IATA yesterday boosted its forecast for full-year 2007 global airline industry earnings by 9.8% to $5.6 billion but lowered its projection for 2008 by 18.8% to $7.8 billion.
Aer Lingus said it will "assist" the European Commission in upholding the decision to block its takeover by Ryanair, arguing competition "would suffer" if the merger of Ireland's two largest airlines was allowed. Ryanair has appealed the EC's decision disallowing the takeover; Aer Lingus said it has "no doubt" its rival's appeal "will fail."
ARINC announced that Finnair is deploying its seatback SMS/e-mail messaging service on its newest A340s used on Asian routes. The service is operational on two A340s, which were delivered in May and June, and ARINC will deploy it on additional A340s after delivery in 2008. The seatback messaging solution "is a joint initiative of ARINC and Panasonic which runs on Panasonic's 2000e, 3000, 3000i and eX2" IFE platforms, according to ARINC.
Continental Airlines said last week that it contributed an additional $50 million in cash to its defined benefit pension plans, bringing its total year-to-date pension contribution to $261 million. It expects to contribute more than $325 million for the full year.
US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters yesterday named United Airlines VP-Flight Operations Henry Krakowski chief operating officer of FAA's Air Traffic Organization effective Oct. 1. Krakowski will lead the ATO's 35,000 controllers, technicians, engineers and support personnel, overseeing the operational and financial performance of the ATC system and FAA's research and acquisition programs. "Hank is the right person to help implement the next generation of aviation technology," Peters said.
Swiss Aviation Software said CSA Czech Airlines is implementing its AMOS integrated information system to help streamline MRO administration and management.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said it is sending a team to aid the Thai government in its investigation of yesterday's accident in Phuket involving a One-Two-Go Airways MD-82 that ran off the runway while landing in what was described as heavy rain and strong winds.
N3 Engine Overhaul Services, the Lufthansa Technik-Rolls-Royce engine maintenance joint venture, officially opened its new facility in Thuringia, Germany, Friday. LHT and Rolls have invested around €100 million ($139 million) in the N3 site, which will overhaul Trent 500, 700 and 900 engines powering the A340-500/600, A330 and A380 respectively. N3 received EASA Part 145 approval in April. It employs 270, a figure that is expected to rise to 500 by 2010.
A J Walter (Leasing) Ltd. said it is taking delivery of the second of two A320s purchased from British Airways last year for parting out. The first was delivered last November.
Compass Airlines, a wholly owned regional subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, will build a $9.85 million aircraft maintenance facility at Louisville International Airport. The complex will provide scheduled maintenance for the carrier's new fleet of 76-seat E-175s and employ up to 70 workers when completed next year. Louisville was selected because of its proximity to NWA hubs in Minneapolis and Memphis, according to company officials.
AeroMexico said Friday that a group of Mexican investors represented by Banamex, the Mexican arm of Citigroup, has made a formal bid valued at more than $150 million to take a controlling stake in the airline, which currently is controlled by government holding company Consorcio Aeromexico. The takeover offer, first revealed last Thursday ( ATWOnline, Sept. 14), is open through Oct. 15 with an option to extend it until Nov. 30. AM's board said it will make an initial judgment on the offer within 10 business days.
SunExpress, the Lufthansa/Turkish Airlines joint venture, said it will operate more than 100 daily flights from 20 German airports to its bases in Antalya and Izmir starting at the end of October. The carrier operates a fleet of 10 737-800s and four 757-200s and employs 800. It said it will transport 3 million passengers this year.
Embraer opened an E-Jets training services center in the Alteon training facility at Singapore Changi. The center has the capacity to train an average of 300 pilots annually, offering both ground school and simulator training. In 2008 it will be expanded to include flight attendant training.
US and Japan yesterday reached an expanded air services agreement, according to UPS, which said it won authority under the deal to operate six daily freighter flights between the US and Nagoya.
KLM appointed Barbara van Koppen general counsel. She has been company secretary since September 2005 and will retain that title. FAA Deputy Administrator Robert Sturgell will assume the role of acting administrator today following the departure of Marion Blakey, whose fixed five-year term heading the agency ended yesterday. It is unknown how long it will take for US President George Bush to nominate a permanent replacement.
Banamex, Citigroup's Mexican banking unit, said yesterday it will lead a group of investors prepared to launch a bid valued at more than $150 million to purchase AeroMexico from government holding company Consorcio Aeromexico. The bid of MXN1.68 ($0.15) per share tops the MXN1.10 per share offer valued at about $100 million recently made by the Saba family ( ATWOnline, Aug. 23). AeroMexico's board called the Sabas' offer "reasonable."
US Airways unveiled plans to hire more than 350 new pilots and move 140 more who were furloughed to US Airways Express positions back to the mainline. Training for the new hires will begin in November, with positions continuing to be filled for the next 12-16 months. Those pilots will fill E-190 seats, which in turn will push current pilots to larger aircraft. US said the hirings were necessitated "primarily by retiring mainline pilots."
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, whose five-year term ends today ( ATWOnline, Aug. 22), said this week that system congestion must be overcome for airlines to prosper in the future and called on carriers to make changes in flight scheduling practices and move as quickly as possible to equip aircraft for next-generation satellite-based ATC. "To be clear, the airlines need to take a step back on the scheduling practices that are at times out of line with reality," she said during a farewell speech in Washington.
European Commission launched a formal investigation into support that would have been granted by the Sardinia Region and SOGEAAL, the publicly owned company operating Alghero Airport, to various air carriers and by the Sardinia Region to SOGEAAL itself.
ARINC announced the availability of AviNet Xmail, which it called "the first desktop XML messaging solution for the air travel industry." AviNet Xmail service will be available immediately to ARINC's aviation network customers and "allows airline and operations staff to easily edit and exchange modern XML and TypeX messages," the company said.
JetBlue Airways added the title of president to COO Russ Chew, who joined the carrier from US FAA in the wake of the February operational difficulties at New York JFK. "Since Russ joined our team, we have established the right foundation for continuous improvement," CEO Dave Barger said.
Sabre Travel Network announced that Virgin America signed a multiyear distribution agreement that makes all of the airline's fares available to Sabre-connected travel agencies and corporations.
Japan Airlines will introduce first class for the first time on domestic flights from Dec. 1. The new offering will be rolled out on seven daily flights between Tokyo Haneda and Osaka Itami and eventually will be available on all flights. From April 1, the first class product will be available on flights from HND to Fukuoka and Sapporo. The move follows the rollout of a dedicated business class (J Class) on domestic routes in June 2004. JAL offers 8 million J Class seats per year with an 85% load factor.
Finnair Group ground handling subsidiary Northport Oy agreed to sell its Finnhandling AB and Northport Norway AS units, as well as Arlanda Airport lounge and ticket sales services, to Menzies Aviation. Transaction is scheduled to close on Sept. 30. Financial details were not disclosed. Menzies will provide ground-handling services to Finnair in Stockholm and Oslo. Separately, Finnair flew 1.77 billion RPKs in August, up 19.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose at the same rate to 2.3 billion ASKs, leaving load factor at 77.1%.
