need 3,710 new aircraft worth approximately $390 billion over the next 20 years, an increase from last year's projection of 3,400 planes ( ATWOnline, Sept. 19, 2007). "China will continue to be the fastest-growing aviation center in the world, requiring 41% of the entire Asia/Pacific region airplane demand," Commercial Airplanes VP-Marketing Randy Tinseth said. Single-aisle aircraft will account for 70% of the new purchases.
Frontier Airlines Holdings, which continues to operate Frontier Airlines and Lynx Aviation under bankruptcy protection, reported a $29.7 million net loss in the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30 and a $5.8 million operating loss. In September, when it lost $20.8 million, it reported $7.0 million in reorganization costs and $2.1 million in unrealized losses on fuel hedges. It recorded gains of $9.9 million from the sale of two aircraft.
Air Berlin confirmed that it will absorb its dba subsidiary by Nov. 30, ending branded flying by the carrier AB acquired two years ago ( ATWOnline, Aug. 18, 2006). Dba operates nine aircraft and three of its 737-300s will leave the AB fleet entirely. Dba's 120 pilots and 175 cabin crew will be transferred elsewhere within AB or offered buyouts.
US Dept. of Transportation said this week that the average US domestic itinerary fare in the second quarter rose 8.1% year-over-year to $352, the highest three-month figure in the 13 years of measurable data. Fares averaged $336 during the first quarter. DOT used the data to support its effort to institute slot auctions at New York JFK, LaGuardia and Newark starting in January ( ATWOnline, Oct. 16). "Even though caps can cut delays, they also eliminate competition, and without competition airfares rise," Secretary Mary Peters said.
Bombardier completed what it called "a civil aviation first," the first flight of a civil aircraft "equipped entirely with an all-electric braking system." The system is being developed for the CSeries. The 7-hr. test, which included five landings and a series of high-speed braked ground runs, was carried out Tuesday in Wichita. Demonstrator aircraft was equipped with Meggitt's electric braking system known as the EBrake and Messier-Dowty landing gear with electric brake wiring harnesses. The technology couples brake-by-wire control with electric brake actuation.
British Airways put on hold plans to add a fifth 757 to the fleet of its OpenSkies subsidiary next year, according to an internal BA memo cited by The Daily Telegraph. OpenSkies' "revenues are below target through a combination of lower volumes and yields, and as a priority we must take actions to ensure we keep within our cash reserves," the memo said.
Coventry-based Atlantic Airlines and Sweden's West Air Europe are merging to form an all-cargo regional carrier called West Atlantic. The company expects an annual turnover of €125 million ($156.1 million) and will operate 41 BAE ATP freighters, a single ATR 72, six Electras and two CRJ200s configured for cargo. It will be headquartered in Gothenburg.
TAP Portugal flew 2.05 billion RPKs in September, up 6.6% year-over-year, against a 12.1% surge in capacity to 2.8 billion ASKs. Load factor dropped 3.8 points to 73.3%. Alitalia flew 2.58 billion RPKs in September, down 25% from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 17.6% to 3.66 billion ASKs and load factor was down 7 points to 70.5%. Olympic Airlines flew 686 million RPKs in September, a 7.4% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity was down 13.8% to 845.9 million ASKs and load factor rose 5.6 points to 81.1%.
Boeing and the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers reached a four-year tentative labor agreement Monday night that, if ratified, will mark the end of a costly strike by some 27,000 workers that has idled aircraft assembly lines since Sept. 6.
S7 Airlines confirmed that Nov. 17 will be the last day it operates any Russian-built aircraft. It said its Oct. 26-March 28 winter schedule includes 69 destinations and will feature the Dec. 23 launch of Moscow Domodedovo-Bangkok service aboard a 767-300ER. It said it will cut flights to "some" Russian cities whose airports have not been cleared to handle foreign-built aircraft. S7 flew 11.65 billion RPKs through the first nine months of 2008, up 11.6% from the year-ago period. Passenger numbers climbed 12.6% to 4.8 million and load factor fell 1.8 points to 80.3%.
Product Development Co. announced that AMECO Beijing successfully deployed Arbortext, PTC's product information delivery software "for the timely and accurate update" of its MRO-related manuals.
Qantas and British Airways both admitted to violating Australian competition laws relating to air cargo fuel surcharges in 2002-06 and reached agreement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to pay fines of A$20 million ($12.2 million) and A$5 million respectively. "Qantas apologizes unreservedly for the conduct of the employees involved," CEO Geoff Dixon said. BA said it "has a longstanding competition compliance policy and it is highly regrettable that this policy was not adhered to in relation to fuel surcharges on the carriage of cargo."
Qatar Airways is interested in a possible bid for Olympic Airways, Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis revealed. "What I can say is that Qatar Airways is on the list of investors who have expressed interest in Olympic," he said in a statement cited by Bloomberg News. Deadline for nonbinding bids is the end of the month and no other potential bidders were named.
Lufthansa Technik yesterday opened a new MRO center at Sofia. The joint venture between LHT (80%) and Bulgarian Aviation Group (20%) will offer maintenance and heavy checks on both Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies. The company invested €20 million in renovation of a 6,000-sq.-m., two-bay hangar and will employ 350. It will look to secure third-party work from European, Middle Eastern and North African carriers.
CAE said JetBlue Airways signed a five-year contract for CAE True Airport, a subscription-based service that keeps visual databases current with rapidly changing airport environments.
Delta Air Lines named John "Ned" Walker senior VP and chief communications officer. Walker joins DL from Continental Airlines, where he spent 21 years, most recently serving as senior VP-corporate communications.
