SITA yesterday noted that it is successfully providing transatlantic PNR data interchange on behalf of EU airlines and other carriers flying into Canada even as the US-EU agreement on transfer of PNR data is set to expire in only nine days. The service, which is carried out under a contract with the Canadian government, was tested in April and is in use by Alitalia, CSA, KLM, Martinair, Olympic, Swiss and an unidentified US carrier.
Embraer 175 received US FAA type certification, paving the way for deliveries and service in the US. It previously was certified by aviation authorities in Brazil, Canada and Europe. The first US customer, Republic Airways, has firm orders for 30 of the 86-seat 175s, which will be operated on behalf of US Airways. Twenty will replace existing 50-seat aircraft currently operated for US Airways while the remaining 10 will replace other retiring aircraft or be used for growth in 2008.
Royal Jordanian transported 223,000 passengers in August, up 15% over the year-ago month and the highest total for any one month in its history. Its fleet of 24 aircraft averaged 67 flights per day. President and CEO Samer Majali said RJ will achieve "satisfying" full-year results despite rising fuel prices.
Air Mauritius suffered a 59% decline in net profit in its 2005-06 fiscal year to €7.3 million ($9.3 million), according to its annual report cited by Reuters. Rising fuel costs, the government's decision to liberalize the country's airspace in order to attract more tourism and a decline in visitors from France were the key culprits in the slowdown, the carrier said, adding the impact will continue into the current fiscal year.
Goodrich is expanding its Aerostructures Prestwick Service Center in Scotland. The facility, originally opened in 2004, will double in size to 250,000 sq. ft. The plant provides maintenance support services for engine nacelles and thrust reversers, flight controls, quick engine change and engine buildup components.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, promoted General Counsel and Senior VP John Dietrich to Executive VP and COO, giving him oversight over all aspects of operations. Dietrich has been with Atlas since 1999 and previously worked as an attorney for United Airlines for 13 years.
Top US and Chinese aviation officials meeting yesterday in Washington stressed the need to cooperate on technology and other key areas as air services between the nations accelerate. "We try to avoid mistakes by learning from advanced aviation countries, including the US, about their experiences so as to help China's civil aviation industry achieve sound and sustainable growth," CAAC Vice Minister Yang Guoqing said at the fourth annual US-China Aviation Summit sponsored by the US Trade and Development Agency.
News from Travel Technology Update: Air Canada and ITA Software put the finishing touches on a contract under which ITA will build a new reservations management system for the carrier, replacing its old RES III system. Lise Fournel, the airline's senior vice president of e-commerce and chief information officer, said the new system will take a modular approach and include all reservations, inventory control, seat availability, check-in and airport operations systems.
Denim Air intends to widen its geographical scope, including the startup of operations in the Middle East. "The Middle East market is developing rapidly and I am convinced this offers huge potential for Denim Air," CCO Eric Hespeel said at the Routes conference in Dubai. "We are able to tailor our aircraft to our customers' needs at very short notice due to our flexibility, worldwide experience and creativity." Denim Air has been specializing in ACMI charter activity for 10 years.
Abanco International of Illinois will partner with Midwest Airlines to offer payments for services on Midwest flights from November using Abanco's mobile data technology inflight application to process credit card transactions.
TAM flew 1.68 billion domestic RPKs in August, up 32.5% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 25.2% to 2.28 billion ASKs and load factor rose 4.1 points to 73.7%. International traffic was up 33.9% to 604 million RPKs against a 34% rise in ASKs to 773 million, leaving load factor steady at 78.2%. The airline said its domestic market share was 51.3%, up 9.6 points year-over-year, and its international market share climbed 34 points to 54.6%. Horizon Air flew 254.6 million RPMs in August, up 7.7% from the year-ago month.
Skyways Aviation arranged the long-term ACMI lease of an F100 from Romania's Carpatair to PGA Portugalia. The aircraft, set for delivery at the end of October, will operate in Portugal through March 2007. Carpatair will provide flight crews and maintenance.
Hainan Airlines' order for 50 Embraer 190s and 50 ERJ-145s ( ATWOnline, Aug. 31) was approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission. The 190s will be built in Brazil while the ERJ-145s will be built at Embraer's Chinese JV facility with Hafei Aviation Industry Group.
Alitalia said a 4-hr. strike yesterday by 6% of flight personnel and 20% of ground workers forced the cancellation of 67 flights. Workers are protesting a management business plan proposal that one union leader claimed "heavily penalized" labor, dismissing further talks with management as "useless, hollow," according to Italian media reports. The carrier was forced to cancel 105 domestic and 74 international flights on Sept. 7 because of a 24-hr. strike called by four trade unions ( ATWOnline, Sept. 8)
Virgin Atlantic Airways banned Apple and Dell laptop computer batteries from international flights following last month's recall of 1.8 million batteries by Dell as possible fire hazards. Virgin passengers must remove the batteries from the computer, wrap them and place them in carry-on bags, reported BBC. Passengers can use the computers sans batteries in flight if seats are equipped with electrical sockets and can transport two of the batteries in a carry-on bag. Korean Air and Qantas also have placed restrictions on laptop batteries in response to the recall.
Northwest Airlines flight attendants yesterday filed an appeal of last week's ruling by US District Judge Victor Marrero that prevents them from striking or engaging in work actions ( ATWOnline, Sept. 18). The Assn. of Flight Attendants is asking for an expedited ruling on the appeal, arguing that NWA's imposition of $195 million in annual concessions despite the flight attendants' rejection of two tentative concessionary agreements gives them the right to strike or engage in disruptive CHAOS work actions.
US Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that a group of 21 US passenger airlines, consisting of the seven largest network, low-cost and Regional carriers based on operating revenue, reported a collective domestic operating profit margin of 7.9% in the second quarter, the largest quarterly margin for the group since 2000. BTS said yesterday that the LCCs reported a domestic operating profit margin for the quarter of 10.6%, up 5.3 points compared to the year-ago quarter.
KLM Engineering and Maintenance and Boeing Commercial Aviation Services have teamed to provide component maintenance services for Toronto-based Sunwing Airlines' 737NGs. The carrier currently operates three of the type with plans to add 10-15 more over the next five years.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said overly restrictive foreign ownership rules prevent "meaningful consolidation and perpetuate inefficiency." In a speech yesterday to the ICAO Symposium on Liberalization in Dubai, Bisignani said, "the flags on the tails of our aircraft are so heavy they are sinking our industry," and argued that airlines will have difficulty achieving long-term profitability without the ability to consolidate across borders.
Boeing added Rockwell Collins to its 787 GoldCare team, which will aim to provide carriers operating 787s with comprehensive line and base maintenance support as well as supply chain management on a cost-per-flight-hr. basis. "Rockwell provides displays, communication and surveillance systems, pilot controls and the core network cabinet for the 787 and under GoldCare will be responsible for ensuring spare parts are available, managing the maintenance of parts removed from the aircraft and ensuring that equipment reliability is optimized," Boeing said.
Gol opened its R$30.5 million ($14.1 million) Aircraft Maintenance Center in Confins Friday and said the facility will allow it to stop using third-party maintenance providers. Annual cost reductions from performing its own maintenance are expected to be $2 million, with further revenue generated by performing maintenance for other airlines. "In a moment of expansion, Gol will reduce its aircraft expenses and obtain another source of future revenues," Technical VP David Barioni said. It will operate a fleet of 62 737s by year end, an increase of 20 from the end of last year.
Chinese airlines have been forced to cut fares to Tibet by up to 55% following the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, according to China Daily, as concern grows among carriers over the impact of rail expansion. The paper reported that nine flights operated by Air China, Sichuan Airlines and China Southern Airlines have been discounted 45%-55% since Sept. 13. The Qinghai-Tibet railway opened July 1 and the train fare between Chengdu and Lhasa is CNY331 ($41) with a sleeper fare of CNY712. Airlines now are offering fares on the route at CNY975.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., set up a strike center at an undisclosed location in Atlanta in apparent frustration over the status of four-year-old contract negotiations.
US Airways named Thomas Chapman VP-congressional and federal affairs effective Oct. 16. Currently legislative counsel for Southwest Airlines, Chapman replaces the retiring Rosemary Murray. Pratt & Whitney Canada appointed John Saabas executive VP and Benoit Brossoit senior VP-service centers and operations. Saabas, previously senior VP-engineering and operations, will be responsible for engineering, operations, quality, service centers, customer support and marketing. Brossoit, previously VP-service centers, will provide "strategic direction" and report to Saabas.
