Aeroflot and Alitalia signed an MOU "to further develop new routes and frequencies between Italy and Russia as well as implement a wide ranging reciprocal codeshare to domestic and beyond destinations," AZ announced. Carriers also will cooperate more closely on network planning, reservations, sales and marketing, passenger service, charter and cargo operations and technology. AZ and SU already codeshare on flights to/from Moscow Sheremetyevo and four Italian destinations.
RwandAir signed a financing deal with the Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank for $13.5 million in loans to cover the acquisition of two CRJ200s. In addition, the carrier said that talks with "large aircraft suppliers are at advanced stages for the acquisition of mid- to long-range aircraft beginning 2010. The airline intends to expand its fleet considerably over the next five years."
Baltic Aviation Academy, a unit of Vilnius-based Avia Solutions Group, said it received its Flight Training Organization License from the Lithuanian CAA and is offering ab initio pilot training from private pilot license and instrument rating courses to commercial pilot license, multiengine pilot license and airline transport pilot license courses. Ab initio classes start in January.
Continental Airlines plans to raise $200 million through a public offering of its convertible senior notes due 2015, with an option for underwriters to purchase up to an additional $30 million to cover overallotments. CO said it will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
The UK House of Commons Transport Committee issued a report yesterday endorsing a third runway at London Heathrow "subject to the effective application of tough environmental conditions," while suggesting that Gatwick, rather than Stansted, would be a better choice for a second runway after 2019.
KLM completed installation of its new Economy Comfort premium economy product on 61 long-haul aircraft and officially launched the offering yesterday. Seats offer 35 in. pitch instead of the standard 31 in. An average of 34-40 Comfort seats will be offered, depending on the aircraft type ( ATWOnline, Sept. 17).
Qatar Airways launched its Australian service Monday, a thrice-weekly Doha-Melbourne flight aboard a 777-200LR. Service becomes daily on Jan. 1. QR plans to fly to Sydney next year. Cathay Pacific Airways will launch four-times-weekly Hong Kong-Milan Malpensa flights on March 28 with a 777-300ER. It currently operates six-times-weekly freighter service to MXP. In addition, daily HKG-Toronto service will be increased to 10-times-weekly from March 28 and twice-daily HKG-Los Angeles service will become 17-times-weekly on May 1.
Jat Airways expects to lose €15 million ($22.3 million) this year, lower than the €20- €25 million anticipated previously, but will need €20-€32 million in loans to maintain operations, CEO Srdjan Radovanovic told the Associated Press. He also said that Turkish Airlines has shown "the most serious" interest in investing in the carrier.
The US Environmental Protection Agency yesterday issued a formal finding that greenhouse gasses including carbon dioxide emissions "threaten the public health and welfare of the American people," clearing the way for the agency to regulate a wide range of CO2-emitting industries under provisions of the Clean Air Act.
AirBaltic concluded one-year agreements with the Austrian and Swiss governments for provision of flights for government employees to/from more than 60 destinations. It signed similar deals with the Danish, Finnish and German governments this year.
The Japanese government reportedly is preparing to provide ¥700 billion ($7.74 billion) in credit guarantees to Japan Airlines as part of an "extra budget" that could be finalized this week for the country's fiscal year ending March 31.
APG Global Associates announced that eight additional carriers joined APG IET in November including Turkish Airlines and Philippine Airlines, bringing the number of airline partners to 54. President Jean-Louis Baroux said the company is targeting 100 carriers by the 2010 first quarter. APG GA introduced the APG IET program to airlines in cooperation with its partner Heli Air Monaco (YO/747), which functions as the validating and issuing carrier.
Delta Air Lines flew 13.57 billion system RPMs in November, a 7.1% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 8.4% to 17.06 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1.1 points to 79.6%. American Airlines flew 9.49 billion system RPMs in November, down 0.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 4.2% to 11.92 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 3 points to 79.6%. American Eagle flew 634.6 million RPMs, up 11.7%, against a 6.8% increase in capacity to 901.2 million ASMs. Load factor was up 3.1 points to 70.4%.
Boeing confirmed Friday that it issued a service bulletin Nov. 25 to operators of 777s powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 800s recommending a thrust reverser fix to address concerns related to overheating. The issue has not led to any accidents, but the manufacturer said damage associated with overheating has been discovered on the thrust reversers. It said 225 777s are affected. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the SB and Boeing later confirmed its existence to multiple media outlets.
Air China Senior VP Fan Cheng was named Communist Party Secretary at Shenzhen Airlines last week, increasing speculation in China that CA will seek control of Shenzhen following the arrest of controlling shareholder Li Zeyuan ( ATWOnline, Dec. 2). Fan reportedly will oversee day-to-day operations at Shenzhen, in which CA currently holds 25%.
Dublin Airport Authority said Ireland's Commission for Aviation Regulation has determined that the average maximum passenger charge will increase to €9.97 ($15.04) in 2010-15, more than 33% higher than the current period, although the commission's report "contains many variables." DAA said charges "in real terms" have fallen 30% over the past 20 years and that the increase still compares favorably to European "peers" that charge an average of €12.50 per passenger.
ANA last week told ATWOnline that it is "definitely very interested in deepening our relationships with partner airlines" but would not comment on press reports that it plans to seek transpacific antitrust immunity with both United Airlines and Continental Airlines once an expanded air service agreement is signed by the US and Japan, which could happen as early as this week. "At this point, it's premature for us to talk publicly about plans, timetables, etc.," an ANA spokesperson said.
Boeing's new Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh has brought together several former top Boeing executives in a senior advisory group to aid him in reshaping the aerospace giant's troubled commercial division. Albaugh took over from Scott Carson in September after a career spent on the space/defense side of the aerospace business ( ATWOnline, Sept. 1).
As the domestic cargo market recovers, China Southern Airlines is boosting capacity on routes from Shanghai Pudong and moving toward making the airport its cargo hub. The Guangzhou-based carrier introduced two new 777 freighters last week, adding to the pair of 747-400Fs it already operated from PVG. A new 747 service to Frankfurt launched last week and the 777s are expected to fly to Chicago O'Hare starting this month. CZ also operates a 747F to Amsterdam.
FAA announced Friday that it is soliciting bids for NextGen support contracts with a combined value of around $7 billion, which it said will be "the largest award in the agency's history." It said it will issue as many as five separate contracts "for research and development and systems engineering work that will help the agency deliver NextGen." They will come under an umbrella program called System Engineering 2020.
Batavia Air 737 Classic failed to take off from Denspasar on Dec. 3 owing to an engine failure that produced smoke, reportedly leading three passengers to jump 2 m. from the aircraft's emergency door to the runway surface, sustaining injuries. According to media reports from Indonesia, six other passengers also were injured.
Korean Air became the second airline to order Boeing's 747-8 Intercontinental passenger jet, placing an order for five of the aircraft last week. The new planes are worth some $1.5 billion at list prices, Boeing said, while the airline indicated it expects delivery between April 2013 and May 2015, according to press reports from Korea.
US Airways will launch daily Charlotte-Rome Fiumicino service on May 13 aboard an A330-300. AirTran Airways ceased its Charleston, S.C., service on Dec. 3. The LCC had served the airport since mid-2007. It also announced the start of twice-weekly Orlando International-Des Moines service on March 6. Delta Air Lines will operate flights to Honolulu from both Detroit (thrice-weekly from June 2) and San Diego (daily beginning June 3) using either 757s or A330s.
Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras, the year-old Campinas-based LCC, plans to increase passenger traffic 50% next year and "will continue to grow significantly faster than the overall market," CEO David Neeleman told Dow Jones last week. Azul currently operates 14 aircraft to 16 domestic destinations and plans to add seven planes and three new airports in 2010, he said, "but we could still expand much faster than that."
