Lufthansa said it is extending its Lufthansa Private Jet cooperation with NetJets for a further five years after a successful 2006 in which the number of Private Jet flights rose 13%. Up to 10 private corporate jets were booked daily last year, with highest demand--60% of the total--coming from point-to-point connections to around 1,000 destinations in Europe and the Russian Federation. LH said "more jets will be on call" to accommodate increased demand and it is adding a Falcon 2000 capable of seating 10 passengers to its offering.
Aer Lingus carried 8.6 million passengers in 2006, up 7.3% year-over-year, as it added new routes and 11.6% more seats. Passenger numbers grew 9.3% on short-haul flights and fell 4.4% on long-haul flights. Load factor dropped 3.8 points to 77.6%, including a 5.8-point decline on long-haul services.
DHL said it will invest an additional $35 million in its Hong Kong operation to increase ground handling capabilities in the growing market, lifting its total investment in the city to $645 million, which includes a $400 million investment in Air Hong Kong made in conjunction with Cathay Pacific Airways.
US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker's bold vision of a combined US/Delta Air Lines collided with the cold reality of Washington politics this week, providing a preview of the legal battles the proposed merger faces even if US can convince reluctant DL executives and creditors to back it. US lawmakers questioning Parker during a Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee hearing Wednesday ( ATWOnline, Jan.
Silverjet, the London Luton-based all-business-class carrier ( ATWOnline, Oct. 6, 2006), launched operations yesterday with its maiden flight to Newark. It said sales "are comfortably ahead of management's expectations." It will start a second daily LTN-EWR flight in July and is "investigating further long-haul route opportunities."
Adam Air 737-400's flight data recorder was detected yesterday by USNS Mary Sears, an oceanographic survey ship assisting in the search for debris from the aircraft that disappeared off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Jan. 1 with 102 aboard ( ATWOnline, Jan. 12). The US embassy in Jakarta said the ship located signals "on the same frequency of the black boxes associated with the missing airplane."
ANA will launch a 36-seat, all-business-class 737-700ER on the Tokyo Narita-Mumbai route Sept. 1, a move that underscores a focus on premium traffic that is a highlight of the corporate plan unveiled yesterday in Tokyo. The plan focuses on frequency, yield, capacity decreases and more daily services to China, which will see ANA's first 737-700 BusinessJet enter Nagoya-Guangzhou service on March 1. That aircraft is configured with Club ANA and Premium Economy seats. A320s also are part of the China ramp-up with the introduction of 20 business class seats.
An F100 operated by Regional, Air France's wholly owned subsidiary, overshot the runway while taking off at Pau Pyrenees Airport en route to Paris Charles de Gaulle yesterday morning. All 50 passengers and four crewmembers evacuated uninjured, but the aircraft hit a vehicle on a nearby road, killing one person and injuring another, AF confirmed. The French DGAC said that based on initial reports, the pilot was forced to execute an emergency landing after one of the plane's engines ingested several birds.
The Transport & General Workers Union agreed to cancel the first 24 hr. of next week's three-day British Airways cabin crew strike ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23) "as a goodwill gesture to allow more time for further negotiations" and "after the personal intervention" of BA CEO Willie Walsh. BA flight attendants still are prepared to walk off the job on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31 and for three-day periods beginning Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 unless a deal is reached.
The European Commission yesterday released its long-awaited Airport Package of regulatory measures, which it said comprised a directive on airport charges, a plan to tackle airport congestion and a progress report on implementation of ground handling policies designed to liberalize that part of the industry. "Until now, European airports have been faced with diverse regulatory, commercial and external challenges," EC VP-Transport Jacques Barrot said. "The aim of these new measures is to offer a common set of rules to be applied and enforced uniformly throughout Europe."
Australian Transport Workers Union, which represents a large number of Qantas workers, said it has failed to get any assurances on job security from Airline Partners Australia, the consortium involved in the A$11 billion ($8.69 billon) bid to take Qantas private. TWU and APA members met Tuesday to try to secure guarantees on jobs, conditions and entitlements. Various Qantas unions are deeply concerned that jobs will be moved offshore if APA is successful ( ATWOnline, Dec.
American Airlines said it will price its public offering of 13 million newly issues shares ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23) at $38.70 per share. It said it expects issuance and delivery of the shares to take place Friday. Separately, AA named Denise Lynn VP-global human resources services, replacing the departed Debra Hunter Johnson.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace said its ST Aerospace Engines subsidiary will provide heavy maintenance and support for Xiamen Airlines' CFM56-7B22s under a maintenance-by-the-hour contract covering 11 737-700s for up to 15 years. The contract was valued at $160 million.
Air Arabia applied to UAE economic and regulatory authorities for approval to launch an IPO this quarter, becoming the first airline in the Gulf region to go public, according to the Arab Air Carriers Organization. SHUAA Capital of Dubai was appointed financial adviser.
AirTran Holdings went to court yesterday in an attempt to force Midwest Air Group to release its list of shareholders. AirTran claimed that Midwest management is withholding the list in an attempt to thwart AirTran's effort to present its takeover offer ( ATWOnline, Jan. 19), and it asked the New York State Supreme Court to direct Midwest to show cause as to why it is not complying with state law. A hearing is set for Jan. 30.
Transport Workers Union of America announced this week that it plans to reopen contract negotiations with American Airlines in November, six months prior to the amendable date, because of the success of the parties' MRO partnership and the airline's full-year profit. TWU represents more than 27,000 ground employees at AA, including mechanics. "We're pleased the company is doing so well," union President James Little said.
Goodrich said it now is capable of offering total nacelle support for the GEnx and that the service will be available to GE OnPoint Solutions customers via a marketing agreement with GE-Aviation.
Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein and US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker, who have traded barbs via the media since US made an unsolicited bid to acquire DL in November, will share the same witness table today in Washington at a US Senate hearing examining the consequences of a potential merger between the carriers. US raised its bid to $10.2 billion earlier this month ( ATWOnline, Jan.
AeroSvit Airlines named Aron Maiberg DG. He has been with the carrier since 1994, when it launched with one aircraft. AeroSvit now operates 11 737s and two 767s on 12 Ukrainian and 60 international routes. The airline said it intends to triple its fleet by 2011.
Aer Lingus could be facing industrial action after CEO Dermot Mannion warned in a letter to union employees that they must accept new work rules because the airline is facing "commercial challenges and threats that are unprecedented in the history of the company." In the letter, widely reported by the Irish press, Mannion stated that EI's costs are out of line compared to its competitors in "some critical areas," adding, "Given our significant growth and expansion plans, this is no longer sustainable."
MAIR Holdings' deal with Northwest Airlines announced Monday ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23) will see bankrupt Mesaba Airlines become a wholly owned subsidiary of NWA under a stock purchase and reorganization agreement. Mesaba said it intends to emerge from Chapter 11 this spring, having reduced annual costs by $68 million. It will have a $145 million unsecured claim in NWA's bankruptcy case in exchange for the entirety of Mesaba's new common stock.
Alaska Airlines flew 1.47 billion RPMs in December, a 2% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.1% to 1.96 billion ASMs and load factor fell 0.8 point to 75.1%. LAN Airlines flew 1.93 billion RPMs in December, a 23.7% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 18.7% to 2.55 billion ASMs and load factor rose 3.1 points to 75.8%. Dragonair flew 560.1 million RPKs in December, down 1% from the year-ago month. Capacity dipped 0.3% to 885.1 million ASKs and passenger numbers dropped 2.1% to 423,036.
ATR opened a new spare parts distribution center in Auckland to meet the needs of operators in the region who fly approximately 30 ATR aircraft. It already operates warehouses in Paris, Miami and Singapore. ATR opened a sales office in Sydney last November. DHL Solutions will manage the Auckland facility.
Singapore Airlines flew 8.05 billion RPKs in December, a 7.8% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.9% to 9.59 billion ASKs and load factor climbed 3.8 points to 84%. SAS Group carriers flew 2.58 billion consolidated RPKs in December, a 2.2% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 0.5% to 3.9 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 1.2 points to 66.1%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 1.77 billion RPKs, down 8.9%, against a 9.1% decline in capacity to 2.52 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 0.1 point to 70.3%.
