American Airlines flew 9.97 billion system RPMs in February, up 2.5% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2% to 12.98 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.3 point to 76.9%. American Eagle flew 607.7 million RPMs, down 2.4%, against a 1.9% decline in capacity to 880.6 million ASMs. Load factor slipped 0.4 point to 69%. United Airlines flew 8.15 billion system RPMs in February, down 0.5% from the year-ago month, against a 3.7% climb in capacity to 10.95 billion ASMs. Load factor fell 3.1 points to 74.4%.
Astar Air Cargo pilots "overwhelmingly ratified" a new four-year labor contract, the airline said yesterday ( ATWOnline, Feb. 12). "The contract provides increased wages, benefits and security for our pilots, while also providing Astar with a platform for future business growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace," Chairman, CEO and President John Dasburg said.
Pratt & Whitney selected Hamilton Sundstrand to provide engine controls and accessories for engines covering Mitsubishi Regional Jet, Bombardier CSeries and Cessna Citation Columbus aircraft. Contract also includes fuel, pneumatic and thermal management systems.
US Air Transport Assn. yesterday came out against FAA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to require aircraft to be equipped with ABS-B Out by 2020. Although ATA supported the proposal when it was announced last fall ( ATWOnline, Oct.
Enigma said Korean Air selected its InService MRO and Oracle Complex MRO solutions to streamline maintenance operations across its fleet of A300, A330, 737, 747 and 777 aircraft. Features include comprehensive airframe, engine and component maintenance data as well as troubleshooting, repair and reporting capacities.
Japan Airlines parent JAL Group in its FY2008-2010 Medium Term Plan raised its profitability target for its 2010-11 fiscal year to ¥96 billion ($932 million) from ¥88 billion in last year's Medium Term Plan. The decision to increase the target is owing to early successes in its ongoing restructuring program, which also contributed to its raising its operating profit forecast for the current year ending March 31 to ¥48 billion from ¥35 billion.
News from Travel Technology Update: Online travel agencies have done a great job of delivering flight search results based on price, number of stops and schedule.
Aeroflot on the occasion of its 85th birthday said it intends to double its annual passenger numbers by 2015 to approximately 16 million and acquire at least one European competitor. "Aeroflot's future growth will focus on the development of the route network between Europe and Asia involving strategic alliances, infrastructure improvements and an ambitious aircraft acquisition program," CEO Valery Okulov said.
Transaero took delivery of a 767-300ER and a 747-300, bringing its long-haul fleet to 17 aircraft and its total fleet to 32. It said it is planning to add "several" long-haul routes this year including Saint Petersburg-Tokyo Narita on April 24 and flights to the US from Moscow.
LTU German Airlines MD Jurgen Marbach resigned on Feb. 29 and will be replaced by former dba MD Helmut Weixler. Marbach sold his 45% stake in LTU to airberlin in August.
Hainan Airlines is in crisis following the appeal of six pilots to the Haikou arbitration committee to have their labor contracts terminated. The six resigned at the end of last year, bringing to 20 the number of HNA pilots who have walked out since 2006. The carrier has accepted none of the resignations and their disputes remain unresolved. Luo Zulin, one of the six who asked for arbitration yesterday, said the resignations were a result of "frequent overtime" and "long delays in getting their salary."
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres signed a joint venture with Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. and Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. to build a retreading facility in Jinjiang, Fujian Province. Dunlop will command a 63% stake, HAECO will take 28% and TAECO will hold a 9% share.
On Jan. 1, for the first time in six years, the US airline industry began a new year with no carriers operating under bankruptcy protection. The 10 largest were all in the black in 2007 and the nine that had reported full-year income as of this writing posted a cumulative net profit of $5.88 billion. Costs finally have been reined in, with overall 2007 expenses growing just 3.2% and CASM rising a mere 0.4%.
WHEN SEVERE weather hits, airlineswhich generally gear their operational procedures toward keeping flights on scheduleengage in critical cost-benefit analyses. They must decide whether to cancel flights and deal with the consequences or attempt to keep aircraft moving despite a less-than-ideal operating environment. There are no easy answers, and miscalculations can lead to disastrous situations in which passengers are stranded for hours at a time in aircraft sitting on the tarmac.
EARLY RETURNS FROM THE first Multi-Crew Pilot License instruction courses demonstrate that the ICAO-approved alternate training path for commercial transport pilots is living up to its promise, say those familiar with the programs. At the same time, advocates are working hard to dispel the notion that MPL is simply a shortcut to the cockpit intended to alleviate the current pilot drought.
CAE reached agreement with the Indian government to become the managing partner of its flight school, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi. It also entered into a JV with the Airport Authority of India to develop the Rajiv Gandhi National Flying Training Institute. "We are pleased that the government of India has recognized CAE's expertise in creating and managing world-class flight training organizations," Innovation and Civil Training and Services Group President Jeff Roberts said.
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 prime market.
Online travel agencies have done a great job of delivering flight search results based on price, number of stops and schedule. Meanwhile, passengers feel the pain of late flights, long connecting times, lost bags, old aircraft and other frustrations.The two realities have until now remained in separate silos. InsideTrip Inc., a new company based in Seattle, is bringing the reality of the travel experience into the booking process, assigning a "TripQuality Rating" to each flight based on 12 "pain points." The beta version of the Web site, InsideTrip.com, launches this week.
AAR Corp. acquired Miami-based third-party MRO provider Avborne Heavy Maintenance and renamed it AAR Aircraft Services-Miami. Avborne offered maintenance checks, modifications, installations and painting services to commercial airlines, international cargo carriers and major aircraft leasing companies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but AAR will gain 226,000 sq. ft. of hangar space at Miami International and increase its overall MRO space by 22%.
HISTORY WILL BE MADE ON MARCH 30 WHEN THE first commercial aviation agreement between the European Union and the US enters into force. The accord, which creates a single transatlantic Open Aviation Area in place of the existing regime of individual bilaterals between the 27 EU member states and the US, was no easy delivery. Negotiations were begun in June 2003 and required 11 rounds to achieve an agreement that was initialed in Brussels on March 2, 2007, and signed at the EU-US summit in Washington on April 30, 2007.
VRG and Japan Airlines inked an interline agreement that will allow passengers to purchase single tickets for flights serving all destinations of both carriers. Passengers traveling under VRG's Smiles frequent-flier program will only accumulate miles on flights operated by VRG, formerly Varig.
FAA and the City of Los Angeles are partnering to install a Runway Status Lights system at Los Angeles International. The system uses a series of red lights embedded in the pavement to warn pilots if it is unsafe to cross or enter a runway. Los Angeles World Airports is funding the $6 million cost of the system, on which tests will begin at LAX early next year. FAA will be responsible for installing, testing, evaluating and maintaining the system. "This is another valuable tool we're using to reduce the risk of runway incursions," Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell said.
