Boeing Shanghai Aviation Service Co., a JV launched last year by Boeing, Shanghai Airlines and Shanghai Airport Group, expects its hangar at Pudong to be operational in 2009, company CEO Timothy Premselaar said. The hangar will be constructed in two phases. At the conclusion of the first in April 2009 it will hold two 747s or two 777s, and by 2010 its capacity is expected to double. BSASC said the hangar will be engaged mainly in aircraft reconfiguration.
Eos Airlines said it will acquire its seventh and eighth 757s thanks to the $50 million injection received during the summer and launch Newark-London Stansted and New York JFK-Paris (airport unidentified) service next spring and fall respectively. Eos said further details will be announced "in the coming months."
Hainan Airlines began construction of a new base at its Urumqi hub that will feature a hangar, warehouses, catering facility, flight crew and office building and a maintenance facility. First phase of construction on the 153-acre site is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008. Hainan operates 13 routes within and from the Xinjiang region in northwest China. The carrier said it intends to operate routes to Central Asia and Eastern Europe from the airport. Separately, Hainan launched four-times-weekly Tianjin-Ningbo service aboard 737s.
ILFC is planning an imminent announcement of an order for 20 A350 XWBs valued at about $4 billion, Les Echos and Bloomberg News reported Friday. While there was no official confirmation, Airbus COO-Customers John Leahy last week said he was in talks with the lessor regarding the revamped aircraft, while Airbus North America Chairman Allan McArtor said ILFC was "very comfortable" with the redesigned aircraft and the manufacturer would be "thrilled" with an order from the lessor.
Chalk's Ocean Airways, which suffered a fatal crash of a Grumman Turbo Mallard in December 2005 ( ATWOnline, May 31), lost its operating license and has not operated since early last month, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. Chalk's had been leasing aircraft from Big Sky Airlines but failed to secure FAA re-approval for its own aircraft or acquire new ones, the paper said, so it lost its license.
Consolidation appears to be the development trend in China's airline industry, but Hainan Airlines Group President Chen Feng said that the "super carrier" idea promoted by some officials will not work. Chen was speaking yesterday after attending the Communist Party of China's national congress in Beijing. He noted that Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan have controlled 90% of the domestic market since 2002 despite the increase in new entrants. "I don't think there is a possibility that these four bigger airlines will merge," he said.
Aerolineas Argentinas and Air Comet parent Grupo Marsans, the Spanish tourism and transport giant, is planning to deploy its four A380s on Madrid-Buenos Aires service, but its desire to boost capacity to Mexico City may force it to increase its order. Marsans President President Gonzalo Pascual told ATWOnline at Monday's Singapore Airlines delivery ceremony in Toulouse that "for Mexico City we need two more A380s.
ANA yesterday confirmed a report in The Wall Street Journal that it will take a one-time charge of ¥66 billion this fiscal year owing to a change in accounting related to aircraft and equipment depreciation, although it has not changed its full-year guidance of ¥64 billion in net earnings ( ATWOnline, Aug. 1). Qantas yesterday said it is "looking at restructuring opportunities" for Qantas Holidays, its wholesale holidays business.
Frontier Airlines is relying on regional partners to bridge the gap until its new Lynx Aviation subsidiary receives FAA certification. Some of the flying scheduled for Lynx currently is being operated under contracts with Horizon Air, ExpressJet Airlines and Republic Airways. The company does not know when it will receive FAA approval, a Frontier spokesperson told ATWOnline. Initially, Lynx was scheduled to begin flying Oct. 1 with two Q400s. It eventually will operate 10 of the turboprops. Tickets were booked and routes scheduled but Lynx was never certificated.
Southwest Airlines reported a third-quarter profit of $162 million, more than triple than the $48 million earned in the year-ago period, even as operating income fell slightly. Special gains more than made up the difference, and CEO Gary Kelly promised that barring an economic slowdown, revenue and schedule initiatives will bear fruit in the fourth quarter.
IATA briefed the US Dept. of Transportation yesterday on possible congestion management solutions for New York JFK, arguing ahead of next week's meeting of airlines in Washington that a "peak pricing" system will not work.
Austrian Airlines Group will reconfigure four A320s with a fixed business class cabin to operate on longer routes to the Middle East and Central Asia, a source close to the airline told ATWOnline. No further details were provided, and CEO Alfred Oetsch said news would be released in due course.
Air Canada will launch four-times-weekly Toronto-Caracas service on April 6 and thrice-weekly Toronto-Port of Spain flights on April 8, both aboard 120-seat A319s.
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft announced the following deals: Blue1 signed long-term lease extensions on four RJ85s. It currently operates a fleet of nine Avros along with three MD-90s. CityFlyer, a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways that operates a fleet of 10 RJ100s, signed a lease for two RJ85s. Spanish charter carrier Orion Air signed a long-term lease for a BAe 146-200.
The highest quarterly revenue in company history helped boost Continental Airlines to a third-quarter net profit of $241 million, which represented a 1.7% increase over the $237 million earned in the year-ago quarter.
Mexico's government agreed to sell its 62% stake in AeroMexico to a group of investors led by Banamex, the Mexican arm of Citigroup, for MXN2.7 billion ($249 million) following an intensifying bidding war.
ACTS Aero Technical Support & Services reached a 10-year, C$70 million ($71.5 million) deal with SkyWest Airlines to provide maintenance support on a "significant number" of airframe and engine components including line replaceable units for the airline's fleet of 121 CRJ200s and 70 CRJ700s.
EgyptAir Chairman Atef Abdel Hamid expects tough work ahead as the carrier readies itself for Star Alliance membership. "I read all the 52 requirements to be a member by myself. We still have a great challenge to meet the standards of a Star Alliance member," he admitted. The airline already has started, even though its commitment to join the group was announced just this week ( ATWOnline, Oct. 17).
Air Tahiti selected IER to install a common use self-service application. IER will provide the French Polynesian airline with five IER 918 CUSS kiosks and supply the IER CUSS platform, the IER self-service check-in application and also a Web check-in application. IER will support deployment of the complete application through project management.
Banamex and the Saba family continued their bidding war for AeroMexico yesterday, with both upping their bids to at least MXN2 billion ($185 million). The Mexican government indicated it was leaning toward accepting the bid of Banamex, the Mexican arm of Citigroup, unless the Sabas had outbid their rival clearly by the close of business yesterday. Moises Saba Masri vowed to win the bidding, saying in a radio interview that "If we have to make a higher counteroffer, then we'll do it.
Singapore Airlines' first A380 touched down at Changi International Wednesday evening at 18:42 local time, starting a new era in commercial aviation. The giant jet, which had departed Toulouse 13 hr. before, docked at the essentially complete and spectacular S$1.75 billion ($1.19 billion) Terminal 3, which is due to go into full-scale commercial operation on Jan. 9. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and more than 500 guests were in attendance.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. posted third-quarter net income of $175 million, more than 10 times net earnings of $15 million in the year-ago quarter, and insisted it is seeking ways to increase shareholder value following complaints that the company is doing too little to stop its stock price from sinking.
CFM International named Olivier Savin, VP of Snecma Services' component repair business unit, executive VP. He replaces Francois Planaud, who was named VP and GM of Snecma's Commercial Engine Division.
American Airlines, which has seen significant growth at Miami International Airport, said it is working with local officials to speed up construction of a new North Terminal. In September, AA reported a 14.4% year-over-year increase in passengers at MIA. As the project progresses, the airport will close Concourse A and American will operate out of C, D and E.
