The European Commission's long-anticipated proposal to include aviation in the second phase of the European Emissions Trading Scheme with effect from 2011 already is drawing fire from proponents and critics alike, a situation that makes it unlikely the air will clear anytime soon.
American Airlines & the TWU The first decade of the 21st century has not been kind to airline workers, particularly those employed at US carriers. In response to the dramatic changes in the competitive environment since January 2001, these airlines have eliminated more than 150,000 jobs and reduced salaries and benefits for many who remain.
PRATT & WHITNEY'S PROGRAM to develop replacement parts for the CFM56-3 "is on track," with FAA certification and availability of the first material expected in the first half of 2007, according to Matthew Bromberg, VP and GM of Global Material Solutions, the business unit established to create an alternate parts source for the world's most popular engine.
Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets The design of any transport aircraft reflects a number of engineering compromises and tradeoffs intended to achieve the optimal blend of takeoff and cruise performance, operating economics, reliability and maintainability. An additional half-a-percentage-point improvement in any of those areas may mean the difference between a winning platform and an also-ran. That's what makes Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets such a towering accomplishment.
Emirates SkyCargo At the start of the decade, Emirates SkyCargo was an impressive player in the Middle East air cargo market but only a modest operator on an international scale. However, there can be little doubt after its performance in its 2005-06 fiscal year, in which for the first time in its history it carried more than 1 million tonnes of cargo and generated more than $1 billion in revenue, that it now is a rising power among the global elite of airfreight players.
THE SCENE PROBABLY IS REPEATED around the globe every day. An airline industry professional gets a phone call or e-mail or text message from a friend or relative who is about to take a flight but, having seen yet another air disaster profiled on television, is getting jittery. Once convinced it is safe to fly, the next question is: "How come the ticket costs so much?" Meanwhile the airline professional ponders why the safest, cheapest and one of the cleanest forms of travel has such a lousy image.
Air Canada The wave of restructurings among legacy carriers over the past five years has focused mainly on aligning the financial and operating cost structure with the altered revenue environment. Although this has opened doors to new market opportunities, it has done little to persuade customers that airlines deliver value for money. Fare changes have tended to be seen as reactive, a reluctant response to a market increasingly defined by low-cost carriers and the Internet.
Horizon Air A paradox of the regional airline business as practiced in North America is that in order to achieve admittedly impressive rates of growth and financial returns, most of the participants have had to forgo their own brand and market identity in favor of becoming a piece in a larger partner's machine. There is no denying that the business model works, although as recent events show, regionals risk being viewed and treated by their larger partners as so many interchangeable parts.
ALTHOUGH AIR ARABIA IS STILL a youngster, its youth has been well spent. Skepticism regarding the viability of the low-fare airline was high when the venture launched in October 2003 with an inaugural flight from Sharjah International Airport to Bahrain, followed soon thereafter by services to Muscat, Beirut, Kuwait and Damascus. Most Middle East governments, after all, were focused on growing their flag carriers into five star global service providers.
WHEN KOREAN AIR WAS founded in the early 1960s, South Korea's economy lagged behind much of the world. The country's per capita GNP was only $100 in 1963, according to figures kept by the US State Dept. But by the end of the 1960s, a government policy pushing the rapid production of exportable goods had the nation on an economic development path that has been one of the world's most ascendant, fueled in recent years by high-end electronic goods and automobiles. By 2004, South Korea had become the 11th largest economy in the world, with per capita GNP exceeding $14,000.
Airline industry is facing the daunting challenge of training 340,000 new pilots by 2024 to meet growth and account for retirements, according to Alteon President Sherry Carbary. Speaking to ATWOnline in Sydney, Carbary said Alteon is pioneering ICAO's Multi-Crew Pilot License concept, which aims to produce first officers in just 15 months. MPL is under review by regulators around the globe and Alteon has launched a beta training program for 16 pilots at its Brisbane facility.
Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines' 17 members released preliminary traffic results for 2006 indicating a 4.5% year-over-year rise in passenger numbers to 134 million. RPKs grew 3.9% and load factor reached a new high of 75.6%, up from 73.4% in 2005.
Boeing reported 2006 net income of $2.22 billion, narrowed from $2.57 billion in the prior year, but pointed to a doubling of fourth-quarter net income to $969 million and a 33.2% surge in annual revenue for its Commercial Airplanes unit to $28.47 billion as evidence of "a very good year" and reason to boost its earnings guidance for 2007 and 2008.
After nearly five decades of strict adherence to a rule whose origin "still is a matter of debate," Administrator Marion Blakey yesterday said US FAA is ready to "seize the moment" and "close the book on Age 60."
Slovak Airlines ceased scheduled operations Tuesday after Austrian Airlines Group, which holds 62% of the carrier, took possession of its fleet, citing the Slovakian government's failure to honor a legal agreement. "One Fokker 100 and one Boeing 737-300 are the property of AAG and we have decided to immediately return the aircraft in order to guarantee that Group property is secure," an AAG spokesperson told ATWOnline, adding that one 737-200 will be left with Slovak for charter flights.
Alitalia flew 2.86 billion RPKs in December, down 2.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 2% to 4.14 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 0.2 point to 69%.
British Airways was able to avert a potentially damaging two-day cabin crew strike called for today and Wednesday, plus two further 72-hr. walkouts next month, by forging a last-minute agreement with the Transport & General Workers Union after negotiating through the weekend over sick leave, pay, staffing and pensions.
Japan Airlines flew 6.94 billion RPKs in December, down 8.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity decreased 5.1% to 10.9 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 2.3 points to 63.9%.
Finnair appointed Anssi Komulainen senior VP-human resources, Kristina Inkilainen senior VP-catering and Sami Sarelius VP and general counsel. British Airways promoted BA World Cargo MD Gareth Kirkwood to director of operations for the airline, effective April 2. Steve Gunning, currently BWAC's finance head, will succeed Kirkwood.
IATA estimated that its member airlines posted a collective operating profit of $10.2 billion for 2006, with net losses totaling $500 million--entirely owing to red ink among North American carriers--on a decelerating passenger traffic growth rate of 5.9%, down from 7.6% in 2005. But the organization said growth was "more profitable" in 2006 than in recent years as "careful capacity management" led to a record average load factor of 76%, up 0.9 point. Worldwide capacity growth for the year was just 4.6%.
News from Travel Technology Update: ITA Software, which revolutionized air fare shopping, is applying its shopping technology to a new arena: frequent flyer rewards. Its first client is Aeroplan, founded as Air Canada's frequent flyer program but spun off as a separate company after the carrier's bankruptcy reorganization. Andre Hebert, Aeroplan's vice president of IT and eBusiness, said the move was part of a larger project called ClassicPlus, whose goal was "to offer not just more seats for redemption, but every seat on the aircraft."
China Southern Airlines told the Shanghai Stock Exchange it will return to profitability in 2006 following a CNY1.79 billion ($229.9 million) loss in 2005, according to press reports. It will release its results in April. It said on its website that it will report CNY46.54 billion in revenue for 2006, of which more than 30% came from online sales.
Arab multilateral agreement to liberalize air transport, which was adopted by the Arab Civil Aviation Commission at a ministerial level, will enter into force Feb. 18 following expected ratification by Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Palestine and Lebanon, the Arab Air Carriers Organization is reporting. UAE is the most recent ratifier of the accord, which already has been signed by Tunisia, Somalia, Bahrain, Sudan, Iraq, Oman and Egypt.
