Indian government, at a cabinet meeting last week chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave final approval for the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines ( ATWOnline, Feb. 23). The two state-owned carriers will become a single entity when all legal formalities are completed, a process that is expected to take no longer than 16 weeks. Full operational integration is expected to take about two years. The combined airline will operate a fleet of about 120 aircraft and employ some 30,000 workers.
Bmi is taking a partial U-turn on the paid-for inflight catering service concept introduced in August 2005 on short-haul mainline operations at London Heathrow, announcing reintroduction of complimentary food and drink for certain loyalty program members. Diamond Club members also will benefit from priority seating. The change will apply from April 2. "The airline industry has been through a period of massive change in the past five years, a process that continues today," bmi CEO Nigel Turner said. "By developing and evolving our products and services we can ensure we continue to. .
AirTran Airways yesterday responded to Midwest Airlines' accusation that "AirTran's business is deteriorating" ( ATWOnline, March 1), saying that its "record speaks for itself." AirTran told this website that "Midwest's comments are out of line and inconsistent with the reality of the market.
Air Deccan obtained certification for a Full Flight Trainer manufactured by Mechtronix Systems. Unit originally was acquired by ATR Training Center and used by DN pilots. The FFT can be configured for either the ATR 42-500 or 72-500.
Years of heavy losses taught US airlines that given the up-and-down nature of the business and the number of factors (such as energy prices) beyond their control, they simply had to manage what could be managed. That meant rigorous cost-cutting and adopting a strict discipline concerning capacity growth and nonfuel expenses. While the post-9/11 restructuring of the US industry may have been "brutal," as recently characterized by Senate aviation subcommittee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), it appears to be paying off.
IT ALL BECAME A BIT TOO MUCH FOR United Airlines to handle. On average, each passenger began checking 10% more baggage following last August's London terror scare and ensuing security rule changes related to carry-on items. The amount of checked luggage grew even larger during the holiday season.
Despite the advent of color displays, weather radar interpretation remains among the blackest of airborne arts. "It still requires significant interpretation and work by the pilot to dig out the information," says Roy Robertson, a principal engineer for Rockwell Collins.
MOST AIRLINES THAT finish the year with nearly a 20% increase in net income, not to mention completing an IPO that nets more than $94 million, would enjoy nothing more than sharing the good news with anyone willing to listen. Not so with Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air. "We don't seek the spotlight," Chairman, President and CEO Maurice Gallagher told ATW a month ago on the sidelines of the Raymond James Growth Airlines Conference in New York, where he outlined the carrier's successful business model and talked about plans for growth.
TWENTY-THREE YEARS OF OPERATIONAL experience at airports as diverse as New York JFK, Wichita Mid-Continent and Las Vegas McCarran had taught Tony Grantham to anticipate what he calls the "known unknowns." Then the original America West employee was transferred to Philadelphia International Airport, a facility infamous for frustrating passengers, bewildering executives and springing all kinds of surprises.
BOY, WERE WE WRONG! AFTER Airbus and Boeing booked more than 2,000 orders in 2005, the consensus view was that the industry would experience a significant falloff in ordering activity in 2006. This was an opinion shared not only by aerospace analysts but among senior managers at both airframe OEMs. "We probably won't get as many orders this year as last year," Boeing Chairman President and CEO Jim McNerney said in January 2006 and similar words were spoken in Toulouse (ATW, 3/06, p. 22).
The merging of the US Airways and America West reservations systems got a lot of attention because of the check-in problems that resulted in long lines at Philadelphia and Charlotte, but the "larger issue was the processing for closing a flight," US Airways president Scott Kirby said. Kirby told analysts at the JPMorgan Aviation and Transportation Conference that "we had made it needlessly complex to close a flight," a process that involves tallying passengers and bags and collecting other data before an aircraft can push back from the gate.
British Airways signed a new three-year agreement with Galileo, the GDS unit of Travelport. It is the first GDS agreement announced by the carrier since its previous pacts expired at the end of February. The new deal, which goes into effect April 10, is basically a "continuation" of Galileo's travel agency opt-in program that was launched in 2004, according to the carrier.
US Bankruptcy Court judge approved Northwest Airlines' deal to acquire regional partner Mesaba Airlines under a stock purchase and reorganization plan ( ATWOnline, Jan. 24). The deal still must be approved by a judge overseeing the Mesaba bankruptcy.
KLM appointed Marc Lammens VP-commercial strategies effective April 1. Welmer Blom succeeds Lammens as director-sales and services at KLM The Netherlands.
US Airways said it entered into a commitment letter with Citigroup Global Markets and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding to arrange debt financing of up to $1.6 billion that would permit the airline to refinance $1.26 billion of its existing senior secured credit facility, refinance $325 million of unsecured debt and raise incremental liquidity. The transaction should be completed by the end of the current quarter, US said.
Indonesian government announced a ban on commercial aircraft older than 10 years this week following several mishaps and accidents, the worst of which was the January crash of a 17-year-old Adam Air 737-400 that killed 102 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 26). According to the Associated Press, Transport Minister Hatta Rajasa insisted the regulation would not require parliamentary approval but did not indicate when it would go into effect. The current age limit is 20 years.
US Dept. of Transportation will launch an investigation into recent incidents in which JetBlue Airways and American Airlines left passengers stranded onboard aircraft for hours during adverse weather conditions, joining several members of Congress and citizen groups in an effort to find solutions ( ATWOnline, Feb. 21).
Aeroports de Paris sold its interest in Beijing Capital International Airport Co. for HK$1.97 billion ($252.1 million) through an accelerated placement with institutional investors. ADP held 16.2% of BCIA's Hong Kong-listed shares. The French airport operator did not disclose its reason for offloading its stake but said it "reaffirms its willingness to accompany the Chinese authorities in their development of airports in China, in particular at the regional level."
Midwest Airlines said in a letter to shareholders yesterday that "AirTran's business is deteriorating" and that it wants to acquire Midwest to prevent further erosion. "AirTran leaves a trail of broken promises in markets it enters with great fanfare," said the letter signed by Midwest Chairman and CEO Tim Hoeksema.
MTU Aero Engines and JetBlue signed an agreement to extend the terms of a contract concluded in 2005 ( ATWOnline, June 29, 2005) from 10 to 15 years, bringing the deal's overall value to €2.4 billion ($3.16 billion). The original contract provided for nearly all 400 of the LCC's V2500s to visit MTU's shop at Langenhagen for maintenance. Under the extension, 116 IAE engines scheduled to be delivered to the airline from 2009 will be built to the upgraded SelectOne standard.
Grupo Ferrovial announced that Macquarie Airports exercised its call option on Ferrovial's 20.9% stake in the company owning the rights to Sydney Airport ( ATWOnline, March 30, 2006) for the agreed price of A$1.01 billion ($799.2 million). Ferrovial Aeropuertos will net A$919 million on the sale. The Spanish company said the share transfer will take place March 16-20.
