Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA issued a statement in support of last week's decision by the Congressional subcommittee on economic security, infrastructure protection and cybersecurity to accept the Leave All Blades Behind amendment attached to the US Transportation Security Administration's reform bill. The amendment would reverse the TSA decision to allow certain kinds of scissors and tools back onboard aircraft ( ATWOnline, Dec. 5, 2005).
JetBlue Airways announced a new leadership structure in its legal, corporate finance, government affairs, supply chain, finance and information technology departments. VP, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary Jim Hnat was named senior VP. Director-Litigation and Regulatory Counsel Joanna Geraghty was named VP-associate general counsel. John Harvey now is senior VP-corporate finance and treasurer and will oversee the carrier's new VP-fuel position. VP-Government Affairs and Associate General Counsel Rob Land was promoted to senior VP.
In conjunction with a study it commissioned to quantify the effect of the inclusion of air transport in the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme, the European Low Fares Airline Assn. yesterday declared its support of the "principles" behind the policy but demanded an end to the "sloppy thinking and hysterical persecution" that finger aircraft as a leading emissions contributor. The association also protested the possibility that the EU may limit the scheme to intra-EU flights, thus singling out short-haul carriers and LCCs.
News from Travel Technology Update: American Airlines warned travel agencies that if they use more expensive booking channels, they may be asked to share the expense. In a letter signed by David Cush, vice president and general sales manager, the airline noted that its full-content agreements with the GDSs expire this year, and it reiterated that it may not participate in all four systems. Cush urged agencies to "consider adding other sources of fare content or leaving yourself the flexibility to add other sources of fare content."
Cyprus Airways contracted Mercator to handle its passenger revenue accounting operation. Mercator is part of Emirates Group. Jeppesen will provide its Airport Mapping Database for Thales' On-Board Airport Navigation System developed for Airbus aircraft. Jeppesen's AMDB currently includes 300 major airports, with more being added at customer request. Mesa Air Group selected UltiPro Workforce Management software from Ultimate Software, a provider of Web-based payroll and workforce management solutions.
In a letter signed by David Cush, vice president and general sales manager, the airline noted that its full-content agreements with the GDSs expire this year, and it reiterated that it may not participate in all four systems. Cush urged agencies to "consider adding other sources of fare content or leaving yourself the flexibility to add other sources of fare content." American's move came in the wake of the agreement between Sabre and Amadeus that gives the GDS companies the option of backing each other up in the event an airline drops out of one of the systems.
Continental Airlines broke the silence on the US side in the standoff between US and Venezuelan authorities, announcing Friday that it "will try to accommodate travel needs of passengers flying to and from Caracas through its extensive network into the region" if Venezuela follows through with its threat to restrict access of US carriers from the end of this month ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27). CO said it will allow passengers to exchange tickets without penalty or apply for refunds.
Flynordic, Finnair's Stockholm-based low-cost subsidiary, faces significant challenges in adapting to new market realities in Sweden. "Every airline is losing money [there], including us," Finnair CEO Jukka Hienonen told ATWOnline in Helsinki. "The Swedish market has changed." Asked how much time remains for Flynordic to improve its results, he said, "more important than time is to find the right direction. We need more efficiency on the route network and frequencies.
Latin American Airline Assn. members flew 10.88 billion RPMs in January, a 1.7% rise over the year-ago month. Capacity grew 1.3% to 15.02 billion ASMs, raising load factor 0.2 point to 72.5%.
CAE will design the first full flight simulator for the ARJ21 regional jet being developed in China by AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co. CAE valued the deal at C$15 million ($13 million). The ARJ21 is a 90-seat RJ expected to enter service in 2009. "The CAE-built ARJ21 simulator will be delivered to the ACAC Customer Service Center that is to be established in Shanghai," said AVIC I VP Qinghong Xu.
Goodrich was selected by Boeing to supply the flightdeck lighting system and cabin attendant seating for the 787. Goodrich valued the contracts at up to $110 million in original equipment and aftermarket sales over the initial contract period.
Aviareps was selected by Air Madrid to be its general sales agent in France. The airline, which operates transatlantic flights from Madrid and Barcelona, will begin feeding its Spanish hubs with flights from Paris, Frankfurt and Milan later this month.
Bmi selected Discover the World Marketing to handle sales and marketing through its Russian office for Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Qantas denied reports that it intends to outsource its A330 heavy maintenance permanently, saying it always has used outside providers when operating a new aircraft type and eventually will bring the work to Australia. It currently operates 14 A330s.
Sabre Travel Network signed a multiyear, full-content agreement with SN Brussels Airlines. Meanwhile, four additional airlines upgraded their connections to Sabre. Aegean Airlines, Helios Airways, Yemenia Yemen Airways and Afriqiyah Airways now are participating at Direct Connect Availability, the "highest level of participation in the Sabre GDS," according to the company.
SkyTeam launched a German version of its website this week. It now offers its site content in nine languages. No SkyTeam member is based in Germany but the alliance does serve 12 destinations in the country.
Lufthansa Systems will join G2 SwitchWorks and ITA Software as a preferred supplier to provide an Alternative Content Access Platform to Star Alliance airlines, Star and LHS announced yesterday. LHS is teaming with Farelogix on the project and will base its ACAP solution on "core GNE [GDS new entrant] technology" from the Miami-based company, Anselm Eggert, LHS senior VP-Business Division Passenger Airline Solutions, told journalists during a conference call.
United Airlines expanded the role of CIO Garry Kelly to include oversight for enterprise-wide strategic sourcing and continuous improvement. He is replacing Rick Poulton, who is leaving the company. Tampa Cargo President and CEO Fred Jacobsen is resigning for "professional reasons" after eight years, the company said earlier this month. His departure becomes effective March 30. The search for a successor is underway.
US airlines flew 572.89 billion domestic RPMs in 2005, an increase of 4.5% over 2004, according to statistics released yesterday by the US Dept. of Transportation. The number of passengers increased 4.1% to 634.5 million. Capacity rose just 0.9% to 742.27 billion ASMs and load factor grew 2.7 points to 77.2%. Southwest Airlines continued to set the pace with 88 million passengers, compared with 81 million in 2004. Delta Air Lines was second and American Airlines third.
