US Airways said it will reduce mainline Pittsburgh service to 22 daily flights from 31 from Jan. 6 and expects service provided by regional partners to drop to 46 daily flights from 77 as it "continues to maximize the financial stability of its Pittsburgh operation." Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said the PIT operation cost the company more than $40 million over the past year. US will close its pilot and flight attendant bases but will not furlough those employees, leaving approximately 500 to bid for trips originating from alternate US bases.
Aer Lingus asked the European Commission to consider ordering Ryanair to reduce its stake, both EI and the EC confirmed yesterday. According to MarketWatch, EI accused the EC of failing to act within the EU merger regulations by allowing Ryanair to keep its sizable stake in Aer Lingus despite its failed merger attempt. DG Competition spokesperson Jonathan Todd said EU competition authorities received the notice about failure to act two weeks ago and would respond by Oct. 17.
DayJet Corp. yesterday formally launched what it described as the world's first "per-seat, on-demand" jet service within Florida using PW600-powered Eclipse 500 very light jets. DayJet, which said it has more than 1,500 members, initially is offering same-day travel among Boca Raton, Gainesville, Lakeland, Pensacola and Tallahassee with VLJs accommodating two pilots and three passengers. Airline service between those cities typically involves a connection ( ATWOnline, June 15, 2006).
EADS said yesterday it "is most surprised" by reports that French stock market regulator AMF has given prosecutors a "preliminary note" alleging insider trading in 2006 by numerous EADS and Airbus executives related to A380 program delays.
SAS Group will sell its 55% holding in Spanish ground handling services company Newco Airport Services to Teinver, which now will hold 100% of Spain's second-largest handling concern. SAS said the transaction value and positive effect on net debt and cash for the company is SEK400 million ($61.4 million).
EU transport ministers gave the European Commission a mandate to start negotiations with Canada on a comprehensive air transport agreement "aimed at establishing an open aviation area between the EU and Canada, opening market restrictions and achieving a high level of regulatory convergence." Currently, 17 of the 27 EU member states have bilateral aviation agreements with Canada but none "are in conformity with Community law," the ministers noted.
US National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the probable cause of the Southwest Airlines 737-700 runway overrun in December 2005 at Chicago Midway "was the pilots' failure to use available reverse thrust in a timely manner" and to use the best data to calculate landing distance. The aircraft veered from the runway after landing and crashed through a boundary fence onto a road next to the airport, striking a car and killing a six-year-old child.
Calidris announced that British Airways has gone live with its Business Change Management solution, enabling BA to create an Order Data Store combining customer information "from across the complete booking-to-fulfillment lifecycle in a single unified data layer." Calidris said the first application attacked the problem of duplicate bookings.
Island Air has managed to stay above the fray, at least for now, as skirmishes continue in the Hawaiian aviation market ( ATWOnline, Oct. 1). "There's been a total change of our operation," CEO Rob Mauracher told ATWOnline. "We've dropped the number of daily departures from 107 to 75 and we've let go staff down from 450 to 280. We've cut the fleet in half from 14 [37-seat Dash 8s] to seven.
SAS said it will initiate discussions with Bombardier regarding compensation of approximately SEK500 million ($76.7 million) for the costs and lost income incurred due to the three-week grounding of its Q400s, according to German news agency DPA.
Cathay Pacific Airways today will place its first 777-300ER into service between Hong Kong and Seoul Incheon. The first of 23 ordered by CX will transition to long-haul routes next month and is scheduled to fly to New York JFK on Nov. 15, expanding the route into a thrice-daily service. CX will take a total of five -300ERs this year, five in both 2008 and 2009, three in 2010 and five in 2011. It currently operates 89 passenger aircraft and 19 freighters.
Aer Lingus, saying it is in "a regrettable position where we have no option," imposed an immediate pay freeze on all staff, citing labor unions' rejection of its "Program for Continuous Improvement" cost-saving initiative. Until it can implement the program, EI said it is forced to withhold a series of promised raises. CEO Dermot Mannion said, "Aer Lingus cannot continue to wait indefinitely to achieve essential savings. It is within this context that the decision to suspend increases has been taken." He said the carrier is open to talks with unions "at the earliest possible date."
Vueling Airlines, as expected ( ATWOnline, Oct. 2), cut its profit forecast yesterday and said it would not meet its 2007 financial targets. It is the LCC's second profit warning in three months. In a statement to the Spanish stock exchange regulator, the Barcelona-based carrier said EBITDAR could fall to a loss of up to €10 million compared with a previous profit forecast of €23-€42 million.
Aeroflot's first-half profit plunged 25.2% year-over-year to RUB3.2 billion ($128.6 million) according to Russian Accounting Standards, although the airline said that "in general, revenues continue to be higher than costs," RIA Novosti reported. Turnover climbed 21.7% to RUB33.5 billion against a 15.4% increase in costs to RUB31.9 billion as SU transported approximately 3.8 million passengers during the six-month period, up 17.9%. Separately, the Russian flag carrier announced that it is offering a 3% discount on tickets reserved or purchased through its website.
Goodrich Corp. announced yesterday that it is selling its heavy maintenance base, Goodrich Aviation Technical Services in Everett, Wash., to Australia's Macquarie Bank. Subject to regulatory clearance, the sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Price was not disclosed. ATS employs more than 1,200 at the 950,000-sq.-ft. facility offering heavy airframe checks, component repair and overhaul, engineering and modifications and cargo conversions. Prior to its 1988 acquisition by Goodrich, it operated as Tramco.
European turboprop manufacturer ATR announced updated versions of its 50-seat ATR 42 and 70-seat ATR 72 that include a more powerful engine, new cockpit technology and increased maximum takeoff weight. The -600 series, offered in both variants, "will be the most modern, most up-to-date, with the latest generation technology," CEO Stephane Mayer said yesterday in Washington.
Thales was awarded a contract from ITT for the supply and lifecycle support of ADS-B radios for the ITT team's winning bid to deploy the ground stations for FAA's ADS-B program ( ATWOnline, Aug. 31). Thales said the initial contract term is three years with a value of up to $40 million, rising to $140 million if all options are exercised.
Pinnacle Airlines will defer the start of the transition of 15 CRJ-200s to Northwest Airlines until November in exchange for a $1.5 million payment, the regional announced. Aircraft will leave the carrier at a rate of around two per month and originally were scheduled to begin transferring to NWA in September.
China Airlines added chairman to the title of President Chao Kuo-shuai, replacing Philip Wei, who resigned in the wake of the August engine fire and explosion on a CI 737-800 in Okinawa ( ATWOnline, Aug. 24), according to press reports from Taipei.
Vietnam Airlines confirmed yesterday that it will acquire 12 additional 787-8s following Boeing's Monday announcement that the carrier had promised to "move forward" with additional acquisitions ( ATWOnline, Oct. 2).
Aloha Airlines will launch daily flights from San Diego to Kauai and Kona on Jan. 7. Flights to Kauai will operate nonstop four-times-weekly and via Kona thrice-weekly. Flights to Kona will be nonstop thrice-weekly and stop in Kauai four-times-weekly. Wizz Air yesterday launched thrice-weekly Katowice-Brussels South Charleroi flights. Hawaiian Airlines will launch Honolulu-Manila service in March aboard 767-300ERs. Frequency was not announced. MyAir will commence twice-weekly Bari-Amsterdam service on Dec. 15 aboard CRJ900s.
Barcelona International Airport's new Sur terminal will be used by 42 airlines, including oneworld members and "associates" Clickair and Air Nostrum and Star Alliance members plus affiliates Air Comet and Aerolineas Argentinas, Spanish airports operator Aena announced yesterday. Vueling Airlines also will operate from the new terminal. SkyTeam carriers, which requested to operate out of T Sur, instead will have exclusive use of the existing Terminal A, while other low-cost operators and airlines without intercontinental flights will operate out of the B and C terminals.
