Air Transport World

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has approved the launch of Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines’ low-cost (LCC) subsidiary Jiuyuan Airlines.

UK air navigation services provider NATS said UK airspace will be open for business despite the threat of industrial action called by air traffic controllers across Europe on Jan. 29-30.

Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade will invest RUB24 billion ($708.6 million) in the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) program in 2014 to 2019.

Russian and German aviation authorities have approved Russia’s AirBridgeCargo (ABC) to operate fifth freedom flights from Frankfurt to the US.

People

Source: US Dept. of Transportation

Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Employee calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee. * Formerly Pinnacle Airlines. Source: US Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics and ATW Research.

This chart represents the most recent 13 months, displayed as percent changes from the previous year, for Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Airline Group. Source: US Dept. of Transportation Footnotes: * Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee. ** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers. Other carriers generally operate within specific niche markets, i.e. Hawaiian Airlines and Sun Country Airlines.

According to PhoCusWright,“The Web has provided airlines an enhanced degree of direct customer interaction, but to truly meet traveler requirements they need to expand their offerings to become full-fledged online travel retailers.” But how?

IATA has reached an agreement with Open Allies for Airfare Transparency—a coalition of more than 400 independent distributors and sellers of air travel, corporate travel departments, travel trade associations and consumer organizations—under which Open Allies will withdraw its opposition to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) approving IATA’s Resolution 787.

JetBlue Airways and Etihad Airways have unveiled plans for a wide-ranging codeshare, which will initially cover 40 of JetBlue’s domestic routes.

Etihad Airways president James Hogan has said he would be willing to consider further regional ventures following the launch of Etihad Regional in Switzerland.

French air traffic controls have called a five-day strike from Jan. 27-31, which could cause major traffic interruptions for European passengers.

Irish budget carrier Ryanair has agreed to have its fares posted on Google Flight Search as part of a drive to improve its customer image.

International Airlines Group (IAG) Cargo will end its arrangement with Global Supply Systems (GSS), which operated three Boeing 747-8 freighters on its behalf.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN REMOVED.

Russia’s Yamal Airlines has temporarily pulled its Boeing 737s fleet out of service.

The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) will launch a dedicated exchange for aviation-related debt and other financial instruments in a bid to “enhance Ireland’s status as a global center in aviation finance,” it said in a statement.

International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) completed 281 lease transactions in 2013, including both extensions and new leases of aircraft from ILFC’s portfolio.

A Pskovavia Antonov An-24 overran a Moscow Domodedovo runway on Wednesday. There were no fatalities or injures, according to a Domodedovo statement

France’s Aéroports de Paris, the Netherlands’ Schiphol Group and South Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corp. have signed a new strategic partnership, extending the cooperation agreement established in July 2011.

Premium air travel markets continued to improve in November, with overall international premium traffic increasing 5.4% year-over-year, “in line with the October result [5.6%] but … above growth year-to-date, which indicates that premium travel demand has accelerated over recent months,” according to IATA’s November Premium Traffic Monitor.

Airline Routes

Briefs from the Jan. 22, 2014 issue of ATW’s MRO Digest

LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services (LOTAMS) has signed an agreement with BA CityFlyer for technical services for 14 months on Embraer E-170s and E-190s.