Fly540 F-27 crashed on its way to Mogadishu from Nairobi, killing all three occupants--both pilots and an engineer. Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network said the 26-year-old aircraft was operating a cargo flight and crashed on approach. Xinhua news agency reported that it hit a telecommunications tower. The Kenyan carrier announced an ATR order last winter as it looks to expand its passenger operation ( ATWOnline, Feb. 7).
Turkish Airlines CEO Temel Kotil told Turkish TV network CNBC-e that THY is "interested in principle in the stake sale of Austrian Airlines" but that it has "not taken a decision on this," Reuters reported ( ATWOnline, Aug. 14). He also said it is interested in the 49% stake currently being offered in Bosnia's B&H Airlines.
Deutsche Post World Net CEO Frank Appel defended subsidiary DHL's proposed plan to shift its US air lift from ABX Air and Astar Air Cargo to rival UPS, saying criticism from US politicians over potential job losses at DHL's US air hub in Wilmington, Ohio ( ATWOnline, Aug. 14), misses the bigger picture and that there are no grounds for an antitrust review.
US FAA yesterday proposed civil penalties against American Airlines totaling $7.1 million for allegedly operating aircraft "in violation of FAA regulations" and for alleged "past deficiencies in its drug and alcohol testing program." The agency said that in December 2007 AA "improperly defer[red] maintenance on safety-related equipment" on MD-83s and flew the aircraft 58 times, including 10 revenue flights after an FAA inspector discovered the problem relating to the planes' autopilot systems and notified the airline.
US Airways announced that Merrill Lynch will purchase 19 million shares of US common stock in an underwritten public offering at $8.50 per share. Net proceeds after the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses will be approximately $155 million to be used for "general corporate purposes," US said. ML will have a 30-day option to purchase an additional 2.85 million shares to cover overallotments. The offer is expected to close Aug. 19. Trading in US shares was halted yesterday.
Rolls-Royce and Goodrich yesterday signed a letter of intent to form a 50/50 joint venture to develop and supply engine controls for Rolls aero engines. JV will encourage synergies, combining Goodrich's UK-based engine controls design and manufacturing business and Rolls' controls integration expertise. Goodrich will retain the JV's aftermarket products and services. The initiative "reflects the importance we attach to the engine control system in optimizing engine performance," Rolls Director-Engineering & Technology Colin Smith said.
UK NATS reported that the number of flights through UK airspace in July dipped 0.6% from the year-ago month, the first decrease since 9/11. All NATS centers showed negative or static results. The London Area Control Centre handled 0.1% fewer flights and its Manchester counterpart 5.9% fewer. Transatlantic departures and arrivals decreased 3.3% and transatlantic overflights grew 2.3%.
SITA will upgrade Cathay Pacific Airways' network infrastructure to ensure readiness for new applications under a four-year, multimillion-dollar deal announced yesterday. Upgrade will offer 425% more bandwidth and feature messaging, IP services, managed firewall and end-to-end service management with a 24/7 help desk and on-site team. Agreement also includes SITA's Airport Hub solution featuring shared IT systems at more than 100 airports.
Swiss International Air Lines and its Edelweiss Air subsidiary reached an agreement allowing LX customers to book seats on Edelweiss flights to 15 destinations from Oct. 26. Established in 1995, Edelweiss operates as an independent entity within the Swiss group with three A320s and one A330-200.
Spring Airlines is expecting 2008 earnings to fall short of the CNY70 million ($10.2 million) profit reported last year owing to the difficult operating environment. Speaking to China Business News, Spring Chairman Wang Zhenghua said the LCC posted "a little" profit in the first half. He said fuel costs have jumped to 50% of Spring's total expenses, up from 30%-40%. "In addition, labor costs are rising," he said.
ANA Aviation Services will provide marketing, sales, reservation and customer services for Biman Bangladesh Airlines in the UK, Ireland and Spain under a recently announced GSA agreement. BG operates five-times-weekly Dhaka-Dubai-London Heathrow.
Sabre Airline Solutions signed multimillion-dollar contracts with Vietnam Airlines to provide its SabreSonic reservations system and collaborate with IBM to boost online shopping capabilities.
Brussels Airport traffic returned to normal yesterday after negotiators sealed a deal to end a strike by baggage handlers Flightcare and Aviapartner over pay and working conditions. The work stoppage, which started Sunday night, forced airlines to cancel, delay or divert flights in and out of BRU. Some 120,000 passengers were affected by the strike, the airport said, and the baggage backlog is estimated at 20,000 pieces.
Finnair is the first European oneworld member to operate aircraft with alliance livery, following Japan Airlines and LAN Argentina. One A340 and one A319 feature the oneworld script along the front of the fuselage with the tails of the group's member carriers toward the rear.
As an increasing number of US lawmakers raised questions over the proposed DHL-UPS deal, the House of Representatives announced two hearings on the matter and Ohio's full Congressional delegation wrote a letter to German President Angela Merkel asking her to push DHL to "reconsider."
American Airlines flew 12.46 billion system RPMs in July, a 3.5% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 1.2% to 14.52 billion ASMs and load factor declined 2 points to 85.8%. Northwest Airlines flew 7.56 billion consolidated RPMs in July, up 3.9% year-over-year. Capacity increased 5.2% to 8.73 billion ASMs and load factor fell 1.1 points to 86.6%. British Airways flew 9.98 billion RPKs in July, down 3.5% from the year-ago month, against a 3.5% increase in ASKs to 13.17 billion. Load factor dropped 5.4 points to 75.8%.
StandardAero inked MRO contracts with Aerolineas Mesoamericanas covering CF34-3B1s and 36-150 APUs on CRJ200s with various support elements including spare engines and technical and program management. Contracts are eight-year programs (four plus four one-year options) valued at more than $50 million. Separately, StandardAero broke ground on a 24,384-sq.-m. expansion of its Winnipeg facility to accommodate engine throughputs. Manitoba government will contribute C$20 million to the project.
Air India parent National Aviation Co. of India signed a $214.1 million pre-delivery finance loan agreement for five 777-300ERs and three 777-200LRs scheduled for delivery in 2009-10. Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank are lead arrangers and ING Bank and Natixis Transport Finance are co-arrangers.
Ukraine International Airlines carried 936,500 passengers through July, an increase of 23% over the first seven months of 2007. Iberia flew 4.91 billion RPKs in July, down 1.4% year-over-year, against a 0.6% lift in capacity to 5.81 billion ASKs. Load factor fell 1.7 points to 84.6%. Aer Lingus flew 1.72 billion RPKs in July, up 8.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 8.9% to 2.06 billion ASKs and load factor fell 0.7 point to 83.3%.
Qantas's safety record likely will fall under further scrutiny after it announced the withdrawal of six 737-400s from service while it cross-checked maintenance records relating to modification work carried out in one of its Australian facilities.
South Korean government will sell a 49% stake in Incheon International Airport, "which includes a strategic tie-up with a foreign airport operator to secure international competitiveness," according to a statement cited by Reuters. No timeframe was announced.
Yemenia Yemen Airways reached a 10-year, $90 million fleet management agreement with Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners. Deal covers IY's three PW4000-powered A310-300s.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace subsidiary ST Aerospace Solutions renewed its component supply and reconditioning contract with LOT Polish Airlines. Three-year contract is valued at €8.7 million ($13 million) and covers seven 767s under STA Solutions' material supply program.
China Eastern Airlines board approved plans to launch a business aviation service company that will provide ground handling and maintenance for private and charter flights, among other services. The new venture will be a wholly owned subsidiary and will require an investment of CNY50 million ($7.3 million). The Shanghai-based carrier noted that it has no plans to purchase any business aircraft for the time being but it did not rule out the possibility of reconfiguring some of its existing aircraft.
