US President George W. Bush said yesterday that airline passengers are "just not being treated right" and vowed to "address the problem." Following a summer marked by high levels of flight delays and cancellations in the US, Bush summoned Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell to the White House yesterday for what he called "a discussion about the fact that a lot of our air travelers are not only inconvenienced, they're. . .just not being treated fairly."
Ryanair said it reached agreement with its Dublin-based pilots on a new four-year contract that "will significantly improve" pay and work conditions and bring them into line with the pay and conditions to which it previously agreed with pilots in Shannon and Cork. "This new agreement. . .means that all Ryanair pilots at its three Irish bases are now covered by long-term pay, benefits and roster agreements," the airline said.
Montenegro Transport Minister Andrija Lompar said the nation plans to sell stakes in state-owned Montenegro Airlines next year, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and airlines and private consortiums all potential buyers, Reuters reported. "Capital increase is the privatization model that will make it possible to restructure the Montenegro Airlines fleet by buying new Embraer aircraft so we can open new [routes]," he said. The carrier currently operates a fleet of four F100s.
Air India could finalize another aircraft order by the end of November and the Indian government will not delay granting approval, according to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. "If they complete their fleet planning by November-end, we can give in-principle approval by December," he told India's Economic Times.
FAA granted Phoenix-based US Airways a single operating certificate, officially cementing as one entity the carrier created in September 2005 when America West Airlines acquired the assets of the former US Airways, which was enduring its second bankruptcy in three years.
Singapore and Malaysia governments stated yesterday that unlimited access to the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route, which a number of carriers have expressed interest in operating, will not be allowed until at least the end of 2008.
Kidde Aerospace & Defense, Monogram Systems and Moog were added as partners for Boeing's 787 GoldCare lifecycle support program. Kidde, an operating unit of Hamilton Sundstrand, is the exclusive supplier of fire detection and suppression systems for the 787. Monogram Systems will provide the complete water and waste systems for the aircraft while Moog will supply the primary flight control actuation system, which will control all of the primary flight control surfaces including spoilers and horizontal stabilizer.
Airlines need to develop detailed plans to avoid having passengers stranded onboard delayed aircraft for long periods, the US Dept. of Transportation Inspector General said in a report released this week. IG Calvin Scovell recommended that the federal government require airlines to have policies for stranded passengers that would specify how long they would have to wait before being allowed to leave an aircraft.
Gol's consolidated traffic (including Varig operations) increased 20.8% in August to 1.63 billion RPKs on a 71.8% rise in capacity to 2.99 billion ASKs, producing a load factor of 54.2%, down 22.9 points.
Continental Airlines' consolidated traffic increased 8.1% in August to 9.1 billion RPMs on a 4.4% rise in capacity to 10.6 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 85.3%, up 2.9 points. Copa Airlines' traffic increased 20.5% in August to 441.2 million RPMs on a 21.1% rise in capacity to 565.6 million ASMs, producing a load factor of 78%, down 0.4 point. Sister carrier Aero Republica's traffic decreased 2.8% for the month to 88.4 million RPMs on a 3.1% lift in capacity to 149.5 million ASMs, producing a load factor of 59.2%, down 3.6 points.
Brazil's National Civil Aviation Council imposed new rules for airline operations at Sao Paulo Congonhas beginning Oct. 1, changes that were anticipated in the wake of the fatal TAM A320 crash in July that killed 199 people ( ATWOnline, July 30). According to TAM, from Oct. 1 flights departing from Congonhas can only fly to destinations within 1,000 km. of the airport. In addition, all flights to and from CGH must be direct, eliminating all stopovers and connections at the airport.
SAS said yesterday that it expects its fleet of 27 Q400s to remain grounded "for at least another week" to allow for required inspections and the replacement of landing gear components.
Volvo Aero Services entered into a five-year agreement with Emirates whereby it will become the exclusive distributor of the airline's spare parts. Under the agreement, Volvo will open a spares distribution center in Dubai. The logistics services will be managed by Volvo Parts on behalf of Volvo Aero Services.
AirTran Airways pilots, represented by the National Pilots Assn., voted 788-496 to reject a tentative labor agreement that NPA's board had negotiated with management and endorsed last month. AirTran said it will resume negotiations with NPA in an effort to reach a new accord.
News from Travel Technology Update: Sabre and Amadeus revealed details of their new joint venture that aims to provide an industry solution for secure, automated payment processing, clearing and reconciliation of non-air travel components.
British Airways CEO Willie Walsh does not expect the first stage of EU-US open skies, set to take effect at the end of March, to have a major impact. "I expect nothing radical and nothing like the predictions of [European Commissioner of Transport Jacques] Barrot," he said at the Routes Leaders Forum in Stockholm. He foresees a move of some capacity from London Gatwick to London Heathrow, but nothing far-reaching and nothing that will cause BA to lose significant transatlantic market share.
Air Canada introduced paperless boarding passes for customers who check in using a PDA or cell phone. The service allows the option of receiving an electronic boarding pass in the form of an SMS text message that the customer shows to airport security screening personnel and Air Canada gate agents in lieu of a paper boarding pass. The mobile service currently is available for boarding domestic Canada flights and those to international (non-US) destinations, including connecting flights, from 60 airports across Canada served by Air Canada and Jazz.
Emirates will acquire a 49% interest in inflight catering specialist Alpha Flight Services Australia. As part of the agreement, Alpha will provide catering for Emirates flights from Australia starting in January.
The US House of Representatives last week passed an FAA reauthorization bill that provides more than $67 billion to fund the agency's operations through 2011, but the legislation contains a number of provisions objected to by the White House and airlines and that puts it in conflict with a proposed Senate version.
Mesa Air Group placed CFO Peter Murnane on administrative leave late Friday following allegations by Hawaiian Airlines that he deleted data that could be material to the ongoing legal dispute over Mesa-owned go!'s entrance into the inter-island market last year.
Lufthansa Technik intends to invest close to €50 million ($70.1 million) to build a new engine MRO shop in Hamburg that is expected to boost repair capacity from 320 engines per year currently to 400. Construction of the facility, which will have 15,000 sq. m. of floor space, is set to begin next month with the first engine overhaul planned for early 2009. According to LHT Executive Board Chairman August Henningsen, "the new hall will make it possible to design engine overhaul production and processes so as to incorporate the latest thinking on these subjects.
Landing gear corrosion was found on 25 of 27 SAS Q400 aircraft, according to Danish magazine Ingenioeren, which reported that technical examinations revealed corrosion problems that could have contributed to the recent landing gear collapses that led to a worldwide grounding of the turboprops. "We examined all of the planes and 25 of them had corroded bolts in the landing gear," Helge Torp, Scandinavian airline inspection agency Skandinavisk Tilsynskontor technical director, told Ingenioeren.
