Nav Canada introduced ADS-B coverage over the Hudson Bay, eliminating "an 850,000-sq.-km. gap in Canada's radar coverage," the air navigation services provider said. The first use of ADS-B involved an Air New Zealand Jan. 15 flight from London Heathrow to Los Angeles. Sensis Corp. is supplying Nav Canada with ground equipment consisting of an antenna, a receiver and a target processor installed at stations along the Hudson shoreline.
Airports of Thailand will cut landing and parking fees by 20% from Feb. 1 to Sept. 30 in an effort to boost tourism, President Serirat Prasutanont said last week, according to Reuters. The operator expects to lose some THB400 million ($11.4 million) in revenue. AOT reported a THB7.32 billion profit in its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2008.
Southwest Airlines followed up its first quarterly loss in 17 years with another in the fourth quarter of 2008, but it maintained its record of full-year profitability with a $178 million surplus that represented a 72.4% plunge from the $645 million earned in 2007.
Aer Lingus and United Airlines announced creation of a transatlantic partnership intended to "capitalize on the growth opportunities presented by the [EU-US] open skies agreement. . .by opening new transatlantic nonstop services." First joint route will be a daily Madrid-Washington Dulles service scheduled to launch in March 2010. EI and UA said it is "intended" that they will share equally commercial and operating benefits and risks, with EI managing operations and UA managing revenue generation.
Thales will supply Air France with a 777-300ER FFS under a deal announced this week. Technology includes Thales' eM2K motion system featuring hydraulic mass compensation and transmission. US FAA Level D certification is expected.
Ray LaHood, President Barack Obama's choice for Secretary of Transportation, told the US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he is committed to upgrading to the NextGen air traffic management system and is against the recently suspended slot auctions at New York area airports ( ATWOnline, Dec. 23, 2008). "I know this NextGen stuff is expensive, but we have to do it," LaHood was quoted as saying.
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. signed a contract with Taiwan-based Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. to design and manufacture slats, flaps, belly fairings, rudders and elevators for the new MRJ family of 70/90-seat jets ( ATWOnline, Sept. 5, 2008). First flight of the MRJ90 is scheduled for 2011 with certification and first delivery expected by 2013. The smaller MRJ70 will follow a year later.
United Airlines will conduct a small test of RFID bag tags at Chicago O'Hare next month, according to an employee communication. "We're looking to validate whether this technology will speed up the baggage check process," Initiative Leader Gary Dulaney said. More than 1,000 high-mileage travelers will participate in the six-week trial, which is being conducted "in close partnership with the Star Alliance Technical Advisory Committee," he said. Customers will receive RFID bag tags at their homes and will check in online before arriving at ORD.
Chinese government cut the domestic fuel price by an additional 5.7% to CNY5,440 per ton, a move that will help airlines save about CNY4 billion this year, according to Haitong Securities Aviation Analyst Ma Ying. Fuel currently accounts for more than 40% of Chinese carriers' operating costs ( ATWOnline, Dec. 22, 2008).
EasyJet reported a 31.5% year-over-year increase in fiscal first-quarter revenue to £550 million, which it said reflected a "flight to value" environment in which an increase in business and long-haul leisure travelers "is more than compensating" for a softening in demand.
The Irish government yesterday rejected Ryanair's €1.40 ($1.81)-per-share offer for its 25% stake in Aer Lingus, killing off the LCCs bid, which required 90% acceptance. Ryanair said it "will respect and abide by" the decision but continued to claim that its offer, which valued EI at €748 million, "greatly exceeds the intrinsic value" of its smaller rival. Yesterday, EI announced a new transatlantic joint venture with United Airlines scheduled to launch in March 2010 (see story below).
Air France KLM yesterday said the projected operating loss for its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 will be "to the tune of" €200 million ($258.3 million) ( ATWOnline, Jan. 21). It reiterated that its "objective is to generate a positive operating result" for the full year but that the amount will depend on "how the economic situation evolves, particularly in the cargo business which is facing a tough operating environment."
Lufthansa Technik won a seven-year Total Material Operations contract with Sama covering six 737-300s. Contract takes effect in March and covers pooling, MRO and supply of materials.
Lufthansa will take delivery of the first of 30 E-195s next week. The first six aircraft will fly for its Air Dolomiti subsidiary, with the remainder set for CityLine. It remains unclear whether Swiss International Air Lines will build its future regional fleet around the Embraer family. Swiss CEO Christoph Franz told ATWOnline that no decision has been made regarding regional aircraft, although LX already has one Embraer simulator in Zurich that it leases out to third-party customers.
LAN Cargo reached a plea agreement with the US Dept. of Justice and will pay an $88 million fine over five years to settle its portion of the wide-ranging global investigation into price-fixing and collusion that has ensnared a host of high-profile carriers. In addition, Campinas-based ABSA Cargo Airline, in which LAN holds a majority stake, struck a similar deal and will pay a $21 million fine over five years.
Air Canada, Jazz Air, WestJet and Air Transat announced formation of the National Airlines Council of Canada, a new trade association "focused on promoting public policy and legislation favorable to the global success of the Canadian commercial airline industry." WestJet President and CEO Sean Durfy will be the NACC board's first chair. The airlines left the Air Transport Assn. of Canada last year.
Ryanair will base a third 737-800 at Reus in June supporting new service to Bournemouth (beginning March 31), Eindhoven (June 4), Poznan (June 5) and Nador (June 6). It also announced the launch of flights from Bournemouth to Faro (March 31) and Limoges (April 2), a Faro-Bremen flight beginning March 31 and a London Luton-Limoges service starting May 3. Austrian Airlines will resume thrice-weekly Vienna-Aleppo service on March 29 aboard an A320.
Continental Airlines said it will report $234 million in special charges for the full year, including $170 million in the fourth quarter, when it releases its 2008 financial results on Jan. 29.
Finnair flew 1.92 billion RPKs in December, up 7.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 4.5% to 2.47 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.4 points to 77.6%. Spanair flew 441 million RPKs in December, down 25% year-over-year, against a 28.2% fall in ASKs to 704 million. Load factor rose 2.7 points to 62.6%. Allegiant Air flew 342.6 million RPMs in December, up 9.6% year-over-year. Capacity fell 2.6% to 386.1 million ASMs and load factor rose 9.8 points to 88.7%.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. kicked off the current reporting season yesterday with a troubling $5.35 billion net loss, reversed from a $403 million profit in 2007, and a pledge to cut an additional 1,000 positions from its roll of salaried and management employees. The company suffered a $4.44 billion operating loss, compared to a $1.04 billion profit the previous year, on a 0.3% rise in revenue to $20.19 billion that was dwarfed by a 28.9% surge in expenses to $24.63 billion.
Thai Airways is seeking THB19 billion ($540.6 million) in working capital from state-owned banks and an additional THB15 billion for refinancing short-term loans, according to an airline statement cited by press reports.
Kuwaiti startup Wataniya Airways took delivery of the first of seven leased A320s. Aircraft will seat 122 passengers. Wataniya plans to fly next month.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. reported a net loss of $340 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, propelling it into a full-year loss of $2.07 billion, its largest annual deficit since 2002 and a significant reversal from net income of $504 million in 2007.
