Airbus said US FAA and EASA have approved reduced training for pilots transitioning from the A320 family, A330 or A340 to the A380. The manufacturer said an A320 family pilot now can be qualified to fly the A380 in 13 working days and an A330/A340 pilot in 12 working days. A pilot with no Airbus fly-by-wire experience requires 24 working days to complete the A380 standard type rating course.
JetBlue Airways took delivery of its first A320 featuring a redesigned cabin that will be available on each of its 88 future deliveries. New interior is 1,050 lb. lighter than its predecessor and results in annual fuel savings of $52,000 per aircraft, JetBlue said. The cabin includes lighter Recaro seats that offer increased personal space created by thinner seat profiles, new sidewall paneling that adds width and shoulder room, 10% more overhead bin space and new LED lighting.
Frontier Airlines Holdings announced that Executive VP and CFO Paul Tate will resign effective March 21. Frontier said a search for Tate's successor is underway.
SkyTeam Chairman and former KLM chief Leo van Wijk told The Wall Street Journal that Air France KLM intends to inject €3 billion ($4.4 billlion) into Alitalia and to acquire 100% of the ailing flag carrier. "If we get a deal with the Italian government, then we will make a general offer for Alitalia and if it works out, we will delist it," van Wijk told the paper.
Russian authorities extended Lufthansa Cargo's overflight rights through March. They were scheduled to expire at the end of this month, according to press reports. Russia temporarily suspended LHC's rights in a dispute over the location of its hub. The carrier bases in Astana, but Russia prefers that it hub out of Krasnoyarsk ( ATWOnline, Nov. 5, 2007).
News from Travel Technology Update: Even people with creative jobs occasionally wonder what they might accomplish if work didn't get in the way. SITA, the airline-owned information technology company, is unleashing the power of "What if?" with SITA Lab, a new research and development facility based in Geneva, Switzerland, that is liberated from day-to-day product development. The company said the goal of the SITA Lab is "to drive innovation for the air transport industry working both independently and in partnership with others."
Boeing has begun final assembly of the fourth 787 and second flight test aircraft. Ships two and three are static and fatigue test aircraft. According to VP-787 Final Assembly and Change Incorporation Steve Westby, there is "significantly less traveled work on this [fourth] airplane." He added in a statement: "The degree of completeness of sections at the partners is significantly better than Airplane 1. Condition of assembly is much better and we will see continued improvements on the condition of each assembly shipped.
AviIT reached agreement with Etihad Airways to support all ACARS services across the carrier's fleet. Contract includes implementation of AviIT's Archimedes and Airboard system, flight operations log transmission services and integration of ACARS data with engineering fault diagnostic, crew planning and fuel planning systems. ACARS technology provides two-way messaging between aircraft and ground stations via VHF, HF or satellite.
China Eastern Airlines will be the first of the country's big three carriers to expand into the niche regional market following CAAC's approval of its joint venture with AVIC I, Happy Air ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5). AVIC I will be Happy's controlling shareholder with a 60% stake, while CEA will put in CNY400 million ($55.7 million) for the remaining 40%. The new venture will be based in Xi'an and use Chinese-built aircraft for its fleet, specifically the MA60 and ARJ21.
Singapore Airlines canceled an A380 flight to Sydney Monday night owing to a fuel pump defect, according to a statement provided to the Associated Press. A replacement pump did not solve the problem and a 747-400 was used on the flight as SIA's other A380 was undergoing maintenance. "Airbus and our own engineers have dedicated teams to try to address these issues quickly, but last night's fuel pump defect took much longer to fix," SIA told AP.
Mesa Air Group's go! subsidiary announced the launch of a Hawaiian-language website. Go! operates approximately 60 daily flights on inter-island routes aboard CRJ200s and as a codeshare partner of Mokulele Airlines.
GKN Aerospace said CAAC extended its MOC covering MRO of various engine fan blades and components for Airbus and Boeing aircraft until Dec. 31, 2009. MOC validates maintenance operation compliance with CAAR part 145.
Boeing named Matthew Ganz president of its Phantom Works research and development unit. Ganz was president, CEO and GM of HRL Laboratories, which is owned by Boeing and General Motors. He succeeds the retiring Bob Krieger.
Turkish Airlines flew 2.31 billion RPKs in January, a 7% rise from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 3.6% to 3.43 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.2 points to 67.5%. JetBlue Airways flew 2.08 billion RPMs in January, up 7.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 8% to 2.75 billion ASMs and load factor slipped 0.5 point to 75.6%. Aer Lingus flew 1.07 billion RPKs in January, a 16.4% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 25.9% to 1.67 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 5.2 points to 64%.
SkyEurope Airlines conceded that it will not be profitable this financial year, which ends Sept. 30. Management told a shareholders meeting in Vienna last week that the LCC is working on maintaining its financial viability ( ATWOnline, Feb. 6). CFO Nick Manoudakis said it will continue to work on cutting costs and has asked pilots to reduce aircraft speed to save fuel. SkyEurope also is open to investment from other carriers, he said.
US and Australia announced an open skies agreement Friday in Washington at the conclusion of three days of negotiations. Australia becomes the US's 90th open skies partner. The deal was not signed formally and no schedule was announced. The number of airlines from either country that can serve the other once the agreement becomes effective will be unlimited, as will the number of flights permitted. Restrictions on pricing, codesharing and charters also were removed. Limitations on cargo services were removed in 1999, the US Dept.
Skybus Airlines will raise its checked bag fees on Feb. 19 from $5 for each of the first two bags to $10 if pre-checked online or $12 at the airport. In addition, the cost for priority seating will rise to $12.50 from $10. "It's a way to help offset the rising cost of fuel without raising fares. It's an increase on things that are optional," a Skybus spokesperson told The Columbus Dispatch.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew 7.79 billion RPKs in January, up 17.8% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 10.2% to 9.47 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 5.3 points to 82.3%. Hawaiian Airlines flew 651.7 million RPMs in January, up 4.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 5.8% to 784.7 million ASMs and load factor slipped 0.9 point to 83.1%.
JADE won US FAA STC authority under the Singapore-US Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement for cabin interior reconfiguration modification on Singapore Airlines 747s. SIA, SIA Engineering and Singapore Jamco participated in JADE's application. This is the first STC granted under the Singapore-US BASA.
European Court of Justice yesterday upheld a 2005 European Commission ruling that Greece failed properly to recover illegal state aid provided to Olympic Airways and its successor Olympic Airlines ( ATWOnline, Oct. 19, 2006).
