JetBlue Airways reportedly has revised its request for landing authorizations at Chicago O'Hare down to four, half the number it asked for last month. It expects to announce details of its proposed ORD service later this month and commence flying by Jan. 27.
Delta Air Lines announced another international expansion yesterday and CEO Gerald Grinstein signaled that he will retire after the carrier emerges from bankruptcy next year.
Jazeera Airways shareholders approved the listing of the airline's shares as well as a doubling of the company's capital to $69 million, the Arab Air Carriers Organization is reporting. Jazeera intends to list on the Kuwaiti exchange in the first quarter.
NavAero said its tBagC22 received an STC as a Class 2 Electronic Flight Bag on A320 family aircraft. The EFB will be deployed first by Virgin America. NavAero also received an STC for its Class 2 EFB for MD-10/-11 series aircraft. Although it did not disclose the name of the launch customer, it is believed to be FedEx.
Airbus's management changes and restructuring program are expected to be a prime topic at today's Franco-German summit in Paris, with French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and their economic advisers discussing what role the respective governments should play in monitoring the aircraft manufacturer's Power8 cost-cutting plan. Both governments have signaled that job cuts and facility closures will be scrutinized carefully. France owns a 15% stake in Airbus parent EADS, while German company DaimlerChrysler controls 22.5%.
Triumph Group said its Triumph Composite Systems subsidiary located in Spokane was awarded a $49 million contract to provide the composite floor panel system for the 787.
Northwest Airlines will revamp 10 757-200s for an expansion of its transatlantic network announced yesterday. The routes include two new destinations from NWA's Detroit hub and the first nonstop transatlantic service from Hartford's Bradley International Airport. "The combination of our customer-focused WorldGateway at the Detroit hub, competitive costs and the Boeing 757 aircraft, which allows us to match capacity with economically viable demand, has made this major expansion possible," President and CEO Doug Steenland said.
London City Airport has been acquired by a consortium comprising AIG Financial Products, a subsidiary of American International Group, and Global Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture between Credit Suisse and GE Infrastructure. Dermot Desmond, the Irish billionaire who bought the loss-making airport in the London Docklands for £14.5 million ($27 million) in 1995, announced his intention to sell the airport earlier this year. Last month he said he would sell LCY, which handled 2 million passengers in 2005, to "whoever provides the most money."
International Air Carrier Assn. is calling on the European Commission to adopt "a more business-oriented approach" when regulating the air transport industry. "IACA carriers are seeking guarantees from DG Enterprise and Industry that the impact of all legislation, in particular competition between EU and non-EU airlines, will be thoroughly assessed.
Aer Lingus pilots, under the name Irish Airline Pilots Pensions, have accumulated a 2.12% stake in EI as part of an effort by employees of the recently privatized Irish carrier to block a takeover by Ryanair ( ATWOnline, Oct. 10). According to a submission to the Irish Stock Exchange yesterday, the pilots bought 9.8 million shares at €3.04 ($3.82) each. Ryanair made a cash bid of €2.80 per share last week. Its offer is conditional on securing at least 50.1% of the carrier.
Continental Airlines said in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it will report a third-quarter profit and had accrued an employee profit-sharing pool of more than $100 million through Sept. 30. "The actual amount of profit-sharing that the company will be able to distribute to employees on Feb. 14, 2007, depends on the company's full-year financial results," CO said. The third quarter will be its second straight three-month period in the black.
Caribbean Star Airlines and LIAT said this week that they plan to "commence formal negotiations toward the merger of the two carriers" following a decision by the LIAT board. Caribbean Star Chairman R.
Boeing and Singapore Airlines yesterday finalized SIA's order for 20 787-9s with purchase rights for 20 more. The order is valued at more than $4.5 billion. SIA first announced its intent to purchase the Dreamliners in June ( ATWOnline, June 15). Boeing said yesterday that the aircraft will be delivered from 2011 through 2013. "The carrier intends to use the new airplanes on routes to North Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East," the manufacturer said.
Frontier Airlines said its fiscal second quarter earnings will be lower than forecast as a result of the August terrorist threat. The company earned $4 million in the quarter ended June 30 ( ATWOnline, July 31).
Flight Safety Foundation President and CEO Bill Voss said yesterday that he is concerned about the increasing "criminalization" of aircraft accident investigations, warning that politics can interfere with finding the true causes of crashes.
CFM International signed a deal with Willis Lease Finance Corp. of California for the purchase of up to 45 CFM56-7B and CFM56-5B spare engines plus 30 options. Deliveries will begin next year and run through 2011. The order is worth about $540 million if all options are exercised, CFMI said.
Southwest Airlines promoted Senior VP-Enterprise Spend Management Bob Jordan to executive VP-strategy, procurement and technology and named Senior Management Committee and Executive Planning Committee member Ron Ricks as the new executive VP-law, airports and public affairs. Both will report to CEO Gary Kelly. It also promoted Chief Development Officer Jan Marshall to VP-technology and Chief Information Officer and Director of Application Architecture Kerry Schwab to VP and chief technology officer. It named Lori Rainwater the new VP-internal audit.
Transaero will introduce SITA's PassengerWeb Check-in application next month. Initial deployment will be available from the airline's home base at Moscow Domodedovo, first within Russia and then abroad. From Russian and English, the service gradually will be made available in Chinese, French and Spanish. Transaero also intends to work with SITA on introduction of check-in kiosks in the near future.
Atlantic Airways BAe 146-200 skidded, overran the runway and caught fire at Stord Airport in southwestern Norway yesterday morning, killing three of 12 passengers and one of four crewmembers, the Faroe Islands carrier said. The flight was a charter operation contracted by Norway's Aker Kvaerner engineering company. It originated in Stavanger and was stopping at Stord to pick up passengers on its way to Molde. The accident was under investigation yesterday. The runway reportedly was wet from rain although landing conditions were otherwise normal.
Greece's Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board said yesterday that the August 2005 Helios Airlines 737-300 crash was caused primarily by the pilots' "nonrecognition" that the cabin pressurization mode selector was switched to "manual" and their subsequent misreading of warning signs.
ACI Europe and the Assn. of European Airlines created the European Strategic Partnership for Aviation Security to address shortcomings in the current system. Through the ESPAS platform, airports and airlines will seek to establish a common industry security policy and act jointly with European rulemakers "to provide coherent, workable security measures that benefit both industry and the traveling public alike," the two industry bodies said in a joint statement.
Italian Premier Romano Prodi yesterday told union leaders that the situation at Alitalia is "completely out of control" and that the government will come up with a plan by Jan. 31 to save the ailing flag carrier, likely through some sort of international alliance or merger, according to press reports.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines contracted Dublin-based Liberator.aero to supply its LFI System, which is aimed at reducing emissions and generating fuel burn reductions of 2% on flights longer than 3 hr.
ATR and TACV Cabo Verde Airlines signed a $50 million contract for two new ATR 72-500s and one ATR 42-500. Aircraft will be delivered in 2007, allowing TACV to renew its current fleet of three 42-300s while increasing capacity. It currently operates the 42-300s and two 757-200ERs.
