Air New Zealand said its fuel savings initiative is on track to see the airline reduce its CO2 emissions by more than 100,000 tonnes. GM-Airline Operations David Morgan told media in Auckland that "so far our flight operations program has delivered 91,000 tonnes in reduced carbon emissions in just over three years.
Group representing former America West Airlines pilots is urging its members to curtail any disruptive behavior or alleged harassment of "East" US Airways pilots. The US Airlines Pilot Assn., the new union representing US Airways pilots, named a group of former HP pilots in a lawsuit filed May 30 alleging harassment, extortion, racketeering and other illegal activities ( ATWOnline, June 4).
News from Travel Technology Update: Travelport GDS signed agreements with Lufthansa and Swiss that assure that the full content of both airlines will be made available to all Galileo and Worldspan users worldwide through 2011. Under the new agreements, all GDS surcharges will be waived for Travelport GDS travel agencies who choose to participate in the new Lufthansa and Swiss Preferred Fares programs, soon to be launched in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Lichtenstein. The agreements take effect July 1, when Lufthansa and Swiss implement the Preferred Fares plans.
Indian airlines have been late in making payments for jet fuel, reported India's Economic Times, citing a top executive with Indian Oil Corp. Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways are among several carriers "delaying payments in spite of seeking a very comfortable line of credit and huge discounts," the IOC executive told the paper. Kingfisher reportedly built up "arrears" on a line of credit earlier this year and was forced to switch to a "cash and carry" model of payment in which it pays immediately for fuel it needs.
JetBlue Airways subsidiary LiveTV yesterday reached an agreement to purchase Verizon's Airfone network, a move that the company said will "anchor [its] inflight e-mail and messaging platform." Financial terms of the purchase were not disclosed. LiveTV plans to enhance and expand Airfone's Kiteline service, an inflight e-mail and messaging service targeted at the commercial aviation market. JetBlue already offers inflight e-mail on a single A320 on a trial basis via the Airfone network.
AirBridgeCargo Airlines was awarded an Air Operator's Certificate by Transport Canada. The airline said this is the "first step toward any airline gaining permission to operate to and from Canada."
Amadeus said it reached an agreement with Singapore Airlines to replace the carrier's existing passenger service systems with its Altea Customer Management Solution. Technology is expected to enhance sales and reservations as well as global inventory management and departure control operations. Decision follows a comprehensive review of Amadeus's experience in migrating from legacy applications and platforms to newer technologies.
Emirates said it will operate its first A380 commercial flight on Dubai-New York JFK service Aug. 1 and from Aug. 8 will operate the route with the aircraft thrice-weekly. The flights are in addition to the twice-daily service it already offers on the route. The aircraft, the first to be powered by Engine Alliance GP7200s, will be configured with 489 seats: 14 first class, 76 business and 399 economy. It also will provide 13 tons of belly hold capacity for cargo.
Honeywell Aerospace said yesterday that it has reached agreement to sell its Consumables Solutions business that distributes fasteners and aerospace hardware to B/E Aerospace for $1.05 billion pending regulatory approval.
China's airlines are moving to upgrade their fleets and cut international flights to mitigate the impact of skyrocketing fuel costs. China Southern Airlines President Liu Shaoyong told ATWOnline at the IATA AGM in Istanbul last week that the carrier plans to phase out 12 MD-80s in October with the aim of improving fuel efficiency. In addition, it cut some international flights on June 1, particularly Southeast Asia routes from Guangzhou that an industry analyst said "are mainly focused on tourists [and] make less profit."
Airbus last week released a forecast for Central Europe that projected the region will require approximately 460 new aircraft worth $32 billion through 2026. Single-aisle aircraft "will dominate deliveries," it said. Traffic in the region is expected to grow 6.7% annually through 2026, faster than the global average of 4.9%, the manufacturer said.
ExpressJet Friday signed a new seven-year capacity purchase agreement with Continental Airlines that CO said included lower rates comparable to those charged by other regional providers. Under the new contract, which will take effect July 1, ExpressJet will operate a minimum of 205 aircraft for CO the first year and a minimum of 190 in following years. The deal enables the regional to swap out some of its 37-seat jets for larger 50-seat RJs to be operated under the CO agreement.
Lieberman Warner Climate Security Act, which would have introduced a carbon cap-and-trade regime across a wide swath of the US economy, failed to gain sufficient support in the US Senate to move forward for a vote and was withdrawn from consideration Friday. President Bush had said he would veto the bill and it faced uncertain prospects in the House of Representatives. US airlines strongly opposed the proposed law, which would have required them to purchase so-called emissions allowances from oil companies at the same time that they were buying fuel.
Swiss Aviation Training said it will acquire an E-190 full-flight simulator to train Lufthansa Group cockpit crews. CAE is expected to deliver the simulator by year end.
Jetairfly will base one 737-800 at Charleroi Brussels South from Oct. 24 and launch twice-weekly services to Oujda, Nador, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. The Belgian airline, part of TUI Group, also will take over five weekly flights to Casablanca from its Moroccan affiliate Jet4You, which will continue to operate two weekly flights between CRL and Casablanca.
Telair will provide SilkAir with its Sliding Carpet Loading System for A319s and A320s under a recent deal. Airbus will install the systems prior to delivery.
Farnair Europe will add an ATR 72 freighter and two Beech 1900 freighters to its fleet. Farnair operates express delivery services for a number of integrators in Europe.
Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe said the carrier is growing increasingly confident that commercial quantities of environmentally sustainable fuels that meet all its stringent criteria will become available over the next few years.
Air Astana President Peter Foster told ATWOnline last week that the carrier is well positioned to weather the current economic environment, insisting that conditions in Central Asia will remain strong.
Aeroflot last week confirmed that it plans to lease an additional 19 A320 family aircraft. No other details were provided. Interfax reported that the carrier plans to add up to 65 Airbus aircraft in the future. It already operates 36 narrowbody Airbus aircraft. It reportedly wants to double its current level of domestic services by 2014. CEO Valery Okulov told ATWOnline at the IATA AGM in Istanbul last week that SU is looking for a European airline with which it can form a strategic partnership. "We are considering Austrian Airlines. .
Qantas Group announced a series of changes to its international network owing to fuel expense. CEO Geoff Dixon said Japan and Southeast Asia will be most affected. "The Japan-Far North Queensland market has also been particularly difficult for Qantas for a number of years," he noted.
Gol and VRG parent Gol Linhas Aereas said Executive VP and CFO Richard Lark will be elevated to the board effective June 16 and serve as an "adviser" to CEO Constantino de Oliveira Jr. He will transition his former responsibilities to Treasurer Anna Bettencourt, who will become finance director and investor relations officer, Controller Fabio Pereira and Accounting and Tax Director William Cattan, who also will serve as principal accounting officer. Schiphol Group appointed Jos Nijhuis president and CEO effective Jan. 1, 2009.
Emirates will receive its first A380 on July 28 at a ceremony in Hamburg. First service will be from Dubai to New York JFK, possibly as early as Aug. 1. At the recent IATA AGM in Istanbul, EK President Tim Clark made waves when he announced that the airline had no plans to reduce flying because of soaring fuel prices and the softening of the market. "We are not cutting back but in fact are looking to expand," he told delegates. The expansion could include the conversion of an order for 10 787-8Fs to the passenger version, according to some observers in Dubai.
