US Airways pilots who formerly flew for America West Airlines notified the carrier last week of their intention to commence separate contract negotiations, saying they were unable to reach a joint agreement with former US Airways [East] pilots. John McIlvenna, chairman of the union leadership group representing former AWA pilots, claimed that 400 East pilots had been upgraded to captain positions since the merger but that just 40 West pilots were afforded the same opportunity.
Lufthansa Technik is scheduled to open its four-bay A380 hangar today at Ameco Beijing, which will be the world's largest such facility and is part of a massive investment the MRO giant is making in the new jumbo aircraft. LHT Chairman August Wilhelm Henningsen told ATWOnline in Hamburg that the company is investing approximately $100 million in the new hangar, along with another $100 million in a Frankfurt MRO hangar, €120 million in the N3 Engine Overhaul Services joint venture with Rolls-Royce and another €100 million in spares.
Alaska Air Group board authorized the repurchase of an additional $50 million in common stock. It recently bought back 10% of its outstanding stock for $100 million. New acquisition will be financed with cash on hand.
Airbus projected last week that Russian airlines will need more than 900 passenger aircraft valued at $79 billion over the next 20 years to meet demand for both replacement and fleet growth. Russian passenger traffic is expected to increase 6.2% annually on average over the next two decades, faster than the world average of 4.9%, Airbus said.
UK airports handled 241 million passengers in 2007, up 2.4% on the prior year, according to UK CAA, which noted that growth was "slower than that seen over the last decade and continues a trend which began in 2005." Transport movements at UK airports grew 1.8% year-over-year to 2.5 million, rising 2.6% at the five London airports that contribute 58% of the country's total passenger numbers. Majority (58%) of UK passengers, or 139 million, were bound for or arriving from continental Europe, up 3.1% from 2006. Largest increases were to/from Poland (30.7%) and Italy (6%).
Spanair launched a new four-class fare structure dubbed Spanairx4, calling the concept "modern and versatile" and one that will set it apart from domestic competitors. The classes are labeled "business," "avant," "economy plus" and "economy." Business offers passengers a 30-kg. baggage check-in allowance (10 kg. more than economy plus and economy), lounge access and preferential service onboard, including free catering and "blocking of the middle seat" to provide more space. It also offers flexible and penalty-free options for booking changes, including on day of flight.
MNG Technic will perform C checks on Air Slovakia's single 737 and 757 as well as UK charter carrier Flightline's only MD-83. Work will begin this month.
US airlines carried 769.4 million passengers in 2007, up 3.3% from 2006 and an all-time high, according to US Dept. of Transportation statistics released last week. Domestic passengers were up 3.1% to 679 million while international passengers rose 4.7% to 90 million. Southwest Airlines carried more total system passengers (101.9 million) than any other carrier, the first time it has topped the list, besting American Airlines (98.2 million), which led each of the previous five years.
Air France KLM flew 14.95 billion RPKs in February, up 3.7% from the year-ago month, against an 8.4% increase in capacity to 19.81 billion ASKs. Load factor dropped 3.4 points to 75.5%. Lufthansa Group airlines flew 10.91 billion RPKs in February, a 33.4% jump from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 32.3% to 14.45 billion ASKs and load factor increased 0.6 point to 75.5%. Air Canada and Jazz flew a combined 3.81 billion RPMs in February, up 5.8% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 6.3% to 4.81 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 0.4 point to 79.2%.
Norwegian will abandon the FlyNordic brand from April 5 and fully integrate the Stockholm-based carrier. "Since both companies are working toward the same target groups and the same markets, a single consistent profile will strengthen the brand Norwegian and make the company more visible among our customers," the LCC said. "The company will offer a common service concept and booking system.
US FAA last week mandated "significant upgrades" to aircraft cockpit voice and flight data recorders. All voice recorders in aircraft carrying more than 10 people must capture the last 2 hr. of cockpit audio instead of the current 15-30 min. New rule also requires an independent backup power source for voice recorders to allow continued recording for 9-11 min. if all power sources are lost or interrupted.
Singapore Airlines will fly the A380 to Tokyo Narita on May 20, making the Japanese capital the fourth city to receive A380 commercial flights. Flight SQ636 will depart Changi at 12:40 a.m. and arrive at NRT at 8:30 a.m. local time. Return flight will take off at 1 p.m. local time. Service will continue daily thereafter.
AerCap Holdings, the Dutch lessor, will lease 10 new A330-200s to Aeroflot for 9-10-year periods with deliveries beginning in November and extending to April 2010. AerCap has an additional 20 A330s on order with Airbus but has not yet announced placement.
Continental Airlines, in partnership with Boeing and GE Aviation, will conduct a biofuels demonstration flight in the first half of 2009 using one of its 737NGs. It will be the first such flight in North America and the third overall. Virgin Atlantic Airways carried out a demonstration flight last month on a 747-400 with one engine partially powered by a blend of babassu oil and coconut oil ( ATWOnline, Feb. 26) and Air New Zealand will conduct one later this year with an undisclosed fuel mix.
Southwest Airlines yesterday returned to service 34 of 38 737 Classics it temporarily grounded Wednesday for inspection and operated a normal schedule, saying the other four aircraft will need "surface repairs" expected to be completed by this weekend.
Air New Zealand is staying true to the philosophy that earned it Air Transport World's 2008 Passenger Service Award and embracing more product upgrades designed to snare premium customers, rather than cost cuts, to combat soaring fuel prices. Speaking to ATWOnline in Auckland, CEO Rob Fyfe reasoned, "In a cross-country race, the best time to pass the guy ahead is on the hill. And we are fighting fit and in great shape and we should look at this time to pass our competitors."
TAM suffered precipitous drops in full-year unit revenue and yield in 2007, according to select operating indictors released this week. Yield declined 13.6% year-over-year to BRL25.3 cents and RASK fell 17.1% to BRL17.08 cents, according to US GAAP. Load factor dropped 3.5 points to 70.4% while unit cost improved 7.6% to BRL16.22 cents, or 5.8% to BRL10.89 cents excluding fuel. On domestic services, yield fell 19.4% to BRL23.42 cents and unit revenue declined 22% to BRL15.51 cents. Internationally, yield was down 17% to BRL17.66 cents and RASK plunged 23.3% to BRL12.44 cents.
IATA this week condemned UK CAA's decision to allow significant charge increases at London Heathrow and Gatwick ( ATWOnline, March 12), saying that "failure is the only word to describe the CAA's decision." IATA claimed that BAA generated an operating profit of 35% at LHR, producing a net return on invested capital of 15.3% that was twice the level of the cost of capital set by CAA.
Flight Safety Foundation announced a partnership with Eurocontrol aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two organizations in order to reduce safety risks.
US Airways and International Assn. of Machinists announced a tentative labor agreement that will move all US MRO and related employees under one labor contract. Pre-merger America West Airlines staff will move to the higher pay scales of pre-merger US employees and the contract also "modifies the existing East [US] agreement in ways that are mutually beneficial to IAM mechanic-and-related employees and the company," US said. Contract covers approximately 800 West and 2,500 East employees and, if ratified by IAM membership, will become amendable on Dec. 31, 2011.
EasyJet launched easyJet Plus, a "membership card" that offers passengers free access to its so-called Speedy Boarding or priority boarding without a reservation. At selected airports, the card also will allow access to priority check-in service. EasyJet is expanding its "Speedy Boarding Plus" offering, a combination of priority boarding with a dedicated check-in desk, throughout its network. It currently is available at some 30 airports. EasyJet Plus costs £75 ($150.63) for one year if purchased before April 30 and £100 thereafter.
JP Morgan projected a collective full-year loss of $4 billion-$9 billion for US airlines yesterday. In a research note, analyst Jamie Baker forecast continuing high oil prices and declining demand and warned, "We don't believe the industry can move quickly enough to put much of dent in forecasted losses." He projected a decline in demand of 6%-7% owing to a weak US economy that JP Morgan believes is already in a recession. "Even a best-ever recessionary demand scenario results in a $4 billion industry loss," Baker wrote.
Air France confirmed that its offices were raided this week by the European Commission as part of its investigation into alleged price-fixing practices on passenger flights between Europe and Japan ( ATWOnline, March 12). Lufthansa and KLM revealed Tuesday that they had been targeted. "Air France confirms that in similar fashion to other airlines, it is being questioned by the European Commission about links between the EU Union and Japan.
