Stork Aerospace of the Netherlands and its Fokker Elmo subsidiary reached an agreement with Boeing for the manufacture and supply of a second work package of electrical wiring for the 737NG. Deliveries are scheduled through 2011.
Singapore Airlines will launch thrice-weekly services to both Barcelona and Milan Malpensa from July 19 aboard 777-200ERs. Separately, SIA increased its fuel surcharge per sector to $20 from $15 on flights to select cities in Southeast Asia and to $60 from $50 per sector on all other flights effective May 15.
US FAA's recent proposal to require airframe manufacturers to place life limits on their transport aircraft has sparked little industry response to date, although it marks a sea change in the way aircraft are regulated.
Air Berlin increased its April traffic 24.8% year-over-year to 971,480 passengers as load factor grew 8.8 points to 83%. Mountain Air Cargo transported 9.4 million lb. of freight in April.
News from Travel Technology Update: Sabre Travel Network president John Stow spelled out some of the key elements of his company's new deals at the recent TravelCom conference in New York: full content; parity with other vendors; the flexibility for agents to select their product platform; the ability to use agency incentives when and where they are appropriate, and protection from certain airline service fees.
Turkish Airlines leased two A319-100s formerly operated by defunct Independence Air. The carrier also signed a codeshare agreement with Croatia Airlines for flights between Istanbul and Zagreb.
SAS has begun to introduce new sleeper seats on its intercontinental A340s and A330s. The seats, developed with Contour Premium Aircraft Seating, recline 170 deg., provide 61 in. of pitch and are 20 in. wide between the armrests and slightly wider when folded down into a bed. SAS Business Flat Beds now are available daily on A340 flights from Copenhagen to Seattle and Chicago O'Hare. During the fourth quarter, the seats will be added to A330s, becoming available on all flights to the US.
Air New Zealand passengers will be allowed to compose e-mail messages and use other functions on cellphones and portable electronic devices inflight but will not be allowed to send or receive messages or calls under the terms of an electronic device exemption granted by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority.
Airbus and China Aviation Suppliers Import and Export Corp. extended the cooperation agreement covering their joint-venture training and support center in Beijing for 20 more years. The facility has been in operation for a decade and features both flight simulators and spare parts servicing.
Midwest Air Group, parent of Midwest Airlines and Skyway Airlines, reelected three directors to new three-year terms on its board: Samuel Skinner, Elizabeth Solberg, and Richard Sonnentag.
Boeing yesterday signed a definitive agreement to purchase aviation parts and services provider Aviall for $48 per share or $1.7 billion plus the assumption of $350 million in debt. Dallas-based Aviall, which generated revenues of $1.3 billion in 2005, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services once the cash transaction closes, likely in the third quarter. Boeing said the purchase is expected to be "modestly accretive" to its 2007 earnings and will have an "immaterial earnings impact" this year.
The spate of airline bankruptcies around the globe and the challenges they have presented to the leasing and finance sector will impact the way commercial transports are financed in the future, says GE Commercial Aviation Services President and CEO Henry Hubschman. Commenting on lessons learned from the ongoing bankruptcy reorganizations in the US, Hubschman noted, "We don't do leveraged leases anymore. Period. We're [also] more cautious about doing single-investor leases." He added, "We have not been harmed that much when someone breaks an operating lease."
Air Pacific reached agreement to acquire the assets and business of domestic carrier Sun Air. Under terms of the agreement, Air Pacific subsidiary Fiji Airlines Ltd. will take over the operations of Sun Air from July 1 subject to the transfer of Sun's licenses and AOC. Based in Nadi, Sun operates a fleet of 11 aircraft comprising Twin Otters, Islanders and Queen Airs to eight resort destinations on six islands.
Southwest Airlines Chairman Herb Kelleher used to say that his airline's primary competitor was the automobile. Some 10,000 mi. away, Tony Davis, CEO of Singapore-based LCC Tiger Airways, makes a somewhat similar argument. For example, Davis points out that 12 million people travel by train in Vietnam and the train trip from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south takes 34 hr.
Six months into the merger of US Airways Group and America West Holdings Corp., executives here are confident that the deal to create what they call "the largest nationwide low-cost carrier" already is paying big dividends, with industry-leading unit revenue growth, improving operational performance and declining unit costs.
On May 4, Air Canada withdrew its Tango fare for travel within Canada and between Canada and Florida from the GDSs and from its own dedicated travel agency Web site, aircanada.com/agents. In response, Sabre began "de-preferencing" Air Canada's displays in its GDS to ensure that flights by carriers that provide full content are displayed before Air Canada flights. Galileo said it would no longer return Air Canada results in low-fare shopping inquiries unless they are specifically requested.
Sabre Travel Network president John Stow spelled out some of the key elements of his company's new deals at the recent TravelCom conference in New York: full content; parity with other vendors; the flexibility for agents to select their product platform; the ability to use agency incentives when and where they are appropriate, and protection from certain airline service fees.
Forecasts for airline traffic among the nations of Central and Eastern Europe are good. Actually, they are very good, with Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania featuring in IATA's worldwide list of the top 10 countries with the highest average annual growth rates in passenger traffic for 2005-09. Poland leads the group with an AAGR of 11.2% while the Czech Republic is third at 9.5%. This compares with an overall industry AAGR of 5.6% for international passenger traffic between 2005 and 2009, and 5.1% within Europe.
The March sky was steel gray and snow swirled in the bitter wind outside Bombardier's Montreal CRJ production plant, but the mood inside the hangar was warm and festive as company officials prepared to celebrate the delivery of their 250th CRJ700.
Transaero said last week that it aims to raise $250 million by floating 15%-18% of its stock in an IPO in Russia in 2007. According to Reuters, the plan has received the backing of the airline's board of directors. A general meeting of shareholders will vet the issue on May 27.
LOT Polish Airlines signed a deal with BRE Leasing for the purchase of four Embraer 175s that will be owned by Polish leasing company PLL LOT and leased to the airline for seven years with an option for five more. The carrier also took delivery of its seventh 767-300, a leased plane owned by ILFC, to be operated by LOT until February 2009 on transatlantic flights.
Cirrus Airlines inked an agreement with AD Aerospace for installation of the FlightVu Cockpit Door Monitoring System, a video security system, on its 737-500s.
