AirBaltic will launch service from Riga to Warsaw (daily on Sept. 17) and Pskov (twice-weekly on Sept. 1) aboard F50s. Singapore Airlines will add a fourth daily Singapore-Manila 777 flight on July 10. Qatar Airways will launch thrice-weekly Doha--Melbourne on Dec. 6 aboard a 777-200LR, becoming daily with the delivery of another -200LR in early 2010. Safi Airways launched thrice-weekly Kabul-Frankfurt aboard a 767-200ER.
Boeing said it completed the joining of the center wing box to the fuselage on the first 747-8 freighter in Everett and the assembly is being prepared to be connected to the forward and aft fuselage sections. "The airplane is coming together well and will be ready to fly later this year as planned," 747 Program VP and GM Mo Yahyavi said. The aircraft has garnered 78 orders.
East Star Airlines continues to expect to be acquired as a majority of its debtors prefer a takeover to bankruptcy, a spokesperson said at a Beijing news conference yesterday. "We have talked with almost all our debtors and 75% of them prefer takeover to bankruptcy, because a takeover offer can best safeguard their interests," the spokesperson said.
The Yemenia Yemen Airways A310-300 carrying 153 passengers and crew on its way from Sanaa to Moroni in Comoros that crashed in the Indian Ocean late Monday night specifically was barred from operating to France owing to safety concerns, a senior French official said yesterday, but the airline was not on the EU's list of banned carriers and Yemeni officials insisted the plane was safe to operate.
Bombardier Aerospace announced the conversion of two options for Q400 NextGen turboprops held by Porter Airlines into firm orders, raising to 20 the number of commitments made by the Toronto-based carrier. The two firm orders are worth approximately $45 million, according to the manufacturer.
Travelport GDS announced a new multiyear, full-content agreement with Porter Airlines, giving all Galileo- and Worldspan-connected travel agents access to the airline's full published fares and inventory, including Web fares. Access will be implemented in a phased approach, with Apollo customers gaining access June 30 followed by Worldspan and Galileo in August, according to Travelport.
AWAS delivered a 737-700 to Aerovias de Integracion Regionales, the first of two winglet-equipped 737-700s that Colombia-based AIRES will take from AWAS this year.
Iberia will not be required to launch a full bid for Vueling Airlines following its merger with Clickair, Spanish stock market regulator CNMV ruled. Iberia will own 45.9% of the merged entity, exceeding the 30% threshold that normally triggers the obligation to make a full bid under domestic regulations. Completion of the two competitors' merger is expected in mid-July ( ATWOnline, June 29).
American Society for Testing and Materials approved a new specification that "details the properties and criteria necessary to control the manufacture and quality of alternative fuels for safe use in aviation," US FAA said. The effort was supported by the FAA/industry-sponsored Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative. FAA Acting Assistant Administrator for Policy, Planning and the Environment Nancy LoBue said the step could lead to approval of a number of alternative fuels in the next few years.
Fokker Services said a change in the F100 flight manual now allows for just two cabin attendants in aircraft seating 100 passengers or fewer. Previously, three were required unless an operator received specific permission from local aviation authorities. Fokker said the adjustment could result in €150,000 €200,000 ($210,790-$281,050) in annual savings per aircraft.
London Heathrow Terminal 5's baggage system was operational again yesterday following a mechanical glitch that resulted in a shutdown lasting several hours Sunday. British Airways was forced to close check-in desks at midday and then reopen them about an hour later for passengers with carry-on bags. Flights continued to depart without passengers, with some 5,000 stranded, according to reports ( ATWOnline, May 4).
Tailwind Technologies of Ohio announced the formation of Hartzell Aerospace "to serve as the consolidating platform for the aerospace companies Tailwind holds, apart from its general aviation business, Hartzell Propeller." These companies include Industrial Tube Co., Electrofilm Manufacturing Co. and AcousticFab.
Southwest Airlines launched its New York LaGuardia service Sunday. It is flying to Chicago Midway five-times-daily and Baltimore thrice-daily from Gate B4 in LGA's Central Terminal Building. Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines, both set to be acquired by Republic Airways Holdings ( ATWOnline, June 25), announced a codeshare agreement covering multiple routes out of Denver and Milwaukee that will begin "by late summer."
Air India will pay about half of its employees their June wages on July 3 rather than July 15, Aviation Industry Employees' Guild General Secretary George Abraham told Mint. AI had planned to defer payment owing to a cash shortage but relented after negotiations and a strike threat ( ATWOnline, May 4). A meeting regarding payments to remaining employees is scheduled for July 4.
Yemenia Yemen Airways A310-300 with more than 150 people onboard crashed late last night in the Indian Ocean. Flight IY626 was on its way from Sanaa and was due to land at Moroni, the Comoros capital. Reports early Tuesday indicated that one five-year-old child was found alive, but that no other survivors had been located. Yemenia operates four -300s, as well as two A330-200s and four 737-800s. Airbus said the aircraft involved in the accident was built in 1990 and had been operated by Yemenia since October 1999.
South Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said it plans to spend about KRW4 trillion ($3.12 billion) to expand Incheon International, enabling it to handle 41% more passengers and 29% more freight by 2015. A second passenger terminal and a new railway line to Seoul will be among the enhancements, according to a statement cited in multiple news reports. Construction is set to begin in early 2011. Incheon currently has capacity for 44 million passengers and 4.5 million tons of cargo annually.
The US House of Representatives on Friday passed by a vote of 219-212 the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act, which now moves to the Senate for consideration and could, if passed, prove to be an onerous financial burden on airlines, according to the US Air Transport Assn.
OzJet Airlines of Australia announced its acquisition by Strategic Airlines, a charter and ACMI operator. Strategic said it will introduce an A320 on OzJet's Perth-Derby service by the end of September, replacing a chartered F100. Strategic ED Michael James said it will "retain some of the existing [OzJet] employee base for future company operations." In May, Strategic placed an A320-200 into service with Solomon Airlines on a Brisbane-Honiara flight. It reached agreement to lease an A330-200 from Swiss International Air Lines in April and will begin operating the aircraft in October.
US Dept. of Justice strongly opposed extension of antitrust immunity to Continental Airlines when it joins Star Alliance this October, arguing that the immunity request is "unprecedented in scope and breadth" and would "sanction collusion" between current Star member United Airlines and Continental "on all international service."
Republic Airways Holdings airlines flew 851 million RPMs in May, down 5.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 4% to 1.12 billion ASMs and load factor slipped 1 point to 75.8%. Pinnacle Airlines flew 380.3 million RPMs in May, down 7.9% year-over-year, against a 4.4% fall in capacity to 509.9 million ASMs. Load factor dropped 2.8 points to 74.6%.
Lufthansa will phase out its last A300-600 on July 1 following a flight from Rome Fiumicino to Frankfurt as part of the company's effort to cut €300 million ($421.6 million) in costs this year. The type served as the backbone of LH's continental fleet for 22 years. It operated 26 A300s in addition to 24 A310-200s/300s. All the A300-600s have been offered for sale and some already have been purchased.
Royal Jordanian President and CEO Samer Majali will leave the airline Aug. 1, the company announced, saying only that he resigned "upon his request," while he told ATWOnline that "after 30 years at the airline and eight years as chief executive, I decided it was time for me to move on." He declined to comment on his future, which he said is "still under discussion." An announcement should come "soon, maybe in the next two weeks," he told this website.
Elbit Systems announced a $76 million deal with the Israeli Ministry of Transportation to supply its C-MUSIC system, an infrared countermeasure technology designed to protect commercial aircraft from missiles.
