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.
IATA and Flight Safety Foundation established a partnership "to tackle the global shortage in pilots, engineers and maintenance certification staff." FSF will join the IATA Training and Qualification Initiative to "review the shortage of skilled staff and develop a roadmap and strategy," IATA said.
Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies said it began construction on a dedicated single-bay line and light maintenance hangar for Etihad Airways, part of a $500 million, five-year MRO contract signed last year. The hangar is scheduled to be completed in July.
CAE signed contracts valued at C$52 million ($53 million) with Lufthansa Flight Training and Xiamen Airlines to design and manufacture four full-flight simulators and associated CAE Simfinity training devices. LH Flight Training ordered a CAE 5000 Series A320 FFS and a CAE 7000 Series 747-8I FFS while Xiamen Airlines ordered two CAE 7000 Series 737-800 FFSs along with a suite of Simfinity training devices.
Iberia reached a two-year extension on its handling contract with Iberworld covering services at 41 Spanish airports. ARINC announced a three-year deal with Etihad Airways to provide its ARINC X.400 Message Handling System featuring enhanced message flow, message management and visibility. Gate Aviation, a subsidiary of gategroup, acquired The Caterers UK, a catering company based at Manchester Airport. Gate Aviation, formerly known as IAS/Fernley, provides airlines with cleaning services at Manchester.
Eedo Knowledgeware of the Netherlands said Eurocontrol selected the Eedo ForceTen learning content management system "for the development and delivery of e-learning services for ATC and ARM management staff."
AAR Corp. announced an agreement to acquire Miami-based third-party maintenance, repair and overhaul provider Avborne Heavy Maintenance "and a related entity" from AHM Holding Corp. Price of the sale was not disclosed. Avborne operates a 226,000-sq.-ft. hangar at Miami International capable of simultaneously accommodating up to three widebody aircraft or nine narrowbodies. It performs heavy maintenance on most types of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The deal is expected to close by the May 31 end of AAR's 2008 fiscal year.
Canadian leisure airline Air Transat received its IATA Operational Safety Audit certification this week. The IOSA audit was performed by Simat, Helliesen & Eichner. Air Transat is a subsidiary of Transat A.T.
Oneworld airlines this week will begin bringing all operations together at Beijing International in the airport's vast new passenger terminal. British Airways and Qantas will move on Feb. 29 while the alliance's other members serving Beijing (Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Finnair and Japan Airlines) will transfer into Terminal 3 on March 26. The six oneworld carriers will use check-in desks in the terminal's Area C.
Ryanair filed yet another complaint with the European Commission alleging illegal state aid, this time highlighting more than €400 million ($594 million) per year in the form of exemptions from environmental taxes granted by the Dutch government to transfer passengers.
IATA said international passenger traffic grew 4.3% in January compared to January 2007, sharply down from 6.7% RPK growth recorded in December and full-year 2007 growth of 7.4%. "January traffic results show that we could be at a turning point," DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said, arguing that "the sharp shift in demand growth patterns makes it clear that the US credit crunch is negatively impacting air travel." IATA said North American carriers' international RPKs rose 5% in January, down slightly from 6% in December, while US domestic traffic decreased 3%-4%.
International Assn. of Machinists released a statement yesterday saying it will partner with the Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights to "coordinate legislative efforts" and oppose "any combination" of legacy carriers in the US. IAM Transportation General VP Robert Roach Jr. said airline employees and customers "are the two groups essential to an airline's success, yet they are the ones who are hurt the most in mergers."
Philippine Airlines said an "absence of major one-time gains" was responsible for a swing in financial fortunes that resulted in an $11.3 million loss in the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, reversed from a $79.5 million profit in the year-ago quarter. Operating income, however, improved to $15.3 million from $13.2 million in the year-ago period, PAL claimed. Revenue slipped 5% to $371.8 million while expenses climbed 23% to $383 million. It did not explain how it achieved an operating profit.
UTair reported a RUB270 million ($11 million) profit in 2007, up 2.3% from the year-ago figure, according to press reports from Russia. It expects net earnings of RUB320 million this year on revenue of RUB33.3 billion. AK&M reported that UTair intends to add 10 737-500s by year end and 10 more by the close of 2009. Bloomberg News reported that it will lease half of those aircraft from Continental Airlines. Separately, UTair transported 205,398 passengers in January, up 122.7% from the year-ago month.
Rockwell Collins signed a 10-year Dispatch 100 deal with Pinnacle Airlines to support 16 new CRJ900s. Contract covers spares ownership, logistics management, maintenance repair and on-site technical support under a single per-flight-hr. price and single point of contact. Pinnacle will fly the aircraft for Delta Air Lines.
Alaska Airlines flew 1.41 billion RPMs in January, a 9.9% rise from the year-ago month, against a 6.2% increase in ASKs to 2.05 billion. Load factor was up 2.4 points to 68.9%. Austrian Airlines Group flew 1.32 billion RPKs in January, down 19.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 15.9% to 1.9 billion ASKs and load factor declined 3.5 points to 69.6%.
CAE won Level D certification from UK CAA for its first 5000 Series A320 FFS developed to address training requirements for high-volume narrowbodies. The simulator will be used for A320 training at CAE's Burgess Hill facility.
Airlines likely will face higher insurance renewals this year compared to 2007, according to Aon Corp.'s "Airline Industry Market Review." The culprit is higher hull and liability claims last year even as premiums were falling. Aon stated that insurers incurred $1.72 billion in claims for hull, liability and estimated "attritional losses" in 2007 while taking in just $1.51 billion in premiums, down 11% compared to 2006 and the lowest figure since 2000.
US Airways said yesterday that it will charge economy passengers $25 for a second checked bag on all flights within the US and to/from Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe for travel from May 5 on tickets purchased after Feb. 26. The carrier follows United Airlines, though UA's policy is only for North America ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5). As with UA, the fee will be waived for loyalty program members.
Germanwings and TUIfly are not expected to conclude negotiations to merge their LCC operations by the time the boards of Germanwings parent Lufthansa and travel conglomerate TUI meet in mid-March, delaying the prospective combination ( ATWOnline, Jan. 30). German magazine Focus reported that the talks will not conclude before summer and that antitrust approval could take an additional four months.
Ryanair's website came back online yesterday, one day ahead of schedule, after closing down for the weekend to update the system and bring it in line with UK Office of Fair Trading regulations requiring that airline websites include fixed, nonoptional taxes, fees and charges in advertised prices on both their homepages and during the booking process ( ATWOnline, Feb. 14). Ryanair said its new website offers enhancements such as the possibility to change flights up to 4 hr.
MNG Technic reached agreement with Estonian Air to provide line maintenance and technical support for four 737-500s and two 737-300s at Istanbul Ataturk and Antalya.
BOC Aviation signed agreements with Qantas for the lease of eight A320s. Aircraft will be delivered from Airbus between the third quarter of 2010 and first quarter of 2011 and will be operated by low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Airways.
Frontier Airlines reported a 0.3% year-over-year increase in January yield to 10.28 cents while RASM climbed 11.7% to 7.46 cents. It flew 753.7 million RPMs last month, up 18.3% over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 6.4% to 1.04 billion ASMs, boosting load factor 7.3 points to 72.5%. Copa Airlines flew 484.7 million RPMs last month, up 16.4% over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 17.4% to 592.1 million ASMs and load factor slipped 0.7 point to 81.9%.
