Air France KLM and AF Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta will relinquish the latter title at both the parent company and airline on Jan. 1, when Deputy CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon will take over. "I felt it necessary to propose an internal solution that would guarantee continuity of governance in view of the difficult economic climate facing us," Spinetta said.
Lufthansa Technik is expanding capacity in European countries with lower labor costs and plans to perform its first D check on an A321 at its new Sofia facility in November. LHT Sofia will open formally on Oct. 28, employ 258 and feature a two-bay, 6,000-sq.-m. hangar. LHT has invested €20 million in the facility along with partner Bulgarian Aviation Group. Sofia will join LHT sites in Germany, Ireland, Hungary and Malta in performing single-aisle MRO. Meanhile, LHT Malta is planning to open its new 27,000-sq.-m.
US Senate and House of Representatives late Tuesday both passed the FAA Extension Act of 2008, which will fund FAA operations and programs through March 31. The agency, which saw its authorization expire on Sept. 30, 2007, has been funded over the past 12 months via a series of temporary extensions ( ATWOnline, May 7), the latest of which is set to expire Sept. 30.
Clickair is launching a new Internet portal designed for companies and travel agents as it expects a 42% increase in revenue from this sector in 2009. Clickair Professional provides users with access to exclusive benefits, including discounts on certain routes, triple loyalty program points for companies, special promotions for travel agents and a unique tariff enabling cancellations and modifications to be made to reservations without charge, according to CEO Alex Cruz.
Croatia Airlines announced a partnership with Privredna banka Zagreb and PBZ Card that will allow passengers to pay for tickets at nearly 400 Privredna ATMs. Customers who make a reservation over the telephone or at an OU branch office will have the option of receiving a code allowing them to pay later at an ATM using American Express, MasterCard, Maestro, Visa or Visa Electron.
Iberia Maintenance announced deals with GE Aviation, SR Technics and Gestair. It signed an MOU with GE to become the preferred regional fulfillment center for CFM56-5A MRO in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. IB will enter into an OnPoint solution agreement with GE for material and services. Under the agreement with SRT, Iberia will repair and overhaul SRT components from various aircraft fleets in Madrid while SRT provides MRO on CFM56-5Cs powering IB's A340-300s. It is the first deal between the companies.
The Italian government yesterday met with CAI executives for the third time in two days, raising speculation that the investor group might revive its bid for Alitalia. Civil aviation authority ENAC warned this week that it might revoke or suspend AZ's operating license if the carrier's administrator, Augusto Fantozzi, does not present a credible rescue plan by today ( ATWOnline, Sept. 23).
Flybe Aviation Services reached an agreement with Embraer to become an authorized service center for ERJ-145s and E-Jets. Five-year contract calls for Flybe, which operates the 145, E-195 and Q400 and is one of Europe's largest low-cost regional operators, to provide MRO from its Exeter base. It will have access to Embraer's structure-specific repair solutions and database and will be able to handle airframe and warranty issues for Embraer customers.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said yesterday that India's airlines could collectively lose as much as $1.5 billion in 2008 and called on the nation to take "urgent action. . .to help Indian carriers weather the perfect storm of high costs and falling demand."
Austrian Airlines last week inaugurated the third training center at its Vienna Aviation Campus. Designed by ARGE BWM Architects and Partners, the center will enable OS to train staff at a single location.
Jet Republic, a new private aviation company headquartered in Lisbon, announced yesterday that it placed a firm order for 25 new Bombardier Learjet 60 XR aircraft (with options on 85 more) that it intends to fly to more than 1,000 European airports from next summer on. The order, placed in June, is valued at $1.5 billion and will see 25 aircraft delivered over the first 22 months and the remainder delivered one every three weeks thereafter.
Two pilots who fell asleep while flying for Mesa Air Group's Hawaiian subsidiary go! were suspended by US FAA in addition to being fired by the airline, the Associated Press reported. Capt. Scott Oltman had his license suspended for 60 days and copilot Dillon Shepley was suspended for 45 for "careless and reckless operation" of an aircraft, an FAA spokesperson said. The suspensions were completed Sept. 9. No action was taken against go!, which provided the required 15-hr. rest between flights. The highly publicized incident occurred on a Feb. 13 flight from Honolulu to Hilo.
Airports Council International's North American and European arms called for negotiators in the US, EU and Canada to move forward on a fully liberalized transatlantic regime, including relaxing remaining restrictions on airline ownership and control. "Additional flexibility would provide greater opportunities for airlines in Europe, the US and Canada to obtain access to capital to the ultimate benefit of consumers.
Air France KLM flew 19.89 billion RPKs in August, up 2.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 4.7% to 23.77 billion ASKs, reducing load factor 1.6 points to 83.7%. Delta Air Lines flew 11.84 billion system RPMs in August, down 0.5% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 1.6% to 13.89 billion ASMs and load factor rose 0.9 point to 85.2%. Air Canada and Jazz flew 5.18 billion RPMs in August, down 1.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 2.2% to 6.14 billion ASMs and load factor rose 0.6 point to 84.4%.
ST Aviation Services, a Singapore Technologies Aerospace subsidiary, reached agreement with Airbus to provide heavy maintenance checks for 19 A330s leased to Singapore Airlines. Agreement is part of a multiparty contract to provide SIA with support under prior lease arrangements. Heavy maintenance is slated to begin in 2015 and expected to last 18 months.
Spanish civil aviation authority suspended the operating license of Futura International Airways, according to press reports. The license could be reactivated if Futura finds an investor to finance its restructuring plan before Jan. 1. The charter carrier suspended operations two weeks ago and filed for bankruptcy protection ( ATWOnline, Sept. 9).
Emirates President Tim Clark said the carrier's thrice-weekly Dubai-New York JFK A380 service, launched on Aug. 1, is performing well. Speaking to ATWOnline en route to Toulouse, where EK will be discussing future A380 deliveries with the manufacturer, Clark said he has received positive feedback from passengers in all three cabin classes and that the bar at the rear of the business class cabin is especially popular and "constantly frequented by up to 25 passengers" ( ATW, September 2008).
S7 Airlines will launch thrice-weekly Moscow Domodedovo-Bangkok Suvarnabhumi on Dec. 23 using 767-300ERs. Separately, S7 said passenger numbers through the first eight months of 2008 rose 16.1% year-over-year to 4.2 million, while load factor was down 1.1% to 80.1%.
Air India parent National Aviation Co. of India Ltd. sealed $548.6 million in loan guarantees from the Export-Import Bank of the US for the purchase of Boeing aircraft. The bank concluded $1.2 billion in financing for NACIL last year.
Quintiq will provide LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim's with its advanced ramp operations scheduling solution under a deal announced yesterday. Technology features advanced visualization capabilities aimed at optimizing workforce, facilities and equipment utilization. Implementation began this month and is slated for completion by year end.
American Airlines said it will introduce "PriorityAAcess" for first and business class passengers and top frequent-flier program members from Sept. 30, an initiative that will include fast-track security screening lanes at 10 major US airports. "Where permitted by airport policy and government security regulations, American will offer exclusive. . .security screening lanes," it said. Airports that will have the new security lanes are Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O'Hare, Miami, Los Angeles, New York JFK , New York LaGuardia, St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston and San Juan.
Air Astana said it continued to experience strong growth during the first half of 2008, recording a 16% year-over-year increase in passengers carried to 1.3 million. The carrier expects to carry 2.4 million for the full year. First-half revenue lifted 26% to $312 million.
