Polynesian Blue, the joint venture between Virgin Blue and the Samoan government, reported a pre-tax profit of NZ$9.2 million ($6.5 million) in the fiscal year ended June 30, up 71% from the NZ$5.4 million earned the prior year, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reported. On Sept. 12 DJ will add a 12th weekly Auckland-Apia frequency and on Dec. 1 it will launch weekly Brisbane-Apia service.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a preliminary report on its investigation of last month's Qantas 747-400 decompression and fuselage hole incident ( ATWOnline, July 31), saying it is "evident that one passenger oxygen cylinder had sustained a sudden failure and forceful discharge of its pressurized contents into the [forward] aircraft hold, rupturing the fuselage in the vicinity of the wing-fuselage leading edge fairing." It added, "The cylinder had been propelled upward by the force of the discharge, puncturing the cabin flo
European Commission opened its investigation into whether the transatlantic joint business agreement between American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia for flights violates European antitrust regulations. The trio applied two weeks ago for worldwide antitrust immunity from the US Dept. of Transportation together with oneworld partners Royal Jordanian and Finnair ( ATWOnline, Aug. 15). An EC spokesperson said the probe is not the result of competitors' complaints and was launched under the regulator's own initiative.
Lufthansa Systems won a four-year deal with Tirana International for its ELWIS cargo handling solution. Part of LS's AdvancedCargo Suite, ELWIS integrates wireless technology using wireless PCs, handheld devices and forklift-mounted terminals and offers real-time tracking and tracing over shipment lifecycle.
GE Aviation won a six-year OnPoint solution contract from Virgin Blue covering MRO services on CFM56-7Bs operated by Blue and its Pacific Blue subsidiary. Contract is valued at $300 million.
Thomas Cook, Lufthansa and TUI subsidiary TUI Travel are in "early discussions" regarding a merger of their subsidiary carriers Condor Airlines, Germanwings and TUIFly Deutschland, Thomas Cook announced yesterday. "No commercial terms have been agreed. There is no certainty that any transaction will result and a further announcement will be made if and when appropriate," the company said. LH owns 24.9 % of Condor, with the remainder held by Thomas Cook.
US Air Transport Assn. announced yesterday that its request for suspension of the Sept. 3 auction of two slots at Newark was granted by the FAA Office of Dispute Resolution Acquisition ( ATWOnline, Aug. 27). It said it "fully expect[s] that the process will result in a determination that FAA lacks the legal authority to conduct the auction."
United Airlines, which last month said it would slash 5,500 frontline workers by the end of 2009 ( ATWOnline, July 23), will furlough 1,550 flight attendants effective Oct. 31. The carrier said it hopes to achieve as many of the cuts as possible via voluntary programs, but added that it must lower its flight attendant workforce by 10% by the end of October and will make as many involuntary reductions as necessary.
US FAA said it fixed a glitch in its National Airspace Data Interchange Network based near Atlanta that caused more than 600 flight delays Tuesday, including numerous delays as long as 90 min. at several major airports in the eastern US ( ATWOnline, Aug. 27). The system failed for about 6 hr., forcing all flight plans to be filed with FAA's only other NADIN in Salt Lake City. That system overloaded as a result of the extra work and some flight plans had to be entered manually. Operations were back to normal yesterday.
KLM took delivery of its first 737-700. It ordered 13 as part of a €3 billion ($4.4 billion) fleet renewal that commenced in 2002. The 737-700s will replace its -300s and -400s. Three more -700s will be arriving later this year. Separately, KLM will add four weekly frequencies to its daily Amsterdam-Hong Kong 747-400 Combi service from March 29.
Lufthansa Technik Switzerland, formerly Swiss Technik, will launch operations under its new name on Oct. 1. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik.
Embraer signed a five-year collaborative inventory parts service contract with Chinese regional Kunpeng Airlines to manage the supply and distribution of spare parts. Separately, it has begun training pilots, cabin staff and technicians employed by Brazilian startup Azul Linhas Aereas, which is scheduled to launch operations in January. Azul has 36 E-195s on firm order plus 20 options and 20 purchase rights ( ATWOnline, May 7).
Virgin Atlantic Airways selected Mercator's Skychain as its new cargo reservation and business management solution. Implementation is expected by May 2009.
Two hijackers who took over a Sun Air 737-200 on Tuesday released the 95 passengers and crew yesterday in Kufra, Libya, and surrendered to authorities without violence, according to widespread press reports. The hijackers reportedly demanded to be flown to Paris.
Southwest Airlines informed US FAA this week that it does not intend to pay a $10.2 million safety penalty by tomorrow's deadline, potentially setting the stage for a US Dept. of Justice lawsuit against the carrier. The LCC is being fined for operating 46 737 Classics for nine days in March 2007 after it had disclosed to FAA that the aircraft were in noncompliance with an airworthiness directive ( ATWOnline, Aug. 19).
ACSS submitted a new software release for its runway incursion product, SafeRoute-SAMM 2.5, for certification by US FAA. The product enables own-ship and other aircraft to be displayed on a moving map of the airport surface using a Class 2 electronic flight bag. According to ACSS, installation of Surface Area Movement Management will allow operators to take advantage of FAA's recently announced cost-share program to help fund installation of runway incursion safety systems on aircraft. ( ATWOnline, July 15).
Air Canada and Jazz flew a combined 5.02 billion RPMs in July, down 0.6% year-over-year, against a 2% fall in capacity to 6.05 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.2 points to 83%.
Incheon said it is "indefinitely" postponing plans to launch a joint venture LCC with Singapore-based Tiger Airways. The planned airline, Incheon Tiger Airways, was to serve China and Japan with A320s from Incheon ( ATWOnline, Nov. 6, 2007). The city cited "widespread negative opinions about the project" but said the startup remains a future possibility.
Midwest Airlines said it will complete the rollout of its two-class 717 cabin by Oct. 21, at which point it will offer 40 2-by-2 Signature seats and 59 redesigned economy seats on each flight ( ATWOnline, May 30, 2007). Passengers paying higher refundable fares will be assigned a Signature seat at no charge, or they may reserve a seat "for a modest fee" when booking or at check-in, Midwest said.
Eurowings majority owner Albrecht Knauf, which holds 51% of the German carrier that is part of Lufthansa's regional system ( ATWOnline, March 7), plans to sell its shares to LH, according to several domestic press reports. Knauf reportedly wants to complete the transaction by October.
Sun Air 737 was hijacked yesterday afternoon after taking off from Nyala, Sudan. Aircraft was bound for Khartoum but landed at Kufra in southeastern Libya, according to press reports. Libyan authorities were in contact with the hijackers, Agence France Presse reported. Sun Air Executive Manager Mortada Hassan told AFP there were 95 passengers and seven crewmembers onboard. Further information was unavailable.
Ryanair yesterday dismissed reports that the oxygen masks onboard one of its 737-800s malfunctioned late Monday night when the aircraft suffered a sudden inflight depressurization on its way from Bristol to Girona and diverted to Limoges. "Ryanair's engineers have inspected the aircraft overnight and have confirmed that the oxygen masks which deployed were working properly," the LCC said, adding it would not comment further while the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Air France KLM, Air China and Turkish Airlines joined Lufthansa and S7 Airlines in expressing interest in purchasing state holding company OIAG's 42.75% share of Austrian Airlines, according to press reports ( ATWOnline, Aug. 26).
Delta Air Lines said this week it has "borrowed" its $1 billion revolving credit facility, which was made available to the carrier when it emerged from bankruptcy last year. It also extended its Visa/MasterCard processing agreement through the end of 2011. President and CFO Ed Bastian told employees in a memorandum that the moves will "strengthen Delta's financial position" and help smooth its planned merger with Northwest Airlines. He said DL had $3.7 billion in cash on hand at the end of July and "will have more than sufficient [liquidity]. .
