Eurocontrol's Maastricht Upper Area Control Center, which provides air traffic services in the upper airspace of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and northwestern Germany, was formally certified as compliant with European Community requirements for the provision of air navigation services. MUAC's certification represents "a unique example of a multi-States joint service and a precursor to Functional Airspace Blocks," Eurocontrol DG Víctor Aguado said.
Centavia, Serbia's first LCC, ceased operations after just a few months of service. Austria Press News Agency reported that Serbian authorities did not grant permits for Centavia to operate scheduled flights to Montenegro, Croatia, Switzerland and Germany, a major setback for the fledgling airline. The carrier said both of its BAe 146s have been returned to their lessor.
Cathay Pacific Airways will expand its all-cargo Hong Kong-Shanghai flights to 17 weekly from 12 currently on Dec. 2 and to 18 weekly on Jan. 5 aboard 747Fs. Pacific Director and GM-Cargo Ron Mathison said the added flights "will enable us to get further leverage on the Eastern China market as demand remains high." Cargolux plans to add a fourth weekly frequency to its Luxembourg-Johannesburg freighter service from Nov. 28 using a 747-400F.
Aeromexico will launch four-times-weekly Mexico City-Austin flights from Dec. 15, providing the only scheduled air link between the capital cities of Mexico and Texas. United Airlines said it will switch from a 777 to a 747 on its daily Chicago-Shanghai service from March 25, boosting capacity on the route by 658 seats weekly. It also will add a second daily flight on its San Francisco-Frankfurt route from April 24 aboard a 777.
Boeing revealed yesterday that KLM converted six options for 737-800s that will be delivered before mid-2008. The firm order, previously listed by the manufacturer as "unidentified," is valued at $423 million. Boeing said KLM plans to use the new planes to "replace several Classic 737s." "In the current market environment, our customers want the most fuel-efficient products to keep their costs under control," said Marlin Dailey, Boeing Commercial Airplanes VP-sales-Europe, Russia and Central Asia.
Pratt & Whitney signed a three-year agreement to provide its EcoPower engine wash services on Martinair's fleet of PW4000, CF6 and V2500 engines. The engine washing will take place at Amsterdam Schiphol and is projected to save the airline up to $2.3 million in annual fuel costs. "Earlier this year we completed an EcoPower engine wash pilot program that resulted in engine performance improvements, operating cost reductions and emission reductions," Martinair VP-Maintenance and Engineering Paul Horstink said.
British Airways yesterday moved to raise the premium-service bar with the rollout of a £100 million ($191.1 million) overhaul to its Club World business class cabin featuring "next generation" lie-flat beds, multiple channel video/on demand IFE and in-seat laptop storage bins and hookups.
Embraer appointed David Balloff VP-external relations for the US. His primary role on behalf of the Brazilian manufacturer will be to serve as a liaison to the US Congress, Dept. of Transportation, FAA, National Transportation Safety Board and various industry groups located in Washington. Balloff previously served with FAA and NTSB and as an adviser to Rep. Jimmy Duncan (R-Tenn.) when he was chair of the House Aviation subcommittee.
Air France KLM flew 17.01 billion RPKs in October, a 5.6% rise over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 6% to 20.91 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 0.3 point to 81.4%. Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz flew a combined 3.95 billion RPMs in October, a 4.6% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.8% to 5.03 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.6 point to 78.4%.
Cargo carrier ABX Air reported third-quarter net income of $6.6 million, down 10.8% from net income of $7.4 million in the year-ago quarter, on a 24% drop in revenues to $281.3 million.
Transavia.com will stop its four-times-weekly Amsterdam-Genoa service from Dec. 3 owing to disapointing traffic. Niki will increase MTOW of one of its A320s to 77 tons from 75 tons so it can operate nonstop service from Vienna to Dubai. "That will give us 45 extra minutes of range," founder Niki Lauda told this website. Niki plans to operate at least eight charter flights to Dubai beginning Dec. 21. Partner Air Berlin will feed the service from several German destinations.
Falling operating income and a C$102 million ($90.2 million) noncash pre-tax charge related to the redemption of Aeroplan miles issued before 2002 weighed heavily on ACE Aviation's bottom line as the Air Canada parent reported a third-quarter profit of C$103 million, down 62% from C$271 million earned in the year-ago period. Chairman, President and CEO Robert Milton called the result "solid" and said the quarter featured "continued progress achieved in the implementation of ACE's business strategy" of spinning off its various subsidiaries.
Vueling Airlines, which has positioned itself as a "new generation" carrier rather than an LCC, launched a Web-based frequent-flier program dubbed Punto. Members can earn points on both tickets and gift vouchers and use them to pay for Vueling flights.
Assn. of European Airlines expressed "strong disappointment" in the European Commission Transport Directorate's decision not to include a revision of the 1996 Ground Handling Directive as part of the Airport Package of planned regulatory measures governing airline-airport relationships. While main airports and trade organizations argue that they opened the market and lowered prices, Europe's major airlines believe the opposite.
Austrian Airlines will launch twice-weekly Vienna-Erbil flights on Dec. 11, nine months after it postponed the service ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27). It said the city in the Kurdistan region now is secure. It will be the first European carrier to operate to Iraq and will use A319s. Meanwhile, it has ceased its Vienna-Pecs service.
AirAsia challenged the Singapore government to open its skies and "allow everyone to fly." CEO Tony Fernandes, delivering a keynote address at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's Outlook 2007 summit in Singapore, said the LCC's fares around ASEAN countries are "90% less than the typical fare from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur." He told delegates that AirAsia has tried for five years to gain access to Singapore but the government has declined.
TAP Portugal CEO Fernando Pinto said membership in the Star Alliance, which the carrier joined in spring 2005, has expanded its reach greatly through the networks of its partner airlines, boosting its appeal in the marketplace. He also told ATWOnline last week in Lisbon that TAP "has grown very fast in the last five years, around 50% in terms of passenger kilometers."
Boeing is understood to be looking at taking a few pounds off the 747-8 Intercontinental with increased use of composites, a move aimed at gaining the extra range Emirates requires for its Dubai-US West Coast mission.
Southwest Airlines will establish both pilot and flight attendant bases in Las Vegas by October 2007. The 17,000-sq.-ft. facilities will be located near McCarran Airport's C Concourse and initially will accommodate 350 pilots and 600 cabin staff. When fully staffed, SWA will employ 600 pilots, 1,000 flight attendants and 2,500 total staff at the airport. It operates 225 daily flights out of LAS to 53 cities. Separately, Southwest will launch Detroit Metro-Orlando International service and add a Denver-MCO service on Dec. 20.
SAS Ground Services will provide handling for Air China at London Heathrow. SAS will take care of passenger services and load control and has subcontracted Aviance to provide ramp handling. Air China operates six weekly 747 flights from Beijing to LHR.
Assn. of European Airlines said the punctuality of European carriers fell during the third quarter owing to the Aug. 10 terrorist scare and subsequent security measures. On long-haul services, just 62.3% of flights departed within 15 min. of schedule, a drop from 69% in the year-ago period. Short/medium-haul flights departed on time at a 77% rate, a decline from 79.9% last year. Baggage irregularities were measured at 18.9 missing bags per 1,000 passengers, up from 15.6 in the 2005 quarter.
Delta Air Lines announced plans to recall 1,000 flight attendants next year. During the "first few months" of 2007 it is scheduled to train up to 500 previously furloughed cabin staff. "It is great that our plan is working and we are able to continue to bring back Delta people," COO Jim Whitehurst said. The airline recalled 200 flight attendants in September ( ATWOnline, Sept. 12).
The European Commission will submit a proposal in the next several weeks to include airlines in the EU's existing emissions trading scheme, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said yesterday. The proposal thus disregards a July suggestion by the European Parliament to establish a separate trading system for airlines on a trial basis ( ATWOnline, July 6) that would prevent carriers from buying up surplus credits from power companies instead of reducing their own pollution.
Delta Air Lines is bankrupt but profitable thanks to a $98 million noncash gain from reorganization items that propelled it to a $52 million net profit in the third quarter, a monumental reversal from the $1.13 billion loss incurred in the year-ago period.
Emirates said yesterday that it is investing $27 million to outfit its entire fleet with equipment from AeroMobile that will allow use of mobile phones in flight. The service will be launched onboard a 777 as early as January, the airline said. Calls will be linked to the ground using the Inmarsat satellite communications system already installed in all EK aircraft and will be billed to passengers' phone bills "as with any other roaming call," the carrier said.
