Turkish Airlines President and CEO Temel Kotil told ATWOnline yesterday in Istanbul that the carrier is moving forward with preparations to join the Star Alliance and expects to achieve full membership by the fourth quarter of 2008 at the latest. Tokil said Star will benefit from access to a Turkish market with 70 million people and Istanbul's proximity to Central Asia, the Middle East, the Far East and Africa. "We want to make Istanbul a strong hub for Star," he said. "From here we reach 85 capitals in three hours flying time."
Mexicana Airlines reached a cost-cutting agreement with its pilots that the carrier said will lower expenses by $50 million annually. Reuters reported that the more than 800 pilots agreed to benefit cuts, including lower overtime pay and a shortening of vacations, in exchange for pay raises in each of the next four years. The wage increases will be calculated by taking the rate of inflation and adding one percentage point.
Air Canada pilots were awarded pay raises in an arbitrator's ruling issued yesterday. The carrier said in a statement that arbitrator Douglas Stanley ruled that the 3,100 pilots, represented by the Air Canada Pilots Assn., will receive a pay increase of 2% this year retroactive to July 1 and raises of 1.75% in each of the next two years. In a separate arbitration ruling issued yesterday, Air Canada Jazz flight attendants were awarded a 1% pay increase retroactive to June 1 and raises of 1.75% in each of the next two years.
HLX and Hapagfly plan to announce a new name for their joint airline operation this month. The carriers will offer a joint summer schedule that they estimate will increase collective capacity by 25%. The new airline will operate flights to 16 countries with a fleet of 56 aircraft.
Mesaba Airlines, which has been working to avoid work stoppages as it goes through a Chapter 11 restructuring, reached a tentative agreement yesterday on a new labor contract with its mechanics, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn., one of three unions representing the Regional's employees. Members of the Assn. of Flight Attendants and Air Line Pilots Assn. reached tentative agreements late last week on new wage and benefit packages ( ATWOnline, Oct. 31).
Sun Country Airlines has been acquired by a group of investors who said they plan to expand the airline and develop markets for both business and leisure travelers. The acquisition of the St. Paul, Minn.-based carrier by Petters Group and Whitebox Advisors was concluded Oct. 31.
Delta Air Lines yesterday launched daily New York JFK-Mumbai flights aboard a 777-200ER, becoming the only carrier to offer direct service on the route. The dash 200ER has a capacity of 268 passengers including 50 business class seats. Swiss International Air Lines said it plans to add six new routes from Basel, comprising five weekly flights to Barcelona, four weekly flights each to Nice, Prague and Budapest and three weekly services each to Manchester and Warsaw. Malev will launch twice-weekly Budapest-Bangkok service from Nov. 15 aboard 767-200ERs.
Once again the airline industry is being squeezed. This time it is between vastly differing passenger views, simple economics and political correctness over the issue of overweight travelers. What was once a minor economic and political problem is developing rapidly into a major headache with significant ramifications for carrier PR departments and bottom lines as well as aircraft manufacturers.
WHEN COMMERCIAL JET goes looking for customers for its 737-300/-400 cargo conversions later this year, the Miami-based maintenance and refurbishment center plans to offer a differentiator it thinks will set it apart from the competition: The best new avionics in cookie-cutter cockpits. Along with its partner in the effort, Universal Avionics, Commercial Jet is planning to retrofit a slew of 737 Classics with large-format liquid crystal displays, flight management systems, terrain awareness warning systems and even Universal's new synthetic vision product. Once its supplemental type
ON HIS VERY FIRST TRIP to Brazil, Flybe CEO Jim French picked up a little something that he couldn't wait to get home and use: The first 118-seat Embraer 195, newest and largest member of the 170/190 family. It is, by his account, the ideal aircraft for the British low-fare carrier, which has evolved away from its Regional airline roots yet still maintains a close kinship in many respects, including operating the world's largest fleet of Q400 turboprops and connecting many of the UK's smallest cities. "The great thing about [the 195 is] it will blend entirely with our Q400 fleet
WestJet executives and employees gathered in the airline's hangar here earlier this year for a "farewell party" to commemorate the retirement of the low-cost carrier's last 737-200, an aircraft type that was once its workhorse but has given way to a new, more fuel efficient fleet of 63 737NGs. The January bash to toast an airplane whose time had passed was, in a sense, also a way to say goodbye to WestJet's founding era.
AirCell appointed Thomas E. Weigman senior VP-wireless services. Air France Industries named Pierre Bosse senior VP-Components & Logistics Services business unit and Patrice Mathonniere to succeed Bosse as GM-narrowbody overhaul. ACI-Europe tapped Olivier Jankovec as DG. ACI-NA elected Frederick Piccolo chairman, Roy Williams first vice chairman, Randall Walker second vice chairman and John D. Clark secretary-treasurer.
IF THERE IS A SINGLE EXAMPLE that reinforces the belief that the 787 is a game-changer for Boeing, it can be found in Nagoya, where in the space of a few minutes you can observe the wing box construction for the 787 and the earlier 777. While it may be just a short journey from one facility to the other, it feels as if you have stepped into a time machine. The 777 production hall looks like a relic from the last century; the 787 facility could double as the set for the next James Cameron-directed space adventure, "Avatar." Gone are the ear-shattering rivet
BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT is petite compared to some of its neighbors and rivals in the Middle East region. Last year it handled 5.6 million passengers. Dubai Airport by comparison had 24.8 million and Jeddah, which benefits from Hajj traffic, handled 13.3 million. Doha Airport in Qatar had 9.4 million passengers.
A YEAR THAT BEGAN WITH PRATT & Whitney's stunning announcement that it would develop replacement parts for CFM56-3 engines contained several more surprises as the months rolled by. By itself, Pratt's decision to break ranks with other engine OEMs and make PMA parts for the world's most popular engine family-- with United Airlines as launch customer--would have been enough for those engaged in the maintenance, repair and overhaul of commercial transports to mark 2006 as a year to remember. More was to follow, however. In the spring, EADS put its unprofitable
NEW YORK LAGUARDIA LONG has been one of the US's air traffic troublespots. Featuring just two intersecting runways and situated on 660 acres of closed-in land, the airport can handle only so many flight operations, particularly during peak periods. Its capacity is constrained by an FAA-imposed slot allocation system that dates back to the 1960s and limits scheduled flights to 75 per hr. But as one of three airports serving the nation's largest city--and with the other two, JFK and Newark, burdened by heavy international traffic--it is a prime destination for domestic US passengers
THE PAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN A major ordeal for Russia's commercial airlines. Beginning in 2000 and continuing through 2004, operators enjoyed significant traffic growth, with passenger numbers increasing at an average rate of 10% annually. But in 2005 that growth slowed dramatically, to just 3.9% from 14.9% the year before. The root cause of the slowdown was the rapid rise in fuel prices, up 60% from June to December 2004, which worsened the economics of Soviet-built aircraft just as carriers faced increased maintenance costs to operate them. In response, airlines
Europe's political leaders are getting a rough but necessary lesson in the workings of the free market this autumn, courtesy of events in Ireland and at Airbus. If they are smart, they will step back from the mess they have helped to create and allow Schumpeter's "creative destruction" to take its course.
The defections of online travel companies to other GDSs are making sizable dents in Worldspan's revenues and net income. Like other GDSs, Worldspan's revenues also have shrunk due to lower transaction fees from airlines that have signed new distribution agreements. Worldspan reported a 14% decline in net income for the third quarter, to $15.5 million, on revenues of $212.5 billion, down 11%.
EADS, continuing its overhaul of Airbus management, yesterday appointed Fabrice Bregier, 45, COO of the aircraft manufacturer effective immediately. He will report to new Airbus CEO Louis Gallois, with whom he will form the Airbus President's Office, EADS said in a statement. Bregier previously was head of the EADS Eurocopter Division and has served as president and CEO of the Eurocopter Group since 2003. In addition, EADS CFO Hans Peter Ring was named Airbus CFO. He will retain his post at EADS.
Shanghai Airlines became an Airbus customer for the first time with an order for five A321s. The aircraft are part of China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group's order for 150 A320 family aircraft placed last year. Although the airline operates a nearly all-Boeing fleet (it said it flies 13 757-200s, six 767-300s, six 737-700s and 16 737-800s), President Zhou Chi said the A321 "meet[s] our strategic development plan," which includes "entering into the new phase of expanding internationally and comprehensively."
Iberia will report a third-quarter profit of €75.5 million ($96.1 million), down 79.7% from the €372.5 million earned in the year-ago quarter, when it releases its results in two weeks, according to figures presented this week at the carrier's Investor and Analyst Day in Madrid. The year-ago period's profit was buoyed by a €635.1 million gain resulting from IB's sale of its stake in Amadeus. Operating revenues rose 6.7% to €1.42 billion and operating profit increased 8.6% to €87.7 million in the quarter.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $190 million, reversed from a $1.77 billion net loss in the year-ago quarter and its second straight profitable quarter following a lengthy bankruptcy restructuring. Chairman, President and CEO Glenn Tilton said cost controls, revenue optimization and a focus on core strengths were behind the results, which "underscore our progress" and show that the company is "building momentum." Added CFO Jake Brace: "We are generating cash and we are making progress reducing our costs to lessen inflationary pressures."
Regional Airline Assn. President Deborah McElroy said yesterday that she is leaving her post to accept a senior management position with Airports Council International-North America. McElroy, who has worked for RAA for 20 years, will become ACI-NA's senior VP-government affairs and will be responsible for managing lobbying efforts and policy development. She will assume the new position in mid-December.
Caribbean Star Airlines took delivery of a Q300, the fourth new aircraft added this year as part of its fleet expansion program. In addition to the four Q300s, the carrier operates seven Dash 8s to 12 Caribbean destinations. Separately, it reinstated plans for service between Trinidad and Curacao.
