The recent flap over Air Canada's withdrawal of its Tango fares from the GDSs is unlikely to dampen airlines' enthusiasm for the kind of "product differentiation" that Tango represents. And far from being opposed to the concept, some of the GDS companies are making strides in their attempts to accommodate the airlines' desires. Amadeus plans to be aggressive in this new arena, Stephane Pingaud, senior manager of airline marketing and sales, said, and plans to roll out new merchandising features beginning next year.
Nine SkyTeam member carriers signed an MOU with BAA Friday confirming their co-location at London Heathrow's Terminal 4 in 2008, when the new T5 opens and the airport reorganizes ( ATWOnline, March 28).
Brazilian bankruptcy court postponed its Friday decision on whether to allow a group of Varig employees, NV Participacoes, to buy the bankrupt airline for a bid that came in at about half the $860 million minimum at last week's auction ( ATWOnline, June 9). The judge opted to delay his ruling until today in order to learn more about the bid, according to a court statement cited by press reports.
Alaska Airlines flew 1.5 billion RPMs in May, a 7.9% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 6.9% to 1.93 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 0.7 point to 77.5%.
European Union Friday advanced its aim to liberalize international air transport broadly, reaching terms with Singapore and opening for signature an agreement to create a single European air market by 2010. The "horizontal" agreement with Singapore, which removes nationality restrictions contained in bilateral accords between that country and individual EU member states, is the first the EU has signed with an Asian economy.
Lufthansa Flight Training placed its second CAE-built A320 simulator at its training center at Berlin Schoenefeld. The Level D device is equipped with an EP-1000CT visual system from Evans & Sutherland and will be used mainly by Air Berlin. It is the first simulator installed in LFT's new simulator building. Total investment in the simulator and expansion of the facility amounts to more than €18 million ($22.9 million). LFT now operates 32 full-flight simulators, seven of them at its Berlin base.
United Services, United Airlines' maintenance and engineering division, signed a contract with France's Eagle Aviation to provide overhaul and ring-case modifications on PW4060 engines that power three former UA 747-400s that the charter and wet-lease operator is acquiring from a third party. United Services also recently signed a contract with Azteca Airlines for services that include the overhaul of a 737 landing gear set.
Delta Air Lines announced it will recall 60-70 furloughed pilots this summer "to improve revenue and better meet customers' domestic and international travel needs." The carrier has been expanding its route network dramatically in the past few months; it added 50 new international routes in the past year and last week launched 23 new North American services in one day ( ATWOnline, June 9). The pilots will begin training later this month and return to line flying toward the end of the summer.
Northwest Airlines equipment service and stock clerk employees, represented by the International Assn. of Machinists, ratified their new labor contract Friday, with 62% of those voting approving the five-year deal reached last month ( ATWOnline, May 24). The group had rejected an earlier deal. "It was a choice between bad and worse," IAM District 143 President Bobby DePace said, referring to the possibility that the US Bankruptcy Court might impose terms if a second agreement was rejected.
The much-anticipated change in shareholder structure among Cathay Pacific Airways, Dragonair and Air China announced Friday by owners Swire Pacific, CNAC and CITIC Pacific is set to create the most powerful airline group in Asia.
ANAC Advanced Coatings is the new name of Akzo Nobel Aerospace Coatings, which decided to bring its complete product range and a number of brands and businesses under one name and logo.
Sabre said 80% of all tickets issued worldwide through the Sabre GDS are now electronic and 122 airlines offer e-ticketing for Sabre Connected travel agencies. Meanwhile, 57 carriers are using the SabreSonic Ticket Interline Electronic Ticketing Hub to facilitate e-ticketing with partners.
Air Canada Jazz launched daily Toronto-Salt Lake City service Friday aboard a 75-seat CRJ705. Lauda Air will start a weekly Vienna-Reykjavik service from June 13. Cimber Air launched a Copenhagen-Norrkoping service aboard a 50-seat CRJ200. It will operate four-times-daily on weekdays and twice-daily on weekends.
Dba purchased the remaining 40% stake in LTU German Airlines held by Rewe Group through the Intro Verwaultungs investment concern belonging to Hans Rudolf Woehrl, dba's largest shareholder. Intro now owns 100% of LTU, having acquired a 60% share of the struggling charter carrier in a deal announced in February ( ATWOnline, Feb. 20). Woehrl will face difficulties attempting to implement a €45 million ($57.3 million) cost-cutting program at LTU.
Ethiopian Airlines will wet-lease one A330-200 from June 17 and one MD-11 from July 1 to handle expected growth. It cancelled plans to lease two 747-400s because the aircraft would not deliver on time ( ATWOnline, May 2). "The lease is for six months, then we want to have two 777-200s or more 767-300ERs. It depends what is available on the market," CEO Girma Wake told ATWOnline at last week's IATA AGM in Paris.
Boeing has sold the first passenger version of the 747-8, according to information posted on its website late last week. The order has not been announced formally. It was recorded on May 30 and placed by an unidentified customer, which may or may not be an airline. Boeing also received orders for two 747-400Fs from an unidentified customer on May 31. The 747-8 was launched last November on the strength of firm orders for 18 747-8Fs from Cargolux and Nippon Cargo Airlines.
EasyJet said it is "targeting British Airways' business passengers" with an expansion at London Gatwick, adding thrice-daily flights to Glasgow (it already flies there from Stansted and Luton) from Oct. 2 and increasing frequencies to Amsterdam to five-times-daily, Berlin Schoenefeld to twice-daily, Athens to 11-times-weekly, Madrid to four-times-daily, Milan to five-times-daily and Cologne/Bonn to thrice-daily. EasyJet will fly up to 500,000 passengers per month on 33 routes from LGW by this summer, accounting for 18% of the airport's capacity.
United Airlines flew 10.13 billion system RPMs in May, a 4.5% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.1% to 12.13 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 2 points to a May-record 83.8%.
Sky Airlines of Turkey placed an order for three firm 737-900ERs and two purchase rights, becoming the first European customer for the type launched last year, Boeing announced. The aircraft are valued at $226 million at list prices and are scheduled to begin delivery in the first quarter of 2009. Sky is a vacation airline operating a fleet of six 737-400s and one dash 800.
Air China took delivery of its first A330-200 yesterday in Chengdu. The aircraft seats 283 passengers in a two-class configuration and will serve high-altitude routes for the carrier's Southwest Branch, which operates six A340-300s and 11 A319s.
Airbus and the National Development & Reform Commission of China announced the selection of the Tianjin Binhai New Coastal District as the site for a potential A320 final assembly line should Airbus decide to move forward with the project.
Boeing maintained a better than 3:1 sales lead over Airbus through the month of May, based on information obtained from both companies' websites. Airbus received orders for six aircraft in the month--two A318s, three A319s and one A330-200--bringing year-to-date sales to 105. The A330 and two of the A319s were sold to private customers. Data from Boeing's website, meanwhile, is complete through June 7, but the manufacturer is not yet revealing its sales total through May 31. However, in the Jan.
US Dept. of Transportation approved Mesa Air Group's use of the name go! for its Hawaii inter-island startup over the objection of mainland-based GoJet Airlines. The new carrier, which will operate from the commuter terminal at Honolulu International, is scheduled to launch service today offering one-way fares from $19. GoJet, a subsidiary of Trans States Holdings that operates a fleet of CRJ700s as a United Express carrier, argued that Mesa's new name "would cause public confusion." Mesa responded that go!
SAS Scandinavian Airlines said passengers on four flights this month between New York and Stockholm will have the opportunity to test new Sony Ericsson mobile phones using VOIP technology rather than a mobile/cellular network. The aircraft are equipped with Connexion by Boeing, which makes it possible for passengers traveling with laptops accessing the Connexion service to use VOIP phones without risking interference with aircraft systems or avionics.
