China Eastern Airlines expects to report a significant loss for the first nine months of 2008 owing to the sharp decline in domestic market conditions and a CNY720-per-ton increase in third-quarter jet fuel prices. CEA posted a CNY212.5 million ($31 million) net loss in the 2008 first half and said it will deepen due to a "decline in domestic demand starting from the third quarter" that it said will continue for the time being as a result of the global economic slowdown.
Thales Training and Simulation and A J Walter Aviation added the A330 to a flight simulator support program under an agreement announced last week. Program also covers the A320 and 777 and includes maintenance and spare parts for instruments and avionics.
Continental Airlines' third-quarter result, scheduled to be released Thursday, will include $91 million in special charges, it said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Alitalia investor group CAI will delay its formal offer to the airline's administrator by two weeks to Oct. 28, when it will hold a shareholder meeting to approve a charter and capital increase, Agence France Presse reported ( ATWOnline, Oct. 3).
Pratt & Whitney restructured and placed its Commercial Engines, Global Service Partners and Global Material Solutions operations into a new unit named Commercial Engines & Global Services that will be led by Todd Kallman as president. Kallman has headed the Commercial Engines business since 2006. Global Service Partners is Pratt's maintenance, repair and overhaul organization and Global Material Solutions is its engine parts business that is developing non-OEM parts for the CFM56-3.
Amadeus said Qantas completed migration to its Altea Customer Management System streamlining sales, reservations, inventory and departure control management capabilities. Migration "is an unprecedented milestone in the industry and makes Qantas the first to become fully operational on the entire Altea platform," the company said.
Radiant Power, a HEICO subsidiary, launched its Sentinel power supply unit featuring 10 min. of additional power for crash survivable cockpit voice recorders as required by US FAA on aircraft of 10 or more passengers. Unit is compliant with ARINC 777 and meets TSO-C155 certification standards.
Investigators probing the Aug. 20 Spanair MD-82 crash concluded that the aircraft's flaps were not extended as it attempted to take off and that no warning was sounded in the cockpit.
The European Regions Airline Assn. said that last week's vote by the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety to auction 100% of emissions certificates by 2020 will cost the "typical" regional airline €6 million ($8.2 million) per year ( ATWOnline, Oct. 10).
China's new turboprop aircraft, the MA600, an enhanced version of the MA60, made a successful first flight at Xi'an Yanliang Thursday. The MA600 was designed to optimize the MA60's structure and avionics system as well as improve its cabin interior. It entered production in 2005 and rolled out on June 29 this year ( ATWOnline, June 26).
Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 is scheduled to open Tuesday. The facility eventually will be able to handle 43 million passengers per year and will open in three phases, with flights arriving and departing to Doha, Muscat, Bahrain, Kuwait City, Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh, New York JFK, Houston Intercontinental, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo Guarulhos and Toronto when the first phase launches next week. EK President Tim Clark said T3 is "geared for the phenomenal growth we have charted for the airline." It features a 4,500-sq.-m.
US Dept. of Transportation announced expanded aviation agreements with Vietnam and Armenia. Vietnam deal affects all-cargo carriers, removing route restrictions and allowing US airlines to carry freight between Vietnam and third countries without stopping in the US. Further liberalization, including on passenger flights, will be discussed at meetings to be held by October 2010. Deal with Armenia is a full open skies accord.
London Stansted received permission from Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Hazel Blears last week to increase the annual passenger cap to 35 million from 25 million on its existing runway.
TAM, which formally was invited to join Star Alliance last week, also hopes to play a major role in Latin American maintenance, repair and overhaul. The carrier's Technology Center is located in Sao Carlos, some 230 km. northwest of Sao Paulo. It has invested $185 million in the 4.6-million-sq.-m., six-hangar facility since it opened in 2001 at the site of a former truck factory.
Turkish Airlines released a statement Friday saying it has not received "any notice" regarding its bid for B&H Airlines. A Bosnian government official told media last week that THY had won the tender ( ATWOnline, Oct. 9). "If such notice is received we will inform the public accordingly," THY said.
Icelandair last week announced a series of enhancements including a premium economy cabin, new IFE-equipped seats, a flexible fare structure featuring six different categories, new aircraft interiors, new cabin crew uniforms and an upgraded website scheduled to go live on Nov. 1.
Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes on Friday announced the formal integration of Gol and VRG (once again called Varig) into a single airline company and from Oct. 19 will launch a new route network in which Gol will focus on shorter routes and Varig will operate longer-haul flights.
Jet Airways will discontinue its Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco service on Jan. 13 owing to "the downturn in major economies worldwide." It said it will serve SFO from London Heathrow through codeshare with United Airlines and continue to optimize its long-haul network "focusing more on its established international gateways and routes." AirAsia will launch daily service to Singapore from Kuching and Kota Kinabalu on Nov. 1. Martinair will increase freighter service to Amsterdam from Quito and Bogota to eight-times-weekly in January.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, said last week that full-year 2008 pre-tax operating profit will "exceed $65 million," a downgrade from previous guidance of "approximately $85 million." President and CEO William Flynn cited "lower utilization of our 747-200 aircraft and weaker yields [owing to a weak economy] having a negative impact."
European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety this week voted to amend the EU's emissions trading scheme, increasing the number of emissions certificates that will be auctioned to 20% in 2013 (from 15% in 2012, when the ETS becomes effective) and to 100% in 2020. In addition, the 95% emissions allowance cap set for 2013 will be reduced annually "by a linear reduction factor" thereafter, the International Air Carrier Assn. said.
Boeing and the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers will resume negotiations and are "working out the details of the return to the table" with a US federal mediator, the union said. The IAM strike that began Sept. 6 now has cost Boeing an estimated $3.36 billion in sales and profit, the union claimed ( ATWOnline, Sept. 22).
Raleigh-Durham International is scheduled to open its new $570 million Terminal 2 on Oct. 26. The 920,000-sq.-ft. facility is three times larger than the terminal it replaces. Project's initial phase includes 19 gates, two ticketing islands, seven security checkpoint lanes and three baggage carousels. When the second phase is completed in late 2011, T2 will serve two concourses with 32 gates designed to accommodate up to 11.4 million passengers annually.
US FAA tentatively determined that Los Angeles International may have acted illegally in providing more than $40 million to the city's convention and visitors bureau, L.A. Inc., the Los Angeles Times reported. Funds were given to the tourism promotional office over a period dating back to 2002. US law allows advertising or marketing efforts aimed at increasing travel at a particular airport but forbids spending on general promotion of local tourist attractions. FAA could require that the money be returned or could seek civil penalties of up to $50,000 from LAX.
