Kingfisher Airlines partnered with dishtv of India to offer live television and digital entertainment in flight. The first aircraft was equipped with the service, called Live, in December. It features 21 channels of television and video content, 10 of music and a map channel.
Volga-Dnepr Group and Motor Sich of Ukraine announced the formation of a joint venture company "to manage the relaunch of serial production of the An-124-100" Ruslan freighter with the aim of developing and producing a new version, "the An-124-100M-150," and increasing the operating life of existing An-124s. Target goals for the new version are increases in payload capacity from 120 to 150 tonnes and in operating life of the aircraft to 60,000 hr. and later to 80,000 flight hr. The flight control system also will undergo significant improvements.
AWAS announced the sale of three 767-300ERs to Hawaiian Airlines, part of a deal that includes the shortening of an additional four aircraft leases and three spare engine leases. The sold aircraft were under lease to Hawaiian. AWAS also delivered an A320 to Indonesia's Mandala Airlines on a medium-term lease. It is Mandala's second A320.
British Airways said yesterday that it reached an agreement with the trustees of its New Airways Pension Scheme to address its £2.1 billion ($4.12 billion) deficit. The accord, which was reached in principle last year but rejected by the GMB Union last month ( ATWOnline, Jan. 15), includes a one-off injection of £800 million, annual company contributions of £280 million for the next 10 years and an additional £150 million over the next three years subject to BA's financial performance.
European Travel Agents and Tour Operators Assns., which comprise associations from 29 countries, once again is calling for a system that will protect passengers from airline failure or default and suggested that it be funded through a €1 ($1.29) contribution per ticket paid by all carriers, including ones from outside the EU, flying to/from an EU airport. ECTAA's effort to establish the passenger protection fund is not new, but recent bankruptcies highlight the need, President Jan Van Steen said.
Ryanair announced yesterday that its 19th base will be at Airport Weeze about 50 mi. north of Dusseldorf. The LCC will invest €140 million ($181.2 million) in the facility, where it will base two new aircraft from June that will operate to 10 destinations. It is expecting to transport 1 million passengers in the first 12 months, rising to 2 million per year from 2008.
Air Berlin said the dba brand will disappear from the market by April 1 once the subsidiary is fully integrated. AB acquired dba last summer ( ATWOnline, Aug. 18, 2006). Dba's network, check-in facilities and administration already have been combined with AB's. The airlines flew a combined 1.2 million passengers in January, up 8.7% from the first month of 2006. Load factor rose 1.9 points to 64.9%.
Slovak Airlines said yesterday that it will enter bankruptcy following majority owner Austrian Airlines Group's decision to take possession of two of its three aircraft ( ATWOnline, Jan. 31). The remaining aircraft, a 737-200, reportedly is not available to fly. An AAG spokesperson told this website that Austrian is expecting a double-digit-million euro loss on its Slovak Airlines investment.
Boeing said yesterday that it is finalizing an order with Azerbaijan Airlines for three 787-8s and two 737-900ERs. AZAL, based in Baku and spun off from Aeroflot when the Soviet Union fell in 1991, operates to 15 destinations including London Gatwick, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Kabul, Dubai and Moscow Sheremeteyvo. Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson reportedly was in Baku yesterday holding talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev regarding modernization of the state-owned airline's fleet.
Lockheed Martin will supply United Airlines with flight planning technologies through Flugwerkzuege Aviation Software. UA will use Flugwerkzuege's Flight-planning System and the OPUS Notices to Airmen system.
JetBlue Airways spokesperson confirmed to ATWOnline yesterday that the airline is committed to launching an online partnership with Aer Lingus under which the carriers will make their combined networks available to customers visiting their respective websites. The exact nature of the tie-up, which will be unique among low-fare airlines, has not been determined and eventually may include a booking facility or interline agreement. Aer Lingus, which will exit the oneworld alliance on April 1 ( ATWOnline, Feb.
International Aero Engines signed an engine upgrade agreement with JetBlue Airways under which the SelectOne build standard on the V2500 will be introduced on 58 firm A320 deliveries from 2009 plus 50 options. SelectOne, which will go into production in mid-2008, lowers fuel burn by up to 1%, reduces miscellaneous shop visits by up to 40% and increases time-on-wing up to 20%, IAE said.
JAL Group's comprehensive restructuring is starting to take effect with the company reducing its loss in its third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31 to ¥13.0 billion ($107.1 million), narrowed from the ¥20.6 billion deficit in the year-ago quarter. In conjunction with that announcement, JAL released a Medium Term Revival Plan covering the next four years that will include an increased commitment to safety and elimination of 4,300 jobs.
Continental Airlines' consolidated RASM lifted 4.1% in December and an estimated 2%-3% in January, the airline said. It flew 7.02 billion consolidated RPMs last month, a 5.9% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 5.5% to 9.2 billion ASMs, boosting load factor 0.4 point to 76.3%. Domestic traffic grew 4.8% to 3.36 billion RPMs, capacity increased 5.1% to 4.3 billion ASMs and load factor fell 0.2 point to 78.1%.
Reiterating the fact that it considers 2006 an "interim year" in its development, Finnair yesterday reported a full-year net loss of €13 million ($16.8 million), a reversal from the €62 million profit earned in 2005, as one-time expenses related to its €80 million restructuring program, high fuel prices and its loss-making Aviation Services division weighed on the bottom line.
Avion Aircraft Trading, which is partly owned by Air Atlanta Icelandic parent HF Eimskip, signed an MOU with Airbus yesterday for six A330-200Fs with deliveries slated for 2010 and 2011. "Its payload range characteristics will open up new possibilities for our airline customers paired with very attractive operating costs," AAT CEO David Masson said. The -200F can carry up to 64 tonnes of cargo and has a range of 4,000 nm. in standard configuration.
Northwest Airlines Corp. reported a 2006 net loss of $2.8 billion owing to heavy reorganization costs, widened slightly from a $2.56 billion loss in 2005, as it continues to work through Chapter 11 restructuring.
EC VP-Transport Jacques Barrot told the International Aviation Club in Washington yesterday that negotiators for the EU and US "must leave no stone unturned" in their quest to create a transatlantic open aviation area. But he offered no hints as to how the two sides can resolve the impasse that arose when the Dept. of Transportation last December withdrew its proposal to modify how it interprets foreign control of US airlines in the face of strong Congressional opposition.
US NTSB is investigating a runway incursion incident at Denver International on Feb. 2 in which a United Airlines 737 had to stop short after landing to avoid running into a snowplow. The aircraft missed the vehicle by 200 ft. An airport operations vehicle that was escorting the plow already had cleared the runway. NTSB also is investigating a second incursion incident at DEN that occurred on Jan. 5 when a Frontier Airlines aircraft broke off a landing attempt when the crew noticed another aircraft on the runway.
Pinnacle Airlines announced that its newly acquired regional subsidiary Colgan Air will operate 15 Q400s as a Continental Connection carrier ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5). Pinnacle, which flies 127 CRJs as a Northwest Airlink partner, will purchase the turboprops from Bombardier subject to a loan arrangement. Deliveries to Colgan are scheduled to begin in December and run through June 2008.
SkyEurope CCO Karim Makhlouf told ATWOnline that the carrier intends to focus more on its to core markets and build its operation in Vienna to strengthen a business that lost €57.3 million ($74.2 million) last fiscal year ( ATWOnline, Dec. 5, 2006). The process will start next month with the opening of its Vienna base ( ATWOnline, Dec. 20, 2006).
Austrian Airlines Group will transfer three of its four A330-200s to Star Alliance partner TAP Portugal as part of its long-haul fleet reduction ( ATWOnline, Dec. 12, 2006). Aircraft will leave Austrian by April 29. Separately, OS will launch a thrice-weekly Vienna-Bourgas service on May 15.
UPS said yesterday it ordered 27 767-300ERFs for delivery from 2009 to 2012. The aircraft, valued at more than $3.8 billion, are necessary to keep pace with international traffic demand and for fleet renewal, the company said. UPS was the launch customer for the first 767 freighter in 1995. The -300ERF can carry 24 containers on its upper deck and seven in the lower cargo compartments, according to the airline. It has a maximum payload of 132,200 lb. and a range of 3,000 nm.
President Bush's new $2.9 trillion budget "provides a framework for reforming the aviation system by tying what users pay to the costs of providing air traffic control and other services," the US Dept. of Transportation confirmed yesterday, pleasing airlines that have advocated a user-based funding mechanism ( ATWOnline, March 9, 2006). The US Airport and Airways Trust Fund is due for reauthorization in the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
