Pavement cracks at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport are being cited by politicians as a reason to oust Airports of Thailand officials appointed by the deposed Thaksin government, which built the new facility. But a senior member of the airport's professional staff told this website that the cracks are in a few sections of taxiway, not the runways as claimed by airport critics. ATWOnline observed crews repairing small rough spots, probably caused by water seeping under the pavement, in the taxiway adjoining the aircraft ramp.
The Transport & General Workers Union agreed to cancel the first 24 hr. of next week's three-day British Airways cabin crew strike ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23) "as a goodwill gesture to allow more time for further negotiations" and "after the personal intervention" of BA CEO Willie Walsh. BA flight attendants still are prepared to walk off the job on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31 and for three-day periods beginning Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 unless a deal is reached.
Royal Jordanian will resume flights to Canada after 10 years. It will operate twice-weekly Amman-Montreal service from May 25 aboard A340-300s. JetBlue Airways will launch daily White Plains-Orlando International service March 28. On April 2 it will start daily service from White Plains to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach and add a second daily flight to MCO, all aboard A320s.
ExpressJet Holdings, a regional partner of Continental Airlines, yesterday reported full-year net income of $92.5 million, a 5.5% drop from the $97.9 million earned in 2005. At the same time, ExpressJet President and CEO Jim Ream unveiled plans for the 69 Embraer RJs being released from its capacity purchase agreement with Continental.
The European Commission yesterday released its long-awaited Airport Package of regulatory measures, which it said comprised a directive on airport charges, a plan to tackle airport congestion and a progress report on implementation of ground handling policies designed to liberalize that part of the industry. "Until now, European airports have been faced with diverse regulatory, commercial and external challenges," EC VP-Transport Jacques Barrot said. "The aim of these new measures is to offer a common set of rules to be applied and enforced uniformly throughout Europe."
Australian Transport Workers Union, which represents a large number of Qantas workers, said it has failed to get any assurances on job security from Airline Partners Australia, the consortium involved in the A$11 billion ($8.69 billon) bid to take Qantas private. TWU and APA members met Tuesday to try to secure guarantees on jobs, conditions and entitlements. Various Qantas unions are deeply concerned that jobs will be moved offshore if APA is successful ( ATWOnline, Dec.
American Airlines said it will price its public offering of 13 million newly issues shares ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23) at $38.70 per share. It said it expects issuance and delivery of the shares to take place Friday. Separately, AA named Denise Lynn VP-global human resources services, replacing the departed Debra Hunter Johnson.
Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein slammed US Airways' $10.2 billion takeover proposal during testimony before the Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee in Washington yesterday, calling it "the poster child for the worst kind of merger" while also flatly denying that DL is in merger talks with Northwest Airlines.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace said its ST Aerospace Engines subsidiary will provide heavy maintenance and support for Xiamen Airlines' CFM56-7B22s under a maintenance-by-the-hour contract covering 11 737-700s for up to 15 years. The contract was valued at $160 million.
AirTran Holdings went to court yesterday in an attempt to force Midwest Air Group to release its list of shareholders. AirTran claimed that Midwest management is withholding the list in an attempt to thwart AirTran's effort to present its takeover offer ( ATWOnline, Jan. 19), and it asked the New York State Supreme Court to direct Midwest to show cause as to why it is not complying with state law. A hearing is set for Jan. 30.
Transport Workers Union of America announced this week that it plans to reopen contract negotiations with American Airlines in November, six months prior to the amendable date, because of the success of the parties' MRO partnership and the airline's full-year profit. TWU represents more than 27,000 ground employees at AA, including mechanics. "We're pleased the company is doing so well," union President James Little said.
Goodrich said it now is capable of offering total nacelle support for the GEnx and that the service will be available to GE OnPoint Solutions customers via a marketing agreement with GE-Aviation.
Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein and US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker, who have traded barbs via the media since US made an unsolicited bid to acquire DL in November, will share the same witness table today in Washington at a US Senate hearing examining the consequences of a potential merger between the carriers. US raised its bid to $10.2 billion earlier this month ( ATWOnline, Jan.
AeroSvit Airlines named Aron Maiberg DG. He has been with the carrier since 1994, when it launched with one aircraft. AeroSvit now operates 11 737s and two 767s on 12 Ukrainian and 60 international routes. The airline said it intends to triple its fleet by 2011.
Austrian Airlines Group CCO Josef Burger told ATWOnline this week in Iraq that the carrier has secured traffic rights to all airports in the country, meaning cities like Baghdad, Basra, Mosul and others can be served with daily frequencies.
Aer Lingus could be facing industrial action after CEO Dermot Mannion warned in a letter to union employees that they must accept new work rules because the airline is facing "commercial challenges and threats that are unprecedented in the history of the company." In the letter, widely reported by the Irish press, Mannion stated that EI's costs are out of line compared to its competitors in "some critical areas," adding, "Given our significant growth and expansion plans, this is no longer sustainable."
Airbus announced yesterday that Spirit Airlines finalized an order for 30 A319s last month that along with a previous order for seven A319s and seven A321s will more than double the budget carrier's fleet. The 144-seat, two-class aircraft will be powered by IAE V2500s and deliver from October 2009 through mid-2013. Rolls-Royce said its share of the engine order is worth $200 million. Spirit currently operates 25 A319s and six A321s from its Fort Lauderdale hub, a mix of purchased and leased aircraft.
MAIR Holdings' deal with Northwest Airlines announced Monday ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23) will see bankrupt Mesaba Airlines become a wholly owned subsidiary of NWA under a stock purchase and reorganization agreement. Mesaba said it intends to emerge from Chapter 11 this spring, having reduced annual costs by $68 million. It will have a $145 million unsecured claim in NWA's bankruptcy case in exchange for the entirety of Mesaba's new common stock.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. reported net income of $25 million for the 11 months after it exited bankruptcy on Feb. 1, 2006, a turnaround from a net loss of $398 million excluding reorganization items for the corresponding 11 months in 2005 when it was operating under Chapter 11 protection.
Finnair will report a negative operating result for 2006 "due to costs from structural arrangements and changes in fuel derivative market value," CEO Jukka Hienonen said yesterday. He cited a €100 million ($129.6 million) year-over-year increase in fuel costs and more than €15 million in one-off costs from Finnair Technical Division, "which had a hard year," he admitted. "The year 2006 will be an interim year in Finnair's result development," he said at an industry forum in Kirkkonummi.
Alaska Airlines flew 1.47 billion RPMs in December, a 2% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.1% to 1.96 billion ASMs and load factor fell 0.8 point to 75.1%. LAN Airlines flew 1.93 billion RPMs in December, a 23.7% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 18.7% to 2.55 billion ASMs and load factor rose 3.1 points to 75.8%. Dragonair flew 560.1 million RPKs in December, down 1% from the year-ago month. Capacity dipped 0.3% to 885.1 million ASKs and passenger numbers dropped 2.1% to 423,036.
SunExpress will launch service from London Stansted to Antalya (twice-weekly on Feb. 8) and Izmir (March). Continental Airlines will launch daily Newark-Jackson, Miss., service Sept. 5 aboard ExpressJet E-145s.
Boeing said yesterday that GE Commercial Aviation Services booked a 39-aircraft order in 2006 valued at $5.34 billion comprising seven 777-300ERs, eight 777Fs and 24 737-800s. The aircraft, previously listed in Boeing's 2006 order ledger as belonging to an unidentified customer, will begin delivering next year and continue through 2010. The order boosts GECAS's 2006 order book with Boeing to 69.
MAIR Holdings, parent of Mesaba Airlines, late yesterday finalized its agreement with Northwest Airlines reached earlier this month ( ATWOnline, Jan. 8) under which Mesaba will exit bankruptcy as an NWA subsidiary and MAIR will purchase all of its stock currently owned by NWA for approximately $35 million.
