Amadeus said it reached an agreement with Continental Airlines that will extend current access to full content for travel agents in the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
The EU Regulatory Committee on Aviation Security agreed on a range of new security measures to be introduced at all airports of the 25 member states. The measures will limit the individual quantities of liquids allowed to be carried by passengers to 100 ml. per container, require that the number of containers fit in one transparent resealable plastic bag of a maximum size of 1 liter and state that passengers must present the plastic bag at security checkpoints.
A380 wake turbulence is not as serious an issue as ICAO has feared, based on the findings of the Airbus Wake Vortex Steering Group, which the manufacturer released yesterday.
Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson yesterday urged the air transport industry to "accelerate the pace at which we reduce aviation's impact on the environment" and called for the creation of a new system of aircraft departures to help address the problem.
Silverjet, a proposed UK startup that plans to offer transatlantic low-fare, all-business-class service, named Katherine Gershon launch and international development director, George Henderson IT director and Tamarah Khatib UK marketing manager. The airline is planning for a winter 2006 start.
KLM will reduce its fuel surcharge by €5 ($6.36) per segment on all intercontinental flights and by €1 per segment on all intra-European flights in response to falling oil prices on tickets issued as of Sept. 28.
Alitalia unions have called off 24-hr. strikes planned for tomorrow and Oct. 9 ( ATWOnline, Sept. 27) after the government agreed to hold a meeting with workers' representatives on Oct. 10, the Associated Press reported. Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi said the government will present a new business plan for the airline by year end.
Lufthansa Technik yesterday announced a Total Component Support Agreement with Air Deccan covering the Indian LCC's newly arriving fleet of up to 60 A320s for a period of 10 years. Under terms of the $150 million deal, LHT and its Indian subsidiary, One Stop Airline MRO Support, "will independently serve" the Air Deccan fleet with the provision of components at the carrier's Bangalore hub.
The Irish government and Aer Lingus yesterday priced the IPO of the state-owned airline at €2.20 ($2.80) a share, valuing it at €1.1 billion. Earlier this month, the carrier gave an indicative range of €2.10-€2.70 a share for the Dublin and London listing, which is scheduled for Oct. 2 ( ATWOnline, Sept. 13).
Amadeus announced that Finnair deployed Amadeus Ticket Changer, which enables the airline to automate the ticket change and reissue process from any location in any currency.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani called on China to look urgently at the cost of overflying the country, which at the current rate of $1 per mile is "not acceptable." He also urged Beijing to look at the cost of operating into China's airports, which aside from Japan are the world's most expensive.
All Nippon Airways recently took delivery of its fourth 767-300F and plans to use it to launch a six-times-weekly Nagoya-Chicago cargo service via Anchorage.
Alitalia trade unions have called for 24-hr. strikes on both Sept. 29 and Oct. 9, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. The announced work stoppages follow a 4-hr. strike by unions representing pilots, flight attendants and ground staff on Sept. 18 and will add further pressure on the carrier, which remains in a precarious financial situation. It reported a loss of €221 million ($282.4 million) in the first half of 2006, widened from a loss of €125 million in the year-ago period.
Aerospace Products International, a subsidiary of First Aviation Services, received FAA approval to perform aircraft wheel overhaul services, enabling it to do MRO work on aircraft wheels manufactured by Aircraft Braking Systems and Goodrich.
CAE said it was awarded three contacts for full flight simulators with a combined value of C$45 million ($40.3 million). The contracts are with Continental Airlines for a 737NG, Lufthansa Flight Training for an A320 and UPS for a 747. The 737 FFS for CO will feature CAE's Tropos II Enhanced visual system. SAS Maintenance Training will establish a new facility in Riga during the fourth quarter to perform training for 737 Classics and NGs for customers in the Baltics and Eastern Europe.
Amadeus appointed Arnaud Debuchy director for its Airline Business Group, giving him responsibility for airline account management and sales in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. BAA announced further management changes related to its takeover by Ferrovial Group, appointing Jose Leo CFO to replace Margaret Ewing. Ian Hargreaves, corporate and regulatory affairs director, will leave the company.
IBM signed a 3.5-year agreement with Prague Airport to implement, maintain and manage a new IT system. Based on the mySAP Business Suite product, the integrated information system will be used by 350 airport staff, IBM said.
Canadian Transportation Agency yesterday issued licenses to startup Porter Airlines to operate domestic and nonscheduled international services using medium aircraft. The carrier plans initially to operate 10 daily flights between Toronto City Centre Airport and Ottawa using 70-seat Q400s and later will expand to destinations in Canada and the US within about 300 mi. of Toronto. A precise startup date has not been announced but operations are expected to commence within weeks.
