Finnair flew 1.73 billion RPKs in September, a 16.8% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity grew 18.6% to 2.31 billion ASKs and load factor fell 1.1 points to 75%. WestJet flew 963.4 million RPMs in September, up 18% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 13% to 1.22 billion ASMs and load factor increased 3.5 points to 78.7%. Austrian Airlines Group flew 1.82 billion RPKs in September, down 17.8% from the year-ago period, against a 17.9% fall in capacity to 2.3 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 0.1 point to 79%.
Nacional de Aviacion Let 410 that had been missing since departing Villavicencio on Oct. 8 was discovered last week in mountains near Cubarral, with all 15 passengers and three crew onboard killed, Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network reported. The aircraft belonging to the Bogota-based airline was on its way to Uribe and first flew in 1990.
Japan Airlines said it will offer early retirement plans to 900 cabin staff who will have completed 15 years of service and will be at least 54 years old if managerial or 50 if nonmanagerial on March 31. JAL said it is working to cut yearly employment costs by ¥50 billion ($425 million) from FY06 by increasing productivity 10%, a hiring freeze and early retirement incentives. It said 630 ground staff employees holding middle management positions have accepted an early retirement package offered in August and will leave the carrier Nov. 30.
AMC Airlines MD-82 was destroyed following an emergency landing in Istanbul last week, according to press reports. All 156 passengers and seven crew aboard the aircraft, which reportedly requested the landing owing to problems with the landing gear, escaped before fire consumed it. AMC is an Egyptian charter and ACMI carrier.
Delta Air Lines announced the sale of $1.4 billion in Pass Through Certificates, which were sold in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers. The funds generated will be used to refinance nearly $1 billion in existing debt currently secured by aircraft.
Mexico's Federal Competition Commission last week rejected Mexicana's bid to acquire AeroMexico, ruling that a merger of the country's two largest airlines would be unfair to competitors and "unfavorable to consumers."
Kingfisher Airlines appears to have taken a significant step toward winning the right to begin long-haul flights next year, as Indian authorities have proposed that fleet size, rather than the age of the carrier, be the determining factor, The Economic Times reported from Bangalore. Previously, airlines had to operate domestically for five years before applying for overseas rights, and a move to reduce that to three years met with stiff opposition. Kingfisher launched in spring 2005 and hopes to fly long-haul next year.
Hamilton Sundstrand Power Systems signed a maintenance support agreement with Singapore Airlines that includes an asset management plan for its A380s, which will be equipped with the Pratt & Whitney Canada/Hamilton Sundstrand PW980 APU. Under the agreement, HSPS will perform MRO and provide spares support for up to 17 years.
Megadata Corp. said US Airways will use PASSUR FlightPerform live airspace analysis tools at US's Pittsburgh operations control center "for improved airspace utilization, fuel management and diversion management."
Messier Services insisted last week that it will be able to attract airlines to its new Americas landing gear and hydraulics MRO facility in Queretaro, Mexico, and parent Safran Group said it increasingly is focused on developing the Mexican market. At last week's opening ceremony in Queretaro ( ATWOnline, Oct. 12), Safran Senior VP-International Development Francois Courtot said the aerospace/defense firm has a "strong desire" to expand its Mexican presence.
Russian airlines have been ordered by the Transport Ministry to follow a list of customer service regulations beginning Oct. 20 or risk fines and the eventual loss of their operating licenses, The Moscow Times reported. Under the new directives, airlines are forbidden from denying travel in the case of lost or stolen tickets and must provide hot meals every 4 hr. and hotel rooms in the case of extended delays, among other things, the paper said.
Messier Services officially opened its new Americas landing gear and hydraulics MRO facility in Queretaro, Mexico, completing its move from Washington Dulles to a 10,000-sq.-m. complex with potential for substantial growth.
Continental Airlines announced the contribution of an additional $75 million to its defined benefit pension plans, lifting to $336 million its year-to-date contribution.
VGS Aircraft Holding (Ireland) through its wholly owned subsidiary VGS Investments One Ltd. acquired an A320 from JetBlue Airways that is leased to TAM until February 2014.
Air France KLM flew 17.91 billion RPKs in September, up 5.3% from the year-ago month, against a 5.9% rise in ASKs to 21.76 billion. Load factor fell 0.5 point to 82.3%.
IATA yesterday announced a standard it said "paves the way for global mobile phone check-in using two-dimensional barcodes." DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said the standard, which will use both the Aztec and Datamatrix codes popular in Europe and North America and the QR code used in Japan, "is an important step in getting rid of paper that bogs down processes and drives up costs." IATA has set a 2010 deadline for implementation of barcoded boarding passes.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres signed an MOU with Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. and Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering Co. to establish a tire retreading facility in Jinjiang. Dunlop will be majority partner of the venture, which is scheduled to be operational in early 2009.
VRG Linhas Aereas, the new Varig, reached interline agreements effective this month with Hahn Air, Malev Hungarian Airlines, El Al, Air One, Mexicana and Qatar Airways in addition to its deal with partner carrier Gol.
The European Commission yesterday confirmed a citation from DG Competition Director General Philip Lowe Tuesday night that the body has no competence to force Ryanair to sell its shareholding in Aer Lingus. "We are reiterating what we have previously said, namely that under the EU merger regulation we are not in a position to act because Ryanair's stake doesn't grant it effective control [over Aer Lingus]," DG Competition spokesperson Linda Cain told ATWOnline.
Star Alliance said US Airways has relocated to the new South Terminal at Miami International, beginning the process that will see all five Star member carriers at MIA operating from the same terminal. The Star area is located in the new Concourse J and has 50 shared ticketing and check-in counters.
Ryanair said it is taking France to the European Court of Human Rights over a recent ruling by the French Conseil d'Etat, the country's highest administrative court, requiring that the carrier apply French labor laws to employees located in Marseille, where it opened a base in November 2006. The LCC's decision relates to a December 2006 decree compelling foreign carriers to apply French employment laws to crews based at the country's airports.
American Airlines will close its Cincinnati reservations office in September 2008. It said it will offer jobs to the 450 affected employees elsewhere in the company.
Lufthansa Group flew 12.68 billion RPKs in September, up 25.2% from the year-ago month owing to the addition of Swiss International Air Lines. Capacity climbed 23.6% to 15.84 billion ASKs and load factor was up 1 point to 80.1%. SAS Group carriers flew 3.9 billion RPKs in September, a 5.9% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity grew 3.9% to 5.16 billion ASKs and load factor gained 1.5 points to 75.5%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 2.56 billion RPKs, up 0.2%, against a 1.4% fall in capacity to 3.29 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 1.3 points to 77.8%.
