E-190 has been certified by EASA to operate at London City, Embraer announced. The E-170 received steep-approach approval in 2007 and is operated by BA CityFlyer at the airport. The 190's range from LCY is more than 800 nm., Embraer said. CityFlyer, Baboo and Lufthansa CityLine plan to fly the 190 at LCY initially. The manufacturer said 15 of the type are expected to be operating out of the airport by year end.
Shannon Aerospace announced the completion of six-year checks on three Aeroflot A320 family aircraft. TES Aviation Group signed a five-year fleet management program deal with Sriwijaya Air of Jakarta covering engine technical services and material support for its CFM56-3-powered 737-300s.
Rossiya, Kavminvodyavia and Orenburg Airlines, three of the six airlines scheduled to be combined with Aeroflot under a Russian government plan announced this week ( ATWOnline, Feb. 3), will be transitioned from state-owned enterprises into joint stock companies prior to the merger, The Moscow Times reported. The other three, Vladivostokavia, Saratov Airlines and Sakhalin Airlines, already are joint stock companies. Transport Minister Igor Levitin said the stake sales will occur this year.
Garuda Indonesia is on course for a $300 million initial public offering around the middle of this year, CEO Emirsyah Satar told reporters in Singapore. "We have yet to determine the underwriters. The IPO will either be in late second quarter or early third quarter of this year," he said, adding that the carrier plans to increase its fleet from the current 67 aircraft to 116 over the next five years. It will take delivery of 24 in 2010 and has converted its order for 10 787s into 777-300s that will begin delivery next year.
British Airways' decision to impose staffing cuts and introduce changes to cabin crew working conditions, which has prompted two strike votes by the Unite union ( ATWOnline, Jan. 21), now is being challenged in court. "It's about whether an employer can, without due notice or negotiation, systematically change the longstanding contracts of employment of its workforce," Unite National Officer for Civil Aviation Steve Turner said.
EasyJet signed a multiyear contract with the UK's Met Office, the country's national weather service, to use its new online ClearFlight solution, designed to help the carrier "anticipate weather-related delays at departure and destination airports around Europe." ClearFlight forms part of the Met Office's new Aviation Briefing Service.
After two consecutive quarterly losses, Singapore Airlines Group returned to the black in its third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, posting a S$403.7 million ($286.1 million) profit that marked a 19.7% increase from the S$337.2 million earned in the year-ago period.
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. contracted Heath Tecna of Bellingham, Wash., to supply flight deck, passenger cabin and cargo compartment linings, galley units, lavatories, emergency escape slides and waste and water systems for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet.
Jiangxi provincial government plans to build a CNY40 billion ($5.85 billion) aviation industrial complex in the capital of Nanchang centering on production of 25% of the fuselage for the country's C919 large commercial transport. Nanchang is about 400 mi. southwest of Shanghai. The local government signed a joint venture agreement with AVIC in December to cooperate on aviation technology and launch the Nanchang General Aircraft Co., which will support AVIC subsidiary Hongdu Commercial Aircraft Co.
Russian government yesterday announced plans to merge a series of smaller airlines, including St. Petersburg-based Rossiya, into Aeroflot. Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin said the consolidation would lift SU's domestic market share to 30%-35% from 15%-20%, according to RIA Novosti. Other carriers involved are Kavminvodyavia, Orenburg Airlines, Vladivostokavia, Saratov Airlines and Sakhalin Airlines, according to ITAR TASS.
SITA deployed the world's first Common Use Self-Service kiosks with an Arabic interface at Sharjah International, the parties announced yesterday. Passengers flying Air Arabia, Nas Air, Sama, Air India and Jet Airways are using the kiosks. SITA also is providing Web check-in for Air Arabia under a five-year deal.
Allegiant Air will base two MD-80s at Grand Rapids from April 27 and launch new twice-weekly flights to Myrtle Beach three days later, its sixth destination from the airport. It will increase its GRR service to 34 weekly flights and will have 60 employees based there.
Boeing announced the transfer of the 787 fatigue test airframe to its structural test rig in Everett. Tests are expected to begin in mid-2010. "Unlike static tests, where loads are applied to the airplane structure to simulate both normal operation and extreme flight conditions, fatigue testing is a much longer process that simulates up to three times the number of flight cycles an airplane is likely to experience during a lifetime of service," 787 VP and GM Scott Fancher said.
Boeing concedes 787-3 all but canceled Singapore Airlines 747-400 completes first multi-sector ASPIRE flight Embraer sees slow recovery in 2010; cautious on new programs Mitsubishi: MRJ design freeze by end of summer IAE wins $300 million V2500 engine order from Sichuan Airlines Additional stories
Ryanair will base one additional 737 at Cork from June through August and launch new seasonal routes to Alicante, Reus, Bordeaux, Faro, La Rochelle, Lanzarote and Malaga. AirAsia X said it will suspend its five-times-weekly A340 service between Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi at the end of February, citing "commercial reasons." It launched the route in November.
Japan Airlines did not decide between American Airlines/oneworld and Delta Air Lines/SkyTeam yesterday as expected ( ATWOnline, Feb. 1), with CEO Kazuo Inamori telling reporters that a decision on a partner and alliance will be finalized "as early as possible." Newly appointed President Masaru Onishi said, "We're talking about the alliance with people concerned within the company. It's also not a matter that can be decided by an individual.
News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus is rolling out Master Pricer Agent Fare Families, an application that will enable travel agencies to set their own criteria for sorting air fares on their Web sites. Search results can be grouped in up to six fare families, each with similar characteristcs. Criteria can include the publishing carrier, booking class, cabin, refundability, penalties, public/private/corporate fare, etc.
UPS said it finished 2009 "on a high note," reporting significant fourth-quarter improvement and closing out the year with a $2.15 billion profit, down 28.3% from the $3 billion earned in 2008. Full-year revenue fell 12% to $45.3 billion against a 10% cut in costs to $41.5 million. The company's operating profit slipped 29.4% to $3.8 billion to $5.38 billion.
Grupo TACA and Avianca yesterday announced the finalization of their merger agreement and the forming of their joint holding company, to be called Avianca-TACA Ltd. It will be domiciled in the Bahamas and held 67% by Avianca parent Synergy Aerospace Corp. and 33% by TACA parent Kingsland Holding.
Allegiant Air parent Allegiant Travel Co.'s board increased funds available for its common stock repurchase program to $25 million from $10.4 million. The program was launched in January 2009 with $25 million and an additional $10 million was added last July. Allegiant repurchased 637,902 shares with the $24.4 million spent so far.
Alitalia faces its first strike since relaunching one year ago, as flight attendants and pilots represented by FILT CGIL and flight attendants represented by AVIA have planned a 4-hr. work stoppage for Friday. The unions are claiming that AZ did not respect original employee agreements.
AMR Corp. regional subsidiary American Eagle Airlines faces a $2.5 million fine for "operating flights without adequately ensuring the weight of baggage was properly calculated," FAA announced yesterday. The agency said that Eagle operated at least 154 scheduled flights in January-October 2008 for which the baggage weight listed on cargo load sheets did not match data entered into its Electronic Weight and Balance System.
Lufthansa is scheduled to take delivery of its first A380 on May 10 and plans to operate it on select scheduled flights from Frankfurt to Munich and Hamburg in order to familiarize crew and airport staff with the aircraft, while also generating publicity. It will be used for training in Leipzig as well. LH also reportedly is considering using the plane to transport the German national team to the World Cup in South Africa. The tournament begins June 11. Long-haul scheduled services, starting with FRA-New York JFK, will commence once the second A380 arrives in early summer.
