Iberia's maintenance and engineering division won authorization from Airbus to train maintenance technicians to work on its equipment. The agreement grants Iberia EASA Part 147 and Airbus procedure certification. It also allows IB to adapt training services to Airbus technologies and practices using tools such as Computer Assisted Training and Virtual Aircraft.
Flybe announced a franchise agreement with Scotland's Loganair that will take effect when the latter's run as a British Airways franchisee ends on Oct. 25. Flybe said the deal, which it claimed is the "first of its kind ever for a low-cost carrier," will see Loganair operating in Flybe livery from Oct. 26. Loganair is based at Glasgow International and operates 13 Saab 340s, two Twin Otters and five BN Islanders. Separately, Flybe will launch thrice-daily London Gatwick-Aberdeen service on March 30.
Aegean Airlines reported an 18% increase in passengers last year to 5.2 million from 4.4 million in 2006. Domestic passengers climbed 10% to 3.4 million and international passengers rose 35% to 1.9 million. Aegean said it "aims at accelerating its re-fleeting process and at further expanding its network" in 2008. Iberia flew 4.25 billion RPKs in December, down 0.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 1.4% to 5.52 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 1.5 points to 77%.
Air Arabia announced that it will establish a new hub in Katmandu from where it will operate a low-cost subsidiary in partnership with Nepalese carrier Yeti Airlines. It said the new carrier "will provide affordable and convenient service to a broad range of international destinations" throughout Asia. Flights to Sharjah will start before the end of the month, with service to Doha, Kuala Lumpur and India to follow shortly.
After what were described as "wide-ranging and lengthy conciliation negotiations," the European Parliament and representatives from the 27 EU member states reached an agreement Friday on revision of the regulatory framework for aviation security.
Aer Arann announced a franchise agreement with Nex Aviation under which the latter will offer the first jet service sold as part of the Aer Arann network. Customers will have access to BAe 146-200 flights to Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Malaga and Faro from both Galway and Waterford beginning May 1. Aer Arann currently operates 14 ATR turboprops and will take an additional eight 72-500s by 2009. MD Garry Cullen said the partnership with Nex "underpins the Aer Arann strategy of connecting regional Ireland to the UK and mainland Europe."
Transportation Safety Board of Canada launched an investigation into last week's incident in which an Air Canada A319 abruptly plunged and swayed, causing some passengers to "hit the ceiling" ( ATWOnline, Jan. 11). All 10 passengers/crew taken to a local hospital in Calgary, where the aircraft made an emergency landing, were released late Thursday. But the mystery of exactly what happened and why it occurred remained unsolved.
Air France KLM flew 16.61 billion RPKs in December, a 3.1% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 4.1% to 21.12 billion ASKs and load factor fell 0.8 point to 78.6%. American Airlines flew 11.24 billion RPMs in December, down 1% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 0.7% to 14.25 billion ASMs, lowering load factor 0.3 point to 78.8%. American Eagle flew 671.4 million RPMs, down 6.7%, against a 5.6% fall in ASMs to 967.7 million. Load factor dropped 0.8 point to 69.4%.
Canadian Transport Agency gave Air Canada, Jazz and WestJet one year to adopt a "one-person-one-fare" policy on domestic flights, forbidding the carriers from charging more than one fare for disabled individuals who require additional space or are accompanied by "an attendant for their personal care or safety in flight." CTA estimated the cost of implementation at 0.09% of AC's annual passenger revenue of C$8.2 billion ($8.12 billion) and 0.16% of WestJet's C$1.4 billion.
Chinese carriers enjoyed a fruitful 2007 as they earned a collective profit of CNY17 billion ($2.33 billion) in the first 11 months of last year, more than triple the CNY5.54 billion posted the same period of 2006, newly appointed CAAC Minister Li Jiaxiang said last week. Li credited yuan appreciation and fuel surcharges for the result but warned that "Chinese carriers still posted a collective loss if these two main contributors are excluded."
Dublin Airport Authority said it welcomed the decision by the Irish High Court to reject Ryanair's appeal against the granting of planning permission for a second terminal at Dublin.
Lufthansa Technik announced the inauguration and first-phase completion of its widebody MRO hangar in Frankfurt with capacity for two A380s or three 747s in a 25,000-sq.-m. ground plan. Second-phase completion is slated for 2015, when four A380s will be able to be serviced simultaneously. Total capital expenditure is approximately €150 million ($220.4 million), LHT said. Lufthansa has 15 A380s on order, with first delivery scheduled for next year.
Boeing played down the danger related to "new kinds of passenger connectivity to previously isolated data networks" on the 787, which were specified in special conditions mandated for certification by US FAA released earlier this month. The concerns that people could inadvertently or deliberately access aircraft systems through the IFE/connectivity features of the 787 were published by FAA last April and the matter was raised by technical media during the Dreamliner rollout in briefings with Systems Director Mike Sinnett.
Australian aviation regulatory authorities are going to come under the spotlight after Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air announced its plans to launch domestic operations in Australia with six 737-900ERs. According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, the airline has "reportedly reached agreement with an Australian company to take a 49% stake and base six aircraft in Australia."
Air Canada Flight 190, an A319 en route from Victoria to Toronto, was diverted to Calgary yesterday for an emergency landing following what was described as extreme turbulence that caused 10 passengers to sustain what the airline termed "non-life-threatening injuries." Emergency personnel met the aircraft following a smooth landing in Calgary and transported 10 of the 83 passengers to a local hospital. There were five crew onboard. AC said it was investigating an "incident" that created a "very stressful experience" for passengers and crew.
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.
