ACI Europe and the Assn. of European Airlines created the European Strategic Partnership for Aviation Security to address shortcomings in the current system. Through the ESPAS platform, airports and airlines will seek to establish a common industry security policy and act jointly with European rulemakers "to provide coherent, workable security measures that benefit both industry and the traveling public alike," the two industry bodies said in a joint statement.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines contracted Dublin-based Liberator.aero to supply its LFI System, which is aimed at reducing emissions and generating fuel burn reductions of 2% on flights longer than 3 hr.
New Airbus CEO Louis Gallois arrived in Toulouse yesterday to meet company officials and begin charting the manufacturer's turnaround, warning that "painful" job cuts are on the horizon. He said his position as co-CEO of EADS will allow for "a simpler and more unified command structure" that will make implementing cost-cutting initiatives easier.
Tarom may be partially privatized soon, according to Romanian media reports indicating that the government is planning to float 49% of the carrier. But the government said the move is not a high priority and that it is taking care to avoid the fate that befell Bulgaria Air, whose privatization process faced several delays Tarom operates a fleet of five 737-300s, four 737-700s and seven ATR 42s and has grounded two A310-300s.
American Airlines flew 10.6 billion system RPMs in September, a 1.4% dip from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 0.5% to 14.03 billion ASMs and load factor was down 0.7 point to 75.5%. Domestic RPMs declined 3.8% to 6.74 billion, capacity fell 2.4% to 8.88 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 1.2 points to 75.8%. International traffic rose 3.1% to 3.85 billion RPMs against a 3% capacity increase to 5.15 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 0.1 point to 74.8%.
Northwest Airlines yesterday announced a tentative agreement with its striking mechanics, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn., which will conduct a ratification vote during the next month. NWA said the deal offers one week of layoff pay per year of service up to five weeks, or up to 10 weeks of separation pay for those leaving the company. Employees accepting layoff would remain on furlough status for two years and may apply for open positions, NWA said.
Gol 737-800 crash investigators have concluded that the ExcelAire Legacy 600 had its transponder switched off before colliding with the passenger aircraft, Estado de Sao Paulo reported. The transponder, which alerts air traffic controllers to a plane's position, apparently was turned on after the midair collision. The Legacy's two American pilots, who are being held in Brazil for questioning, have denied turning off the transponder ( ATWOnline, Oct. 5).
EADS co-CEO Louis Gallois, the former Snecma chairman and CEO, was named Airbus CEO yesterday following the resignation of Christian Streiff after just three months on the job. Gallois becomes the third Airbus CEO since mid-2005 and will remain as EADS co-CEO in addition to his new responsibilities. "The new management structure will allow, on the one hand, a leaner, more efficient corporate governance and, on the other hand, additional cost savings within the EADS group," EADS said in a statement. The company soon will own 100% of Airbus.
Air Malta called the fiscal year ended March 31 "a very difficult one" and said its operating loss increased to MTL6.4 million ($18.6 million) from MTL5.7 million in the year-ago period. Revenues fell 2.6% to MTL99.2 million. The airline said its operating result "would have shown a marked improvement" if not for "significant" fuel cost increases. Passenger numbers decreased 2.4% to 1.9 million.
ARINC and SITA released a detailed set of standards and specifications last week that the companies say will "enable the adoption of efficient, XML-based business-to-business messaging" for airlines. The standards define a new messaging approach, Type X, that makes use of XML and Web Services technology to complement existing industry Type B messaging.
EC last week adopted regulations on a range of new security measures to be introduced at all airports in the 25 member states. The move follows last month's approval of revised carry-on baggage and security checkpoint standards by the EU's Regulatory Committee on Aviation Security and limits the quantity of liquid passengers may carry to 100 ml. per container among other previously announced provisions ( ATWOnline, Sept. 29).
Irish Minister of Transport Martin Cullen formally came out in opposition to Ryanair's proposed takeover of Aer Lingus Friday, a day after Ryanair launched an unsolicited bid priced at €2.80 per share, valuing the newly privatized flag carrier at €1.48 billion ($1.88 billion) ( ATWOnline, Oct. 6). Shares in EI closed at €2.98 Friday, suggesting the market expects Ryanair to raise its bid or another suitor to emerge.
Alitalia Group acknowledged last week that its airline unit will not break even this year as it predicted in its business plan ( ATWOnline, Sept. 4 and admitted that survival will be difficult despite this year's state-guaranteed €1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) recapitalization. "In the current context, the national carrier cannot generate a profit even from capital already invested," AZ noted in a report obtained by Il Sole 24 Ore.
Use of mobile phones onboard commercial aircraft is inevitable, a panel of experts agreed during last week's ATWOnline webcast on the future of the inflight communications market. But the emergence of cabin standards is "a major issue, and cannot be ignored," stated Wale Adepoju, CEO and chief analyst of the Inflight Management Development Center. "Travelers are positive to the concept," said David Coiley, director-marketing and strategic relationships for AeroMobile, a joint venture with ARINC and Telenor. "We are ready to go and this thing is coming.
EasyJet raised its full-year profit guidance following a strong final month. The UK LCC now expects pre-tax profit growth for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 to be slightly ahead of the forecasted 40%-50%, putting year-end earnings in the £115-£124 million ($216.6-$233.5 million) range, up from £82.6 million in the previous year. Full-year revenues rose 20.6% to £1.62 billion on an 11.5% lift in passengers to 32.9 million. EasyJet will announce preliminary full-year results on Nov. 14.
The EU and US reached an interim agreement on the transmission of PNR data on Friday. The deal, which replaces the 2004 accord and is valid until July 2007, comes one week after a deadline set by the European Court of Justice, which voided the original arrangement. Officials said earlier last week that little separated the two sides ( ATWOnline, Oct. 3).
Southwest Airlines flew 5.2 billion RPMs in September, up 9.8% on the year-ago month. Capacity increased 10.1% to 7.73 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 0.2 point to 67.2%. JetBlue Airways flew 1.64 billion RPMs in September, an 8.2% rise over the year-ago month. Capacity increased 15.8% to 2.26 billion ASMs and load factor fell 5.1 points to 72.6%. AirTran Airways flew 949.9 million RPMs in September, an 11.6% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity surged 28.6% to 1.54 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 9.4 points to 61.8%.
Swiss European Air Lines, the Regional subsidiary of Swiss International Air Lines, and the Swiss Pilots Assn. opened discussions on a new labor agreement at the carrier's invitation. Both parties agreed not to comment further on the details of the talks. Flight operations were interrupted last week when SPA pilots staged a two-day strike, forcing the cancellation of 142 flights.
Smiths Detection said it was awarded a $10 million contract to supply a comprehensive integrated security system for Thai Airways at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. Smiths is partnering with EMC Group Public Co., a Thai electrical and mechanical engineering contractor.
SR Technics reached a five-year deal with Cathay Pacific Airways for the remaining 18 CFM56-5Cs in CX's fleet. The companies already had a contract covering 49 engines of the same type powering A340-300s running until 2013. SRT will provide MRO on the engines out of its Zurich service center.
Lufthansa Technik signed a five-year Total Technical Support contract with Nigerian startup Arik Air covering two 737-300s, three CRJ200s and three CRJ900s. Arik plans to launch Oct 17, flying from its Lagos base to 10 domestic and three international destinations. It plans to start intercontinental service next spring. Lufthansa CityLine will provide line maintenance and engineering services on the Regional aircraft.
Air France announced a reduction of its fuel surcharge following a 30-day stretch during which oil prices remained below $65 per barrel. Effective on tickets issued from today, the surcharge will drop €7 ($8.90) on long-haul flights, €2 on medium-haul flights and €1 on domestic flights.
Delta Air Lines named Kenneth Khoury executive VP and general counsel. Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings named Adam Kokas VP, general counsel and secretary effective Oct. 9.
