Northwest Airlines flight attendants, prevented from engaging in work actions by a US federal judge last week ( ATWOnline, Sept. 18), yesterday declared negotiations with management at an "impasse" and asked the National Mediation Board for a release from further mediated talks with the carrier, the first step toward gaining legal authority to strike under US laws governing airline labor relations.
Finnair will launch daily Helsinki-Nuremberg service in April with Embraer 170s. Separately, the carrier said it flew 1.57 billion RPKs in August, an increase of 13.8% over the year-ago month. Capacity was up 10.6% to 2.04 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 2.2 points to 76.6%.
Airports Council International Europe appointed Olivier Jankovec as director general with immediate effect. He succeeds Roy Griffins, who retired in August.
China Cargo Airlines, the China Eastern Airlines/China Ocean Shipping Group joint venture, signed a 10-year, $28 million OnPoint Solutions agreement with GE covering overhaul and maintenance services on CF6-80C2 engines that will power the carrier's two 747-400Fs.
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, preparing for an Oct. 25 launch, said yesterday it has sold an average of 1,100 tickets per day since it started accepting reservations two weeks ago.
American Airlines yesterday signed a five-year service agreement with the US Postal Service to deliver mail that the airline said potentially is worth $500 million in revenue. It is the largest single contract ever awarded to American Cargo. AA said it re-engineered its mail processes in 2003 and now "is the preferred carrier of the Postal Service and carries more mail than any other passenger airline."
Officials from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport said yesterday that American Airlines' proposed DFW-Beijing service would generate $180 million annually for the state economy and plans to submit its own economic impact study to the US Dept. of Transportation in support of AA's application to win the new route authority. The DFW salvo is the latest volley in an all-out campaign by four US carriers competing for a new route to China made available in the most recent air services agreement between China and the US.
Etihad Airways took delivery of an A340-500, its 20th aircraft. It will operate the plane on its new daily Abu Dhabi-New York JFK service from Oct. 26.
Boeing yesterday concluded its purchase of aviation parts and aftermarket services provider Aviall for $1.7 billion and the assumption of $448 million in debt. Aviall will report to Boeing Commercial Aviation Services and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. It employs around 1,000 and maintains customer service centers in North America, Europe and Asia. It is considered the largest independent provider of new aviation parts and related aftermarket services, distributing products for approximately 220 manufacturers.
Skyway Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Midwest Airlines that operates as Midwest Connect, yesterday named David Reeve president and CEO, giving him responsibility for all aspects of the Regional's business performance. Reeve, already chairman of Skyway's board, originally joined the airline (then Astral Aviation) in 1997 as president and CEO, serving in that capacity until late 1998 when he moved to Midwest Airlines as senior VP-operations. In 1999 he was named Skyway chairman in addition to his Midwest Airlines responsibilities.
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.
