Pratt & Whitney Canada said it established a parts distribution center in Sydney to speed delivery times in Australia and New Zealand. Center, which is expected to complement Pratt PDCs in Singapore and Amsterdam, will house various spares including new parts, exchange accessories and LRUs for PWC engines.
Air Canada yesterday eliminated a C$25 ($23) fee for checking a second bag, saying that the "recent retreat in oil prices is enabling us to reinstate our previous baggage policy." It added that it also will drop "add-on" fuel surcharges for North American flights, "instead adjusting. . .base fares to cover the total cost of fuel," Executive VP and CCO Ben Smith said.
Honeywell yesterday said Tiger Airways selected its avionics suite for eight A320s slated for delivery over the next two years. Suite includes RDR-4B weather radar, Quantum Line Comm Nav Surveillance, TCAS, EGPWS, Solid State FDR and CVR, Flight Data Acquisition and Management System, ACARS, ELT and HF radio.
China's AVIC I yesterday said that the merged company it is forming with AVIC II will be called "China Aviation Industry Corp. Group" and revealed details of the entity's structure.
Lufthansa passengers now can use "mobile boarding passes" sent to Internet-enabled cell phones via e-mail or SMS on all flights from Germany to any destination in Europe, the carrier announced. LH said more than 7,000 weekly domestic passengers are using the electronic boarding passes, which contain a 2D barcode that permits them to pass through security checkpoints and proceed straight to their departure gates.
Ryanair is sticking with its August forecast of a breakeven result for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, ( ATWOnline, Aug. 14) despite rapidly falling fuel prices, in part because the company is upside down with its fuel hedges, CEO Michael O'Leary acknowledged at Ryanair's AGM in Dublin yesterday.
United Airlines said yesterday that it had raised $1 billion by amending its credit card marketing services agreement with Chase Bank but also warned that it likely will take a $225 million fuel-hedging loss in the third quarter.
European Commission gave its approval to the Greek government plan to privatize and restart Olympic Airlines as Pantheon Airways next year ( ATWOnline, Sept. 17), but it also demanded that Olympic return €850 million ($1.2 billion) in state aid. EC VP-Transport Antonio Tajani called the funding "incompatible with European legislation." The privatization plan could face opposition from the carrier's labor unions, which have threatened to fight it.
Air Caraibes signed an MOU with Airbus for three A350-1000s, becoming the European launch customer for the largest version of the A350 XWB. The French carrier said it would configure the aircraft to seat 440 passengers in three classes and operate them on flights from Paris to Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guyana.
myTECHNIC received DGCA/EASA certification for heavy maintenance at its 46,000-sq.-m. facility at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen. Certification covers C and D checks as well as major modifications on MD-80s, A300s and 737s registered in Turkey and the EU. It also allows for CF6-series overhaul.
Mindpearl was selected by American Airlines as its preferred supplier to deliver multilingual contact center services for Japan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Languages will include Japanese, Mandarin and English. Services will be provided from Mindpearl's Brisbane facilities and will include general sales and ticketing inquiries along with frequent-flier inquiries and redemptions.
Southwest Airlines pilots at Baltimore/Washington International yesterday began particparting in the US Transportation Security Administration's SecureScreen trial, which is using biometric screening technology developed by Priva Technologies to positively identify flightdeck crewmembers. The trial will run for 60 days at BWI and include more than 200 SWA pilots. It aims to identify pilots more accurately than current screening methods and allow them to move through security checkpoints more quickly.
CAI, the Italian investment consortium offering to invest €1 billion ($1.4 billion) in an Alitalia restart, yesterday gave the airline's nine labor unions until 3:50 p.m. today in Rome to accept concessions. It claimed it would withdraw its offer if the unions don't meet the deadline. Italian media have reported that at least five of the nine unions have not agreed to the concessions, without which CAI says it won't be possible to turn around the troubled carrier.
Jat Airways is nearing bankruptcy, President Sasa Vlaisavljevic told Serbia's Press newspaper. The Serbian government has been attempting to sell a 51% stake in the troubled carrier since late June ( ATWOnline, June 30) to raise money to revitalize it. But no buyers have come forward and Vlaisavljevic said Jat can afford to operate only nine if its 15 aircraft. It already has reduced onboard food service to lower costs and has laid off employees based outside Serbia.
The US government's $85 billion bailout of ILFC parent American International Group late Tuesday cast a cloud of uncertainty over the aircraft lessor that is the largest single customer of both Boeing and Airbus.
Flight Safety Foundation said yesterday that Executive VP Robert Vandel announced his intention to retire on Dec. 31. "Bob has had a tremendously distinguished career of public service and has made huge contributions to global aviation safety," said FSF Chairman Edward Stimpson.
British Airways moved another chunk of its international flights into London Heathrow's new Terminal 5 this week and expressed confidence that it has overcome the problems that beset T5's March opening. Since then, the terminal has handled 8.5 million passengers. The carrier yesterday started operating flights to the US, Latin America and Canada from T5.
BAA put London Gatwick up for sale yesterday, a move it described as a "realistic. . .response" to the UK Competition Commission's provisional report released last month that raised concerns over the company's ownership of seven UK airports including three serving London.
Sabre Holdings' products in the United Arab Emirates and five markets in Africa will be distributed by Emirates' travel division EmQuest under a 10-year deal announced this week. Contract covers distribution sales and support services in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia and in the UAE starting in January.
VT Miltope and TriaGnoSys announced a partnership to provide end-to-end systems for in-cabin networks. Collaboration is aimed at developing a solution to enable a range of services including broadband Internet access, voice services, inflight entertainment system management and the transmission of non-flight-critical crew information such as electronic flight bags, weather reports and cabin inventory reports.
Worldwide Flight Services won contracts from Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines and US Airways for cargo handling at Baltimore/Washington International.
Austrian Airlines said it completed its previously announced rights offering of up to 57.1 million shares ( ATWOnline, Aug. 25). As expected, Mohamed bin Iassa Al-Jaber did not participate in the offering. As a result, 2.45 million new shares with a value of €7.35 million ($10.5 million) were issued, boosting the number of shares outstanding to 88.1 million and increasing share capital from €257 million to €264.4 million.
NWA Cargo said it upgraded engines on five of its 12 747-200Fs as part of its EarthCares program. It switched out a mix of JT9D-7Js and -7Qs for a mix of -7Qs and -7Rs from former passenger aircraft, according to spokeswoman Kristin Baur. NWA expects to achieve a 5% improvement in fuel efficiency, saving 2.4 million gal. of fuel and 26,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. The freighter fleet currently consists of seven JT9D-7R-powered aircraft, three -7Qs and two -7Js.
Spirit Airlines reported a second-quarter profit of $17.6 million, a more-than-fivefold increase over the $3.1 million earned in the same period a year ago, according to the Miami Herald. Revenue was up 4.6% to $206 million.
