Air Canada , as expected, will shift mainline flights to six Canadian cities in May and to three more cities in October to Regional affiliate Air Canada Jazz under a domestic schedule realignment. The moves could affect up to 330 jobs at AC, a spokesperson said, but the workers will be offered several employment options. Beginning May 3, AC Jazz will be the exclusive provider of AC service to Charlottetown, Fredericton, St. John, Moncton, Quebec City and Thunder Bay. It will take over flights to Regina, Saskatoon and Whitehorse on Oct. 1.
ATA Airlines will increase its operations to Hawaii significantly in April and June. From Lihue, the carrier will launch three new weekly flights to Los Angeles June 12 and one weekly flight to San Francisco June 11, and from Kona it will commence two weekly flights to Los Angeles on June 12. It also will increase nonstop flights from both Honolulu and Maui to Phoenix from two to six weekly on April 3 and to daily on June 7. In addition, it will begin daily nonstop service from Las Vegas to Honolulu April 3.
Inflight breakup of a China Airlines 747-200 on May 25, 2002, with the loss of all 225 persons onboard was "highly likely" the result of "the structural failure in the aft lower lobe section of the fuselage," Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council determined in a report on the accident released Friday. ASC said it found a 15.1-in. fatigue crack in the area, which in turn probably had its origins in an improper repair following a 1980 tail strike incident in Hong Kong.
Icelandair became the 16th customer for the 787 and the third European airline to opt for the new jet when it signed a firm order for two 787-8s for delivery in 2010. Engine selection was not announced. Boeing said the order brings announced orders and commitments to 193.
Citing high fuel costs as well as "the weak revenue environment caused by industry overcapacity and low fares," US Airways on Friday announced that it will adjust its schedule and return 11 737s to lessors beginning in May.
US Federal Court judge gave the go-ahead for United Airlines employees to move forward with a class-action lawsuit against the carrier's employee stock ownership plan and its trustees. The suit alleges that those charged with protecting the interests of the employee-owners failed in their duties, costing them "billions of dollars." It claims that the UAL ESOP committee and the plan trustee, State Street Bank, were aware that UAL's stock was unstable and State Street Bank even had placed it on a watch list owing to its volatility.
SkyEurope said that a disagreement with Warsaw Airport will cause it to divert new aircraft originally intended to be based there to Krakow instead. The Slovakian low-cost carrier is adding four aircraft to its fleet this summer, which will enable it to double its capacity at Krakow, increase frequencies on existing routes and open new routes to Barcelona and Manchester. SkyEurope officials claimed that Warsaw cannot guarantee overnight parking for aircraft and intends to raise passenger charges by 23% to pay for a new terminal.
Northwest Airlines and Korean Air announced a cargo codesharing agreement yesterday under which Northwest is placing its NW code on cargo flights operated by Korean from Seoul to Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth and San Francisco. KAL in turn is marketing its KE code on NWA-operated freighters from Anchorage to Chicago and Cincinnati as well as between Seoul and Anchorage.
UPS announced yesterday that in 2006 it will close its package sorting hub at Dayton International Airport, its only sorting hub for heavy airfreight, which will result in 1,400 job losses. According to the Associated Press, a new hub for heavy freight will be constructed at another UPS facility with a goal of improving efficiency. UPS acquired the Dayton facility last Dec. from Menlo Worldwide Forwarding for $150 million.
Alaska Airlines applied to the US Dept. of Transportation for authority to launch twice-daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Mexico City May 1. In the application, the airline proposed flights with Seattle-Los Angeles-Mexico City and Portland-Los Angeles-Mexico City routings.
US FAA yesterday proposed new rules requiring "significant upgrades" to cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders at an estimated cost to the industry of $256 million. Under an NPRM, CVRs must record the last 2 hr. of cockpit audio instead of the currently required 15-30 min. Also, a 10-min. independent backup power source for CVRs and FDRs will be required. Voice recorders would have to use technology other than magnetic tape, which is vulnerable to damage and decreased reliability.
Tianjin-based Okay Airlines , the first private Chinese carrier, is expected to receive its operating certificate shortly. The airline is expected to launch operations in March, and according to the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, it will be followed by several others, including Spring International Airlines (Shanghai), Eagle Airlines (Chengdu) and Huaxia Airlines (Gansu Province).
Air Transport Assn. member airlines flew 51.41 billion RPMs in Jan., up 9.3% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 3.3% to 70.8 billion ASMs and load factor gained 3.9 points to 72.6%.
As it looks to maintain its impressive growth rate, Ryanair yesterday announced that it placed an order for up to 140 new CFM56-7B-powered 737-800s, comprising 70 firm orders and 70 options. Deliveries of these aircraft will begin in 2008 and continue through 2012. Ryanair said the firm order portion of the deal is valued at $4 billion. Separately, CFM International valued the firm engines at $900 million.
Air Algerie placed an order for three shipsets of Aviation Partners Boeing 737-800 Blended Winglets. The contract includes an option to upgrade all of its existing 737-800s with winglets.
Air New Zealand, which received ATW' s Phoenix Award in Washington Tuesday evening, posted a net profit after tax of NZ$102 million ($73.6 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31, a 2.9% decrease compared to a net profit of NZ$105 million in the year-ago period. ANZ Chairman John Palmer described the result as "solid" given the tough environment the carrier faces. "The financial turnaround of ANZ has been faster than anticipated, especially in an industry that remains threatened by overcapacity and price wars," he said.
USA3000 Airlines will begin two weekly nonstop flights from Washington Dulles to Ft. Myers May 2, three weekly nonstop flights from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Ft. Lauderdale May 2 and six weekly nonstop flights between Orlando and Chicago O'Hare May 3.
Frontier Airlines took delivery of its 35th and 36th 132-seat A319s, which are on lease from GECAS. Its fleet now totals 47, comprising four 737-300s, 36 A319s and seven A318s.
Cathay Pacific Airways took delivery of a new 747-400F, its 88th aircraft. Initially, the company will use the freighter on flights between Hong Kong and Singapore.
Emirates will launch daily nonstop service from Dubai to Beijing on Feb. 1, 2006, using an A340-300. The airline said the new route is part of its strategic growth plans for its China operations.
US Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta speaking at the Canadian Open Skies Forum in Canada yesterday, said he believes the US and Canada can "move ahead quickly with exploratory discussions to establish a framework for a more open bilateral agreement." He also said a liberalized agreement between the countries leading to a unified approach in aviation policy would permit the US and Canada "to work together to achieve regional liberalization across the Atlantic."
Malaysia Airlines , hot on the heels of the Ryanair order (see above), is expected to order up to 60 737-800s with the first to be delivered later this year. Insiders told ATWOnline that the purchase should be announced shortly. If confirmed, it would be a stunning reversal for Airbus, which had been tipped to pick up the order.
AeroMexico acquired two GE90-94B-powered 777-200ERs through operational lease. The aircraft, which will replace 767-300ERs, will be operated on intercontinental routes from Mexico City to Madrid and Paris.
Brazilian government has given approval to a request by Varig and TAM to end their codesharing relationship, the last remaining element of a cooperation agreement that originally was intended to lead to a merger between the country's two largest airlines. According to the Associated Press, the alliance will be dissolved within three months.
Boullioun Aviation Services delivered a 737-800 to Air-India on medium-term lease. The aircraft will be used by Air-India Express, the low-fare unit set to debut in mid-March. During the first phase, it will operate 6-7 daily flights to and from Kerala, the Gulf region and Southeast Asia.
