US Dept. of Transportation submitted a $68 billion FY09 budget request to Congress including $14.6 billion to fund FAA, down from $14.9 billion enacted for FY08.
EDS reached agreement with Continental Airlines to provide its fare quote solution Electronic Fares Services aimed at streamlining access to accurate and dependable airfares. The agreement is a supplement to an IT contract announced in October.
Indonesian authorities brought manslaughter charges against Marwoto Komar, 45, the pilot in command of the Garuda Indonesia 737-400 that crashed on landing at Adisucipto International in Yogyakarta last March, killing 21.
Deucalion Aviation Funds signed an LOI with Air France to acquire six 747-400 passenger aircraft for conversion and subsequent delivery in 2009 and 2010. Deucalion will convert the aircraft to full freighters at the IAI/Bedek conversion facility with the first expected to be available in September 2009. Marketing of the freighters is being undertaken by DVB Bank, which manages Deucalion.
Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who remains at his post despite the resignation of Prime Minister Romano Prodi, told Il Sole 24 Ore he is "firmly confident" that Alitalia's acquisition by Air France KLM "will conclude positively despite all these tensions," which include Air One's effort to submit its own binding offer through the courts ( ATWOnline, Feb. 4) despite AZ's decision to negotiate exclusively with AF KLM. Air One was scheduled to have its hearing yesterday.
Neolane was contracted by Continental Airlines to provide customer marketing software featuring digitized profiles, automated campaigns and other outreach tools. Technology will target frequent business and leisure fliers.
China Eastern Airlines and AVIC I unveiled terms of their regional airline joint venture, which will be called Happy Air and eventually will fly a fleet of 50 MA60s and 50 ARJ21s, although regulatory approval may be delayed. CEA MD Cao Jianxiong said that the new venture has yet to secure CAAC approval although it submitted its plan to the regulator last August ( ATWOnline, Oct. 16, 2007). "We are still in preparations, although there is no specific timetable on when we will get approval," Cao said.
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano 727-200 en route from La Paz to Cobija crash-landed approximately 2 mi. short of an airport in Trinidad, Bolivia, where it was attempting to divert owing to poor weather. All 159 passengers and crew survived the hard landing in a jungle clearing but the aircraft sustained serious damage, according to reports. Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network said "fuel exhaustion" was a possible reason the 727 was forced to land so far short of the airport.
News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus unveiled a three-year, full-content program in Europe and said 34 airlines have signed up for it. Among them are Air France-KLM, Iberia, Alitalia, TAP Air Portugal, Air Europa and Malev. The new agreement is an extension of the one-year Amadeus Full Content Option introduced in 2005. Similar to the DCA-3 agreements introduced by GDS companies in the U.S. in 2003, the new Amadeus deal provides airlines with lower distribution costs in exchange for the full range of their fares.
United Airlines will charge economy passengers traveling on discounted fares on its North American network $25 to check a second bag beginning May 5. The fee will apply to passengers buying nonrefundable economy tickets who do not have status in either UA's loyalty program or that of a Star Alliance partner. It will apply to domestic flights and service to Canada and also some Caribbean destinations.
Globe Air Cargo will represent Vietnam Airlines in France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia under an exclusive GSA agreement. Contract extends responsibilities to capacity management, export and import handling supervision and equipment control. GAC will continue providing sales services for the airline in other parts of Europe.
US Airways named Northwest Airlines VP-Inflight Services Suzanne Boda as senior VP-East Coast, international and cargo operations and American Airlines New York LaGuardia MD Robert Ciminelli as VP-Philadelphia operation.
Alitalia said last week that it has released an unidentified number of summer slots at Milan Malpensa as it moves toward consolidating its operation in Rome ( ATWOnline, Feb. 1). Milan airport operator SEA reportedly countered with a lawsuit seeking €1.25 billion ($1.86 billion) in damages, which SEA Chairman Giuseppe Bonomi said was based on the "serious damage" AZ's decision would cause and the alleged violation of a hub agreement, Thomson Financial reported.
AirAsia, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia launched service Friday on the previously protected Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route, propelling the region's commercial aviation industry into a new era of liberalization.
Air Astana said it enjoyed record growth in 2007 as revenue rose 48% year-over-year, passenger numbers increased 46% to 2.1 million and capacity climbed 42% to 6.5 billion ASKs. It took delivery of two 767-300ERs, two A320s and two A321s, lifting its fleet to 18 aircraft ( ATWOnline, June 1, 2007). Late last year the airline placed firm orders for three 787-8s and six A320s ( ATWOnline, Jan. 3).
THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THE FORTUNES OF NATIONS have been linked to access to trade and control of trade routes, with prosperity not always going to the strongest but to the most flexible. In the 21st century with globalizationand open skiesin full swing, airlines in the Persian Gulf region are not only financially strong but flexible and because of their geographic location they can offer passengers and freight forwarders the fastest routings between Southeast Asian and European city-pairs.
IT IS NOT WITHOUT A SENSE OF satisfaction that John Sullivan has watched the price of oil creep up to $100 a barrel. For the chairman and CEO of CommutAir, the continued escalation of fuel costs further validates his decision to remain a turboprop operator.
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, CHINA'S major carriers have undergone a transformation in their attitude toward foreign competitors. Their long-held pessimism and concern, perhaps best understood in the local saying "wolves are coming," has been replaced by a recognition that seeking cooperative partners among counterparts abroad is a way to boost competitiveness and create a win-win situation.
THE GLOBAL AIRLINE industry took notice in the last months of 2007 when President George W. Bush and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters suggested that the US government would impose "congestion pricing" at one of the world's most pivotal airports, New York JFK. President Bush's expression of support for a "market-driven" solution to excessive flight delays at JFK and his comparison of peak-hour airline traffic to rush-hour roadway congestion set off alarm bells in the offices of senior airline executives around the world.
WITH HIGHER FUEL PRICES and the prospect of an economic slowdown, it is no surprise that many airlines are looking for ways to cut costs and increase profitability. One area garnering a lot of attention is the opportunity for increased fuel efficiency, motivating many organizations to add winglets to their legacy fleets.
When Boeing purchased Dallas-based Aviall in September 2006, the acquisition sent a two-part message to the aviation community. Boeing had snagged a top player in the aftermarket community, and the news also seemed to indicate a change in its mindset that everything had to be controlled tightly in-house, even the sale of aftermarket parts. Acquiring Aviall showed that the once-resistant-to-change OEM was willing to delegate some of this segment of the business to another company and concentrate on what it does best: Building airplanes.
Air New Zealand A touch of class and a commitment by management and staff to invest in resources and service quality always have been the traits required to remain within the top ranks of the world's airlines. But today value and flexibility can be added to those requirements as an ever-more-informed public searches the Internet for the best travel experience at the least possible cost.
