European Commission issued a revision of its list of banned airlines, the seventh update since establishment of the blacklist in March 2006. Newcomers are Ukraine Cargo Airways (the third Ukrainian airline after Volare Airlines and Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines) and Hewa Bora Airways of DR Congo. HBA previously was allowed to operate a single aircraft under a special arrangement that has ended. Garuda Indonesia also remains on the list ( ATWOnline, July 6, 2007).
KLM UK Engineering announced the launch of its line maintenance facility at London City. Shop services KLM and CityJet aircraft and is expected to handle additional volume this year.
Ramco said El Al selected its Maintenance & Engineering & MRO Suite featuring legacy system transformation, best-of-breed business process improvement and compliance and conformance for Regional Regulatory Aviation Administration reporting and control requirements.
Amadeus completed Lufthansa's migration to its Star Alliance Common IT Platform inventory management module. Migration covered inventory control, 700,000 flight schedules and 40 existing applications. System is based on Amadeus's Altea Inventory technology.
American Airlines cancelled 595 MD-80 flights Friday and said it expected to be operating 60% of its MD-80 schedule by late that afternoon. It had 226 of its 300 aircraft in service in the morning and said last week it expected to have its full fleet inspected and flying by Saturday evening ( ATWOnline, April 11).
Virgin Blue said it expects its profit for the fiscal year ending June 30 to fall more than 50% to approximately A$100 million ($93.2 million), according to a statement cited by press reports. It posted a A$216 million profit in the year ended June 30, 2007 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 22, 2007).
AirTran Airways forecast first-quarter passenger RASM to increase 6%-6.5% from the 9.2 cents it reported in the first three months of 2007, while CASM excluding fuel will rise 0.5%-1% year-over-year from 6.24 cents.
JetBlue Airways founder and Chairman David Neeleman will not stand for reelection at the May 15 annual shareholders meeting and will leave the company in order to focus on his new Sao Paulo-based carrier ( ATWOnline, March 28). Neeleman launched JetBlue in 1998 and ceded his position as CEO following the airline's operational troubles in February 2007 ( ATWOnline, May 11, 2007).
US Dept. of Transportation tentatively approved transatlantic antitrust immunity for six SkyTeam members--Air France, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Northwest Airlines, Alitalia and CSA Czech Airlines--nearly four years after Delta and Northwest first petitioned DOT to allow the alliance. After an initial denial, they reapplied last June with a substantially revised agreement ( ATWOnline, June 29, 2007).
Silverjet yesterday said it is involved in takeover talks with unidentified parties, according to widespread press reports. In a statement cited by Bloomberg News, the all-business-class carrier said it "is currently in discussions which may or may not lead to an offer."
Virgin Nigeria said it was granted US Dept. of Transportation approval to operate transatlantic commercial flights to and from Lagos, pending a signed aviation services agreement between the countries, although the aircraft must be wet-leased from a "duly authorized and properly supervised US or foreign carrier." CEO Conrad Clifford said VK will unveil its schedule "in a few months time." It filed its application in December 2005 and was opposed by some US airlines who claimed it was not a Nigerian-controlled carrier.
American Airlines cancelled more than 1,000 flights yesterday--nearly half its schedule--as it continued to inspect wire bundles in the wheel wells of its MD-80 fleet. It cancelled about 460 flights Tuesday for the same reason ( ATWOnline, April 9) and expects another 900 cancellations today. "We continue to inspect every airplane to ensure we are in total agreement with the specifications of the [FAA] directive. We will get back to a full schedule as quickly as possible," Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey said.
AirAsia will introduce a fee for all checked baggage on flights booked from April 21. Passengers who pre-book their bag will pay MYR3 ($0.94) for each piece up to 15 kg. and those paying at the check-in counter will pay MYR5 per piece. Bags weighing more than 15 kg. will cost extra, although there is no limit on the number of bags that can be checked, while the restriction to one piece of carry-on luggage will remain. "AirAsia believes that guests should be given the option to choose the services they require and pay only for those services.
Aviapartner reported consolidated turnover of €378.6 million ($595.6 million) in 2007, up 35% from 2006. The Brussels-based handler did not release net or operating profit, but CEO Peter Oostenenk told ATWOnline that "operational performance is on track. . .Our profitability is above the sector average," although he conceded that "margins in the market are under pressure." The airport services company, which is majority controlled by 3i, is confident it can maintain strong growth this year.
Air France-KLM flew 17.68 billion RPKs in March, up 3.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 4.8% to 21.83 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 1.3 points to 81%. Northwest Airlines flew 7.16 billion consolidated RPMs in March, up 2% over the year-ago month, against a 0.6% lift in capacity to 8.24 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.3 points to 87%.
North American Airlines and World Airways parent Global Aero Logistics named Executive VP and Chief Commercial and Planning Officer Robert Binns as CEO and Executive VP and Chief Airline Officer Charles McDonald as president. Chairman John Denison had been filling both roles on an interim basis. VP-Market Planning for Global Jeff Sanborn was promoted to chief marketing officer.
American Airlines cancelled "several hundred" flights yesterday in order to conduct additional MD-80 inspections and "ensure precise and complete compliance with the FAA's airworthiness directive related to the bundling of wires in the aircraft's wheel wells." AA said the cancellations could number as many as 500 by the end of yesterday and that additional cancellations are likely today.
US Dept. of Transportation named Marie Kennington-Gardiner as its New York Aviation Czar. She will direct the newly formed New York Integration Office and "coordinate regional airspace issues and all projects and initiatives addressing problems of congestion and delays in New York." Creation of the position was part of a December compromise reached between DOT and US airlines ( ATWOnline, Dec. 20, 2007).
US Airways mechanics represented by the International Assn. of Machinists ratified a three-year labor agreement that transfers all US maintenance-and-related employees to one contract. It covers some 3,300 employees (comprising 2,500 former US Airways and 800 former America West Airlines staff) and becomes amendable Dec. 31, 2011.
IATA yesterday announced a $3.7 million initiative, the Implementation Program for Safe Operations in Africa, that will give 30 African carriers access to the organization's Flight Data Analysis tool over a three-year period. IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said in Lagos that the partnership is designed "to improve both safety and efficiency." IATA said that just 25 African airlines are among the 193 on the IOSA registry and that 15 have open findings ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline.
US FAA removed Southwest Region Manager-Flight Standards Thomas Stuckey from his position, the latest fallout from the ongoing controversy over the agency's oversight of Southwest Airlines.
Mesa Air Group filed a lawsuit in a US federal court against Delta Air Lines, which last week terminated Mesa subsidiary Freedom Airlines' ERJ-145 regional flying contract ( ATWOnline, April 3), according to press reports.
Gulf Air announced a major rebranding project that will include new livery, aircraft interiors, staff uniforms and airport lounges. It appointed London/Singapore-based designers James Park Associates to implement the redesign, which it said "will coincide with an expansion and updating of Gulf Air's aircraft fleet." CEO Bjorn Naf said, "With the help of James Park Associates, we will redesign every aspect of the passenger experience to blend traditional comfort with cutting-edge technology and materials, giving our customers an unforgettable journey with Gulf Air."
