United Airlines will launch daily Washington Dulles-Geneva flights April 19 aboard a 767 and will operate daily Denver-London Heathrow service March 29-Oct. 23 aboard a 777. Ryanair will launch flights from London Gatwick to Girona (daily) and Alicante (twice-daily) on Dec. 18.
Los Angeles International Airport will modernize its Bradley International Terminal in a $2 billion project that will replace existing remote gates with new terminal gates capable of handling A380s and 787s. The Bradley West development will feature two new concourses, a central core and taxiway, with the first set of new gates to be in service in 2012 and completion expected in 2013.
S7 Airlines reported a nine-month profit of RUB157 million ($5.7 million), nearly double the year-ago result, according to RIA Novosti. The carrier earned RUB109.7 million in 2007. Revenue through the first nine months of this year climbed 44% year-over-year to RUB31.93 billion.
ANA, whose fiscal-first-half profit fell 79.1% year-over-year to ¥22 billion ($227.4 million), is taking measures to stabilize itself as Japan officially slides into recession, and is considering launching a low-cost subsidiary.
Qantas outgoing CEO Geoff Dixon told The Sunday Telegraph in Sydney that the airline is fortunate that last year's A$11.1 billion ($7.19 billion) private equity bid by Airline Partners Australia failed ( ATWOnline, May 18, 2007). "I'm very pleased now it didn't happen," Dixon told the newspaper.
Abu Dhabi Aviation announced the acquisition of a 95% stake in Maximus Air Cargo, which flies eight freighters on charter and ACMI operations for commercial customers and the UAE government. Maximus said nine-month revenue rose 227% year-over-year to $86.4 million.
Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, expanded their marketing services agreement to give AS passengers more access to DL's international flights and DL passengers more access to AS and Horizon's western US network.
CFM International announced that British Airways placed an order for 20 CFM56-3 Advanced Upgrade kits for its 737 Classic fleet. Order is valued at approximately $33 million at list prices and potentially could encompass as many as 44 engines. Delivery begins early next year. Kit features three-dimensional high-pressure compressor aerodynamics and new high-pressure turbine hardware and provides up to a 1.6% improvement in specific fuel consumption, CFM said.
Gol and Varig parent Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes suffered a BRL294.3 million ($131,1 million) loss in the third quarter, reversed from a BRL45.5 million profit in the year-ago period, as special charges eclipsed improvement on the operating level.
Boeing said it will deliver the first 777F to Air France in the 2009 first quarter rather than the current quarter as a result of the recently concluded machinists strike, according to press reports. The manufacturer last week announced a 6-9-month delay to its 747-8 program ( ATWOnline, Nov. 17). The Everett Herald said Boeing has two 777Fs in flight testing and one in production. There are 73 orders for the aircraft. Meanwhile, the company last Friday completed destructive testing on a full-scale composite 787 wing box.
Rosavia is the official name of the new state-owned, Moscow-based airline comprising 10 regional carriers, including the remnants of the AiRUnion alliance. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov said Rosavia "will be a large, serious company with a powerful potential and will rival Aeroflot," Interfax reported ( ATWOnline, Oct. 24).
EasyJet said yesterday that the UK High Court approved its application for judicial review of the regulatory process that allowed BAA to impose what the carrier called "an exorbitant increase" in passenger charges at London Gatwick ( ATWOnline, March 12). UK CAA authorized BAA to raise charges by 21% to £6.79 per passenger this year and by 2% above inflation annually for the subsequent four years.
Air France planned to return to an almost-normal schedule today following a four-day pilots strike that ended last night at midnight local time ( ATWOnline, Nov. 14). AF said it planned to operate 95% of its short- and medium-haul schedule and all long-haul flights from Paris and that all ticketed passengers will be able to travel. Yesterday it operated 76% of its long-haul schedule, around half of its short/medium-haul schedule and about 90% of its regional partners' flights.
Thales said its TopSeries IFE system was selected by British Airways for the 777-300ER, 787 and A380 aircraft it has on order. Screen size will be 15.4 in. in first class, 12.1 in. in business class, 10.6 in. in premium economy and 8.9 in. in economy. BA will offer USB and RCA ports at each seat.
ABX Air parent Air Transport Services Group yesterday outlined its plan to survive beyond next year's expected termination of its operation as a DHL subservice airline, saying it will become a smaller, diversified company that will wet- and dry-lease aircraft and provide expanded MRO services to third parties at its Wilmington, Ohio, base.
Hit hard by the continuous decline of the domestic market, China Southern Airlines parent China Southern Group and China Eastern Airlines parent China Eastern Group are expecting their requests for government aid to be approved. An industry source requesting anonymity told ATWOnline that Beijing is expected to inject CNY3 billion ($439 million) into each airline, allowing China Eastern to reduce its net debt ratio to 94.7% from 98% and China Southern to reduce its net debt ratio to 80.5% from 83%.
Pacific Coastal Airlines Grumman Goose crashed Sunday morning on an island approximately 50 km. north of Vancouver, killing seven of the eight onboard. Flight departed YVR on its way to Powell River, BC. It was PCA's second fatal Goose accident this year, according to press reports. The airline said it has suspended its floatplane operation until it has debriefs with all employees. Eight of its remaining 25 aircraft are amphibians. It also operates Saab 340As, Shorts 360s and Beech 1900Cs.
Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines is confident there will be medium- and long-term growth opportunities in the region but is calling for restraint from governments and suppliers as the industry endures a significant downturn. At the Nov.
Kingfisher Airlines has "received several expressions of interest from foreign airlines," Chairman Vijay Mallya said in a statement cited by widespread press reports, and he pressed the government to allow foreign interests to acquire up to 25% of Indian carriers. "I believe aviation should be treated as per international norms and other industry sectors where strategic investors can invest," he said. "This will secure the future of Indian aviation."
Amadeus IT Group appointed Amadeus Global Travel Distribution Executive VP-Commercial David Jones as president and CEO effective Jan. 1, succeeding Jose Antonio Tazon, who will become nonexecutive chairman. Jones joined Amadeus in 1992 and has been at his present position since 2000. In addition, CFO Luis Maroto will add the deputy CEO title and Senior VP-Corporate Strategy Philippe Chereque was named to succeed Jones.
ANA pilots flying for Air Nippon, Air Nippon Network, Air Next and Air Central have threatened a 24-hr. strike Wednesday "to express dissatisfaction with the management stance in their year-end round of talks," the carrier said. Potential strike by 592 pilots across four unions will affect 22% of ANA's domestic schedule (169 cancellations and 32 delays).
CIT Aerospace signed leases for two A330-200s with Mexicana, the first A330s for the airline. Aircraft are powered by Trent 772Bs and will be used to launch Mexico City-Madrid service. Delivery is scheduled for November and December.
FedEx said yesterday that it has pushed back the opening of its new Asia/Pacific hub at Guangzhou Baiyun from next month to "the first half of 2009," adding, "The revised operations date provides FedEx with the necessary time to fully test all systems and processes, as well as work closely with the Guangzhou authorities to ensure all necessary approvals are in place." The $150 million, 82,000-sq.-ft. facility will replace the express operator's Subic Bay hub ( ATWOnline, July 14, 2005).
Boeing Friday revealed its latest aircraft program delay, saying that the first 747-8 Freighter will be delivered in the third quarter of 2010 instead of late 2009 as planned and the first 747-8 Intercontinental will be delivered in the second quarter of 2011 instead of late 2010. The manufacturer said that "issues that have slowed the program's progress . . .include supply chain delays driven by design changes to the airplane, limited availability of engineering resources inside Boeing and the recent machinists' strike that halted production in the company's factories."
