US-based Flight Safety Foundation and the Aviation Safety Alliance will merge their organizations under the FSF name effective Dec. 31. FSF said the new group "will focus its dual strengths to provide the most expert knowledge to industry and media on global aviation safety issues and best practices." Susan Coughlin will step down as president and CEO of ASA but will remain on the FSF board of governors and serve in an advisory role. "This merger pulls together the best expertise in the world on aviation safety," said FSF President and CEO Stuart Matthews.
OzJet, the startup all-business-class carrier, canceled two of its eight daily flights between Sydney and Melbourne and cut fares through Jan. 9 by 18% less than a week after beginning operations ( ATWOnline, Nov. 29). Founder Paul Stoddart told The Sydney Morning Herald that he expected business traffic to decline during the summer months.
Victoria International Airline Uganda has been formed through a partnership between the Ugandan government and Arch Airways of South Africa. The new flag carrier has been registered and is expected to be operational in February with a 130-seat Fokker, New Vision reported.
Cyprus Airways' cost-cutting talks between management and staff have hit a deadlock, with the future of the national carrier hanging in the balance. According to Reuters, talks broke down when unions refused to endorse a restructuring plan that would see 20% of the airline's 1,830 staff members laid off and pay cuts imposed on those who remain. The Cypriot government, which owns 70% of the carrier, said deep cuts are needed urgently to salvage the airline, which faces losses of up to CYP28 million ($57.2 million) this year.
US Transportation Security Administration is easing rules regarding carry-on items in time for the busy Christmas holiday travel period. Beginning Dec. 22, scissors with a cutting edge of 4 in. or less and tools such as screwdrivers, wrenches and pliers smaller than 7 in. will be permitted in carry-on baggage. Other work tools such as larger scissors and crowbars, drills, hammers and saws still will be banned from cabins and lighters are prohibited from both cabins and checked baggage.
Boeing engineers and technical workers ratified a three-year contract covering nearly 18,000 workers in the Puget Sound area represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.
Continental Airlines reported strong unit revenue growth for November, with consolidated passenger revenue per ASM estimated to have increased 9.5%-10% compared to November 2004 with mainline RASM up 8%-9%. By comparison, October 2005 consolidated RASM rose 5.1% year-over-year with mainline RASM up 4%. Continental said it flew 5.6 billion RPMs in November in mainline operations, up 8% over the year-ago period. Mainline ASMs rose 6% to 7.1 billion and load factor climbed 1.4 points to 78.7%.
European Union environment ministers on Friday reaffirmed their conclusion that aircraft emissions are "a serious and growing problem" and supported the European Commission's recommendation to include the industry in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme ( ATWOnline, Sept. 28) as "the best way forward." The ministers urged the EC to bring forward a legislative proposal by the end of 2006 together with an assessment providing analysis of the environmental, economic and social impacts.
BAA beat out Hochtief and Fraport in bidding for Budapest Airport with an offering of more than HUF400 billion ($1.85 billion), Hungary's Nepszabadsag reported. Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said the winner will be picked after Dec. 7 and the deal closed by year end.
A380 wake vortex may be a more serious issue than previously understood, according to a Nov. 10 letter from ICAO that states initial tests and modeling undertaken by both European and US authorities have "raised concerns about horizontal and vertical wake turbulence spacing criteria for approach, landing, departure and en-route operations of the A380 relative to other aircraft."
Malaysia PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters that the government is prepared to lend money to troubled Malaysia Airlines but will not bail it out, Reuters reported. He also did not rule out selling some of the government's stake depending on the content of MAS's new business plan.
GATX Corp. will sell up to $450 million worth of older aircraft, or around 23% of its leasing portfolio, as part of a strategy to focus on "newer more profitable aircraft," the company said in a statement. As a result of the decision, it will take an after-tax noncash charge in the range of $110-$130 million in the fourth quarter, with incremental gains or losses possibly occurring as sales are completed through the end of 2006.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings said yesterday that it has identified potential cost savings and revenue enhancement opportunities with the help of a consultant that "if successfully realized, could benefit [it's] operating performance by more than $100 million over the next several years." While the potential cost savings and revenue enhancements would occur over several years, prospective savings and revenue enhancements that could be realized in 2006 and 2007 "would not be insubstantial," it added.
LTU German Airlines plans to grow at a rate of 3%-5% per year and add a new aircraft every year. Most of the growth will be on long-haul sectors on which the carrier earns around 50% of its total turnover. On the medium sectors, LTU wants to strengthen its position at its Dusseldorf base and continue with its low-fare segment, LTU City-Quickies, which operates to sun destinations such as the Balearic Islands. It has suspended thrice-daily service between Dusseldorf and Vienna.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft will be the launch customer in Russia for software designed by Pacelab Mission/SCAP. Sukhoi is developing the RRJ line of regional jets in the 60/90-seat range. The software will be used in sales support for the RRJ.
European Union signed a so-called "horizontal" aviation agreement allowing European airlines to fly between any EU member country and Ukraine. European Commission VP-Transport Jacques Barrot said the agreement "paves the way for a closer integration of Ukraine into European aviation structures." The EC stressed the accord is "an important first step in the broader aviation relations between the EU and Ukraine," with more than 1.5 million passengers carried in 2004 on flights between the two, 25% more than in 2003.
KLM will reduce fuel surcharges effective Dec. 21 by €1 ($1.18) to €12 per segment within Europe and by €5 per coupon to €33 within its intercontinental network. At the same time, it increased the security surcharge on all tickets by €2 to €7 per segment "to cover extra security measures that have been taken." Separately, KLM introduced an all-new catering model for European economy flights, bringing it "more in line with that of Air France's economy product," it said in a statement.
China and Singapore agreed to an expanded air services deal lifting restrictions on routes, capacity and aircraft type on flights between the countries. The contract was signed in Beijing, according to media reports.
Air Sahara will acquire seven 737-800s on lease and is negotiating the lease of two 767s, President Rono Dutta told reporters. The carrier is expanding its network with four-times-weekly flights between Delhi and London set to begin Jan. 6 and include with a transatlantic codeshare with American Airlines, plus an additional daily service to Singapore and planned service to Bangkok, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.
It may be news in North America, where record nominal fuel prices have eclipsed four years worth of financial, labor and operational restructuring efforts at US legacy carriers, but the world airline industry is feeling more bullish about the future than at any time since the end of the last millennium.
Amadeus is beginning to "unbundle" its airline pricing so that carriers can opt out of certain features they do not require. Six yield management tools are currently available on the "take it or not" basis, said Edward Ross, Amadeus' director of corporate and marketing communication. Among them is the "married segment control" feature, which long-haul carriers use to ensure that feeder flights do not fill up with passengers who are not connecting to their long-haul services. That tool would be of little use to a low-cost carrier, Ross said.
When the Greater Toronto Airports Authority added a mezzanine level to Pearson International's new terminal to separate Canada-US passengers from domestic and international travelers and changed the shape of the building's airside edge, it gained some unexpected advantages.
It took three years, but the Star Alliance and Amadeus finally hammered out a deal for a common IT platform. The announcement took no one by surprise. It was common knowledge that exclusive negotiations had been under way between the alliance and the Madrid-based technology company for the past year, and the initial response from many observers was, "What took them so long?"
That 309 people could evacuate a torn and mangled flying machine in 2 min. with only 43 injuries was hailed as a "miracle" by the thrill-a-minute mass media. The people who built, certificated and flew the A340 knew better.
