SAS Chairman Fritz Schur said the airline company has had "loose talks with different parties" regarding its future but rejected persistent speculation in European media that Lufthansa is negotiating a takeover ( ATWOnline, Sept. 15).
S7 Airlines will launch thrice-weekly Moscow Domodedovo-Bangkok Suvarnabhumi on Dec. 23 using 767-300ERs. Separately, S7 said passenger numbers through the first eight months of 2008 rose 16.1% year-over-year to 4.2 million, while load factor was down 1.1% to 80.1%.
Air India parent National Aviation Co. of India Ltd. sealed $548.6 million in loan guarantees from the Export-Import Bank of the US for the purchase of Boeing aircraft. The bank concluded $1.2 billion in financing for NACIL last year.
Quintiq will provide LSG Sky Chefs-Brahim's with its advanced ramp operations scheduling solution under a deal announced yesterday. Technology features advanced visualization capabilities aimed at optimizing workforce, facilities and equipment utilization. Implementation began this month and is slated for completion by year end.
American Airlines said it will introduce "PriorityAAcess" for first and business class passengers and top frequent-flier program members from Sept. 30, an initiative that will include fast-track security screening lanes at 10 major US airports. "Where permitted by airport policy and government security regulations, American will offer exclusive. . .security screening lanes," it said. Airports that will have the new security lanes are Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O'Hare, Miami, Los Angeles, New York JFK , New York LaGuardia, St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston and San Juan.
Airports Council International's North American and European arms called for negotiators in the US, EU and Canada to move forward on a fully liberalized transatlantic regime, including relaxing remaining restrictions on airline ownership and control. "Additional flexibility would provide greater opportunities for airlines in Europe, the US and Canada to obtain access to capital to the ultimate benefit of consumers.
Ryanair will reduce its presence at London Stansted this winter from 42 aircraft to 28, the LCC confirmed, although it remains confident it can meet its target of growing passenger numbers in the year ending March 31, 2009, by 14% to 58 million.
Air France KLM flew 19.89 billion RPKs in August, up 2.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 4.7% to 23.77 billion ASKs, reducing load factor 1.6 points to 83.7%. Delta Air Lines flew 11.84 billion system RPMs in August, down 0.5% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 1.6% to 13.89 billion ASMs and load factor rose 0.9 point to 85.2%. Air Canada and Jazz flew 5.18 billion RPMs in August, down 1.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 2.2% to 6.14 billion ASMs and load factor rose 0.6 point to 84.4%.
Saudi Arabian LCC Sama announced a reduction in its domestic schedule and the possibility of suspension of all domestic service, saying that "it is impossible. . .to make money on domestic routes despite high passenger demand and full aircraft" because of a fixed economy fare cap that prevents the airline from adding fuel surcharges.
Hungarian real estate developer Biggeorge's Holding announced plans to build a new airport in Szekesfehervar about 60 km. southwest of Budapest, in a statement cited by Reuters. Alba Airport is scheduled to be operational in the first half of 2010 and "will cater primarily to low-cost, charter and other airlines serving European point-to-point destinations, offering an alternative to Budapest [Ferihegy]," it said.
DAE Capital said it signed a deal with Aviation Partners Boeing to purchase 50 blended winglet shipsets for 737-700s/-800s. Delivery will begin in 2010.
British Airways said yesterday that it has cancelled its six-times-weekly London Heathrow-Islamabad service in response to the Sept. 20 Marriott hotel bombing in the Pakistani capital that killed at least 50 people. "In light of the security situation in Pakistan, British Airways has cancelled its flights from Islamabad to Heathrow indefinitely," it said. "The safety and security of our customers, our staff and our operation is always our absolute priority."
Air Astana said it continued to experience strong growth during the first half of 2008, recording a 16% year-over-year increase in passengers carried to 1.3 million. The carrier expects to carry 2.4 million for the full year. First-half revenue lifted 26% to $312 million.
Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee said engine failure was not the cause of last week's fatal Aeroflot Nord 737-500 crash in Perm ( ATWOnline, Sept. 16), backing away from comments made shortly after the accident by some government officials that a fire had erupted in one of the engines inflight. "There is no indication of an engine fire or the aircraft breaking up in the air," the committee said in a statement.
Qantas Executive GM John Borghetti told a cheering crowd of more than 4,000 Qantas staff Sunday that the airline's new A380 will give it an edge over the competition.
US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a runway incursion in which a Mesa Airlines CRJ700 carrying 60 passengers narrowly missed colliding with a Cessna 172 at Lehigh Valley International in Allentown, Pa., on Sept. 17. The incident occurred at approximately 7:45 p.m. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. According to NTSB, the 172 was on a landing roll on Runway 6 when the pilot was instructed to exit at taxiway A4. The CRJ had been instructed to position and hold on the same runway and was then given clearance by the same controller to take off.
China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines experienced a sharp traffic decline in August, another sign of China's sagging domestic passenger market. CEA posted a 23.1% year-over-year drop to 2.92 million passenger boardings with a load factor of 69.4%, down 8.6 points. HNA transported 1.2 million passengers, a 5.2% decrease, as load factor fell 7.8 points to 74.3%. China Galaxy Securities Co.
Turkish Airlines will launch thrice-weekly Istanbul-Baghdad flights from Oct. 26, restarting service that was suspsended during the 1991 Gulf War. Several charter and cargo operators are operating flights to the Iraqi capital and Royal Jordanian operates flights from Amman. Jetstar announced an expanded flight schedule from Oct.
World Airways signed a two-year contract with Allied Air to operate one MD-11F on a full-time basis between Belgium and Nigeria. World Airways will begin the Allied service on Oct. 1, flying from Ostend to Lagos and continuing on to Nairobi to uplift perishables. The flights will be operated 3-4 times weekly. Nigeria-based Allied Air operates four 727 freighters, working with its worldwide sales agent ANA Aviation Services to provide scheduled flights and ad hoc charter services.
Alitalia Administrator Augusto Fantozzi made an open plea for an investment plan to rescue the failing airline, calling on "anyone" who could "assure continuity of the air transport service in the medium term" to make a bid on all or part of the carrier by Sept. 30, but Italian regulators warned that AZ could be shut down before then for safety reasons.
Sensis Corp. won a contract from the US Dept. of Transportation to provide its Aerobahn surface operation monitoring technology to FAA at New York JFK. Technology combines flight schedule and operational information with airport ground surveillance data to provide real-time surface views.
Skyservice Airlines, based at Toronto Pearson, launched Skyservice Maintenance initially focusing on "all phase letter checks for the A320 and 757 airframes with developing capabilities on the 737."
