Australian Competition and Consumer Commission yesterday announced that it has "instituted proceedings" in Federal Court against Singapore Airlines Cargo, which it accused of colluding on fuel and security surcharges between 2001 and 2005 on flights to and from Australia. A hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 12. SIA Cargo will "defend allegations. . .that it, and several other airlines, have engaged in cartel conduct," a spokesperson told Reuters.
Boeing yesterday announced a deal with Southwest Airlines to serve as lead integrator for the carrier's 737-300/-700 flight deck upgrade to incorporate performance-based navigation capabilities. Contract includes design, installation and integration of hardware and software from multiple suppliers as well as flight testing and certification. Integration program calls for 737-300 modification with avionics supplied by GE Aviation, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins. GE Aviation said it won a $40 million deal with Southwest to provide its SDS-6000 large area display suite.
Royal Jordanian and Airbus/SITA joint venture OnAir signed an agreement to provide inflight Internet and mobile phone services including e-mail, SMS and voice calls on two A319s that will be joining RJ's fleet in February and March. Deal's second phase includes installing Mobile OnAir Service with a GSM/GPRS system on RJ's A320 family aircraft at the end of 2009.
ANA confirmed the postponement of selection of its future large aircraft type ( ATWOnline, Nov. 19), citing the "unforeseen changes to its operating environment since the financial crisis of September this year." The airline is considering the A380, 747-8 and 777-300ER as its future long-haul flagship. It said its "New Aircraft Selection Committee will remain on hold until the company deems market conditions conducive to resuming the selection process."
Ryanair is considering reducing its Frankfurt Hahn-based fleet from the current 11 737-800s by "several aircraft," a spokesperson from the carrier said last week. The airport is planning to introduce a €3 ($4.33) per-passenger terminal fee in the 2009 second quarter. Ryanair will make an announcement next month regarding any route cancellations. "We expect cost increase will reduce our passenger numbers at Hahn," the spokesperson said, adding that an employee reduction also is possible. It expects approximately 4 million passengers at the airport this year.
Bogus Qantas aircraft engineer was jailed for a maximum 41 months by an Australian court last week, according to press reports. Timothy McCormack not only forged his qualifications and posed as a licensed engineer for nine months but also forged character references presented to the court for his defense. He was caught last summer, but only after having supervised some 30 "substantial and significant" safety checks in Sydney.
Frontier Airlines launched a new fare structure last week called AirFairs featuring three fare levels. Classic Plus is fully refundable or changeable to a seat on a different flight the same day at no charge. It also features priority boarding, two checked bags, free IFE, a snack and beverage and 150% mileage credit. Classic allows for advanced seat assignments, two checked bags, IFE and 125% mileage credit. Itinerary changes will cost $50 and same-day changes $75.
Aer Lingus will establish its first base in Great Britain in April at London Gatwick, with four A320s operating to Dublin, Knock, Malaga, Munich, Zurich, Nice, Faro and Vienna. EI's only other base outside the Republic of Ireland is at Belfast International, which it opened one year ago ( ATWOnline, Dec. 11). "The Gatwick operation will complement our existing services out of London Heathrow and position Aer Lingus for growth as we roll out new routes and bases in future years," CEO Dermot Mannion said.
Argentine Senate signed off on the expropriation of Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral last week in a 42-20 vote, following the Chamber of Deputies' approval early this month ( ATWOnline, Dec. 5). AR owner Grupo Marsans has filed for arbitration at the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes in response. Senators said last week that AR is losing ARS27 million ($7.9 million) per month, Reuters reported.
Boeing 787 watchers will see some "action" at the Everett plant by mid-to-late February, insiders say, with word from the factory floor indicating that the first aircraft, ZA001, will have all fastener issues resolved by the end of this month and will be rolled out for repainting at the end of February.
In a major blow to US-Israel aeropolitical relations, FAA Friday announced that it was downgrading Israel's aviation safety standard to Category 2 under the agency's International Aviation Safety Assessment program.
CAE sold one 787 simulator and one 777-300ER simulator to Air New Zealand. The 777 device will be delivered in 2010 to coincide with arrival of ANZ's first -300ER, with the 787 FFS to follow in 2012. CAE is providing a suite of Simfinity training devices for each aircraft type, to be used for both pilot and maintenance training.
Bmi launched a six-month trial of Mobile OnAir, offering passengers inflight communications services including the use of SMS-enabled mobile phones/PDAs and Internet access from laptop computers fitted with GSM data cards. Service is being trialed on a single A320 operating between London Heathrow and Moscow. Bmi is the first UK carrier to trial the service.
Athens Airways took delivery of the first of four ex-Flybe ERJ-145s from Aircraft Solutions in a transaction arranged by Airstream International Group. It will enter service next month. AS acquired 16 145s from Flybe last year and 10 have been placed by AIG.
Etihad Airways is considering taking a stake in Air Berlin, according to Munich's Suddeutsche Zeitung, which cited sources from several unidentified banks. The size of the stake was not revealed. EY management has been studying the plan for weeks but has yet to come to a decision, the paper reported. It currently serves both Munich and Frankfurt, but AB does not serve the Middle East. AB's capitalization is approximately €281million. Separately, EY was awarded the right to operate a five-times-weekly Abu Dhabi-Tokyo Narita service beginning in March.
SriLankan Airlines announced the launch of a "re-fleeting program" with the Nov. 30 delivery of an A320 on a three-year lease from AWAS. The two-year-old aircraft is the first to join the airline in more than four years and will seat 20 in business class and 132 in economy. A second A320 is scheduled to arrive this month, with a third and fourth expected in the 2009 first quarter and a fifth sometime next year. They will replace existing A320s, with two to leave the fleet by year end.
Volvo Aero said its low-pressure compressor for the EU's VITAL (Environmentally Friendly Aero Engine) successfully completed testing performed in partnership with the Swedish Defense Research Agency at Sjoland & Thyselius Aerodynamic Research Centre AB in Stockholm. According to Volvo, the LPC is designed to be 15% lighter than current LPCs. Increasing the performance of each stage permitted a reduction in the total number of stages, thus saving weight and length. "The testing. .
KLM cityhopper will deploy a new E-190 on one of its six daily Amsterdam-Brussels flights beginning today as part of a fleet renewal program that includes integration of 10 190s by March 2010 to replace its oldest F100s ( ATWOnline, Aug. 6, 2007). The first 190 arrived Nov. 10. The KLM subsidiary also will take over five F70s from Regional in 2009. At the start of 2010, the cityhopper fleet will consist of 10 190s, five newer F100s, 26 F70s and 12 F50s.
US Air Transport Assn. expressed satisfaction with last week's reports that Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) will be nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to be the new Secretary of Transportation ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18). ATA said LaHood "has a well-deserved reputation for his even-handed, thoughtful and deliberative approach to complex issues" and that it "look[s] forward to working closely" with LaHood if he is confirmed.
The Chinese government cut the domestic fuel price 32% to CNY5,050 ($736.49) per ton from CNY7,450, effective last Friday, marking the sixth time this year Beijing has adjusted the domestic price. Because of the way in which fuel prices are managed by the government ( ATWOnline, Oct. 7), Chinese airlines have not reaped the immediate benefit of the collapse in oil prices. Fuel expense currently accounts for 40%-50% of Chinese carriers' total operating expenses.
Chinese carriers have had mixed reactions to CAAC's recent call to "cancel or delay" 2009 aircraft orders as a part of an effort to lift the domestic airline industry out of its current difficulties. CAAC also encouraged carriers to return leased aircraft and to ground or sell older planes, in addition to capacity adjustments, in order to reduce deliveries of foreign-made aircraft ( ATWOnline, Dec. 11).
Delta Air Lines said it expects to record a one-time noncash operating expense of approximately $950 million in the current quarter, which it said is "primarily associated with the issuance of equity awards to substantially all nonmanagement employees of Delta and [Northwest Airlines] in connection with the merger." DL also entered into an agreement with Citigroup Global Markets to sell up to 18.2 million shares of common stock at $0.0001 per share. It said proceeds will be used for "general corporate purposes," including the replacement of funds used to pay merger-related taxes.
SAS Group's restructuring took a significant step forward yesterday with announcement of the sale of its airBaltic stake and a new majority investor in Spanair. AirBaltic, in which SAS holds 47.2%, will be sold to the airline's management for LAT14 million ($27.5 million) in cash by Jan. 31, SAS announced, resulting in a SEK175 million ($22.5 million) capital gain for the Scandinavian company.
