Finnair will resume service to Lisbon with thrice-weekly flights from Helsinki beginning March 29 aboard A320s. In June, Finnair flew 1.55 billion RPKs, a 7.8% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.9% to 1.97 billion ASKs and load factor climbed 3.5 points to 78.7%.
United Airlines flew 10.76 billion system RPMs in June, a 2.3% rise over the year-ago month. Capacity increased 2.2% to 12.18 billion ASMs and load factor inched up 0.2 point to 88.3%. Alitalia flew 3.39 billion RPKs in June, a 0.5% increase over the year-ago month, as capacity fell 4.2% to 4.59 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 3.7 points to 73.9%. ExpressJet flew 947.8 million RPMs in June, up 17.6% from the year-ago month. ASMs increased 9.4% to 1.15 billion, lifting load factor 5.7 points to 82.4%.
Thales will supply two A320 full flight simulators and one ATR full flight simulator to Kingfisher Airlines in a deal valued at more than $24 million. Contract also includes an A320 maintenance/flight training device and a turnkey maintenance support package.
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, a startup slated to launch in October, said it hired 213 flight and cabin crew this week and appointed Jardine Aviation Services as its ground handling agent.
US Airways Group flew a combined 5.87 billion RPMs in June, a 5.8% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 8.6% to 7 billion ASMs and load factor rose 2.5 points to 83.8%. Domestic RPMs declined 7.6% to 4.69 billion against an 11% fall in capacity to 5.6 billion ASMs. International RPMs rose 2.1% to 1.18 billion and ASMs increased 2.2% to 1.41 billion.
AirTran Airways launched a twice-daily Rochester (N.Y.)-Boston service, a daily Indianapolis-San Francisco flight, daily Tampa-Gulfport/Biloxi service and a second daily flight from IND to Los Angeles. It flew 1.30 billion RPMs in June, 25.6% higher than the year-ago month. ASMs increased 25.4% to 1.62 billion and load factor rose 0.1 point to 79.8%.
Alaska Airlines announced the ratification of two four-year labor deals covering more than 3,700 clerical, customer service and ramp workers represented by the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Agreements were reached in May ( ATWOnline, May 31). Separately, Alaska will launch thrice-weekly Los Angeles-La Paz service from Oct. 30 aboard 737-400s and thrice-weekly San Francisco-Cancun flights on Oct. 28 running through April aboard 737-800s.
ARINC said Philippine Airlines chose its GLOBALink/VHF data link service for operational communications, mostly on transpacific routes. The company also signed a GLOBALink/VHF data link contract with Canadian startup Porter Airlines, which is expected to launch later this year.
Rolls-Royce projects that 114,000 jet engines will be required to meet global demand for 51,000 commercial aircraft ranging from business jets to long-haul passenger planes over the next 20 years. That adds up to a worldwide market for jet engines through 2026 potentially valued at $600 billion, the engine-maker said in its long-term forecast released this week. Underpinning the demand will be 6.6% annual growth in Asia/Pacific air traffic over the 20-year period, Rolls said.
Cathay Pacific Airways signed a $1 billion, 20-year OnPoint Solutions service agreement with GE covering MRO of 40 GE90-115B engines on 777-300ERs. It has ordered 18 of the type, the first of which is scheduled to enter service in September 2007 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 16, 2005).
British Airways said it reached an agreement with unions representing 1,800 London Gatwick-based crew on work rule changes that will save the carrier £13.2 million ($24.1 million) per year.
Air Canada sales, customer service and scheduling employees represented by the Canadian Auto Workers Union were awarded a 1% wage increase effective this month, a 1.75% raise in July 2007 and another 1.75% raise the following year by an arbitrator. The raises cover approximately 5,540 workers. AC mainline and Air Canada Jazz flew a combined 4.4 billion RPMs in June, a 4.5% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity grew 2.4% to 5.32 billion ASMs and load factor climbed 1.7 points to 82.7%.
EU and US FAA yesterday announced the execution of an MOU at Farnborough that "secures enhanced cooperation in building a more efficient and seamless air traffic system between Europe and the US," FAA said. "As FAA moves forward with its aggressive air traffic modernization efforts, it's vital that we coordinate with our global partners," Administrator Marion Blakey said.
Mandarin Airlines, a Regional subsidiary of China Airlines, signed a letter of intent with GE for an eight-year OnPoint Solutions agreement for MRO of the CF34-10Es that will power its new Embraer 190/195 aircraft.
US Airways signed a five-year, full-content distribution agreement with Worldspan. The airline also unveiled an expanded codeshare agreement with Star Alliance partner TAP Portugal to include additional destinations on both sides of the Atlantic. Separately, it will launch thrice-weekly Las Vegas-Nashville service on Oct. 5 with an A319.
ANA said it has become the first Japanese carrier to implement a Line Operations Safety Audit program. From the end of August, approximately 250 flights will be monitored by trained TLC observers based in Texas. The review process will take six months and be repeated every 3-5 years.
American Airlines yesterday announced a redesigned business-class section on its 767-300s and 777s that includes lie-flat seats, personal inflight entertainment systems and other features that many of its competitors already have implemented on long-haul service. AA has installed the changes on one 767-300 and plans to complete the revamp on its remaining 57 dash 300s and begin retrofits of its 777 business cabins early next year.
Northwest Airlines reached a new tentative agreement on wage and benefit reductions with its flight attendants yesterday, striking an accord on $195 million in annual cuts that averts a potential work action and seemingly paves the way for the carrier's eventual emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
United Airlines said it will move its headquarters and 350 management employees to downtown Chicago from its current facility near O'Hare. It also will consolidate several suburban facilities into an Operations Center at its Elk Grove campus. UA is receiving $5.25 million in tax increment financing from the city and $1.35 million from the state of Illinois. Both city and state will introduce legislation to cap the jet fuel tax for the next five years.
