Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a SkyWest Inc. subsidiary operating as a Delta Connection partner, grounded 60 CRJ200s late Tuesday for engine safety inspections. ASA officials expected to complete the inspections early today. The grounding of the 50-seat aircraft was voluntary after an internal paperwork audit raised questions about whether maintenance was in compliance with manufacturer recommendations. The CRJ200 is powered by the GE CF34. "We are rolling through the inspections and expect them to be completed by mid-morning [Thursday]," an ASA spokesperson told ATWOnline.
Embraer launched steep approach testing at London City for the E-190. Certification is expected by year end. The E-170 received certification to operate into LCY in 2007. Last December British Airways signed an order six 170s and five 190s to be operated by its BA CityFlyer subsidiary ( ATWOnline, Dec. 23, 2008).
IATA said all 224 member airlines now are listed on the IOSA registry. "This is a great achievement and an important mark of quality for all IATA airlines. This in turn is a reassurance for travelers everywhere of aviation's serious commitment to safety," DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said. The IOSA registry now comprises 308 carriers. Qatar Airways was the first airline to pass its IOSA audit in September 2003. Eight airlines resigned at the end of 2008 and another was expelled on March 31 for not meeting the registration deadline.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson said "progress has been too slow" in modernizing US ATC and argued that with "minimal investment" FAA could increase system efficiency in the near term.
UK Secretary of State for Transport Geoff Hoon appointed Deirdre Hutton as CAA chair. The first woman named to the post, Hutton will take up the position in August when Roy McNulty's term comes to an end after eight years. She currently chairs the Food Standards Agency and will sit for five years. Hoon also will appoint a CEO.
Calin Rovinescu's appointment as president and CEO of Air Canada, succeeding Montie Brewer, who resigned Monday, drew a rebuke from CAW President Ken Lewenza, who called Rovinescu "a disturbing choice." CAW represents more than 5,000 customer service and sales workers at the airline. Rovinescu served as executive VP-corporate development and strategy at AC between 2000 and 2004 and was a key figure in the carrier's 18-month bankruptcy reorganization as chief restructuring officer. He has been involved with Canadian commercial aviation for more than two decades.
CAE said it signed contracts for three full flight simulators in March valued at C$33 million. Customers are Avianca, Sofia Flight Training (both CAE 5000 Series A320 FFSs) and Emirates-CAE Flight Training (CAE 7000 Series A320 FFS). It also announced the termination of a 757 FFS sale to Flight Training Finance and the ensuing sale of the equipment to an unidentified customer. CAE sold 34 simulators in its fiscal year ended March 31.
TAM sank to a BRL1.34 billion ($577.4 million) loss in 2008, a reversal from the BRL468.6 million profit the Brazilian carrier earned in 2007, as its fuel hedges and the depreciation of the real eclipsed operational improvements.
Sustainable biofuels could be in use by airlines by 2014, experts confirmed yesterday. "We think it is quite reasonable that there will be commercial availability of some type in the next 3-5 years," Boeing Commercial Airplanes MD-Environmental Strategies Bill Glover said.
US FAA yesterday projected "a sharp decline in [commercial aviation] activity in the near term with a return to growth over the long term," though it cautioned that "the downside risk has increased" and growth will be slower than previously anticipated.
Reeling from a C$1.03 billion ($824.3 million) loss in 2008 and facing worker discontent over a growing pension shortfall and the pending dissolution of parent company ACE Aviation Holdings, Air Canada yesterday announced a front office restructuring and the resignation of President and CEO Montie Brewer effective today. He will be succeeded by Calin Rovinescu, who was an AC executive from 2000 to 2004 before joining Genuity Capital Markets, a Canadian investment bank.
BAA said it has not decided on its next step following a final ruling in March by the UK Competition Commission requiring it to sell both London Gatwick and Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow International. "We are still considering the Competition Commission's Final Report and are keeping all options open," BAA spokesperson Stuart Butchers told ATW.
TWO PRIMARY OBSERVATIONS STRIKE a visitor to eight-year-old Seoul Incheon International. One is its modernity, both architecturally and in terms of passenger amenities; one feels as if he is in a futuristic shopping mall as much as an airport. The other is that it is not very crowded.
WHEN SKYWEST INC. VP AND CFO BRAD RICH SET ABOUT to prepare remarks for a recent investors' conference in New York City, he sought some advice on what to say: "Just ask for patience and forgiveness," suggested his learned adviser. And that's how he opened his presentation at the Raymond James Growth Airline Conference in February. "Some days are just more challenging than we can handle," Rich said.
European airports, stung by falling passenger and freight traffic, are seeking relief from the European Commission to ensure their competitive and financial viability, according to Airports Council International Europe. The measures ACI has proposed are in line with the European Economic Recovery Plan adopted by the EC in November 2008 and do not ask for "massive bailouts" but seek a "reconsideration" of existing policies and regulations.
Airports Council International Europe, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization, Eurocontrol and IATA unveiled a joint action plan to implement continuous descent approach procedures at up to 100 airports across Europe by the end of 2013, saving more than half a million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
The scene is quite different compared to last May, when the economy was still relatively strong in the world's largest express delivery market and DHL and UPS announced they were negotiating details of a deal under which UPS would take over DHL's airport-to-airport flying in the US. UPS estimated it would generate as much as $10 billion in additional revenue over 10 years from the proposed agreement.
American Airlines operated the first flight with a 767-300ER equipped with Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets between Dallas/Fort Worth and London Heathrow last month. According to APB, the efficiency gains to be provided by the winglets could save 500,000 gal. of fuel per aircraft annually, which equates to a savings of 29 million gal. and 277,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year for AA's fleet of 58 767-300ERs.
WHEN EMIRATES ORDERED EIGHT additional A380s at the 2007 Paris Air Show, President Tim Clark explained the new order to take the airline's then-commitment to 55 quite simply to ATW: "We believe that once the A380 is in service, airlines will want to order it." Clark hadn't reckoned on the global financial meltdown when he made his prediction, and carriers may be reluctant to commit to any major new investment until the industry is on sounder financial footing.
Qantas Group is moving to expand its RNP use significantly. The airline, which launched RNP operations on its 737-800 fleet in 2007 into Christchurch and Brisbane, has extended those operations to 15 regional airports that have no ILS facilities. QF Chief Technical Pilot-Boeing Fleet Alex Passerini told Eco-Aviation Today that the group has committed to developing RNP for the A330 fleet and Jetstar's A320 fleet and will expand RNP arrivals to other Australian capital cities. During 2009 it will add 15 more airports, with Sydney to follow in 2010.
UK CAA has had its mission made clear: Passengers must come first. UK Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon issued the directive in March as part of a package designed to improve the economic regulation of UK airports. "The CAA has told us that their current duties lack clarity," Hoon said. "[The duties] ask them to further the interests of both airlines and passengers, without saying who comes first. Today I am removing that lack of clarity--the passenger must come first."
The number of mishandled bags has fallen by one-fifth, from 42.4 million in 2007 to 32.8 million in 2008, according to SITA's annual baggage report. The decline in lost luggage saved the industry an estimated $800 million. Some of the reasons for the improvement include fewer bags checked by passengers--attributed to the imposition of bag fees--improvements in management and handling processes, an increase in staff handling baggage and better tracking and tracing technology.
US airlines would be required to pay a carbon tax on their fuel purchases under the Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, a bill introduced at the end of March by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who chairs the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the energy and environment subcommittee.
British Airways reported that 20 million passengers have used Heathrow Terminal 5 since it opened on March 27, 2008. Although the opening week was a disaster as the much-touted baggage system broke down and hundreds of flights were cancelled, BA insists the problems are behind it and 90% of flights depart ontime, while problems with the high-tech baggage system have been sorted out. Singapore Changi announced that four carriers have moved operations from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2.
