Delta Air Lines pilots yesterday ratified a new labor agreement that includes $280 million in annual concessions the airline says are "crucial" to its effort to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Kenya Airways posted a net profit of KES4.83 billion ($66.5 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31, a 24.4% increase over the KES3.88 billion earned in FY05. Revenues rose 25.1% to KES52.8 billion as the airline carried 2.4 million passengers during the year, an increase of 17%. It plans to take delivery of three new 737-800s this year and a fourth 777 in early 2007.
Air Transport Assn. said it believes the US and EU can reach a new agreement on the processing and transfer of PNR data by air carriers that will not subject airlines to "conflicting demands." ATA President and CEO James May noted that Tuesday's European Court of Justice ruling invalidating a 2004 agreement on data transfer ( ATWOnline, May 31) does not go into effect until Sept. 30, giving authorities time to "find a practical solution to this issue."
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, received approval from Nasdaq for its common stock to begin trading on the exchange today under the symbol AAWW. President and CEO Jeffrey Erickson said trading on Nasdaq was "one of our most important post-reorganization business goals" after emerging from bankruptcy protection in July 2004.
Alaska Airlines reached tentative agreements last week with the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers on two four-year labor contracts covering 3,700 employees. One covers 3,100 workers, including customer service and reservations agents, while the second pact covers 600 ground handlers. Terms of the deals were withheld pending ratification, which is expected to occur in voting next month.
Rolls-Royce, well aware that its foothold in the regional jet market depends largely on the continued viability of Embraer's 145 family, last week unveiled enhancements to the TotalCare support services it provides for the AE3007.
The European Court of Justice yesterday ruled that the May 2004 agreement between the European Community and the US on the processing and transfer of PNR data by air carriers is illegal.
WestJet and Air Canada settled their contentious dispute over alleged corporate spying and unauthorized data collection by WestJet executives, with the Calgary-based LCC agreeing to pay C$15.5 million ($14 million)--C$5.5 million covering AC's legal costs in the matter and C$10 million to charity--and Chairman and CEO Clive Beddoe apologizing to his primary rival for "misconduct."
News from Travel Technology Update: Expedia's chief unveiled some details of its new loyalty program, first announced in February, saying it will "react in a real-time way" to who and where customers are when they log onto the Expedia site. Dara Khosrowshahi, president and chief executive officer, told attendees at the Goldman Sachs Seventh Annual Internet Conference that Expedia hopes to launch the program by the end of the year.
Ferrovial Group upped its BAA takeover bid but the UK airports operator said yesterday that the Spanish firm still is undervaluing the company and advised shareholders to reject the increased offer. Ferrovial modified its bid to £9.73 billion ($18.09 billion), or 900 pence per share, which still "falls well short" of the "more than 940 pence per share" value of the company, BAA said. The initial bid of £8.75 billion was dismissed by BAA Chairman Marcus Agius last week as "cheap" ( ATWOnline, May 29).
Gol secured a R$75.7 million ($33.6 million) loan from the Brazilian National Economic and Social Development Bank Monday and plans to use the money to finance the building of an aircraft maintenance facility at Confins International Airport in Minas Gerais.
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore awarded a tender to a joint venture company to develop and manage "a luxury facility" for VIP travelers arriving or departing Changi on commercial or private aircraft. It is set to open in August. Members of the JV company are Worldwide Flight Services, Superior Travelers Services and Sembawang Kimtrans.
Thales will provide three additional 787 training suites including "full flight simulators, flat panel simulators and desktop simulation systems" to Alteon, Boeing's training subsidiary. Thales is supplying six suites under a previous agreement. Boeing said the additional simulator orders are owing to the strong sales success of the 787.
Vidient Systems said Finnish airport operator Finavia will deploy its SmartCatch video solution to monitor the length of passenger security lines at Helsinki Vantaa. SmartCatch "automatically reports queues exceeding a pre-defined length in the security check-in zone," alerting the airport that another line may need to be opened.
Moscow Domodedovo's passenger traffic increased 16.4% from January to April compared to the same period last year to 3.9 million passengers. Passenger traffic in April grew 14.6% over the year-ago month to 1.1 million.
B/E Aerospace said Korean Air selected its MiniPod lie-flat business class seats and a range of food and beverage preparation and storage equipment for its A380s and retrofit and new 777s. Korean also will install B/E food and beverage equipment on its A330s. Deliveries are scheduled to begin late this year.
Lufthansa named Jens Bischoff, who had been project manager for the integration of Swiss and Lufthansa, to the post of VP-the Americas. The position will be based in New York and take effect Sept. 1.
GE Commercial Aviation Training received approval from CAAC to conduct Airbus initial and conversion training on behalf of Chinese airlines. GECAT shortly will begin the first A320 initial/transition training and A320/A330/A340 transition/CCQ training at its Hong Kong Training Center.
BAA's control of seven UK airports, including London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, is being called into question. The UK Office of Fair Trading said this week it is considering examining the nation's airport market to determine whether BAA's dominant position "works well for consumers." BAA is fighting a hostile takeover bid by Spain's Ferrovial Group, which gained clearance for its £8.75 billion ($16.41 billion) bid from the European Commission earlier this week ( ATWOnline, May 24).
South African Airways agreed this week to pay ZAR55 million ($8.3 million) in fines levied by the South African Competition Commission for price-fixing violations. The Commission alleged that SAA and Lufthansa colluded to fix ticket prices on flights between Cape Town, Johannesburg and Frankfurt. It also claimed that SAA and South African carriers SA Express, Comair and SA Airlink colluded to fix fuel surcharges on flight tickets.
Wizz Air, citing data from the Polish CAA, said it carried 15.5% of the total passenger traffic to and from Poland in the first quarter, up from 11.7% last year. It claims to be Poland's second-largest airline and the largest LCC serving the country.
IATA, Royal Jordanian and the Jordanian CAA announced an MOU to introduce common-use self-service check-in by year end and industry-standard barcoded boarding passes during the first quarter of 2007 at Amman's Queen Alia International Airport. Under the agreement, Royal Jordanian will act as a project developer and operator, IATA will provide advisory support and JCAA will serve as a facilitator and regulator.
Bankrupt Delta Air Lines' reorganization efforts seemingly were boosted when the carrier reached a tentative agreement with its pilots last month on $280 million in annual concessions ( ATWOnline, April 25) , but the US government's pension insurer said the deal violates US bankruptcy law and should be rejected.
