FedEx Express pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. approved the four-year labor agreement reached in September by a 94.6% to 5.4% vote, with 93.7% of eligible pilots casting a ballot, the carrier and union announced this week ( ATWOnline, Sept. 12).
Dragonair flew 583.2 million RPKs in September, an increase of 8.4% over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.9% to 884.1 million ASKs and the number of passengers rose 9.4% to 455,585.
Mesaba Airlines got a reprieve of sorts late Tuesday when US Bankruptcy Court Judge Gregory Kishel delayed his decision on whether to allow employees to strike and deferred the permission he had granted the carrier the day before to impose new terms on its union workforce, ( ATWOnline, Oct. 18). The judge also barred creditors from attempting to liquidate the airline before his ruling, the Associated Press reported.
Sabre Airline Solutions signed a $3.1 million, five-year deal with Air Italy to implement the SabreSonicPassenger Solutions suite of passenger management products covering reservations, check-in, ticketing and online booking. Air Italy, which is changing its business model from that of a charter airline to a scheduled operation, recently secured €30 million ($37.6 million) of capital expenditure funding.
The European Commission is upping its efforts to force Greece to reclaim some €161 million ($201.8 million) in illegal subsidies from Olympic Airways, adopting a decision requesting the European Court of Justice to fine the country. The EC ruled in 2002 that aid granted to Olympic between 1998 and 2002 was illegal. The ECJ confirmed last year that Greece failed to retrieve the money ( ATWOnline, April 27).
JetBlue Airways received approval to operate four daily flights at Chicago O'Hare, according to press reports ( ATWOnline, Oct. 13). The airline has yet to make an announcement or to negotiate a lease for terminal space at ORD, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Boeing said that Guggenheim Aviation Partners ordered four 747-8Fs, with an option for two more, on behalf of one of its investment funds. Deliveries will start in 2009.
Finnair said yesterday that it will be able to operate some domestic and European scheduled flights should a strike planned by the Finnish flight attendants union begin this morning ( ATWOnline, Oct. 18). The flights would run on irregular schedules. An MD-11 would be operated to London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle and smaller aircraft to Brussels, Stockholm Arlanda and Tallinn. No long-haul flights will be operated except for a cargo service to Beijing.
Adria Airways said it achieved a "small profit" in the nine-month period ended Sept. 30 as passenger numbers climbed 15% over the year-ago period to 811,132. LOT Polish Airlines should be set for an IPO by the end of 2007 or early 2008. The Polish government said last week that more details will be released when year-end 2006 financial figures become available, Polish news agency PAP reported.
Pilots and other union employees at Mesaba Airlines were prepared to walk off the job just after midnight last night if the airline rejected its current negotiated agreements and imposed another round of pay cuts. A strike could put the bankrupt carrier out of business. Mesaba was in court late yesterday seeking an injunction against the work action. "We don't believe the unions have the right to strike," spokesperson Elizabeth Costello told ATWOnline. She said the company has continued trying to reach a consensual agreement.
Finnair said it is preparing for an illegal strike by members of the SLSY flight attendants union scheduled to begin early Thursday morning. The airline said the resulting flight cancellations could cost it €2.5 million ($3.1 million) per day. The news came after Finnair announced it would recruit 500 cabin attendants by next fall to its Aero subsidiary under the national collective agreement. The hires are necessary to handle growing Asia-Europe traffic. "The salary level of Finnair flight attendants is about 30% higher than that of the national collective agreement.
Singapore Airlines unveiled a $360 million revamp of its long-haul product that positions it at the very top of the premium market. Originally designed for the A380, the features will be installed in the six new 777-300ERs scheduled to be in service by year end. According to SIA Senior VP-Operations and Services Bey Soo Khiang, "involvement of the airline's customers was key to the entire process." Those customers said they would be prepared to pay up to 20% more for the new features.
Comair and its 970 flight attendants represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters reached a tentative labor agreement last week. The carrier was granted permission to void its previous deal over the summer ( ATWOnline, July 24) and said it would impose new terms from Nov. 15. The union said the deal is for four years and includes a 7.5% pay cut, the Associated Press reported. Teamsters President Jim Hoffa said Comair cabin staff remain the best paid in the US Regional market.
Panasonic is considering taking over the Connexion by Boeing inflight Internet service when Boeing ends it at year end ( ATWOnline, Aug. 18), Korean Air President and COO Jong Hee Lee revealed. Briefing reporters in Seoul, Lee said Panasonic has told Korean, which equipped 29 aircraft with the service at a cost of $400,000 per plane, that it will take over the program if it can be assured of firm orders to equip 500 aircraft with the service.
Swiss International Air Lines said Friday that it has been forced to cancel 112 flights, or 2.7% of its operations, through Oct. 27 because of a pilot shortage. It cancelled 11 flights last weekend. Flights to Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf, Birmingham, Brussels, Milan Malpensa and Warsaw will be affected over the next two weeks. Swiss said the decision was forced by an unusually high rate of pilots calling in sick. The carrier faced a two-day strike Sept. 26-27 by pilots flying for its Swiss European Air Lines subsidiary and canceled 142 flights.
Middle East Airlines announced an 82% decrease in its forecast profit to $10 million due to the war in Lebanon during July and August, which usually is its most profitable season, the Arab Air Carriers Organization is reporting. MEA's losses reached $45 million during that period.
FL Group completed the sale of its 51% stake in Icelandair ( ATWOnline, Oct. 5). It will earn a €305 million ($381.5 million) profit on the €410 million transaction, it said in a statement cited by press reports. The buyers were Langflug (32%), Naust (11.1%) and Blue-Sky Transport Holding (7.4%).
Ryanair cancelled flights to and from Jerez, Granada and Seville Monday and told passengers it was unable to accept checked baggage on all flights to and from Girona, Reus, Santiago, Almeria, Murcia, Valencia, Zaragoza, Santander and Vitoria owing to a strike by Spanish baggage handlers. Passengers were permitted to carry one piece of hand luggage. The International Transport Workers' Federation warned more work actions by ground handling staff would take place, culminating in a 24-hr. strike on Oct. 23.
News from Travel Technology Update: Distribution has become "a very significant strategic issue for us," Shafiq Khan, senior vice president of e-commerce for Marriott International, said. Now that airlines have addressed their distribution costs through new deals with the GDSs and by eliminating travel agency commissions, hotels "have become the biggest payer of commissions and a big revenue source for the GDSs," Khan said. "We need to get to "more rational economics" with the GDS companies.
Twenty-five EU nations yesterday formally agreed to and signed the new interim PNR sharing agreement with the US reached on Oct. 6 ( ATWOnline, Oct. 9). The interim deal is valid until July 2007 and replaces the 2004 agreement annulled by the European Court of Justice. EU and US negotiators will seek to reach a more comprehensive and lasting agreement before year end.
Comair announced Friday that it has filed suit against the US government, FAA and airport authorities as part of an effort to ensure that compensation owed to victims' families as a result of the CRJ200 accident that killed 49 people at Lexington Blue Grass Airport in August is "shared fairly and reasonably among all parties who share responsibility," according to Comair President Don Bornhorst.
