US Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment Tuesday that would stall a Dept. of Transportation proposal intended to encourage foreign investment in US airlines through the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, according to press reports. This would give Congress more time to examine the issue. The DOT proposal allows foreign investors to wield more influence in airline management, although it does not raise the 25% ownership cap.
SITA announced that Sky Airline of Chile and Hong Kong Express Airways will implement its Horizon portfolio including Airfare Price and SITA Reservations. SITA also announced that Moscow Domodedovo will be the 33rd airport to implement its BagManager global baggage reconciliation system.
Swiss prosecutors filed charges last Friday against 19 Swissair managers and its former board in connection with the carrier's financial collapse 4.5 years ago. According to Reuters, among the accused former board members are former Credit Suisse boss Lukas Muehlemann and Thomas Schmidheiny, majority shareholder of cement maker Holcim. The board is accused of having attempted a dubious balance sheet restructuring in the face of massive debts.
Air Seychelles signed a letter of intent with ILFC to replace its two 767s with 787s for delivery from 2010. Air Canada is accelerating introduction of the 777-300ER with a lease of one aircraft from ILFC to be delivered in May 2007. AC will take delivery of eight 777-300ERs next year. The airline announced its order for up to 36 777s and 60 787s in last May, but delays caused by a dispute with pilots cost it some 777 delivery positions.
Delta Air Lines announced it has begun bringing the 48 Song 757s back into the mainline fleet in anticipation of this fall's launch of a "new two-class, domestic long-haul product" combining "the best of the Song and Delta brands, products and experiences," according to Delta VP-Consumer Marketing and Song President Joanne Smith. The carrier will reconfigure the interiors from one class to two and exteriors of the aircraft during a conversion process expected to last through November. Smith said all Song markets will continue to be served by Delta after the transition.
Air France is to trial OnAir's GSM equipment enabling the use of mobile phones inflight. AF will receive the first outfitted aircraft, an A318, off the production line in early 2007 for the six-month trial. The OnAir service will allow passengers to use their own GSM mobile phones and GPRS-enabled devices such as the BlackBerry or Treo to make and receive voice calls or send and receive SMS messages or e-mails without interfering with navigation systems. AF will survey passengers before deciding whether to extend the program beyond the trial.
VarigLog, the former cargo and logistics subsidiary of Varig that was sold in January to a Brazilian holding company financed in part by US fund MatlinPatterson ( ATWOnline, Jan. 16), offered to buy the restructuring airline for $350 million, according to press reports. The bid was scheduled to be presented to Varig's creditors yesterday.
European Commission warned the Greek government that it must adhere to a May 2005 European Court of Justice ruling and recover €161 million ($194.6 million) in state aid given to Olympic Airways, now Olympic Airlines, between 1998 and 2002. The EC said Greece has two months to "react" to the decision or it will refer the case back to the Court and seek financial penalties. The government still is trying to privatize the airline.
Continental Airlines signed a five-year comprehensive content distribution agreement with Worldspan. CO participates in Worldspan Airline Source, the GDS's highest level of connectivity.
American Airlines said it is hopeful that it will be permitted to resume a fourth daily Miami-Caracas flight canceled in January owing to road conditions near Simon Bolivar International Airport. Operations were scheduled to begin last Monday, but the Venezuelan government has prohibited AA from restarting service. Venezuela agreed to postpone restrictions on other US flights until April 25 after meeting with US inspectors last week ( ATWOnline, March 31).
Delta Air Lines pilots voted in resounding favor yesterday to authorize union leaders to call a strike if an arbitration panel permits the carrier to reject the current pilot contract and impose a new, concessionary agreement. Of 5,799 eligible voters, 96.4% voted and 94.7% of voters supported a strike. "The results of this ballot will send the strongest message yet that if Delta's senior executives are successful in their misguided attempt to reject our contract, we will strike," MEC Chairman Lee Moak said in a letter to union members. "Our goal has not changed.
World Airways last week paid off the remaining $24 million balance of a $30 million term loan guaranteed by the Air Transportation Stabilization Board. World used available cash for the transaction and paid off the first $6 million last December. The loan dates from December 2003. ATSB now has no outstanding guarantees, although it does have an $86 million direct loan to ATA Airlines related to that carrier's bankruptcy.
United Airlines flew 10.15 billion RPMs in March, a 3.4% rise over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 2.3% to 12.08 billion ASMs and load factor increased 0.9 point to 84%.
Goodrich Corp. was selected by Boeing to supply a Flight Deck Entry Video Surveillance System for the 787, which will be offered as an option to customers. The system includes video cameras that allow crews to see in total darkness, a video server designed to interface with the aircraft's EFB system and EFB client server applications, Goodrich said.
Island Air unveiled new aircraft, new interiors and a new look as its Hawaiian market becomes more competitive. It has taken delivery of the first of three 78-seat Q400 turboprops and will take the remaining pair by year end. In addition, it has expanded its Dash 8 fleet from four to 11 over the past 14 months, allowing it to fly to all eight major airports in the state with 92 services per day.
News from Travel Technology Update: Sabre Travel Network is rolling out Upsell, a program that displays amenities and upgrades that are available at a hotel that is about to be booked. The program is part of its drive to move more into a merchandising mode, rather than simply processing transactions. Hotels that agree to participate in the program will share a portion of the incremental revenue they receive with Sabre.
Qantas opened its A$55 million ($39.4 million), 17,500-sq.-ft. Material and Logistics Distribution Center in Mascot outside Sydney yesterday. Executive GM-Qantas Engineering David Cox said the project is part of a larger investment in the airline's domestic MRO capabilities, which includes an $85 million facility in Brisbane and a $20 million upgrade to its Rolls-Royce Engine Maintenance Center of Excellence. The Mascot center is anchored by a Miniload Automated Storage and Retrieval System comprising four stacker cranes moving at up to 24 m. per sec.
US Dept. of Transportation said the rate of domestic flight cancellations rose in February to 2.1% compared to the 1.7% posted in February 2005. Ontime arrival rate among the 19 reporting airlines fell to 75.3% from 77.6% in the year-ago month. American Eagle Airlines led in cancellations with 3.5% followed by ExpressJet Airlines at 3% and JetBlue Airways at 2.9%. Hawaiian Airlines had the lowest cancellation rate at 0.2%, followed by Frontier Airlines (0.4%) and Southwest Airlines (1.2%).
IATA reported a 6.8% growth in February RPKs, a 5.1% increase in international capacity and a 1.2-point rise in load factor to 73.3%, figures that matched forecasted numbers and supported a "new and cautious optimism that is returning to the industry," according to DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani. Middle East traffic (up 15.3%) and capacity (up 14%) showed the most growth. Capacity increases outpaced traffic in Africa and Latin America. Freight traffic climbed 5.4% on a 5.3% increase in capacity.
Continental Airlines Cargo will install the latest application of the Manugistics Cargo Revenue Management suite, comprising upgraded versions of Capacity Management, Sales and Allocation Planning, Flight Management and Real-time Booking Evaluation. Upgrade is expected to be completed in about 17 months.
America West Holdings said last week that it will redeem $112.3 million in debt on April 13. It will redeem its 7.5% convertible senior notes due 2009. Noteholders may convert multiples of the notes into US Airways common stock by April 11 or may opt to receive cash.
Aer Lingus employees represented by the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union voted in favor of industrial action last week by a 94% margin, anticipating the impending privatization of the carrier. The government's Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport will hold its first hearing on the proposed sale Thursday.
Frontier Airlines shareholders approved last week a plan to establish Frontier Airlines Holdings, a Delaware corporation that will be the carrier's parent ( ATWOnline, Feb. 2). The new company will trade on Nasdaq as FRNT. Shareholders in Frontier Airlines will hold the same number and percentage of shares in the new company, which began trading yesterday.
Virgin Atlantic Airways committed itself to capturing more business and premium traffic with Friday's announcement of a three-year "global growth plan" that it expects to produce a 10% increase in business travelers in the coming year. It will add services on popular business routes, including a fourth daily London Heathrow-New York JFK flight, and launch a Dubai service.
Delta Air Lines announced it will follow Northwest Airlines' lead and discontinue absorbing certain passenger facility charges, increasing one-way ticket prices $3-$4.50 on applicable connecting domestic itineraries.
