Servair acquired Abidjan Catering as part of its international development strategy to strengthen its leadership position on the African continent. The French catering and aircraft cleaning services provider has now nine units in Africa.
Lufthansa was hit yesterday morning at airports around Germany by strikes by ground staff and cabin crew who are members of the ver.di union. It canceled 44 European and domestic flights and delayed 30 long-haul flights. Operations at Frankfurt, Nurnberg, Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne and Hamburg were affected. An LH spokesperson told ATWOnline that more cancellations could follow for operational reasons and that the airline cannot rule out further actions by ver.di in the coming days. The union said 3,000 employees joined the strike over pay increases.
Alenia Aeronautica said yesterday that it successfully completed destructive testing on the 787's horizontal stabilizer in Naples with Boeing engineers and US FAA and EASA representatives on hand.
Jet Airways said it has gained approval from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation to serve as the Type Rating Training Organization for its Type Rating Training School, which will enable it to "induct pilots in smaller batches at regular intervals in order to optimize the usage of simulator as well as ground school training facilities. . .[leading to] faster, more-efficient induction of pilots into its workforce to fly its growing fleet."
Madrid Aerospace Services, the 50/50 joint venture between Iberia and ST Aerospace, was founded officially, Iberia announced. The Madrid-based facility will maintain A320, A330 and A340 landing gear and complement the current Airbus aircraft maintenance services supplied by Iberia's maintenance division and ST Aerospace. The European Commission cleared creation of the JV last month.
Frontier Airlines promoted Senior VP-Finance Edward Christie III to senior VP and CFO. He joined Frontier in 2002. Swissport International appointed John Batten executive VP-cargo.
Qantas Group unveiled an overhauled Qantas Frequent Flyer program, offering its more than 5 million members the option of using points to book any seat on any Qantas or Jetstar Airways flight. Qantas Frequent Flyer CEO Simon Hickey said the enhanced program combines a range of new and expanded benefits with the more traditional fixed points redemption option that has been available for many years.
Boeing reached a deal with Japan Airlines to equip current and future 777s with Class 3 EFBs following a validation trial that began last year. Two 777s have been operating with the EFBs since June 2007 and JAL expects to take delivery of three EFB-equipped -300ERs this year. Retrofit kit installation will begin in April 2009 and completion is slated for late 2011.
Travelport plans to roll out its new travel agency desktop in early 2009 with a number of "wow factors," including access to the Sabre and, eventually, Amadeus GDSs.
CAE's robust success in securing full-flight simulator deals became ever more apparent recently as it received orders for FFSs and related Simfinity training devices valued at more than C$56 million ($56.6 million) from Aeroflot, Ansett Aviation Training, Skymark Airlines and a JV company that owns 50% of CAE's training center in Bangalore. So far in FY09 CAE has announced 10 FFS sales.
Kuehne+Nagel recently reached a six-year deal with Airbus to manage and operate its logistics hubs in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. The contract, which takes effect Sept. 1, will involve the consolidation of more than 40 locations across Europe as well as the standardization of various warehouse management systems. "The goal is not merely to make things less complex," Kuehne+Nagel Contract Logistics Executive VP Dirk Reich pointed out to Airline Procurement, "it is to create consistencies and better visibility across the chain of supply."
Skyrocketing fuel costs and the increasing popularity of the green movement are intersecting to create new interest in an old form of transportation: rail.
Alaska Airlines, in an effort to conserve fuel and reduce carbon emissions, has implemented mobile ground-based air units for cabin venting, cooling and heating on parked aircraft at 19 gates at Seattle-Tacoma International. It also retrofitted its 737s with blended winglets manufactured by Aviation Partners Boeing.
Bombardier signed a five-year component repair and exchange agreement with LuxairGroup covering Luxair Luxembourg Airlines' three Q400s. The component pool will be located at Bombardier's Frankfurt distribution center and cover approximately 250 part numbers.
AIRLINES GOT A GLIMPSE LAST YEAR OF A NEW WORLD IN which the hard work and heartbreak of the past seven years was rewarded with rising profits and a brighter future. Alas, like Moses, they were denied entrance to their promised land, which turned out to belong not to them but to oil companies.
Pratt & Whitney's EcoPower engine wash system, which promises to save fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, has become an attractive option for a number of airlines. At least 50 so far this year have selected the technology. In June, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines signed multiyear agreements with Pratt for EcoPower, which is offered by the manufacturer's Global Service Partners division.
S7 Airlines announced the issuance of RUB2.3 billion ($98.2 million) in debentures scheduled to mature five years from the date of issue. Alpha Bank is lead manager. S7 said the issue is designed to "refinance the debt portfolio."
US Dept. of Transportation Office of Inspector General said last week it will "conduct a series of audits" into FAA's safety oversight of US airlines. "Our reviews will include visits to FAA's headquarters, regional and field offices and various air carrier offices," the IG office said. A review of the agency's oversight of one airline in particular will be conducted, it said, but it declined to name the airline.
MAIR Holdings, which shut down its Big Sky Airlines subsidiary in March ( ATWOnline, Feb. 12), said shareholders last week approved the dissolution and liquidation of the parent company. Yesterday it filed a notice to delist its stock from NASDAQ, with the last day of trading scheduled for July 7.
Sudan suffered two fatal freighter crashes in recent days. Last Friday a Juba Air Cargo An-12BK crashed in "poor weather" on its way from Khartoum to Juba, according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network, killing seven of the eight people onboard. The aircraft first flew in 1968. Yesterday, an Ababeel Aviation Il-76TD crashed on takeoff in Khartoum, killing all four onboard.
Horizon Air said it will increase the pace with which it will transition to an all-Q400 fleet and retire its remaining 12 Q200s by Oct. 28 rather than April 2009. It also will begin phasing out its CRJ700s in September ( ATWOnline, April 25). During the transition it is scheduled to take delivery of 14 more Q400s. It currently operates 34 and now expects to fly nothing but the turboprop by the end of 2009.
Hawaiian Airlines will begin charging $17 each way for a second piece of checked baggage on inter-island flights July 15. Certain premium customers are exempt.
ANA Aviation Services will handle Gabon Airlines Cargo in the UK, North America, Scandinavia and Spain under a GSA agreement. GAC operates thrice-weekly 767 service between Paris and Libreville, with flights to Marseilles, Johannesburg and Dubai expected to begin later this year when it takes delivery of a second 767.
Iberia Tecnologia and Singapore Technologies Aerospace entered into a 50/50 joint venture yesterday establishing Madrid Aerospace Services, a landing gear maintenance company for A320s, A330s and A340s. Startup capital is €2.57 million ($4.06 million).
