British Airways will reorganize its customer service and operations department following the retirement of director Mike Street, a 42-year veteran of the airline, at the end of September. Effective Oct. 1, Geoff Want, director-safety and security since 2002, will become director of all ground operations for the airline, including assuming responsibility for the move to Terminal 5 at London Heathrow in 2008. Want joined BA in 1988.
South Korea's Hansung Airlines, which bills itself as a low-cost Regional, commenced service Aug. 31 operating twice-daily flights between Chongju and the resort island of Cheju with a 66-seat ATR 72-200. Hansung plans to grow its fleet to 10 aircraft over the next five years and a second ATR 72 will arrive at the beginning of 2006.
SkyQuest International will remarket an undisclosed number of Saab 340B turboprops on behalf of AMR Leasing. The aircraft come out of the American Eagle fleet.
International passenger traffic (RPKs) for IATA member airlines rose 8.8% in July compared to July 2004 while capacity (ASKs) climbed 7%, pushing passenger load factor to 79.6%, meaning that the industry on average filled nearly four of every five seats in the month. Cargo growth remained anemic, however: FTKs rose only 2.2% on a 5.6% gain in capacity. The strongest monthly RPK growth occurred in Latin America, where airlines reported a 12.9% increase in international traffic. Middle East airlines saw RPKs climb 12.3% and North American carriers' traffic rose 10%.
US FAA moved yesterday to dispel reports that a shortage of fuel owing to damage to refineries and pipelines from Hurricane Katrina could lead shortly to flight cancellations at a number of US airports.
AirTran completed a financing agreement with Royal Bank of Scotland for up to $345 million to fund aircraft deposits and provide permanent financing for 737-700 deliveries in 2006 and 2007. The transaction frees up $51.9 million in pre-delivery deposits made by AirTran to Boeing. SkyWorks Capital advised the airline on the transaction. Separately, AirTran said it has suspended service to Gulfport/Biloxi and New Orleans through Wednesday, Sept. 7.
Dragonair will provide two aircraft to its mainland affiliate Air China via wet-lease. The deal covers one A330 and one A320 for two years. Dragonair and Air China are linked through equity and codeshare on seven routes.
With oil prices EXCEEDING $60 a barrel and OPEC hinting that $80 a barrel in the next two years is not beyond the realm of possibility, jet fuel prices are at historically high levels and industry analysts predict they are likely to remain so for at least the next 9-12 months.
Two months ago, United Airlines selected Korean Air to perform heavy checks on its fleet of 27 747-400s. The work will bring Korean an estimated $60 million over the next five years, but this agreement is about far more than just money to the Seoul-based carrier: It means affirmation and a vote of confidence from a peer for its continuing effort to remake itself into one of the world's quality airlines.
If ever a carrier needed a tool to help it better manage aircraft in the terminal environment, it is FedEx Express. Beginning at 2:48 a.m. Monday-Friday, it dispatches 8-12 aircraft every 6 min. from Memphis International Airport.
AirTran Airways Chairman and CEO Joe Leonard smiles slyly when asked to discuss everybody's favorite topic these days, the price of fuel: "I'd like to see oil go up to about $80 a barrel for about three months, then drop down to $30," he tells ATW at the carrier's modest one-story headquarters near Orlando International Airport.
This works on several levels. Most obvious is the idea of the LCC as an eating machine, chewing up the competition. Another thought, equally applicable, is the need to move forward continually or die. This characteristic is not unique to LCCs, but it seems to be of greater importance to them. Recently a groundswell of opinion has held that the LCC tide has peaked due to inter-LCC competition, aging workforces, aging fleets and reduced market opportunities. Geoffrey Thomas in last month's issue (8/05) presented this argument in fine detail.
The Star Alliances request for information titled Alternative Content Access Platform was sent to new-entrant and traditional GDSs alike. The RFI, the first step in the alliances quest to establish a unified approach to distribution, is basically asking for GDS functionality at GNE pricing, according to a consultant who was asked to read it. Its supposed to be an RFI, but it looks like a GDS spec, said the consultant, who asked not to be identified.
The US airline industry continues to separate into those companies that in some small way can overcome today's record fuel prices and those that cannot. Seven of the 11 Major passenger airlines reported profits in the second quarter ended June 30. These carriers earned a combined $371 million, with 40% of that amount coming from perennial profit leader Southwest Airlines, which is heavily hedged.
CAE signed a 10-year agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways to provide training for pilots of the carrier's fleet of A340-600s and 747-400s. Initially valued at ¤28 million ($50 million), the contract includes an option for A380 training. If all options are exercised, the total contract value could amount to ¤43 million over 10 years. The training, which includes instructional delivery for ground school as well as simulator training, will take place at CAE's Burgess Hill center in the UK.
Lufthansa Systems' O&D-based ProfitLine/Yield revenue management system was chosen by AiRUnion, a new airline alliance in Russia comprising KrasAir, Omskavia, Sibaviatrans, Domodedovo Airlines, Samara Airlines and SAT Airlines. Together the carriers serve more than 5.5 million passengers annually. LHS said it will work closely with Moscow-based Transport Automation Information Systems to implement the solution.
Bucking the trend toward outsourcing maintenance, Qantas said it intends to establish a new consolidated "center of excellence" in Sydney for maintenance of Rolls-Royce RB211 engines. However, the airline also said it will eliminate 60 positions from its Sydney workforce as a result of consolidation and the establishment of Jet Turbine Services, a joint venture with Virgin Blue parent Patrick Corp. for maintenance of CF6 and CFM56 engines in Melbourne. The consolidated facility will employ around 300.
Republic Airways Holdings acquired three Embraer 170s previously ordered by US Airways. They will be leased from GE Commercial Aviation Services and placed into service on the Republic Airlines operating certificate for service in the US Airways Express network.
Northwest Airlines continues to operate its full early fall flight schedule despite a strike by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. Ten days into the strike, which began at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 20, the carrier's operating metrics remained at or very close to the level of performance it expects to meet or exceed an average of 26 days per month.
General Electric said Republic Airways signed a 10-year, $150 million OnPoint Solutions service agreement covering maintenance, overhaul and repair of 110 CF34-8E engines powering its Embraer 170s. OnPoint services include overhaul, on-wing support, new and used parts, component repair, technology upgrades, engine leasing and diagnostics.
United Airlines awarded a five-year contract covering all of its 777 heavy airframe maintenance to Ameco Beijing, the 60/40 joint venture between Air China and Lufthansa. Value of the deal was not supplied. More than 50 heavy maintenance visits are planned for the first three years, with as many as 80 over the contractual period. Work begins in October with five aircraft nose-to-tail, Ameco said. United's 777 fleet numbers 53 aircraft of which 52 are in service, according to Airclaims data.
ARINC was selected as data link service provider for AeroMexico. Under a contract just signed, ARINC will provide its GlobaLink VHF data link service to the carrier.
Arab Air Carrier Organization said its 23 member airlines transported 9.1 million passengers in the first quarter of 2005, up 6.7% compared to the year-ago period. Based on data from most of the carriers, RPKs for the group rose 8.7% to 1.9 billion while ASKs grew 7.1% to 2.78 billion. Load factor improved slightly to 68.6% from 68.4%.
