Iberia Handling will provide First Choice with handling services for its 4,000 flights to Spain during the summer and winter seasons. Contract covers all Spanish airports.
SITA reached agreement with Yemen Airways to provide its online booking SITA E-Commerce Platform. Technology will launch in August and is expected to cut fees by bypassing global distribution systems.
CAAC said it has adopted measures to curb flight delays in advance of this summer's Olympic Games. According to the regulator, Chinese airlines based in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other Olympic-related cities are being ordered to have one or two backup aircraft on hand to guarantee ontime performance. Carriers canceling flights during the period must transfer passengers to other airlines and cover their fares in full.
Singapore Airlines will reduce the weight limit for each piece of luggage on its US services to 50 lb. from 70 lb. effective April 1. Each passenger will be entitled to check two bags.
Oneworld airlines serving Shanghai Pudong will begin collocating in Terminal 2 starting this week when British Airways and Qantas transfer to the new facility Wednesday. Finnair, Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair will follow on April 29 and American Airlines will move at an unspecified date. It currently operates out of T1, where Japan Airlines will remain.
Frontier Airlines flew 744.8 million RPMs in February, up 18.1% from the year-ago month, against a 7.5% rise in capacity to 957.6 million ASMs. Load factor rose 7 points to 77.8%. Passenger yield was down 3.9% to 9.95 cents while unit revenue rose 5.6% to 7.74 cents. Mesa Air Group flew 447.9 million RPMs in February, an 11.6% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 8.1% to 627.8 million ASMs, dropping load factor 2.8 points to 71.4%.
Kale Consultants was contracted by Finnair Cargo to provide airmail cargo revenue accounting services including scans, document processing and invoice production. Work will take place at Kale's MPS center in Mumbai.
SAS Group airlines flew 2.34 billion RPKs in February, a 14.4% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 13.5% to 3.5 billion ASKs and load factor lifted 0.5 point to 66.8%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 2.03 billion RPKs, up 13.6%, against a 12.2% increase in ASKs to 2.95 billion that boosted load factor 0.9 point to 68.9%. WestJet flew 1.06 billion RPMs in February, up 19% on the year-ago month, against an 18.2% increase in capacity to 1.28 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 0.5 point to 82.8%.
Emirates said that the "first authorized mobile phone call made from a commercial flight" occurred yesterday aboard one of its A340-300s flying at 30,000 ft. en route from Dubai to Casablanca, marking the launch of its $27 million program to equip its fleet with the AeroMobile system that will allow passengers to use their own cell phones in flight.
US Dept. of Transportation and European Commission announced a "joint research project" to determine the impact of airline alliances on competition and the potential impact of transatlantic open skies. The bodies will interview airlines, travel agents, analysts and consumer groups in addition to performing data analysis. A report will be published in mid-2009.
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.
