SkyEurope Airlines confirmed it will close its Budapest and Krakow bases, ceasing operations in both cities from Oct. 28 ( ATWOnline, Sept. 3). A combined 10 daily flights will be suspended and crews relocated to other sites within the company. The carrier will switch free capacity to Prague and Vienna. "We have decided after much research that the way to achieve long-term success is to build our operation around Slovakia, Czech Republic and Vienna.
The European Parliament yesterday called on the European Commission "to review urgently" the legislation restricting the amount of liquid passengers can carry onboard aircraft. "The need for high-quality security is unquestionable. However, security measures need to be 'realistically' designed to minimize the risk and may not be 'disproportionate'," MEPs said. They also recognized the "substantial inconvenience and disruption" caused to passengers, especially transit passengers.
Lufthansa Cargo and German mail and logistics group Deutsche Post plan to create a cargo airline, according to widespread domestic press reports. The companies have applied to set up a 50/50 joint venture. A source close to the deal told ATWOnline that an announcement concerning the cooperation will be made this month. Operations could start in 2009 with a base at Leipzig/Halle.
Aviation Capital Group placed an order for 15 additional 737NGs valued at $934 million, bringing its total firm commitments for the type to 59. The lessor also has firm orders for five 787s. Boeing said the order previously was posted on its Orders and Deliveries website as unidentified.
ST Aerospace signed a joint venture agreement with Aviation Training Academy Singapore to establish a commercial pilot training academy, expanding its training business beyond maintenance and the military to take advantage of projected increases in commercial pilots in the Asia/Pacific region.
Estonian Air will add two 33-seat Saab 340s to its current fleet of six 737s. The regional aircraft will operate three new routes: Daily Tallinn-Helsinki and six-times-weekly Tallinn-Vilnius beginning Sept. 24 and twice-weekly Tallinn-Kuressaare-Stockholm Arlanda from Sept. 27. The airline also is planning to launch service to St. Petersburg and Minsk when it secures the traffic rights. The 340s will be operated by Estonian Air Regional, a wholly owned subsidiary.
Skyways Aviation arranged the long-term lease of an F100 from Mass Holdings of the Netherlands to Air Express of Sweden. Aircraft will be operated by Air Express on behalf of Skyways Express under an ACMI contract.
OnAir reached an agreement with Shenzen Airlines to provide inflight communication services including e-mail, SMS and voice calls aboard the carrier's fleet of 737s and A320s by mid-2009. "We are very proud to be the first airline in China to provide passengers with the ability to communicate during flights," Shenzen President Li Kun said. The OnAir service will enable passengers to use Blackberry-type devices and mobile phones to send and receive text messages and e-mails and to make and receive phone calls inflight.
Singapore Airlines and its parent Temasek agreed to purchase 15.7% and 8.3% stakes respectively in China Eastern Airlines, giving them a combined 24% holding valued at HK7.15 billion ($917 million). Based on the agreement, about which there has been speculation for months ( ATWOnline, July 4), SIA and Temasek will be entitled to nominate two and one CEA board members respectively. In addition, CEA and SIA will cooperate on marketing and sales, personnel training and flight management.
Air Europa, Copa Airlines and Kenya Airways officially became SkyTeam's first "associate airlines," which the alliance said grows its network by 47 additional destinations and nearly 500 additional daily flights. SkyTeam associate airlines will enjoy many of the benefits of full membership, such as linking loyalty programs, sharing airport lounges and "seamless" flight connections to SkyTeam carriers.
Singapore Airlines sold the first ticket for the A380's first commercial flight on Oct. 25 to Sydney resident Julian Hayward for $100,380 via an eBay auction. SIA plans to fill both the initial Singapore-Sydney flight and the Oct. 26 return by auctioning tickets and giving the proceeds to charity.
Oman Air will lease three Airbus aircraft as part of its plan to launch new long-haul services in November, the Arab Air Carriers Organization confirmed ( ATWOnline, July 9). The first two aircraft, an A330 and an A310, will arrive in October. The A330 will operate to Europe while the A310 will fly on Middle Eastern routes and to Bangkok and other destinations.
Alitalia intends to scrap 150-170 of its 340 daily flights from Milan Malpensa as part of a new business plan aimed at stopping the troubled carrier's financial bleeding, Italian media reported following management's meeting with union leaders earlier this week.
STG Aerospace said Oasis Hong Kong Airlines ordered five shipsets of the latest ColorMatch variant of STG's floorpath marking system for its 747-400 fleet.
AeroMexico's board said all its members consider last month's $100 million offer from the Saba family to be "reasonable." The carrier is controlled by state holding company Consorcio Aeromexico, which has been trying to sell it to private investors since 2005 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 23). Archrival Mexicana was sold to an investment group led by Grupo Posadas in late 2005 for $165.5 million plus assumption of liabilities that brought the total value of the deal to $1.46 billion.
Dragonair will officially join oneworld as an affiliate member on Nov. 1, the alliance said yesterday, significantly expanding its reach in mainland China by more than doubling its destinations there.
Xiamen Airlines is the customer for 25 737-800s listed as unidentified on Boeing's Orders & Deliveries website in early August. The order is worth $1.9 billion at 2007 average list prices. "This order of 25 737-800s plus 10 purchase rights allows us to simplify our fleet with the most cost-efficient and superior-performance airplane in its class," said Xiamen Airlines President Yang Guanghua in a statement.
Boeing said Honeywell Aerospace joined its Integrated Materials Management initiative under which Boeing and suppliers maintain an airline's inventory of spare parts. Lufthansa Technik signed a Total Component Maintenance agreement with Mexicana covering more than 250 part numbers for its 47 A320 family aircraft.
Malaysian LCC AirAsia followed Qantas into Vietnam by signing a letter of intent to launch a budget airline in the country in partnership with Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, one of the nation's largest state-owned corporations, according to AirAsia. Last month, Qantas took an 18% stake in Vietnam Pacific Airlines that eventually will rise to 30% ( ATWOnline, Aug. 1).
American Airlines' stunning $1.3 billion terminal at New York JFK, which was inaugurated formally last week ( ATWOnline, Aug 30), opens at an opportune time for the airline as it confronts a growing challenge from Delta Air Lines. DL has made JFK a key platform for its aggressive intercontinental expansion, which includes adding more than 50 international routes in the past two years.
Emirates Airline will double Dubai-Shanghai Pudong services to two daily flights starting Feb 1. Viva Macau started thrice-weekly service with 767-300ERs between Macau and Sydney.
