News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus went to court to seek injunctive relief from American Airlines and Northwest Airlines, saying the two carriers will breach the non-discrimination provisions of their Participating Carrier Agreements if they go ahead with their "preferred channel" programs on Sept. 1.
Avion Group said it formed a joint venture with Australasian airline group Advent Air Ltd. calling for Avion subsidiaries Star Airlines of France and Star Europe of Germany to provide up to four A320s to Advent Air subsidiary Skywest, a Perth-based Regional. Skywest will operate the aircraft from November to April, which is its peak season and Avion's low season.
Lufthansa Systems signed a contract with Virgin Atlantic Airways to provide the UK carrier with its ProfitLine/Price IT pricing solution. Separately, Lufthansa said it has developed a new "corporate sound" that will be played for customers holding on the phone and on radio and TV ads, as well as when passengers board aircraft.
EasyJet issued a statement encouraging travelers to limit themselves to one piece of checked luggage in order to "speed up the handling of baggage at airports and minimize inconvenience to passengers." A second piece of checked luggage will cost £5 ($9.50) online and £10 at the airport effective with bookings made from Sept. 1. Total weight must not exceed 20 kg. Passengers will continue to be charged £5 per kg. above the limit.
Qantas nearly doubled its fuel surcharge on flights to the UK to A$185 ($141.70) effective Aug. 31. The surcharge on flights to the US jumps from A$98 to A$145, while short-haul sectors lift to A$65 from A$56. It will eliminate its per-sector charge and introduce a new four-tier system based on distance traveled.
ICAO Council in a special meeting Friday called on the organization's Aviation Security Panel to give "highest priority" to dealing with the threat raised by the recently thwarted terrorist plot in the UK when it meets next month. "In a unanimous decision, the Council agreed that the Panel should fully assess the danger associated with liquid explosives and report as quickly as possible on practical and sustainable recommendations to further improve the security of civil aviation," Council President Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez said.
Aircastle Investment Holdings said Friday that one of its subsidiaries agreed to acquire six 737-700s leased to Danish LCC Sterling Airlines from affiliates of AP Moeller-Maersk Group for an estimated $165 million. Four of the acquisitions were completed Aug. 17 and Aircastle expects to finalize the remaining two by Aug. 31.
Delta Air Lines said Friday that new security regulations have resulted in an approximately 20% increase in checked baggage on the mainline and a "negligible increase" aboard Delta Shuttle. The carrier has increased staffing to handle the additional workload and said that baggage operations "have returned to normal."
Austrian Airlines Group flew 2.46 billion RPKs in July, a 4.9% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity declined 2.5% to 3.08 billion ASKs and load factor fell 2 points to 79.9%.
Aer Lingus will provide passengers on flights originating in the US with a free 0.5-liter bottle of water. The move is in response to new US security requirements prohibiting passengers from carrying liquids onto flights.
US President George Bush, as expected, signed comprehensive pension reform legislation into law yesterday, completing a system overhaul that is expected to save the defined retirement programs of airlines and other companies ( ATWOnline, Aug. 7). The new law gives US carriers that have frozen their plans, such as Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, 17 years from 2008 to fund their plans fully. Others get 10 years.
Boeing pulled the plug on its Connexion by Boeing onboard Internet venture yesterday, bringing an end to a program that was hyped heavily when it was launched in 2000 but never generated much interest from airlines or passengers.
Northwest Airlines flight attendants, represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA, will not be prevented from striking by the US Bankruptcy Court, which yesterday denied a preliminary injunction request from NWA. The union said it could exercise its right to strike as early as the evening of Aug. 25 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 14). "While we are disappointed with Judge Gropper's ruling and will appeal it, we remain committed to continuing to serve our customers," NWA President and CEO Doug Steenland said.
Norwegian flew 535 million RPKs in July, up 67% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 70% to 595 million ASKs and load factor fell 1 point to 90%. ExpressJet flew 976.5 million RPMs in July, a 13.3% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 10.6% to 1.21 billion ASMs and load factor improved 1.9 points to 80.6%.
Middle East Airlines operated an Amman-Beirut A321-200 flight carrying 149 passengers yesterday, the first commercial flight to arrive at Rafik Hariri International Airport in 36 days and signaling at least a partial lifting of Israel's air blockade of Lebanon. Royal Jordanian also operated an Amman-Beirut flight yesterday. MEA Chairman Mohammed Hout and Lebanon Transportation Minister Mohammed Safadi said Israel has agreed to allow limited flights from Jordan, according to press reports from Beirut.
Bmibaby announced that its 189 pilots represented by the British Air Line Pilots Assn. voted not to strike, with just 47% voting in favor of a work stoppage. BALPA began balloting pilots earlier this month ( ATWOnline, Aug. 4). "BALPA have requested a meeting with us to attempt to find a way through the dispute and we are reflecting on that proposal," the carrier said.
Consortium TwoOne, led by Vienna International Airport operator Flughafen Wien, said the Slovak government canceled its plans to acquire two-thirds of Bratislava Airport for a reported SKK10.5 billion ($356.5 million) following an announcement by competition authorities that they would delay their expected approval of the deal until October. "We are astonished that the Slovak government didn't act as announced," Flughafen Wien said, explaining that the government was supposed to wait for the competition authorities' ruling.
US Airways Group flew 6.08 billion consolidated RPMs in July, a 6% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 7.8% to 7.27 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1.5 points to 83.5%. Domestic RPMs decreased 7.6% to 4.85 billion against a 10% decline in capacity to 5.78 billion ASMs. International traffic rose 0.7% to 1.23 billion RPMs and capacity increased 1.9% to 1.49 billion ASMs. Air Berlin transported 1.6 million passengers in July, up 15.4% over the year-ago month. Load factor rose 1.8 points to 85.7%.
GECAS announced it will lease nine additional new 737-800s to Xiamen Airlines for delivery beginning in mid-2008. The aircraft are part of the lessor's existing order book with Boeing. The Chinese carrier signed an agreement for five of the type in February. It operates a 38-aircraft fleet comprising 737s and 757-200s.
SkyEurope Airlines said it has appointed UBS Investment Bank and CA-IB Corporate Finance to "examine a range of financing options" that may include the flotation of new shares in order to "finance the fleet and continued network expansion." The carrier raised €60 million ($76.4 million) from an initial offering of 12.98 million shares last fall ( ATWOnline, Sept. 23, 2005).
AirTran Airways announced that it reached a tentative five-year labor deal with 40 mechanics and ground service employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Ratification is expected within 10 days.
Indonesian government is throwing state-owned Garuda Indonesia and Merpati Nusantara Airlines a lifeline as both carriers battle soaring fuel prices and newer, more efficient LCCs. According to Bisnis Indonesia, Garuda is to get IDR1 trillion ($110.1 million) and Merpati IDR450 million to assist with restructuring efforts. The Garuda bailout is not linked to its efforts to reschedule $500 million still owed to the European Export Credit Agency. Garuda's total debts top $800 million and its management plans to sell off assets including five DC-10s.
