Chinese government officially approved the launch of the jumbo aircraft manufacturing company that reportedly will begin operating as early as this month. It did not start up last month as originally planned ( ATWOnline, March 6). Local news reports revealed that it will be called China Commercial Aircrafts Co. and that the first board meeting was held last month in Beijing.
Star Alliance expects to make an announcement regarding a new Latin American partner this year, CEO Jaan Albrecht told ATWOnline on the occasion of Turkish Airlines' joining in Istanbul. He acknowledged that it is "no secret" Star is talking to TAM and that a number of members already have bilateral partnerships with the Brazilian carrier ( ATWOnline, May 22, 2007).
EasyJet said it successfully completed the operational integration of GB Airways following the transition of 15 GB aircraft into its new EU-Ops Air Operators Certificate ( ATWOnline, Jan. 4). It is the first major airline to operate under the new European certificate.
NATS appointed Anne Lambert to the new role of director-government and European affairs. Bmibaby named IATA Head of Marketing and New Business Development Julian Carr as commercial director.
CONFIRMING THE LONG-PREDICTED leveling off of the aircraft re-equipment cycle, the 2008 Singapore Airshow (Feb. 19-24) lacked the feeding frenzy of new orders that has characterized the air show circuit since the current cycle began in 2005. In fact, the biggest surprise at the spanking new exhibition center came from the sidelines, not at one of the formal press conferences.
Even the most tried and tested of operations assume a fair amount of risk. Planning for unforeseen events, or for troublesome recurrences such as snowstorms, inventory shortages and labor strikes, is never a failsafe panacea for setback. For airlines and manufacturers with highly outsourced supply chains, managing disruptions and delays calls for visibility across elaborate networks, contingency planning and resiliency.
MATS JANSSON DID NOT GET A LOT OF TIME to grow comfortable in his new position as president and CEO of SAS Group. Like his predecessor, Joergen Lindegaard, he was presented with a crisis shortly after he came aboard. For Lindegaard, who took over in the spring of 2001, it was the Maersk price-fixing scandal and then, a few months later, far worse. Jansson's baptism by fire came four months into the job when Danish and Swedish cabin attendants walked out, costing the company an estimated SEK265 million ($43 million) in the 2007 second quarter.
Ever since the words "scientific" and "consensus" became conjoined at the hip, a cadre of Western thought leaders and policy-makers has been looking forward to the day when they can tell the rest of us how we are going to live our lives. That the phrase "scientific consensus" means little--until Copernicus and Galileo, the "scientific consensus" was that the sun revolved around the earth--does not matter in the least to this group, whose members are not above vilifying anyone who does not share their calamitous views on global warming and the solutions they offer.
Butler International President and CEO Edward Kopko and Senior VP Jim Beckley recently spoke with Airline Procurement about the company's global expansion, engineering staffing experience and outsourcing activities. (Edited for clarity and length.) AP: Can you please provide a glimpse of Butler's business activities and engineering expertise in the aviation industry?
WHEN BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT 038 plowed into the ground at the edge of London Heathrow on Jan. 17, the airline's crisis management response team sprang into action minutes after the plane came to rest and the emergency chutes deployed. Fortunately, there were no fatalities and only one serious injury, but BA was fully prepared to respond regardless of the outcome.
PEERING DOWN FROM AIR FORCE One, the 42nd US President beckoned the leaders of his Secret Service detail. "I want you guys to look out the window," said Bill Clinton. "This is where I started my political career. I've been on every one of these roads."
On March 18, American Airlines experienced one of its most horrendous weather days ever at its principal hub, Dallas/Fort Worth. It canceled hundreds of flights. Yet by the next evening, its operations were largely back to normal. American's quick recovery from what could have been a headline-making nightmare was due in large part to new software developed by its operations research department.
A number of travel agency groups, including the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies, are engaged in an 11th-hour attempt to postpone the demise of paper tickets. IATA has said that after May 31, paper tickets no longer will be processed through its billing and settlement plans. The deadline does not affect travel agencies in the U.S., whose ticket sales are processed through the Airlines Reporting Corp.
The company that operates yellowpages.travel and bills it as "officially the Better Business Bureau of the international travel industry" ran afoul of none other than the Better Business Bureau for using a trademarked name without permission. The company, Idea Labz in Santa Monica, Calif., has bought a number of dot-travel names -- sandiegocalifornia.travel, miamiflorida.travel, yellowbook.travel and pricerunner.travel -- all of which take the user to the same basic interface, with a search applet that promises to "search the travel sites at the same time" but does not.
PAY A VISIT TO RYANAIR.COM AND IT IMMEDIATELY will be apparent that it is no ordinary airline website. The large, flashing reminder that millions of seats are available for just £10--with "no hidden charges"--nvokes the mood of a used car dealership or a county fair. The bouncing cartoon bunnies on the right draw attention to the Irish LCC's Easter deals.
ETIHAD AIRWAYS IS THE KIND OF Persian Gulf carrier that frustrates the chief executives of European legacy airlines: Determined to expand its global footprint through the aggressive use of sixth and seventh freedom rights, always in talks with Airbus or Boeing for a large aircraft order and controlled by a shareholder that is keen to put its home base on the world map--and has plenty of petrodollars to do so (ATW, 2/08, p. 80).
THE AVIATION INDUSTRY faces multiple challenges to remain profitable and stay ahead in business. Escalating fuel bills, the threat of a US slowdown, environmental responsibilities and customers demanding more for less are increasing cost pressures in the competitive global environment.
PAUL ALEXANDER'S PERSPECTIVE on procurement is a bit broader than others. "What [it] can sort of do is align the organization and pull together a much broader understanding of success," says British Airways' head of procurement.
Airlines increasingly obtain spare parts under agreements with maintenance providers, or from manufacturers, which can supply parts under terms of initial acquisition agreements for fees per hour. Traders offer used parts or PMA alternatives to OEM parts at discounts. Exchanges and pooling agreements offer access to parts without holding costs. Asset managers can offer access without investment as well.
Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance named Pierre Teboul VP-sales. AJ Walter Aviation Singapore tapped Allan De Cruz as VP-sales-Asia region. Atlantic Southeast Airlines selected Terry Vais as VP-customer care and Kevin Wade as VP-administration & resources. BAA chose Colin Matthews as CEO. Bmi welcomed Marc Newell as western regional sales dir. and Scott Toelle as dir.-US key accounts. Boeing named Ralph "Skip" Boyce president-Boeing Southeast Asia.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSISTS AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE planners in several ways. First, IT can convert the unplanned reactions to surprises, both on the line and in the shop, into well-planned actions that reduce expensive downtime and costs. Second, IT allows the regular planning of maintenance events to be conducted and communicated much more rapidly and efficiently. But automating maintenance planning often has been difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Managers must consider a complex web of processes and other IT systems to do it well and make the transition pay off.
THERE IS POSSIBLY NO MORE demanding yet resource-rich territory than the "outback" of Western Australia. With summer temperatures above 40 deg. C (104 deg. F) and rugged mountain ranges, it is a challenging environment for the airlines that service almost 50 towns and mine sites spread over an area about one-third the size of the continental US. But those challenges are the fuel that feeds the innovation and success of Perth-based Skywest Airlines, one of Australia's fastest-growing carriers.
THE ASSEMBLY LINES INSIDE PRATT & WHITNEY'S ENGINE FACILITY IN Middletown, Conn., seem unhurried and rather subdued when we arrive. It's Tuesday, nearly 5 p.m., and, aside from two men working in the near distance, there isn't much activity amid the initial workstations. "Looks like they knew we were coming," a fellow tour member says.
V Australia, the long-haul international arm of Virgin Blue, announced yesterday that it will launch daily Sydney-Los Angeles on Dec. 15. It offered 1,000 fares at A$999 ($916) including taxes to celebrate the launch that were snapped up in minutes. Its standard economy return fare is A$1,899, which it claims is 16% lower than the current lowest available published fare. V Australia's 777-300ERs will be fitted with a three-class configuration including a business cabin with lie-flat seats. Premium economy will feature a 2-4-2 layout with 38-in.
