Qantas is focusing its Japanese service on Tokyo Narita following Jetstar's approval to operate long-haul flights from Australia. "We intend to grow both Qantas and Jetstar in international markets but we must match the appropriate cost structure and style of service to individual markets," Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon said.
Delta Air Lines reached aircraft purchase and sale agreements with Boeing and two aircraft lessors yesterday as part of an effort to right-size its fleet to emerge from bankruptcy as a standalone carrier with a heavy emphasis on international services.
Bankrupt Northwest Airlines said in a court filing yesterday that it has agreed to sell seven DC-10-30s to ATA Airlines, a transaction NWA said would bring "relief" that will help it to reorganize and eventually emerge from Chapter 11 protection. The carrier plans to retire all its DC-10s by the end of next month and said it marketed the seven planes to "70 potential purchasers." ATA's offer, which was not revealed, "represents the best available transaction for the sale of the aircraft," it said in the filing.
Doha International Airport opened its $90 million first and business class-only terminal to the public this week. The terminal extends to 10,000 sq. m. with five gates and features dedicated first and business class check-in desks as well as passenger facilities such as a sauna and massage rooms. Doha's new facility is part of a $200 million upgrade of the airport.
Boeing's 787 is still overweight, although not the 5,000 lb. disclosed a month ago ( ATWOnline, Nov. 7), but the company is confident it will "meet all commitments on weight," 787 VP and GM Mike Bair said yesterday during a call with reporters. An example of significant savings is a redesigned seat track that will remove several hundred pounds, he said. Bair also said the 787 will have 2%-3% lower cash operating costs than originally promised, largely owing to better-than-expected maintenance costs.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair entered into a comprehensive codeshare agreement resulting from the recent integration of the two carriers. It applies to seven cities and took effect from Dec. 1 on all flights from Hong Kong to Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen, Tokyo and Kota Kinabalu. It also will apply to two new Dragonair destinations: Phuket from Dec. 15 and Busan from Jan. 19. Dragonair became a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific on Sept. 28. Air Baltic will operate a weekly 737 Riga-Dubai flight from Dec. 26 to Mar. 24, its first long-haul route.
Lufthansa's board yesterday approved orders for 20 747-8 Intercontinentals--the first of the variant to be sold by Boeing--plus 20 options and seven A340-600s, a total investment in long-haul planes valued at nearly $7 billion.
Pratt & Whitney said yesterday that VP-Operational Commercial Engines Jon Beatty will become the new president of the International Aero Engines consortium succeeding Mark King, who will return to Rolls-Royce in a senior leadership position. "Beatty's leadership in Pratt & Whitney's Commercial Engines organization has been exemplary and I am very confident that IAE and V2500 customers will benefit from his experience," P&W Commercial Engines President Todd Kallman said. P&W VP-Sales, Marketing and Customer Support Mike Field will replace Beatty.
The UK yesterday announced that taxes on airline passenger tickets will double to £10 ($19.80) for most flights from Feb. 1, with duties on long-haul business class tickets doubling to £80 per ticket, as part of an effort to reduce carbon emissions.
CAE signed contracts for three full flight simulators: A 777-300ER and an A330/A340 for Jet Airways and a 777-300ER for Air Canada. Both contracts include a suite of Simfinity training devices. The AC contract includes an option to provide a second 777 simulator. CAE valued the orders at list prices, including some buyer-furnished equipment, at C$51 million ($45 million).
Italy's government, as expected, moved yesterday to sell 30.1% of its 49.9% stake in troubled Alitalia, insisting that new investment is the only way to save the carrier. But the government said it would only consider potential buyers that agree to make a full takeover bid and "maintain the national identity of the company and its logo and brand."
Nordam Group is expanding its Singapore Changi MRO facility, which it plans to triple in size to 185,000 sq. ft., "in response to a strong Asian repair market, increased workloads and development of new generation nacelle repairs."
US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker yesterday reiterated his company's commitment to its proposed $8 billion takeover of bankrupt Delta Air Lines, calling on DL's board and creditors' committee to begin due diligence on the merger offer. Parker's statement came a day after he told USA Today that the merger is "not going to happen" unless Delta management, which repeatedly has opposed the US plan, endorses the offer and works "together" with US to implement the merger. He said DL executives need to be convinced "that this plan makes sense."
BMED said it is getting a better-than-expected response from passengers for new A320/A321 services from London Heathrow to the West African cities of Dakar, Senegal and Freetown launched in late October. "We do research on route development and Senegal and Freetown came up as a good opportunity for our airline," BMED CEO David Richardson told ATWOnline this week at the British Embassy in Washington. He said Heathrow-West Africa bookings for December and January are "more than we thought.
Airbus maintained this week that the A380 is on track for certification this month and entry into service late next year, while insisting it will continue developing the freighter version despite the fact that it has just one customer.
Virgin Atlantic Airways will launch a daily London Heathrow-Chicago O'Hare service on April 23 and a second daily LHR-Washington Dulles flight from April 24. ORD will become Virgin's 28th destination and 10th in the US. Both new flights will be operated with 240-seat A340-300s. Royal Jordanian launched a weekly A310 freighter service to London Stansted that will supplement its weekly flight to Heathrow.
Mexico's airline industry is facing a significant overcapacity situation following the emergence of several new entrants, Aeromexico CEO Andres Conesa said last week at the ALTA Latin American Airline Leaders Forum. According to Conesa, Mexico currently has an average of eight airlines competing on city-pairs of more than 1 million annual passengers compared to four in the US. Furthermore, the top 10 busiest domestic routes have 1.8 times the number of seats required to meet demand versus 1.2 in the US.
Sabre Airline Solutions signed a $15 million deal with Air China to implement a new flight operations control center, including Sabre's AirOps and Crew Management suites. It also extended its relationship with Aeroflot to include revenue and data management products, hosting services and support.
Ryanair extended the deadline for its offer for Aer Lingus shares once again, this time to the afternoon of Dec. 22, lending credence to EI CEO Dermot Mannion's acknowledgement at last week's Future of Air Transport conference in London that the LCC is "not going anywhere anytime soon." Ryanair issued the extension yesterday despite the fact that valid acceptances have been received for just 4.96 million shares, representing 0.93% of the issued share capital of the recently privatized flag carrier.
Continental Airlines converted 12 737NG orders to orders for the 737-900ER, raising its firm commitment for the new variant to 24. It has 60 737s on order with an option to convert more to the dash 900ER, which can fly up to 3,200 nm., or 500 nm. farther than the dash 900. It made the initial 12-aircraft conversion four months ago, becoming the first US carrier to order the type ( ATWOnline, Aug. 4).
Bowing to domestic political pressure exacerbated by the Democrats' rise to power in last month's midterm elections, the US Dept. of Transportation yesterday abandoned its 13-month effort to ease restrictions on foreign control of domestic airlines, delivering a setback to a potential open skies agreement with the EU.
