Boeing said yesterday that it completed assembly of the first 747-8 freighter's forward fuselage. "The 89-ft., 2-in. fuselage section, featuring the airplane's signature upper deck, was moved from the final assembly installation tool for sealing and testing before beginning systems installation," the manufacturer said. The 747-8's fuselage is stretched by 18 ft. 4 in. compared to the 747-400 and more than 13 ft. of that stretch is located in the forward fuselage.
SuperJet International said yesterday that it is taking a hard look at its original plan to build a 75-seat regional jet and likely will go for an aircraft in the 100/115-seat range to complement the existing 95-passenger SSJ 100 platform.
Clickair will operate all London routes out of Heathrow from June 1, switching its Vigo and Seville service to LHR from Gatwick. It already operates daily Bilbao and La Coruna flights to/from LHR.
The US Air Transport Assn. said yesterday that US airlines' passenger revenue dropped 18% year-over-year in April, the sixth consecutive month of declining passenger revenue. The number of passengers traveling on US airlines fell 6.3% for the month while the average per-mile price to fly declined 12.6%. "Revenue declines extended beyond the mainland United States to the transatlantic, transpacific and Latin markets," ATA said, noting that April results partially reflect the shift in the Easter holiday from April last year to March this year.
Qantas withdrew first class from sale for flight departures between July 6 and Oct. 31 on three routes due to the downturn in premium traffic. The flights are Sydney-San Francisco, Sydney-Buenos Aires and Melbourne-Hong Kong-London Heathrow.
Lufthansa Systems signed a seven-year contract with Freebird Airlines of Turkey, which will use Lido eRouteManual and Lido FMS data from Lufthansa Systems' aeronautical database.
Swiss WorldCargo plans to implement short-time work starting June 1 for around 100 employees. In the first four months of this year, cargo load factor dropped 18.4 points-year-over-year to 66.8%. In April it fell 20.6 points. Separately, Swiss International Air Lines named Holger Hatty to the management board as CCO effective July 1. He previously served on the executive board of Lufthansa Passenger Airline and was in charge of strategy, alliances and holdings, network management, IT and purchasing.
Singapore Airlines reported an 18.2% year-over-year plunge in passenger numbers last month to 1.2 million. Traffic fell 17.7% to 6.27 billion RPKs against just a 12.9% cut in capacity to 8.68 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 4.2 points to 72.2%. On the cargo front, FTKs were down 21.6% and load factor fell 3.7 points to 58%. SIA has cut flights to Los Angeles, Osaka Kansai, Vancouver and Amristar and grounded 17 aircraft.
American Airlines customer service manager fell from a lift at Miami International Airport early yesterday morning and was killed, the airline confirmed in a statement cited by The Miami Herald.
Niki took delivery of the first of five E-190s on firm order. President Niki Lauda told ATWOnline that the jets will be used initially on flights from Vienna to Innsbruck and Munich and eventually to open new routes. Niki also holds five E-190 options.
News from Travel Technology Update: Imagine a business traveler whose flight has been delayed for the third time. She's going to be late to an important meeting, where she is scheduled to give a presentation. The look on her face says it all: She's frustrated and stressed.
Hainan Airlines Group plans to relaunch its Grand China Express Airlines subsidiary as Tianjin Airlines on June 8 after reaching a deal with the local government. Originally started in June 2007, Grand China operated 10 E-190s, 12 ERJ-145s and 29 Do 328-300s in April on more than 80 domestic routes. In December, the Tianjin government agreed to inject CNY200 million ($29.3 million) into Grand China, giving it a 15.4% stake in the reconstituted carrier, which has been approved by CAAC.
Despite what it called its responsiveness to unprecedented conditions in the second half of its fiscal year ended March 31, Air France KLM Group incurred its first loss since the 2003 merger, an €814 million ($1.1 billion) deficit that compares to a €756 million profit in 2007-08. Its operating loss amounted to €129 million, reversed from a €1.41 billion operating profit the prior year.
Boeing yesterday released its "2009 Environment Report," touting its participation in biofuel test flights ( ATWOnline, April 10) and tailored arrival demonstrations. It also pointed to efforts to reduce energy and water use at its manufacturing facilities.
Aeroflot declined Alexander Lebedev's offer to purchase his 49% stake in Blue Wings for €1 ($1.35) ( ATWOnline, May 8), Blue Wings Chairman Jorn Hellwig told Der Spiegel. Lebedev now is considering negotiating with S7 Airlines and Rosavia, as well as Arabian investors, in his search for more capital. Discussions with Air Berlin or the German government also may occur, Hellwig said.
TUI Travel is expecting annual savings of €40 million ($54 million) thanks to the new alliance between its TUIfly LCC and Air Berlin, TUI CEO Michael Frenzel said last week in Hanover. AB will take over 17 aircraft from TUIfly in order to operate scheduled shuttle services, while TUIfly will operate 21 aircraft on charter routes ( ATWOnline, March 31). Each company took a 19.9% share in the other and the cooperation is set to start on Oct. 1, pending approval from competition authorities.
Jazeera Airways lost KWD1 million ($3.4 million) in the first quarter, reversed from a KWD745,815 profit in the first three months of 2008, on a 7.4% decline in revenue to KWD10 million. It cited "heavy investments in our operations," which Chairman Marwan Boodai said "were tasked with putting in place the right launchpad for our next wave of growth." It expects to take delivery of two A320s by July, bringing its fleet to 10.
UK airports operator BAA said yesterday that it will appeal the Competition Commission's ruling that it must sell both London Gatwick and Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow International, claiming that the decision was both "affected by apparent bias" and failed to account for the current economic climate. BAA is asking the Competition Appeal Tribunal to review the March ruling. It said its accusation of bias is based on "links between a member of the Competition Commission panel and an organization interested in acquiring the airports that BAA is required to sell."
Skyways Aviation announced the placement of an ERJ-145 with Andalus of Spain on behalf of Air Vendee Investissement. Aircraft will be based in Gibraltar and operate service to Madrid starting this month and Barcelona from June. Andalus currently has two 145s and plans to operate four by year end. Skyways also said it was selected by Ernst & Young to remarket an ATR 42-500 formerly operated by Macair Airlines, which ceased operations in February.
Spanish government is eliminating airport taxes for all carriers that increase or maintain the level of traffic at the country's "largest airports" during the second half of 2009 compared to the year-ago period, Ryanair said. The LCC again called upon the Irish government to end its €10 ($13.49) air passenger duty ( ATWOnline, March 17), citing recent efforts by Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain to reduce charges "to reverse recent traffic and tourism declines."
The number of premium passengers continued to slump in March, falling 19.2% year-over-year, which IATA said "is consistent with the view that business expectations of recovery remain weak while consumers remain concerned about job security."
