WestJet will start daily Toronto-Quebec City service on May 18 as part of a summer schedule that also will include new daily seasonal flights from Toronto to Regina, Saskatoon and Abbotsford as well as service from Ottawa to Edmonton and Halifax. Frequencies will be increased on nine current routes including seven from Toronto. The LCC flew 1.05 billion RPMs in December, a 17.1% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 15.2% to 1.32 billion ASMs and load factor was up 1.3 points to 79.3%.
Continental Airlines field service employees comprising ramp, operations and cargo agents rejected representation by the Transport Workers Union, CO said. TWU filed an election application with the National Mediation Board last October.
GKN Aerospace said it received FAA PMA authority and EASA STC authority for 737 No. 1 and No. 2 heated cockpit windshields. Separately, GKN reached a three-year, $1.5 million overhaul and repair deal with Prime Air to support Delta radomes on the 777, 767, 757, 737 and MD-80.
Air Canada and Jazz flew 3.99 billion RPMs in December, up 2.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 1.6% to 5.07 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 0.6 point to 78.8%. SkyWest Airlines flew 1.39 billion RPMs in December, a 7.9% increase from the year-ago month, against an 11% rise in capacity to 1.89 billion ASMs. Load factor fell 2.1 points to 73.6%. Hawaiian Airlines flew 655.7 million RPMs in December, up 2% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 5.5% to 798.8 million ASMs and load factor dropped 2.1 points to 82.1%.
Alitalia Chairman and CEO Maurizio Prato said early negotiations with Air France KLM "are going rather well," according to press reports, with the early buzz surrounding the recently launched talks ( ATWOnline, Jan. 3) centering on the amount of AZ that will remain with the Italian state once AF KLM takes over and a share swap is completed. Originally pegged at 3%, the stake may rise to 5% if Prato and the UGL union have their way, Reuters reported.
Goodrich announced a $5.5 million project to expand its customer service headquarters and MRO facility in Monroe, La. Slated for completion in the third quarter, the expansion will accommodate additional services, including complex repairs of large aircraft cargo systems.
Air Canada Technical Services reached a 10-year OnPoint Solutions agreement with GE for material to repair CF34 engines and a 10-year materials deal with CFM for the repair and overhaul of CFM56 engines, specifically the -2, -3, -5A, -5B and -5C. Contracts total an estimated $2.5 billion covering life-limited and nonlife-limited parts plus component repair and used materials for work on GE and CFM engines.
KLM Cityhopper will transfer the maintenance of its F70 fleet to Nayak Aircraft Services from Martinair Maintenance & Engineering following the latter's decision to "focus more on improving its own operations and making preparations for Martinair's possible fleet renewal," KLM said. Cityhopper operates 21 F70s. Nayak already works on Cityhopper's 14 F50s. Martinair will continue MRO on Cityhopper's 20 F100s until they are phased out in 2010. Between late 2008 and early 2010 it will replace its 15 oldest F100s with 10 E-190s and five F70s.
SAS Group airlines flew 2.71 billion RPKs in December, up 2.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 3.3% to 4.11 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 0.3 point to 65.8%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines enjoyed a 1.1% increase in yield as traffic climbed 2.2% to 1.81 billion RPKs. Capacity was up 3.6% to 2.61 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 1 point to 69.3%.
Kuwaiti government yesterday approved the sale of 40% of Kuwait Airways in a domestic public placement and another 35% to a long-term investor within two years, according to press reports. The government will hold 20% with workers taking the remaining 5%. The head of the parliament's financial committee told reporters that KU will place an aircraft order following the privatization, according to Reuters
SriLankan Airlines Chairman Harry Jayawardena issued a statement confirming that the government of Sri Lanka will take "total control" of the airline following Emirates' decision to opt out of its management contract from April 1 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 8). He said the government "will continue to manage the national carrier for the best interest of the public and the country at large" and will continue to be SriLankan's majority owner with no plans to divest.
Commport Aerospace Services launched its fuel administration software, realTimeFuel, at IATA's fuel forum in Istanbul. Compatible with most hardware and management systems, the technology could save airlines "at least $300 per flight, while airport authorities and into-plane agents will be able to reduce labor costs and manage the fueling process much more efficiently and effectively," CEO David Ralph said.
Etihad Airways is targeting 6 million passengers in 2008 compared to the 5 million it served last year. The Arab Air Carriers Organization reported that the airline will relocate to the new passenger terminal at Abu Dhabi, where 10 aircraft parking stands will be available and a dedicated runway for Etihad will be ready in April. The carrier is preparing to launch flights to Beijing and Moscow in March.
JetBlue Airways will increase 2008 capacity 6%-9% year-over-year, CEO Dave Barger said. "Given an uncertain economic environment and record high fuel prices, we plan to grow more conservatively in 2008," he said. "Assuming market conditions remain favorable, we expect to take advantage of continued strength in the worldwide aircraft market to manage our fleet growth." JetBlue's December passenger RASM rose 5% from the year-ago month while traffic increased 6.4% to 2.16 billion RPMs. Capacity climbed 10% to 2.81 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 2.6 points to 76.8%.
US FAA yesterday proposed extending the requirement that the US's 75 largest airports make enhancements to taxiway centerline markings to all 567 certificated airports as part of its ongoing effort to mitigate the risk of runway incursions.
IATA blasted the Brazilian government's proposal to raise per-hr. aircraft parking fees at Sao Paulo Guarulhos significantly, asserting that the hike could cost international airlines operating there as much as $90 million per year and likely violates bilateral aviation accords. It is not uncommon for aircraft operated by international carriers to land at GRU early in the day and remain parked before departing again that night.
GA Telesis finalized its acquisition of AMT and its 19,812-sq.-m. MRO facility at Tucson International. Maintaining its AS9100 accreditation, AMT will be re-branded as GA Telesis Component Repair Group Southwest in the coming months.
Air India will launch daily Delhi-New York JFK service Feb. 8 aboard a 777-200LR. It took delivery of its fourth aircraft of the type on Jan. 2. It is equipped with eight seats in first class, 35 in business and 195 in economy. AI already serves JFK from Mumbai. It will take a sixth -200LR next month and the remaining three it has on order in mid-2009.
Austrian Airlines Group appointed Walter Reimann to the position of VP-international and aeropolitical affairs and alliances. He succeeds new COO Peter Malanik.
Pinnacle Airlines filed suit in US District Court against the Air Line Pilots Assn. charging the union that represents the carrier's pilots with "bad faith bargaining" in contract talks that date back to 2005. Pinnacle operates as a Northwest Airlink and Delta Connection carrier. An ALPA spokesperson told ATWOnline that the suit was "unprecedented," adding, "The lawyer who will handle the case can't remember when we were sued for failing to bargain in good faith."
Lufthansa Systems reached agreement with Turkish Airlines to implement its codeshare management solution SchedConnect featuring agreements in real time, flight synchronization technology and network expansion. Product launch is expected this quarter.
Encomium Media, founded recently by former OAG VP Duncan Alexander, launched services for Athens International. Company offers consulting, public relations, marketing and research expertise.
