US State Dept. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs John Byerly once again warned that the liberalization of present rules on airline ownership and control, as sought by the European Commission as part of second-phase EU-US open skies negotiations, will be a "tough case" although he said the US is not totally against it. "We have an open mind, but it cannot be an easy thing to do," he said in Kuala Lumpur. He called for a proactive approach from Europe and asked it to present its case in compelling terms.
Airbus issued an Operators Information Telex to all operators of its aircraft in the wake of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's investigation into the Qantas A330-300 incident on Oct. 7. The instruction advises crews to shut down the entire Air Data Inertial Reference Unit No. 1 in case of partial failure, which would isolate both IR and ADR to prevent the ADR from continuing to provide erroneous data. The A330 has three ADIRUs.
SITA reached a five-year, $10 million agreement with Kenya Airways to provide its VSAT technology for deploying satellite networks. System will streamline 46 remote sites into a single satellite hop to head offices in Nairobi and the reservations host in Europe.
Bmi announced the promotion of Interim Commercial Director Martyn Bridger to commercial and service director and Interim Marketing Director Katherine Gershon to sales and marketing director.
Turkish Airlines moved forward with its fleet renewal, announcing yesterday its intention to place an order for 25 widebody and 50 single-aisle aircraft plus 10 widebody and 10 narrowbody options.
Virgin America will add a second daily New York JFK-Las Vegas on Dec. 11. TAM will launch daily A330 Sao Paulo Guarulhos-Orlando International Nov. 21.
Airbus yesterday operated its first test flight powered by a PurePower PW1000G engine using an A340-600 in Toulouse. The engine features Pratt & Whitney's Geared Turbofan technology. P&W Commercial Engines President Todd Kallman said, "Demonstrating the Geared Turbofan technology throughout its entire operating envelope using the Airbus A340 flight test aircraft. . .will provide us with valuable installation and operating data." The Airbus/P&W flight test program follows 43 flight hr. on Pratt's 747SP flying testbed.
Ryanair said it "may" decide to close its Valencia base Friday over a dispute with the regional government, which the LCC claimed "has opted to support other airlines who have not provided a fraction of the growth which Ryanair has to the airport" and has failed to reply to its "proposal on how to ensure the continued growth" at VLC. It set Friday as a deadline for that response. No further details were provided.
Goodrich yesterday signed a data license agreement with Boeing for the use of detail engineering design to obtain parts manufacturing authority for replacement landing gear parts. License allows Goodrich to manufacture certified PMA parts under its FAA-approved system and distribute directly to operators.
AirAsia X hopes to announce its first UK service from its base at Kuala Lumpur International's low-cost-carrier terminal next month and commence the route in March, CEO Azran Osman Rani told ATWOnline at the Routes Leaders Forum in the Malaysian capital.
B/E Aerospace yesterday announced a deal with Airbus valued at more than $1 billion to provide galley systems for A350 XWBs. Systems are designed to accommodate aircraft's "flex zones" and allow airlines to select various galley positions and configurations. Deliveries will begin in 2013.
Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, India's two largest private carriers, yesterday announced the formation of an "alliance" that will include codesharing on both domestic and international flights and a wide-ranging pooling of resources.
Airstream International Group announced the lease of four ERJ-145s to regional startup Athens Airways. Aircraft currently are operated by Flybe and will be delivered to Athens starting next month. Airline is scheduled to begin flying next April to "most of the basic regional Greek destinations," Airstream said.
Iberia flew 4.43 billion RPKs in September, down 6.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 1.4% to 5.5 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 4.2 points to 80.6%. TAM flew 1.91 billion domestic RPKs in September, up 15% year-over-year, against a 17.5% increase in ASKs to 2.95 billion. Load factor fell 1.4 points to 64.6%. International RPKs jumped 41.5% to 1.33 billion, capacity rose 25.4% to 1.66 billion ASKs and load factor was up 9.2 points to 80.4%.
Jetstar Airways announced plans to launch daily flights from Auckland to Sydney and Gold Coast on April 28. Its transtasman schedule currently comprises 28 weekly A320 return flights from Christchurch to SYD, OOL, Melbourne and Brisbane. The move increases competition on the AKL-SYD route, which currently is operated by seven carriers and will see Pacific Blue, Virgin Blue's low-fare international arm, launch service today with nine-times-weekly flights. It already operates daily AKL-MEL. On Feb. 1, Emirates will replace its daily 777-300ER AKL-SYD with an A380.
Australian investigators said there is no evidence linking the use of mobile telephones or laptops with last week's Qantas A330-300 inflight incident that injured more than 70 people ( ATWOnline, Oct. 9) as has been speculated. The aircraft remains grounded at Learmonth while Australian and French investigators, Airbus and QF staff examine its computers.
Embraer delivered 37 commercial jets, nine executive jets and two aircraft for defense/government use in the third quarter compared to 38 commercial and nine business aircraft in the year-ago period. The Brazilian manufacturer received 13 commercial orders during the quarter and its firm order backlog was valued at $21.6 billion, up 4.3% year-over-year. Nine-month deliveries totaled 145 aircraft, up 34%, and it reaffirmed its estimate that it will deliver 195-200 aircraft this year. Separately, LAM Mozambique Airlines signed a contract for two E-190s plus two purchase rights.
Air Berlin confirmed that it is discussing a possible merger with TUIfly, whose effort to combine with Condor and Germanwings was scuttled when Condor parent Thomas Cook withdrew last month ( ATWOnline, Sept. 30). "There are talks, but no results," an AB spokesperson told Bloomberg News.
Jazeera Airways has partnered with NBK Capital and DVB Bank to launch a Kuwait-based aircraft lessor called Sahaab Aircraft Leasing, the companies announced yesterday. Sahaab has been capitalized at $375 million and plans to order 40-50 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus next year, according to press reports. Jazeera CEO Marwan Boodai told Reuters that the low-fare airline will be Sahaab's first customer and that "the Gulf offers plenty of growth opportunities. Cash is here."
Malaysia Airlines is postponing its decision on its long-haul fleet renewal owing to current market conditions, CEO and MD Idris Jala told ATWOnline at the World Route Development Forum in Kuala Lumpur. "It is clear that we will delay the process to look at a widebody aircraft order. We are not in a hurry," he said. MAS had anticipated analyzing future widebody requirements in the current quarter to complement its spring commitment for 35 737-800s plus 20 options ( ATWOnline, April 1).
Rockwell Collins will provide Aer Lingus with a suite of avionics including MultiScan weather radar, GLU-920 Multi-Mode Receiver and a range of communication and navigation offerings on six A330s. Deliveries are slated to begin next year.
SkyWorks Leasing entered a comprehensive aircraft management and remarketing agreement with Philip Morris Capital Corp. covering the latter's entire portfolio of 119 aircraft currently on lease to US carriers. Deal includes asset management services such as technical management and supervision, future dispositions, sales and re-leases. Terms were not disclosed.
News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus plans to introduce Crazy Shopping, an application that will free searches from the tyranny of origin, destination and time frame, in the second quarter of next year. The new search functionality enable users to query airlines in new ways: "I live between Frankfurt and Munich and can fly from either airport. I would like to go to either Thailand or Indonesia. Show me my options." Or, "I have €600. Where can I go?"
Greater Toronto Airports Authority will reduce landing fees at Toronto Pearson by 0.4% next year and terminal charges by 0.6%, offering "projected savings" for airlines of C$28 million ($23.9 million).
