BioJet Corp. and Great Plains Oil & Exploration announced a teaming agreement with the goal of producing renewable jet fuels based on camelina. The landmark agreement will see the development of integrated camelina cultivation and associated refinery projects in the US, Europe, South America and Asia. The two companies told media that they expect within five years to be producing 200 million gal. per year of renewable jet fuel, 65 million gal. per year of co-products and 2.3 million tons per year of camelina meal for use as a high-quality animal feed.
US Aerospace Industries Assn. named former FAA Chief of Staff David Mandell VP-membership and business development. United Airlines parent UAL Corp. named Global Hyatt Corp. CMO and CIO Thomas O'Toole senior VP and CMO. Cirrus Airlines promoted Director-Sales and Marketing Ingrid Jung to MD.
Arlington-Va.-based ARC reported this week that December sales through participating US travel agencies totaled $4.41 billion, representing an 8.6% increase year-over-year and the "strongest final month of the year since 2005." Total fares rose 9.2% to $3.74 billion and the number of transactions increased 6.9% to 8.9 million. Domestic fares climbed 5.1% to $1.96 billion on a 6.7% lift in transactions, while international fares surged 14.2% to $1.78 billion on a 7.5% lift in transaction. ARC had 188 participating airlines in December, up three from the prior month.
Aeroflot announced the retirement of its last Tu-154. The aircraft flew for the final time on Dec. 31 from Yekaterinburg to Moscow Sheremetyevo, according to RIA Novosti, and will be replaced with an A320. SU once operated 23 154s.
United Airlines will operate a seasonal Chicago O'Hare-Anchorage service weekly May 22-June 8 and eight-times-weekly June 9-Aug. 30. Daily flights to Anchorage from San Francisco and Denver also will operate June 9-Aug. 30. A weekly ORD-ANC flight will continue Sept. 4-Sept. 25.
TAM announced plans to refurbish the passenger cabins across its entire fleet, both new aircraft and retrofit, including the redesign of all seats, galleys, stowage areas, lavatories and "cabin architecture, where possible." It contracted Priestmangoode of London for the three-year project, which also will feature a uniform redesign. Separately, TAM signed a long-term, full-content distribution agreement with Sabre Travel Network.
Singapore Airlines confirmed the March 28 launch of a daily A380 service to Zurich, which will replace its 12-times-weekly 777-300ER service. ZRH will be SIA's third European A380 gateway after Paris Charles de Gaulle and London Heathrow. ZRH will conduct final infrastructure tests required to attain A380 certification on Jan. 20-21.
The Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan yesterday officially confirmed that it will guide Japan Airlines' restructuring plan, pledging in a statement to "ensure all of its business operations on and off the ground [will] be performed smoothly without any interruption as usual with sufficient amount of capital" during the "revitalization" process.
Hawaiian Airlines pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. ratified the tentative contract with the airline reached last week ( ATWOnline, Nov. 12, 2009). According to ALPA, 90% of pilots eligible to vote cast ballots, with 83% voting in favor of the agreement.
American Airlines will accept only credit and debit cards for onboard purchases on all mainline flights beginning Feb. 1. It implemented a cashless cabin in the US and Canada last June. American Eagle and AmericanConnection will continue to accept only cash.
Harbin Hafei Airbus Composite Manufacturing Centre, a joint venture between Airbus and Chinese investors, will supply A350 elevators to Aernnova Aerospace of Spain in a deal announced yesterday. Production in China is expected to start in 2012 after initial industrialization in Europe, Airbus said. The Harbin facility also will produce the A350's rudder and S19 maintenance door. AAR signed a five-year deal with Allegiant Air to provide maintenance and modification work on the LCC's 46 MD-80s.
FedEx said it has deployed the first of 30 777Fs it is slated to receive by 2019 on Shanghai-Memphis service. It did not reveal flight frequency. The express giant said it will be operating four 777Fs between Asia and the US by April.
European Low Fares Airline Assn. called on new European Commissioner-designate for Transport Siim Kallas of Estonia to revive the "pro-competition course" on which the EU embarked when it liberalized market access for air transport but which, according to ELFAA, has stagnated in recent years with the Commission "engaging in re-regulation of aviation--often in response to protectionist calls from legacy incumbent airlines." ELFAA Secretary General John Hanlon said the organization "urges the Commissioner to stamp out, once and for all, the practice of state aid for ailing national carrie
OAG reported that January global seat capacity has increased 3% year-over-year to 294.6 million seats. It is the fifth consecutive month of growth. Frequencies will rise 2% to 2.4 million flights, boosted by a 10% lift among LCCs. North American airlines cut intra-regional flights 2.7% and seats 2.8% but grew to/from the region by 3% and 1% respectively.
US FAA announced that air traffic controllers in Houston have started using ADS-B for flights over the Gulf of Mexico. Administrator Randy Babbit called it a "significant, early step toward NextGen" for an area that has lacked radar coverage. Controllers previously "had to rely on an aircraft's estimated or reported, not actual, position," FAA said. Commercial aircraft at high altitude were kept as much as 120 mi. apart to ensure safety. ADS-B will allow the separation to be reduced to 5 nm.
Republic Airways Holdings said yesterday that all of its executive management functions, including those of subsidiaries Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines, will be consolidated at its Indianapolis headquarters and former Frontier CEO Sean Menke will leave the company at the end of the current quarter.
Thai Airways President Piyasvasti Amranand told reporters yesterday that the airline expects to post a net profit in both 2009 and 2010, when it expects to be THB4 billion ($121.3 million) in the black, Reuters reported. A profit in the 2009 fourth quarter will reverse a THB1.57 billion loss through the first nine months of last year, he said ( ATWOnline, Nov. 17, 2009).
Qantas yesterday said it remains confident in its 27% investment in Vietnam's Jetstar Pacific despite the emergence of a report highlighting maintenance deficiencies and the legal troubles facing several executives.
Blue Wings suspended operations yesterday, the Dusseldorf-based carrier announced on its website. "The developments of recent weeks and the tense overall economic situation in the aviation industry have forced us to take this step," the airline said. A spokesperson told German press that a re-launch was possible once "economic difficulties have been cleared." Blue Wings said last week that funds promised from investors had not arrived. It operated six A320 family aircraft ( ATWOnline, Jan. 8).
Vietnam Airlines earned a pre-tax profit of $8.1 million in 2009, down 42.1% from the $14 million reported in 2008, according to a statement cited by Agence France Presse in Hanoi. The airline cited the global recession and H1N1 flu as the primary culprits for the drop. Revenue declined 16.7% to $1.3 billion as passengers increased 5.7% to 9.3 million. It expects to carry 11 million passengers in 2010.
Rockwell Collins said EgyptAir selected a suite of avionics for eight 737NGs including dual MultiScan Hazard Detection System configuration, Head-up Guidance System, TCAS and Multi-Mode Receiver. Aircraft are scheduled for delivery in September 2010-August 2012.
Germanwings confirmed plans to open a sixth base in Hanover on April 29. It will operate three A319s from the airport to 15 European destinations and expects to carry more than 500,000 passengers from HAN this year and more than 750,000 in 2011 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 11).
Airbus Executive VP-Programs Tom Williams told ATWOnline in Seville this week that the A320 final assembly line in Tianjin is performing "within our expectations." It delivered 11 A320 family aircraft last year. "We expect to deliver two A320s per month by the end of this year," he said, adding that all aircraft assembled there have been ordered by Chinese carriers.
Indian airlines carried 44.5 million passengers in 2009, up 7.9% from the prior year, the Ministry of Civil Aviation reported yesterday. Fourth-quarter traffic soared 30.5% year-over-year to 12.5 million passengers and December traffic rose 34.8% to 4.5 million.
