Air New Zealand is in the final stages of a campaign to replace its fleet of 15 737-300s, a number of which come off lease in the next few years. ANZ is weighing buying additional A320s (it currently operates 12) to replace the 737-300s or replacing both types with up to 30 737-800s. It has considerable flexibility because most of its A320s are leased and will start coming off those leases in 2010. It also holds 20 A320 options at attractive prices, but they will expire next year.
EC VP-Transport Antonio Tajani said Friday that the EU is seeking to end the ban on passengers carrying liquids and gels using a phased approach that will employ security technology. "There is a will to remove this discomfort," he told reporters. "We want to put out a clear signal [the ban]. . .should come to an end one day. I hope 2014 might be the end of the transition period." The EC is considering requiring major EU airports to install technology that could screen liquids to detect explosive material by April 2012
Olympic Air, the re-launch of Olympic Airlines that started operations at the end of September, already is transporting 10,000 passengers daily and trying to "just do basic things, fly on time and smile to people," CEO Antonis Simigdalas told ATWOnline.
ICAO concluded its High Level Meeting on International Aviation and Climate Change Friday with a reaffirmation that the organization is the preferred channel to address aviation's impact on the environment ahead of the upcoming UN Copenhagen Climate Summit in December.
AirAsia said it has been granted landing rights in Paris by the French government and is awaiting further details from authorities. "The French government's approval places AirAsia in a significant position, in line with the plans by AirAsia X to expand our operations in Europe," AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani said.
EU and Georgia held a first round of negotiations on a Common Aviation Area agreement in Tbilisi last week. The discussions are part of the EU's strategy to create a wider Common Aviation Area including non-EU nations. It has concluded such agreements with western Balkan countries and Morocco and currently is holding similar negotiations with the Ukraine, Jordan and Israel. An EU-Georgia accord would mutually open the respective markets and integrate Georgia into European aviation structures.
Continental Airlines on March 7 will launch daily service between Los Angeles and Maui aboard a 737-800 and four-times-weekly flights between Orange County and Honolulu (increasing to daily this summer) aboard a 737-700.
China Eastern Airlines' acquisition of Shanghai Airlines was approved by both carriers' shareholders Friday. CEA Board Secretary Luo Zhuping reiterated Friday that the merger will be completed by year end. The transaction already has been approved by CAAC ( ATWOnline, Aug. 31) and all other relevant government authorities except the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which has not yet issued a ruling but is not expected to reject the deal.
US Dept. of Transportation Aviation Enforcement Office issued a notice Friday stating that airlines "may not arbitrarily limit compensation for passengers who purchase necessities because their baggage is lost or delayed." DOT said a number of carriers only reimburse passengers for necessities purchased if the baggage is lost for more than 24 hr. and only if the passenger is on the outbound leg of his or her trip.
TAM announced late Friday that CEO David Barioni Neto resigned effective immediately. He will be replaced on an interim basis by CFO Libano Miranda Barroso. Barioni had led the Brazilian airline since November 2007.
ASIG renewed its agreement with Midwest Airlines to provide aircraft deicing services at Milwaukee General Mitchell International. It has provided Midwest with the service since 2001.
Rockwell Collins announced it has added iPod integration to its digital IFE systems. New feature includes USB charging capability and will allow passengers to output audio and video to the in-seat displays and headphones from Apple's iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Classic and iPod Nano and other portable media devices.
European Regions Airline Assn., which represents 66 European carriers operating intra-Europe flights, recorded a collective drop in passenger traffic of 7.2% for the first six months of 2009.
Emirates said yesterday that it issued a $413.7 million US bond offering guaranteed by the US Export Import Bank to finance the delivery of three 777-300ERs. The secured notes are due Aug. 21, 2021, and payable in installments of principal and interest on a quarterly basis, the airline said. "This transaction is very important for the industry as it represents the first offering of its kind directly into the global public capital markets," Senior VP-Corporate Treasury Brian Jeffrey stated.
Assn. of European Airlines warned that Europe's network carriers are facing not a "crisis" but "a paradigm shift with far-reaching and irrevocable consequences" as it forecast that its member airlines will post a combined full-year 2009 operating loss of €2.9 billion ($4.3 billion).
Denver and the state of Colorado are offering an incentive package aimed at preventing nearly 25% of Frontier Airlines' workforce from being relocated, while new parent Republic Airways Holdings apparently does not plan for the carrier to have a CEO.
Bmi appointed Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer as its new CEO effective Dec. 1, succeeding Nigel Turner. The appointment is part of broader management shakeup following Lufthansa's acquiring control of the loss-making UK airline ( ATWOnline, Oct. 2). Jet, meanwhile, selected Senior VP-the Americas Nikos Kardassis as its new CEO effective Oct. 15.
Cancun will open a $67 million second runway on Oct. 10, upping its capacity to 28 million passengers annually. It also will open a new control tower standing more than 315 ft. tall.
American Airlines' September system traffic decreased 3.5% to 9.52 billion RPMs on a 6.9% cut in capacity to 11.98 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 79.4%, up 2.8 points. Continental Airlines' September consolidated traffic lifted 7% to 6.95 billion RPMs on a 0.5% increase in consolidated capacity to 8.53 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 81.5%, up 5 points. LAN said system passenger traffic for September increased 11.9% as capacity rose 9.3%. Load factor gained 1.8 points to 78.8%.
Iberia introduced cell phone boarding for passengers flying from Madrid's Terminal 4. The new service is available on all mainline flights except the Madrid-Barcelona Shuttle.
LOT Polish Airlines said it will reduce its workforce from 3,500 to 3,100 by March and has secured agreement from its unions to eliminate bonuses, moves that it claimed will save €2.4 million ($3.5 million).
Ryanair called on the Irish government to explain why it rejected its December 2008 offer for Aer Lingus that it maintains would have led to the doubling of EI's short-haul fleet and created 1,000 new jobs over a five-year period. The request followed Wednesday's announcement by EI of its restructuring plan that seeks to reduce annual operating costs excluding fuel by €97 million ($142.7 million) before the end of 2011 and cut its workforce by 17% ( ATWOnline, Oct. 8).
Colombia's Avianca and El Salvador-based Grupo TACA announced yesterday that they have reached agreement to merge under a single holding company, creating an airline group that will serve more than 100 destinations with a fleet of 129 aircraft. Avianca parent Synergy Group will control two-thirds of the unnamed holding company while TACA will control the remaining third, with TACA Chairman and CEO Roberto Kriete serving as chairman and Avianca CEO Fabio Villegas as CEO.
