Cirrus Airlines Dornier 328 overran the runway at Mannheim City Airport and crashed into an earthen barrier, causing significant damage to the left wing and engine. None of the 24 passengers or three crew was injured. Flight was en route from Berlin Tempelhof.
Pratt & Whitney said this week that it has installed the flight inlet and nacelle system on its Geared Turbofan demonstrator engine and is ready to begin the second phase of ground testing next month. GTF demonstrator program partner Goodrich provided the system and installation took place during a fit check that precedes connection of final test sensors.
Qantas plans to allow domestic customers to use e-mail and SMS functions on their mobile phones and PDAs beginning later this year. The decision follows a trial onboard a 767-300 that ran from April 2007 to January ( ATWOnline, Aug. 29, 2007). The tecnology will be installed on "a number" of domestic 767-300s and A330-200s. "The evaluation of this new technology was a great success," Executive GM John Borghetti said. Qantas worked with AeroMobile on the project.
Air Greenland reported pre-tax earnings of DKK73.2 million ($15.4 million) in 2007, a result it said was "considerably better than anticipated" but that represented a 2.4% decrease from the DKK75 million profit earned in 2006. It cited a "high level" of charter activity and an increase in domestic passengers as plusses but said it suffered low load factors on routes to and from Copenhagen and Baltimore.
BOC Aviation announced a sale/leaseback deal with Air Canada covering two new 777-300ERs scheduled for delivery this month and next. Lease deals are for 12 years each. BOCA also announced the delivery of the first of seven new 737-800s to Jet Airways. A second will arrive at the end of this month with the remaining five scheduled for delivery in 2010 and 2011.
United Airlines reported in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing yesterday that first-quarter mainline PRASM is expected to increase 9%-10% year-over-year while consolidated unit revenues will rise 8.5%-9.5%. In addition, "solid" PRASM performance is expected in the second quarter. First-quarter mainline traffic is expected to drop 2.5%-3% from the year-ago quarter against unchanged capacity while consolidated RPMs will decline 2.8%-3.3% on a 0.1% drop in capacity. Mainline CASM is expected to increase 15.2%-15.5% year-over-year, or 3%-3.5% excluding fuel and special items.
Delta Air Lines pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. rejected arbitration as a way to break the impasse with Northwest Airlines pilots over the integration of their respective seniority lists, the Associated Press reported ( ATWOnline, March 19). Union leaders at NWA reportedly suggested the option to members.
Air Canada and WestJet said the Canadian airline market has been insulated from the US economic slowdown that this week drove Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to announce domestic capacity cuts ( ATWOnline, March 19).
United Airlines' pilots blasted management's decision to ground 15-20 737-500s later this year to mitigate rising fuel costs and the impact of a slowing US economy ( ATWOnline, March 19). The fleet reduction "signals once again that the current management team is incapable of leading this airline," the pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., said in a statement.
British Airways announced the purchase of 28.7 million shares of Iberia at an average price of €2.34 ($3.69) per share, lifting its stake in its oneworld partner to 13.15%. BA CEO Willie Walsh said, "We will consider further opportunities to increase our stake."
Some 100 small communities stand to lose air service if the US Dept. of Transportation moves forward with a congestion pricing plan, the Regional Airline Assn. said in a statement released yesterday. Another 450 airports would be "at significant risk of losing air service," according to the organization that represents regionals in the US and Canada. DOT has proposed a two-part formula for restructuring landing fees based on aircraft weight and a per-operation charge rather than the current weight-based standard.
Global Aero Logistics, parent of ATA Airlines, North American Airlines and World Airways, named Chairman John Denison as interim president and CEO following the resignation of Subodh Karnik. A search for a permanent replacement is underway.
Delta TechOps, the maintenance arm of Delta Air Lines, next month will begin reporting financial results "as a standalone business with our own profit and loss sheet," TechOps President Tony Charaf said Tuesday at the SpeedNews Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference in Los Angeles. TechOps intends to build its third-party MRO business in engines and components and views itself as competing with giants such as Lufthansa Technik and Air France Industries in an increasingly globalized market for MRO services.
Singapore Airlines launched its Singapore-London Heathrow A380 service yesterday. Flight SQ308 with 449 passengers took off from Changi Airport just after 9 a.m. local time. The return flight, SQ319, is scheduled to arrive back in Singapore this afternoon.
Delta Air Lines announced yesterday that it will follow United Airlines and US Airways in charging passengers $25 for a second checked bag starting May 1. The move comes as US carriers are scrambling to contend with rising fuel prices and a weak domestic economy (see story above) and looking for "revenue enhancement" measures to help offset escalating expenses ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27).
US FAA Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell yesterday ordered the agency's principal maintenance inspectors to conduct an audit of airlines under their oversight to "reconfirm that commercial carriers operating within the United States have complied with all airworthiness directives."
Japan Airlines and ANA are expecting that four unions representing cockpit crew, ground staff and some cabin attendants may conduct a one-day strike today that would affect about 2% of domestic services.
Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines pilots have been unable to reach an agreement on the merger of their respective seniority lists ( ATWOnline, March 7), perhaps delivering the final blow to a potential combination of the carriers, DL Air Line Pilots Assn. MEC Chairman Lee Moak said in a letter posted on the union's website.
Wings Aviation Beechcraft 1900D crashed en route from Lagos to Obudu Saturday, killing all three occupants. Wings is a charter carrier based in the Nigerian capital and the flight was a positioning operation with no passengers aboard. Aircraft first flew in 1998, according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network.
Babcock & Brown Aircraft Management announced the delivery of a new 737-800 to Transavia France. It is the third of five new -800s the lessor will lease to the Air France KLM subsidiary. Final two are scheduled for delivery in April and May.
News from Travel Technology Update: Travelport GDS said all new airline contracts will cover participation in Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan. The company also confirmed that it has moved to a "home and away" pricing system for airline bookings that "more closely aligns with the greater value we provide in reaching a global customer base." The pricing structure, which appears to be reminiscent of the "value-based" structure introduced by Amadeus at the beginning of 2004, sets lower fees for bookings made within a carrier's home market and higher fees for bookings made outside its prim
Alaska Air Cargo said it is automating its cargo tracking system to enable customers to get "near real-time" updates on freight shipments. Using scanner-equipped cellular devices, it will scan cargo when it arrives at its final destination and wirelessly upload the information to its cargo data management system and to alaskaair.com. Customers will be able to go to the website to get information on their shipment's status. Alaska's cargo arrivals previously have been tracked manually, delaying the amount of time before information can be provided to customers.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew 7 billion RPKs in February, up 19% from the year-ago month, against a 15.7% increase in capacity to 9.01 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 2.1 points to 77.6%. JetBlue Airways flew 2.03 billion RPMs in February, a 16.7% rise from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 21.5% to 2.64 billion ASMs, lowering load factor 3.2 points to 76.8%. AirTran Airways flew 1.42 billion RPMs in February, a 28.2% rise from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 14% to 1.82 billion ASMs and load factor soared 8.6 points to 78.1%.
Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines chiefs hinted that downsizing may be necessary to offset escalating fuel costs. With the per-barrel crude oil price topping $110, analysts have warned that cost cuts achieved during the US industry's restructuring earlier this decade are in danger of being swamped by high energy expenses ( ATWOnline, March 13). CO Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner said in a message to employees that the carrier's fuel costs could rise by as much as $1.5 billion year-over-year in 2008.
