Air Transport World articles from January 2008

Air Transport World archives from January 2008

We're growing content.(PUBLISHER'S MEMO)
January 1, 2008... I have to say that 2007 was a very interesting year for the airline industry. As we discuss in depth in our "2008 Forecast" beginning on p. 24, the industry became profitable in spite of oil costs that topped $80 per barrel. Who would have...

Lufthansa's bet on JFK.(EDITORIAL)(Deutsche Lufthansa AG)(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... We're pretty sure that Lufthansa Chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber did not pick up the phone and call Warren Buffett for advice before he decided to invest in JetBlue Airways. If he had, the billionaire investor probably would have told him a thing...

Lufthansa takes 19% of JetBlue.(Deutsche Lufthansa AG)(JetBlue Airways Corp.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Reluctant to pursue acquisition opportunities currently available in Europe, Lufthansa instead opted to invest approximately $300 million in a recently loss-making carrier based in one of the world's most saturated and volatile markets. The...

Star Alliance formally invites Air India.(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... In line with its strategy to fill in the so-called "white spots" in a network that now spans 897 destinations in 160 countries, Star Alliance voted to accept the application of Air India to become a member following induction of Air China and...

US airlines feel heat on environment.(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Aircraft emissions at last are in the spotlight in the US. In early December, five states, the District of Columbia and the City of New York jointly petitioned the US Environmental Protection Agency to regulate commercial aircraft emissions....

Airbus, China move closer with order, A350 cooperation.(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... China's government placed firm orders for 110 A320 family aircraft and 40 A330s valued at approximately $15 billion and also signed an MOU with the manufacturer stipulating that Chinese industry will take a 5% stake in A350 XWB production. ...

US raises pilot age limit to 65.(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... President George Bush signed the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act into law Dec. 13, raising the mandatory retirement age for US airline pilots to 65 from the age 60 that had been in place since 1959. The new law allows both pilots on a...

20 from 2015.
January 1, 2008... Taiwan-based China Airlines signed a letter of intent with Airbus covering 14 Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered A350-900s plus six options. Deliveries start in 2015. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Air France KLM's.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Air France KLM's plan to concentrate Alitalia's operations at Rome Fiumicino appears to have won the backing of AZ Chairman Maurizio Prato, who told Corriere della Sera in early December that the bid "is based on Alitalia's own plan with...

Iberia.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Iberia seemed set to remain in Spanish hands after the British Airways and TPG-led consortium formally withdrew its interest in bidding for the carrier in late November, stating that a bid under friendly terms no longer was possible. The...

Air France KLM.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... Air France KLM Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta credited the airlines' "strong" long-haul network and "ongoing group-wide efforts to contain costs" for a robust profit of [euro]736 million ($1.09 billion) in the fiscal second quarter ended...

EasyJet.(EUROPE Report)(easyJet Airline Company Ltd. revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... EasyJet had a net profit of [pounds sterling]152.3 million ($312.5 million) in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, up 61.8% from the [pounds sterling]94.1 million earned in the previous financial year. Revenue rose 11% to [pounds sterling]1.79...

Air Berlin.(EUROPE Report)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Air Berlin earned [euro]60.8 million ($89.5 million) in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 57.2% from the [euro]38.7 million reported in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 68.1% to [euro]857.5 million against a 73.3% increase in expenses...

Turkish Airlines.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... Turkish Airlines reported a third-quarter profit of TRY104.9 million ($88.3 million), up 16.2% from the TRY90.3 million posted in the year-ago period. Sales rose 7.9% to TRY1.37 billion and operating profit soared 84.1% to TRY292.8 million.

SkyEurope Airlines.(EUROPE Report)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... SkyEurope Airlines narrowed its loss to [euro]24.1 million ($35.6 million) for the year ended Sept. 30 from the [euro]57.3 million suffered in the previous fiscal year. Revenue rose 27.4% to [euro]236.2 million against just a 4.2% lift in...

Atlasjet Airlines MD-83.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Atlasjet Airlines MD-83 inbound from Istanbul crashed in the early morning of Nov. 30 during approach to Isparta in southern Turkey, killing all 57 passengers and crew onboard. The crash site was located in mountainous terrain approximately 7...

Silverjet.(EUROPE Report)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Silverjet reported [pounds sterling]11.8 million ($24.4 million) in passenger revenue in the six months ended Sept. 30, its first full fiscal semester since launching operations in January. The London Luton-based carrier also announced a...

Aer Lingus Group.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Aer Lingus Group lodged a formal appeal with the EU Court of First Instance in Luxembourg in November as it seeks to force Ryanair to sell its holding in the Irish flag carrier. In October, the European Commission said it did not have the legal...

Ryanair.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Ryanair launched a stream of lawsuits in the European Court of First Instance against the EC claiming that body had failed to investigate illegal state aid to Alitalia, Air France, Lufthansa, Olympic and Volare.

Malev Hungarian Airlines.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... Malev Hungarian Airlines announced that it will cut staffing levels by 9%, resulting in annual savings of HUF1.2 billion ($6.9 million).

Turkish Airlines.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... Turkish Airlines said its IOSA certification has been renewed to October 2009.

Vueling Airlines.(EUROPE Report)(appointment of Lars Nygaard )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Vueling Airlines appointed former Spanair CEO Lars Nygaard as its new CEO, taking over from Carlos Munoz amid a much broader board restructuring that included the resignation from the board of JetBlue COO Dave Barger.

SAS Group.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... SAS Group named Lars Sandahl Sorensen CEO of Scandinavian Airlines International succeeding Lars Lindgren, who will became executive chairman of Spanair.

Rolls-Royce.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Rolls-Royce will establish a facility in Singapore to assemble and test large civil aircraft engines, with the initial focus on the Trent 1000 powering the 787 and the Trent XWB powering the A350 XWB.

Air France Industries.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Air France Industries signed a multiyear contract with Air Mauritius for overhaul of 31 CFM56-5C engines and component maintenance of two new A330-200s. AFI was contracted by Nouvelair to provide CFM56-5A/5B engine support for its fleet of...

SR Technics.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... SR Technics reached a sevenyear Integrated Engine Solutions deal with Air India covering its A330-200s and a three-year IES agreement with Vietnam Airlines covering three A330s.

Iberia.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... Iberia won three five-year contracts from Conviasa Airlines for A340 airframe and engine maintenance.

East Line Technique.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... East Line Technique, an independent technical service center in Russia, opened a wheel and brake service shop at Moscow Domodedovo.

Turkish Technic.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... Turkish Technic inked a C check maintenance services agreement with Inter Airlines covering the carrier's three A321s.

Lufthansa Systems.(EUROPE Report)(BMED)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Lufthansa Systems said it successfully migrated BMED to its Passenger Management System following the carrier's acquisition by bmi, which also uses the system that handles processes such as reservations, ticketing and inventory.

Gate Gourmet.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... Gate Gourmet signed an LOI with Aviapartner Group to acquire its catering business. Terms of the proposed transaction were not disclosed.

Lufthansa Flight Training.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... Lufthansa Flight Training will place a new CAE 5000 Series A320 Level B simulator in Berlin. It is LHT Berlin's ninth simulator.

Alteon Training and Lufthansa Technical Training.(EUROPE Report)
January 1, 2008... Alteon Training and Lufthansa Technical Training announced an alliance they said "will optimize the organizations' training capacity for airline maintenance personnel around the world." Cooperation will start with joint maintenance training...

UK CAA.(EUROPE Report)(Civil Aviation Authority)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... UK CAA in late November issued proposed maximum charges for London Heathrow and Gatwick for 2008-13 that are higher than those recommended by the Competition Commission, and also called for airports operator BAA to pay penalties when it fails...

Aeroports de Paris.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Aeroports de Paris plans to increase main airport fees at Charles de Gaulle and Orly by 3.8% in 2008, down from the 4.25% hike it applied this year. The proposal represents a preliminary estimate of the average increase in passenger fees,...

Europeon Airline Traffic November 2007.(FACT FILE)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... European Airline Traffic November 2007 Load Airline RPKs % chg. ASKs % chg. factor +/- (billions) 2006 (billions) 2006 (%) 2006 ...

Quoted briefly.(Quotation)
January 1, 2008... "Kennedy is a second Heathrow. It shouldn't be undervalued." --Lufthansa Chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber discussing the airline's investment In JetBlue

Finnair ordered.(LUCKY SEVEN)
January 1, 2008... Finnair ordered a seventh A330-300 for delivery in spring 2009. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

US airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... US airlines warned early last month of rising fuel costs and a slowing US economy (see Cover Story, p. 24). Continental Airlines lowered its capacity growth estimate for full-year 2008 to 2%-3% from previous guidance of 3%-4% and said mainline...

Southwest Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Southwest Airlines reached an agreement in November with the City of Chicago that Mayor Richard Daley's office said is "a very big first step" toward the city's planned privatization of Midway Airport. In a statement, the LCC said it "welcomes...

American Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
January 1, 2008... American Airlines announced the recall of 247 furloughed former TWA flight attendants for 2008. It recalled more than 900 cabin staff in 2007.

WestJet.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... WestJet confirmed to ATW that it is in discussions with Air France regarding an expansive interline agreement that it hopes to launch "at some point in 2008."

Virgin America.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(appointment)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Virgin America, forced by the US Dept. of Transportation to replace CEO Fred Reid, named American Airlines Senior VP-Global Sales David Cush to the position. Cush served in a number of executive positions with AA over a 20-year career there...

Delta Air Lines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(appointment of Stephen Gorman )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Delta Air Lines named former Pinnacle Airlines Chairman and Greyhound Lines CEO Stephen Gorman executive VP-operations succeeding the retiring Joseph Kolshak. Gorman previously was executive VP-flight operations and technical operations at...

Frontier Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Frontier Airlines is cutting its workforce by 10%, or an estimated 100 positions, and will determine if its fleet needs to be "right-sized" in light of escalating operating costs including fuel prices. The layoffs, which will target the...

JetBlue Airways.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... JetBlue Airways last month tested a new free Wi-Fi service on flights from New York JFK to San Francisco. Dubbed BetaBlue, the service allows passengers to access Yahoo! Mail (sans attachments) and Messenger from their laptops and personal...

US Dept. of Transportation.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... US Dept. of Transportation fined Delta Air Lines $115,000 "for failing to provide information on the punctuality of its flights when asked by consumers." It previously had fined Hawaiian Airlines ($50,000) and JetBlue Airways ($30,000) for the...

Engine Alliance.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(GE-P and W Engine Alliance L.L.C.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Engine Alliance GP7200-powered A380 received type certification from US FAA and EASA, the GE Aviation/Pratt & Whitney joint venture announced. The GP7200 is scheduled to enter service next year with Emirates.

Pratt & Whitney.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Pratt & Whitney last month said its Geared Turbofan demonstrator engine "successfully completed its first series of engine runs, reaching full power [of] 30,000 lb. thrust" at the company's test facility in West Palm Beach. Ground tests will...

CFM International.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... CFM International announced that Skybus Airlines will be the first US carrier to operate the CFM56-5B Tech Insertion engines, which are onboard an A319 that was delivered to the budget airline.

Goodrich.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Goodrich agreed to make its Aerostructures facility in Foley, Ala., part of Boeing's Network Service Center program. Contract calls for shop repair and overhaul of thrust reversers on 737s and 777s.

NavAero.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... NavAero said Continental Airlines chose its Class 2 navAero tBagC2-2 computer and display hardware as the electronic flight bag flight deck hardware for the carrier's 757 and 767 fleets. NavAero said its tBagC2-2 received an STC as a Class 2...

ACTS.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
January 1, 2008... ACTS, formerly Air Canada Technical Services, reached a 10-year deal with Aero Inventory for the supply and management of its consumable aircraft stock.

Sabre Airline Solutions.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
January 1, 2008... Sabre Airline Solutions' SabreSonic suite was chosen by Aloha Airlines.

Boeing in early December.(DREAMLINER ON TRACK)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Boeing in early December said it made a number of changes to the 787 program that will enable it to meet the revised schedule it announced in October, including first flight by the end of the 2008 first quarter, first delivery in late November...

US majors Traffic November 2007 *.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... US Majors Traffic November 2007* +/- RPMs % chg ASMs % chg. LF chg. Airline (bil.) 2006 (bil.) 2006 (%) 2006 AirTran 1.43 26.3 1.89...

Qantas.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Qantas Airways Ltd. paid fine)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Qantas will pay a $61 million fine to settle with US authorities investigating the carrier's role in a widespread price-fixing scheme related to fuel surcharges on international cargo flights. The fine is just over 50% higher than the $40...

Malaysia Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
January 1, 2008... Malaysia Airlines' resurgence continued in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 as net profit soared 51.7% to a record MYR364 million ($106 million) from MYR240 million in the 2006 period. Passenger revenue climbed 12% to MYR2.46 billion, which...

Thai Airways.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Thai Airways International PCL revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Thai Airways suffered a 29.5% decline in profit in its fiscal year ended Sept. 30 to THB6.34 billion ($201.7 million), according to press reports from Bangkok that cited weak aircraft sales and unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations. Sales...

AirAsia.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... AirAsia earned a MYR180 million ($53.6 million) profit in its first fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, representing a huge improvement over the MYR70 million reported in the year-ago period. Revenues rose 39% to MYR461.6 million and ancillary...

Air India.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
January 1, 2008... Air India lost INR4.48 billion ($112.5 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, reversed from a INR149.4 million profit in the prior year, according to widespread press reports from India. Revenue climbed 2.8% year-over-year to...

Philippine Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Philippine Airlines lost $11.8 million in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, widened from a $6.2 million deficit in the year-ago period. PAL said the increase was due principally to higher maintenance and fuel expenses. Revenue rose 13%...

Korean Air's.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Korean Air Lines Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Korean Air's new low-cost airline Air Korea is scheduled to take flight in May with three A300s and two 737s flying mainly leisure travelers to Japan, China, Thailand and Malaysia. The move is seen in part as a response to the JV between...

Tiger Airways.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
January 1, 2008... Tiger Airways took to Australian skies Nov. 23 with its first flights from Melbourne to Gold Coast, Rockhampton and MacKay in Queensland.

China.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... China implemented RVSM between 8,900 m. and 12,500 m. in order to be better prepared for this summer's Olympics. The regulator noted that Sanya and Hong Kong are excluded as these cities already have implemented RVSM.

AirAsia.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
January 1, 2008... AirAsia reached an agreement with Aviation Australia under which the latter will provide maintenance engineer training.

Rolls-Royce.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
January 1, 2008... Rolls-Royce signed a TotalCare services agreement with Singapore Airlines covering the Trent 900s on SIA's A380s. Deal runs to 2021 and work will be conducted at Singapore Aero Engine Services.

Hamilton Sundstrand.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Hamilton Sundstrand was selected by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to provide the electrical system, fire detection and suppression system, air management system, APU and flap/slat actuation system on the new Mitsubishi Regional Jet.

Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen reached a 10-year Total Component Support agreement with Shenzhen Airlines covering the carrier's growing A320 fleet with a projected 500 line replaceable units provided locally. Contract eventually will cover up to...

AJ Walter Aviation.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
January 1, 2008... AJ Walter Aviation signed a power-by-the-hour agreement with Air Seychelles covering three 767s. Deal is for two years plus a one-year option.

Copa Holdings.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)
January 1, 2008... Copa Holdings, parent of Copa Airlines and AeroRepublica, earned $46.8 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 25.7% over the $37.2 million posted in the year-ago period. Results were helped by an $8 million pre-tax gain related to...

TAM CEO Marco Antonio Bologna.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)(TAM Empreendimentos e Participacoes)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... TAM CEO Marco Antonio Bologna resigned to join TAM Empreendimentos e Participacoes, which the airline described as "a company pertaining to the Company's controlling block." He will be succeeded by VP-Operations David Barioni Neto, who in turn...

Chile and the Dominican Republic.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Chile and the Dominican Republic signed an open skies agreement. The Caribbean country is the No. 1 leisure destination for Chileans in the region, followed by Cuba and Haiti.

Goodrich.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)
January 1, 2008... Goodrich signed a 12-year agreement with LAN Airlines to provide MRO and asset management solutions for its fleet of V2500-A5-powered A319s and A320s.

Amadeus.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)
January 1, 2008... Amadeus reached agreement with Avianca to provide a new-generation IT platform.

El Al.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(El Al Israel Airlines revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... El Al third-quarter financial performance soared to $41.2 million from the $1.4 million earned in a year-ago period marked by conflict in Israel and Lebanon. Revenue climbed 27% to $567 million and operating profit surged to $63.8 million from...

Royal Jordanian.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(Royal Jordanian Airlines)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Royal Jordanian IPO was completed last month as the government sold 71% of the airline at JOD3.08 ($4.32) per share for total proceeds of JOD164.5 million. The offering consisted of 22.3 million shares to domestic retail and institutional...

South African Airways.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)
January 1, 2008... South African Airways earned ZAR136 million ($20.1 million) in the fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, reversed from a loss of ZAR650 million in the year-ago period, and said it is making substantive progress on its restructuring program, citing...

Qatar Airways.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Qatar Airways will phase out its four A340-600s earlier than scheduled as it takes deliveries of its new 777s, CEO Akbar Al Baker said recently as the carrier took its first 777-300ER. He also confirmed that QR will not exercise its six...

Etihad Airways and Virgin Blue.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(Virgin Blue Airlines Proprietary Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Etihad Airways and Virgin Blue announced a comprehensive interline deal that will provide passengers connectivity to 22 Australian cities and from Brisbane and Sydney to Abu Dhabi and beyond to Etihad's 45 international destinations.

RAK Airways.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... RAK Airways, the Ras Al Khaimah-based startup, operated its inaugural flight Nov. 29 to Beirut (a thrice-weekly service) and also launched service to Colombo (thrice-weekly), Sofia (weekly) and Dhaka (thrice-weekly) with 757s.

Goodrich.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Goodrich reached a seven-year, multimillion-dollar deal with Emirates to provide component support related to the repair of all Goodrich Actuation Systems products fitted in the airline's A330s and A340s.

Alpha Aviation Group.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Alpha Aviation Group and Air Arabia signed a JV agreement to launch the International Aviation Training Academy in Sharjah. Separately, AAG said it will enter formal negotiations with the Kazakhstan government to create an academy in the...

Jeppesen.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Jeppesen finalized an agreement with Qatar Airways to supply electronic flight bag applications and data for the airline's new 777s that will feature the Boeing Class 3 EFB.