Air France-KLM said in a statement that its board approved the cessation of takeover talks with Alitalia and that it now is up to the ailing Italian carrier's unions to spell out their vision of AZ's future. Alitalia is scheduled to hold a board meeting today and meet with its unions Wednesday. Trading of its shares was suspended last week.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres reached an exclusive three-year deal worth more than £1.6 million ($3.19 million) with SR Technics to supply tires for F100s and unspecified Boeing aircraft to SRT maintenance bases in Europe and the Middle East.
Adria Airways renewed its IOSA registration, which it received initially in August 2004. The Ljubljana-based airline carried more than 237,000 passengers in the first quarter, a 24% increase on the year-ago period. Number of flights was up 15%.
Jet Airways is evaluating the opening of a second European hub for services to South America. The Indian carrier currently maintains a small hub at Brussels from which it operates flights to India and North America in cooperation with Brussels Airlines, which provides European feed. "Jet is considering a hub similar to Brussels, like in Madrid or another airport in southern Europe," a source close to the airline told ATWOnline. No details about a timeframe for the decision were revealed.
Air Malta disposed of its final Boeing aircraft, a 737-300, following a flight to Frankfurt on March 30. In summer 2002 it struck a fleet renewal deal with Airbus and ILFC under which it agreed to lease 12 new A320s that were delivered in January 2004-March 2007.
Barfield reached a 10-year deal with SkyWest Airlines to service selected avionic equipment and mechanical devices. Contract covers 118 aircraft and "represents exciting new prospects for Barfield in its company strategy with narrowbody and regional aircraft," Sabena Technics said. It acquired Barfield in 2006.
The troubles at London Heathrow's Terminal 5 persisted over the weekend, this time owing mainly to poor weather conditions. British Airways cancelled 126 flights at LHR Sunday--114 because of heavy snowfall and 12 owing to computer glitches at T5--and another 34 at T5 yesterday as it battled a scheduling backlog. It also cancelled 32 flights at Gatwick Sunday.
Skyway Airlines, a regional subsidiary of Midwest Airlines, shut down last Saturday as expected. In January, Midwest announced that it would "reposition" Skyway as an airport service provider and shift its regional flying to SkyWest Airlines, which now operates 50-seat CRJs on Midwest's behalf ( ATWOnline, Jan. 17). In announcing the transition, Skyway CEO David Reeve said that operating its fleet of 32-seat 328JETs had become more costly and complex because the aircraft no longer are in production.
EasyJet opened its Lyon base last Friday ( ATWOnline, Oct. 5, 2007) with two new A319s and launched service to Bordeaux (twice-daily), Lisbon (five-times-weekly) and Venice (daily). Thrice-weekly to Porto began Saturday and it soon will fly to Toulouse (twice-daily from May 2), Casablanca (five-times-weekly from May 2), Marrakech (thrice-weekly from May 3) and Biarritz (daily from June 7, seasonal).
The European Commission yesterday adopted a set of measures to harmonize technical and licensing requirements for the use of mobile phones onboard aircraft across the EU's 27 member states. "Pan-European telecom services, such as inflight mobile telephony, need a regulatory 'one-stop shop' to operate throughout Europe," Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said, stressing she expects "operators to be transparent and innovative in their price offerings."
Bombardier reported consolidated net income of $317 million for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, an 18.3% increase over the $268 million earned in the prior year, on a 17.4% growth in revenue to $14.9 billion. Rising aircraft sales and orders boosted revenue at Bombardier Aerospace 17% to $9.7 billion as operating profit soared 74.8% to $563 million from $322 million the previous year. The order backlog increased to a record $22.7 billion, up from $13.2 billion in FY06. Orders for regional aircraft surged to 238 from 87.
Volga-Dnepr Group reported a 51% increase in sales last year to $1.05 billion, $300 million of which was contributed by its scheduled airline AirBridge Cargo. The latter figure represented a 32% gain over 2006. V-D said the overall revenue rise was due in large part to a "substantial" 62% increase in the charter market for outsize and heavy cargo. Volga-Dnepr Airlines carried that freight while AirBridge transported 101,900 tons aboard its 747s, an increase of 29%. The company said it is in the process of growing and upgrading its fleet.
Worldwide Flight Services acquired a 60% shareholding in British Airways Regional Cargo late last month from three of the latter's founders, with the remaining 40% continuing to be held by British Airways World Cargo. Terms of the acquisition were undisclosed. BARC operates more 260,000 sq. ft. of handling facilities at 11 airports in the UK and Ireland. Employing 246 staff, it provides cargo handling for BAWC and other major carriers, including American Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Air India and GB Airways.
Blue Wing Airlines An-28 crashed Friday after aborting a landing at an airstrip near Benzdorp in northern Suriname. All 17 passengers and two crew were killed, according to press reports and Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. Flight departed from Paramaribo, approximately 160 mi. away. The aircraft first flew in 1990 and reportedly crashed into a hillside while circling back to land. Blue Wing did not confirm the accident on its website. As of last fall it was flying five An-28s, three Cessna 206s, one Caravan 208 and one Twin Otter.
A brutal week for the US airline industry that featured the closure of two established carriers and embarrassing Congressional hearings concluded Friday night with the announcement that Skybus Airlines, an ambitious LCC based out of Columbus, had ceased operations. The startup said in a message posted on its website that it "struggled to overcome the rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment," but that those issues "proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier."
Turkish Airlines celebrated its entry into Star Alliance last week as well as an 80% increase in full-year profit to $224 million, saying the figure would have been higher if not for foreign exchange-related losses.
Pratt & Whitney Canada received type certification from Transport Canada and EASA for the PW127M, the latest derivative of the PW127F and PW127E engines that power the ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500. P&WC said the PW127M offers 5% more power than earlier versions. It will be offered on existing variants of the aircraft going forward and also will be the standard engine on the 42-600 and 72-600.
Continental Airlines on Sunday launched flights from Cleveland to Birmingham (twice-daily), Charleston (daily), Green Bay (twice-daily) and Tulsa (twice-daily) aboard 50-seat Continental Express RJs. Mexicana will start four-times-weekly Mexico City-Calgary on June 1 aboard an A319. Cebu Pacific Air will launch a fourth daily Manila-Hong Kong flight on June 30.
Aerolineas Argentinas took delivery of a 164-seat A320-200, the fifth aircraft it has added so far this year. It will take six A320s by year end, it said, and was expecting its 17th 737-500 to arrive last week.
Continental Airlines became the fifth major US carrier to raise its fees for a second checked bag ( ATWOnline, March 31), announcing that economy class passengers who are not premium members of CO's loyalty program will pay $25 for the second piece effective May 5. Policy applies to flights in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.
Czech government last week announced a tender for an adviser to facilitate the privatization of CSA Czech Airlines. The tender will begin April 15, and once a consultant is chosen the government intends "to finish the privatization within months," Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said, according to Reuters.
US Dept. of Homeland Security avoided potential confusion at airports last week by granting an extension to Maine on compliance with the first phase of a federal law mandating new security features on driver's licenses. Extension followed assurances from Gov. John Baldacci (D) to "use the resources at my disposal" to amend state policies in accordance with DHS demands. It was unclear, however, whether the state legislature would back him.
