China Airlines was ordered by the Taiwanese government to ground temporarily its 11 remaining 737-800s for safety checks following the post-landing fire and explosion that destroyed a -800 Monday morning at Naha Airport in Okinawa.
Compass Airlines, Northwest Airlines' new regional subsidiary that launched service in early May with a CRJ200, yesterday operated its first revenue flight with one of two new 76-seat E-175s from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Omaha. The pair of dual-class aircraft will be used on routes from MSP to Omaha, Dallas/Fort Worth, Missoula and Nashville. It plans to fly 10 175s by year end and 36 by the close of 2008.
Eos Airlines, the all-business-class carrier operating between London Stansted and New York JFK, yesterday announced that it secured an additional $50 million in equity capital "from institutional and private sources," with one investor accounting for $35 million. President and CEO Jack Williams said the investment "enables us to continue growing to a scale that will lead to strong corporate profitability" and ensures the delivery of a fifth and sixth 757-200ER in the next five months. A fourth 48-seat aircraft will enter service in September.
Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems received both Supplemental Type Certification and Technical Standard Order Authorization from US FAA on 757s for SafeRoute, its ADS-B-based program that provides on-ground situational awareness and merging and spacing assistance to pilots ( ATWOnline, Aug. 20). It still is awaiting operational approval from FAA that would allow the technology to be used on commercial flights. "The ball's basically in FAA's court," an ACSS spokesperson told ATWOnline.
Air New Zealand is set to announce a new lower-cost, higher-value domestic product next Tuesday when it announces its fiscal-year results. The indication came yesterday in a press release issued in response to Virgin Blue's announcement that it will launch New Zealand domestic services within 12 months (see story above).
Australia's Virgin Blue Holdings cited a significant improvement in revenue and yield for a 92.9% surge in net profit to A$216 million ($172.6 million) for the fiscal year ended June 30. Revenue rose 16.3% to A$2.16 billion and yield lifted 8.1% to A11.57 cents. Expenses climbed 9.3% year-over-year to A$1.84 billion, reflecting an increase in flying and a 7.9% rise in fuel price. Operating income soared 41.2% to A$548 million, with A$16 million in one-off expenses dragging on a bottom line that otherwise would have been even more impressive.
Qantas said yesterday it will invest A$50 million ($40 million) to improve and expand its domestic terminal at Perth, with work set to commence by year end. It also revealed that it conducted an audit of all its aircraft maintenance workers after "discovering irregularities in documentation relating to the qualifications of one of its engineering employees." No other problems were found, QF said, adding that the worker in question resigned. Separately, Jamila Gordon, a former IBM executive, was named CIO.
Product Support Solutions and Holly-Connects announced "successful deployment of US Airways' next-generation platform for voice self service" following a two-month development. The system will handle more than 12 million calls per year. US said it transitioned three legacy voice platforms and 11 applications to the Holly platform.
Sabre Travel Network announced that Qantas is the launch customer for Sabre Branded Fares, a tool it said will be "integrated into the standard travel agency desktop of its GDS" and "enable the airline to package and brand a variety of fares featuring different attributes." Last week, Galileo unveiled a solution for Canadian travel agents that would make Air Canada's a la carte fare products and Web-only content available on its GDS ( ATWOnline, Aug. 16).
Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect flew a consolidated 489.3 million RPMs in July, up 25.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 24.9% to 578.6 million ASMs and load factor gained 0.7 point to 84.6%. The company estimated a 3.6% decline in yield to 13.63 cents and a 3.5% fall in RASM to 12.58 cents. Republic Airways flew 795.1 million RPMs in July, up 22.6% on the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 19.3% to 990.6 million ASMs, lifting load factor 2.2 points to 80.3%.
Los Angeles International Airport's new 10-gate international satellite ( ATWOnline, Aug. 17) will be connected to the Bradley International Terminal by an underground people-mover. It will have gate lounges and passenger services, but ticketing, federal inspection and bag claim for the new gates will be handled in the main terminal. The $1.2 billion facility, scheduled to go into service by 2012, will accommodate A380s as well as smaller aircraft.
Fraport CEO Wilhelm Bender said the company would be interested in buying a major UK airport if the UK Competition Commission investigation into BAA forces selloffs. The CC is conducting a formal antitrust inquiry into BAA to examine how the airport operator's control of seven UK airports, including London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, affects its ability to invest in infrastructure and whether the common ownership hurts consumers ( ATWOnline, Aug. 10).
Air Canada yesterday said it will launch weekly seasonal service from Vancouver to San Jose del Cabo and Ixtapa Dec. 21-22 aboard A319s. The move follows rival WestJet's announcement last week that it will start seasonal flights to Mexico for the first time, including a Vancouver-San Jose del Cabo route ( ATWOnline, Aug. 16). WestJet has authority to operate to Ixtapa but has not announced service there. Separately, AC said it will boost its thrice-weekly Edmonton-London Heathrow service to daily.
Ryanair yesterday confirmed the purchase of a further 4% of Aer Lingus shares, bringing its stake to "over" 29.4% ( ATWOnline, Aug. 20). "These new shares were acquired at or less than €2.45 ($3.30) per share, which lowers the average cost of Ryanair's shares in Aer Lingus," the LCC said.
Aviapartner Handling was contracted by South African Airways to provide ramp handling services in Munich for SAA's new MUC-Johannesburg route. The carrier operates three flights per week aboard A340-300s and will increase service to daily for the winter schedule.
Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon will quit the airline after his current contract expires in July 2009. Speaking on Australia's Sky News Business Sunday, Dixon said, "There is a time to move on, and I don't think the board or I would contemplate anything after the time we've said, unless there is something out there I don't see. I really do think it would be time to move on." He also forecast a bigger role for Qantas low-cost subsidiary JetStar Airways, which will restore service to markets that QF abandoned.
SAirGroup liquidators will start making payments to creditors in November, Wenger Plattner, the Swiss law firm handling the liquidation, announced last week. An initial payment of CHF519.4 million ($429.7 million) will include a first installment for nonpreferential creditors. So far, SAirGroup's creditors have filed claims totaling CHF48.9 billion, of which CHF9.8 billion have been accepted for payment, WP said. It added that CHF29.3 billion worth of claims have been rejected while appeals or decisions are pending on the rest.
All 157 passengers and eight crew were reported safe following a fire and explosion that destroyed a China Airlines 737-800 at a gate at Naha Airport on Okinawa yesterday morning. Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network said the CFM56-7B-powered aircraft, which first flew in 2002, departed Taipei and landed safely at Naha, but that a fire "erupted in or near the No. 1 engine as the plane arrived at the stand." Following a successful evacuation via escape slides, "a large explosion occurred in the center of the airplane," which "burned out completely."
Aer Lingus pilots called off a two-day strike scheduled to begin today after the carrier and the Irish Air Line Pilots Assn. agreed to commence talks through Ireland's Labour Relations Commission on pay and conditions at EI's new Belfast base ( ATWOnline, Aug. 20).
Virgin Group executives revealed yesterday that the firm, which except for a brief period in the 1980s has eschewed selling stakes via public markets, is now considering IPOs for some of its business units, including Virgin Atlantic Airways. VG CEO Stephen Murphy told The Times of London, "Once we have built a company to a point where it has reached a level of stability and maturity, we will seek a public exit. We are much more comfortable with that idea now but there are no firm targets of how many businesses we want to float."
China Southern Airlines yesterday announced that it entered into an agreement with Boeing for the purchase of 55 737-700s/-800s for delivery starting in May 2011 and extending to October 2013. A Boeing spokesperson contacted by ATWOnline would not confirm the order but said the 55 aircraft were unrelated to the 80 737NGs ordered by China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group 16 months ago ( ATWOnline, April 12, 2006). The manufacturer did not update the orders list on its website.
The Irish government apparently will not intervene in Aer Lingus's decision to open a base in Belfast and transfer flights to London Heathrow from Shannon to Northern Ireland ( ATWOnline, Aug. 15), despite pleas from officials with ties to Western Ireland.
Aeroflot said it has started using mobile automatic check-in desks at up to 10 Russian airports lacking stationary desks, allowing it to check in passengers using its Sabre program and introduce e-ticket technology at new destinations.
A high-profile runway incursion at Los Angeles International last Thursday brought further attention to a problem to which US FAA has promised serious scrutiny in the immediate future.
