Air Transport World articles from July 2004

Air Transport World archives from July 2004

About KLM engineering & maintenance.(Advertorial)
July 1, 2004... With approximately 5,000 employees, KLM Engineering & Maintenance (E&M) is the third Business of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, next to Passenger Transport and Cargo. E&M is one of the largest aircraft maintenance companies affiliated to an airliner...

The past is very much prologue.(Welcome 2004)(airline history)
July 1, 2004... History fascinates me. A calm consideration of what has transpired, illuminated by details and perspective accumulated over the years, usually produces a good understanding of what happened, how it happened and how it fits into a sequence of...

40 years: what a milestone.(Publishers Note 2004)(Air Transport World history)
July 1, 2004... ATW this month celebrates 40 years of continuous reporting on the global airline industry, making it the longest-running journal focused on the fascinating business of flying people and goods. It is a thrill to work in an industry so full of...

This is your Air Transport World.(First Editorial 1964)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... May, 1964 This is the first edition of Air Transport World, a new business publication dealing exclusively with matters of air transport--of people, mail and cargoes--worldwide. It is born of the conviction that air transportation is a big...

Maturity sighted, then lost: for all the distance the airline industry has come, it still has miles to go.(Overview 2004)
July 1, 2004... Airlines in 1964 were very excited about technology. The industry that had been pushing the limits of piston engines and propellers since the 1930s recently had been presented with the greatest gift imaginable--a deus ex machina if there ever...

The first decade.(Flashback '64-'74)(airline and air transport history)
July 1, 2004... The following extracts from ATW first 10 years are intended not to be a complete record of the period but to convey the key concerns of the time--fighting over fare levels and routes with regulators while looking for the next big technical...

Let's not give the store away! Move to individual low-cost tariffs puts entire fare structure in jeopardy.(Marketing 1969)
July 1, 2004... The tempest raging in IATA in the wake of the recent Alitalia New York-Rome fare revolt may be the beginning of something big... or it may be the beginning of the end, depending on whether you think marketing is an art or a science. For...

Push/pull: international relationships: from cartels to individual competitors to interest associations to alliances, airlines have turned a number of corners.(Airline Relations 2004)
July 1, 2004... Airline relationships with each other have gone through an extensive period of maturation during the past 40 years, most dramatically in the international arena. The industry has transitioned from a close-knit association of thinly spread...

The second decade.(Flashback '74-'84)(airline history)
July 1, 2004... During the second decade of ATW deregulation grew from a topic of debate into action and then fruition; IATA's power declined. Meanwhile, advances in aircraft technology continued to be pursued. MAY 1974 HEADLINE Short-Haul Jet...

CAB: can this agency be saved? The board's mandate to serve the public is being lost in the quest for a 12% rate of return, and the advocates of deregulation are marshaling ammunition.(Opinion 1975)(Civil Aeronautics Board)
July 1, 2004... If you believe in air transportation regulation, then you must be getting bad vibrations these days. Just when (1) air transportation is reaching a new stage of its development, (2) the "get the regulatory agency" mood has once again hit...

Change forever: the transition from total government control of the airline industry to open competition has been a wild ride that some enjoyed and some did not.(Regulation 2004)
July 1, 2004... In 1964, the US airlines were looking forward to a record year, especially for travel to Europe. With 88.52 million passenger enplanements, up from 77.4 million the previous year, they were not disappointed. They might have been, though, had...

Airlines of the Orient: the Orient is the No. 1 growth center for air travel in the world; recent five-year growth of airlines in nine countries was 69.1%, more than double the 31.5% achieved by all the world's airlines.(Asia/Pacific 1977)
July 1, 2004... In the face of government overthrow in Thailand, political strains between Japan and Taiwan, and a general recession throughout most of the world, the airlines in the Orient have shown an increase in passengers from 23 million in 1971 to 39...

ATW Industry Awards through the years: it was a January luncheon in New York City, a rather small, intimate affair, that gave birth to the Air Transport World Industry Awards program.(Industry Awards '75-'04)
July 1, 2004... During that luncheon, ATW founder, publisher and editor Joe Murphy handed out 10 awards to airline executives from around the world. The Airline of the Year for 1974 was United Airlines. From the start, the ATW Awards program had...

Indispensable regionals: once considered the questionable stepchildren of major carriers, regional airlines have become an integral part of the global air transportation industry.(Regionals 2004)
July 1, 2004... The transformation of commuter/ regional airlines over the last 40 years has been nothing short of dramatic. Deregulation, cabin-class airliners, codesharing and top-shelf management have helped change commuter carriers from marginal players...

Embracing change: revolutionizing reservations: Sabre Airline Solutions launched the first computerized reservations system 40 years ago. Today, it's a new generation.
July 1, 2004... The seed for one of the most significant advances in the airline industry --a revolutionary development that continues to shape the industry today--was planted about 50 years ago during a conversation between strangers on a plane. In the...

The third decade.(Flashback '84-'94)(airline history)
July 1, 2004... US carriers were seriously confronting company survival issues while airlines around the world advanced alliance experiments. The first major post-deregulation downturn saw several historic names depart the scene. JUNE 1984 A report...

On having it both ways: the bilateral world must change, countries big and small acknowledged at ICAO's April colloquium on air-transport regulation. But how? Even the vehicle most often mentioned there as a replacement--regional blocs is mistrusted.(Aeropolitics 1992)
July 1, 2004... The session, purposely designed to be informal and encourage new thinking, attracted 476 participants from 101 countries and 21 organizations. The atmosphere was supposed to be different from official ICAO meetings, where diplomats embellish...

40 years of airliner technology: the SST has come and gone and today's transports look a lot like their 1964 predecessors.(Airframes & Engines 2004)
July 1, 2004... When the Beatles arrived in New York in February 1964, they stepped off Pan Am's 707-320 Clipper Defiance, a first-generation pure-jet aircraft that was less than five years old. The classic 707--the longer-range, turbofan-powered 707-320B--was...

The fourth decade.(Flashback '94-'04)(airline history)
July 1, 2004... The fourth decade saw a decided shift to business interests as the technology of the business moved into the background. Then there were low-cost carriers, Internet distribution and 9/11. JULY 1994 In the span of a few days, FAA moved...

Selling seats: paper gave way to computers as the early adopting airline industry quickly moved into methods of distribution that were sometimes wise, sometimes not.(Distribution 2004)
July 1, 2004... As ATW's first issue was being prepared for its debut in 1964, another baby was born to the commercial aviation industry: The Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment went live on March 4, 1964. It was an unwieldy name, inevitably shortened...

Showing the way: the art of navigating around the world enters its third epoch.(Avionics 2004)
July 1, 2004... In the early 1960s there still remained in service a few of the A/N radio ranges that in the 1930s first brought electronic navigation to the aviation community, rudimentary devices that gave precise guidance on just four courses to and from...

Odds & ends.(The Best Of Odds & Ends)(past excerpts from Air Transport World)
July 1, 2004... APRIL 1993 CONTINENTAL FIRES PRESIDENT The troubled airline ejected its ninth president in 10 years in late March when Lewis H. Jordan suddenly left. This particular system for accelerating the departure of Continental presidents was...

Jet fuel prices.(Trends)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... Jet Fuel Prices Spot cash markets (average) cents per gallon Dec. 95.04 Jan. 100.76 Feb. 97.73 Mar. 99.45 Apr. 109.27 May 115.98 May 21, 2004 New York 118.19 US Gulf Coast ...

Top 20 airlines.(Trends)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... Top 20 Airlines January - May 2004 Rank Airline RPKs (000) 1 American 83,315,603 2 United 72,521,228 3 Delta 68,470,895 4 Northwest ...

Exchange rate.(Trends)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... Exchange Rate Currency units per US dollar Country/Currency 5/31/04 3/31/04 Brazil/Real 3.09 2.909 Canada/$ 1.3628 1.3081 China/Yuan ...

Regionals' reach.(Regional Airlines)(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... The volume of background noise in the airline business over the past several years has been so loud that it tends to obscure evolving underlying business themes. Regionals, however, are getting too big to miss. There is no need to recite...

Back to the drawing board for United.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Rejection of its second loan guarantee application by the US Air Transportation Stabilization Board likely will force United Airlines to seek further concessions from its workforce and suppliers and vendors. But the door seemingly is not closed...

EU transport council rejects OAA agreement.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... As expected, EU transport ministers last month rejected a tentative transatlantic Open Aviation Area agreement over the issue of cabotage and directed the European Commission to negotiate one that better addresses access to US domestic markets....

EC looking into slot transfers at heathrow.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The EC informed the UK government via a so-called Opening Letter that it will initiate an infringement procedure against the UK in regard to slot trading. The letter was sent in the second week of May and the UK has two months to respond....

World airline revenues rose last year.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Despite the impact of SARS and the war in Iraq, world airline revenues rose 2.2% in 2003 to $312.9 billion from $306 billion in 2002, marking the first year-over-year increase in annual turnover since 1999-00, according to preliminary data from...

Virgin America to fly with A320s.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Virgin's new US low-fare airline intends to begin service in mid-2005 and has ordered 11 A319s and seven A320s, plus options for an additional 72 aircraft. In addition, it will lease 15 A320s from GE Capital Aviation Services. First deliveries...

China gets 7E7 rudder.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Amid expectations that Boeing is close to announcing an order for up to 60 7E7s from multiple Chinese airlines, the company announced June 10 that the Chinese aerospace sector will participate in the 7E7 program. According to a statement,...

Star, SkyTeam add members.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Star Alliance chief executive board in early June unanimously approved TAP Air Portugal, South African Airways and Bluel for membership, while SkyTeam signed an MOU with Aeroflot Russian International Airlines laying the groundwork for...

Swiss International Air Lines.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Swiss International Air Lines on June 3 said it is abandoning plans to enter the oneworld alliance and terminating a commercial tie with British Airways after the carriers failed to reach agreement on how to integrate their frequent-flier...

Virgin Atlantic.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Virgin Atlantic reached agreement with Airbus to push back deliveries of the first of six A380s on order from summer 2006 to late 2007. The remaining five will join the fleet in 2008 and 2009. Virgin said the delay is necessary in order to...

Lufthansa Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Lufthansa Group posted a net profit of 62 million [pounds sterling] ($73.7 million) in the first quarter ended March 31 compared to a 356 million [euro] net loss in the prior-year period. Current-period results benefited from a 292 million...

Terminal 2E.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Terminal 2E partial collapse at Paris Charles de Gaulle on May 23 that killed four people caused Air France to transfer approximately 60 daily flights to five other terminals but will not impact the carrier's schedule further, AF said, despite...

Iberia Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Iberia Group narrowed its net loss in the first quarter ended March 31 to 993,000 [euro] ($1.2 million) from 21.9 million [euro] in the prior-year period. The company said the 2004 results exclude Iber-Swiss Catering. Operating loss for the...

Aer Lingus.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Aer Lingus Chairman Tom Mulcahy resigned at the end of May after being named as one of 10 former and current executives at Allied Irish Banks plc. whom the bank said may have been guilty of tax evasion.

Alitalia's.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Alitalia's auditors, Deloitte & Touche, refused to approve the airline's 2003 financial results because of "significant uncertainty over continuity of the company which has heightened due to lack of an approved and agreed plan," Il Sole 24 Ore...

ATW Media Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ATW Media Group Editorial Director J.A. Donoghue is presented with the Eugene DuBois Award for aviation reporting by British Airways Senior VP-Communications-the Americas Jeff Angel on behalf of the North American Airlines Public Relations...

Ryanair.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Ryanair confirmed that it formally requested the European Court of First Instance to annul the EC's recent ruling that certain elements of the airline's arrangements with publicly owned Brussels Charleroi Airport were illegal state aid and thus...

The July 1, 2002.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The July 1, 2002, midair collision between a DHL 757-200 freighter and a Bashkirian Airlines Tu-154M passenger jet largely was owing to operational and systemic failures by Skyguide, the privatized Swiss ATC organization, as well as incomplete...

Thomas Cook's Condor.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Thomas Cook's Condor airline unit is shedding the unwieldy Thomas Cook Powered by Condor moniker as part of a broader effort to revive the struggling leisure carrier, which has suffered as the inclusive travel market has shrunk in the face of...

MyTravel Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... MyTravel Group, formerly Air-tours, posted a pre-tax loss of 0199.6 million [pounds sterling] ($365.6 million) in the fiscal first half ended March 31, improved from a loss of 617.9 million [pounds sterling] in the year-ago period. Group...

SB Brussels Airlines.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SN Brussels Airlines posted an operating loss of 2.6 million [euro] ($3.1 million) in the first quarter ended March 31. Net loss amounted to 4.5 million [euro] compared to a net loss of 26.3 million [euro] in the year-ago period. The carrier...

Amadeus.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Amadeus acquired a controlling 55% stake in travel portal Opodo for 62 million [euro] ($74.5 million) in cash. Opodo was created by nine European network airlines whose stakes will be reduced in proportion to the investment by Amadeus. Amadeus,...

East Line Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... East Line Group, which manages Moscow Domodedovo, said it is in "the final stage of negotiation of an agreement" to sell East Line Airlines, with the deal expected to be completed by the end of the month. The decision to dispose of the small...

Wizz Air.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Wizz Air said Indigo Partners, a US-based private equity investment firm, agreed to a term sheet to invest 20 million [euro] ($24 million) in the carrier. The agreement also includes raising an additional 20 million [euro] from European private...

European Airline Traffic.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... European Airline Traffic May 2004 RPKs % chg. ASKS (billions) 2003 (billions) AF-KLM (1) 14.26 21.3 18.69 ALIA Group (2) 1.69 36.9 2.42...

Air France Industries and Lufthansa Technik.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Air France Industries and Lufthansa Technik signed an agreement to offer component support services jointly for the A380.

Gate Gourmet.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Gate Gourmet named former US Airways President and CEO David Siegel as its new chairman and CEO. Siegel succeeds Henning Boysen, who is retiring as CEO but will serve on the company's board as nonexecutive chairman.

Smith Detection.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Smiths Detection received an order for its Heimann Hi-Scan 10080 EdtS EDS for use at Hamburg's Terminal 2, which is under construction. The order is valued at 10 million [euro] ($12 million).

Bmi.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Bmi selected Sabre's AirPrice fares management system.

ASI Entertainment.(Europe report)
July 1, 2004... ASI Entertainment signed a five-year agreement with Air One to equip the airline's fleet of 28 737s with G3CARS, its 3Gbased cockpit communications and reporting system.

Ryanair opened a new 4,000-sq. m.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Ryanair opened a new 4,000-sq. m. 10 million [pounds sterling] ($17.7 million) MRO facility at Glasgow Prestwick International Airport.

Airbus.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Airbus opened a new maintenance training center in Hamburg for A320 family aircraft.

Virgin Express.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Virgin Express and dba selected the ProfitLine/Yield Rembrandt revenue management system from Lufthansa Systems.

SAS Technical Services.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SAS Technical Services and Bologna-based JetX signed a long-term MRO agreement for two of the airline's MD-80s, which are on lease from SAS.

Finnair Technical Services.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Finnair Technical Services and Aeroflot signed an agreement for technical support of four Aeroflot DC- 10-40Fs.

CAE.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... CAE was awarded a contract from easyJet to train its pilots on A320 family aircraft for a minimum of seven years. The value of the agreement is expected to be C$40-$60 million ($29.7-$44.6 million).

Rolls-Royce Trent 900 for the A380.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Rolls-Royce Trent 900 for the A380 made its first flight Aboard the A340-300 testbed in May. The Flight, which lasted 3 hr. 40 min., Began a 50-60 hour flight test program spread over almost four months.

Koran Air.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Asia/Pacific report Korean Air posted a net profit of 173.41 billion won ($146.3 million) for the first quarter ended March 31, helped by foreign exchange gains owing to the strength of the won. This was much improved over a loss of 375.12...

Qantas.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Qantas signaled the beginning of an aggressive discounting campaign against Virgin Blue as its low-fare "baby" Jetstar made its debut in the Australian market. The Melbourne-based unit took off in late May with 717-200 flights to 13...

Fiji's Air Pacific.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Fiji's Air Pacific capitalized on the weaker US dollar to record the highest profit in its history despite the impact of SARS and the Iraq war. The national carrier, 46% owned by Qantas, announced net earnings of FJD$24.5 million ($13.9...

First 777-300ER.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... First 777-300ER for Japan Airlines was delivered last month. JAL will take eight of the GE90-115 powered jets through 2008.

United Services and Korean Air.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... United Services and Korean Air reached a reciprocal MRO agreement to work cooperatively to identify product lines where they can use their technology and expertise to "serve each other's MRO needs."

Shenzen Airlines.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Shenzen Airlines signed a 10-year, $40 million Maintenance Cost Per Hour agreement with GE Engine Services covering nine CFM56-3C1 engines powering Shenzen's 737s.

Singapore Technologies Aerospace.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Singapore Technologies Aerospace purchased an additional 21% shareholding in its UK facility, Bournemouth Aviation Services, from its joint venture partner FR Aviation, a subsidiary of Cobham Plc, for 448,000 [pounds sterling] ($791,195).

Japan Transocean Air and Boeing.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Japan Transocean Air and Boeing entered into an integrated materials management agreement under which Boeing will be responsible for the purchasing, inventory, management and logistics of JTA's expendable aircraft parts.

Garuda Indonesia.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Garuda Indonesia selected Lufthansa Systems to take over the airline's entire commercial IT operation.

US Airways.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... US Airways, which claimed to have shed $1.9 billion in annual operating expenses through its bankruptcy reorganization, needs to cut a further $1.5 billion, including $800 million from labor groups, by Sept. 30 in order to survive, say Chairman...

US majors traffic.(North America report)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... US Majors Traffic May 2004 RPMs % chg. (billions) 2003 Alaska 1.31 9.2 American 10.73 9.0 America West 1.91...

United Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... United Airlines reached agreement with the United Retiree Coalition, which represents the carrier's salaried and management retirees and nearly all unionized pre-July 1, 2003, retirees, regarding modifications to retiree medical and life...

Delta Air Lines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein told an investment conference last month that, "Delta as it is now structured cannot survive in the marketplace," but downplayed speculation that the carrier is close to filing for Chapter 11, stating that...

Northwest Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Northwest Airlines management expects to reach "a consensual agreement" on a cost-saving deal with its pilots this fall, President Doug Steenland told an investment conference June 15. Noting that the Air Line Pilots Assn.-related workgroup has...

Southwest Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Southwest Airlines offered buyouts to most of its employees as an outgrowth of a package offered to around 1,900 employees at three reservation centers that were closed earlier this year. Officers of the company are excluded, as are employees...

US and EU officials.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... US and EU officials signed an agreement that will allow US agencies to collect airline PNR data from fights between the US and EU for 3.5 years with renegotiations to start within one year of its expiration date.

US Transportation Security Administration.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... US Transportation Security Administration will test its Registered Traveler Program for frequent fliers at four airports this summer. Frequent travelers at selected airports will be able to volunteer for the program and submit information,...

Independence Air.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Independence Air, the new low-fare carrier created by Atlantic Coast Airlines at Washington Dulles, began operations June 16 and by summer's end will offer 300 daily flights to 35 cities.

Spirit Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Spirit Airlines moved up introduction of Airbus aircraft. Effective Nov. 18, the airline will add four 198-seat A321s in time for the peak holiday and winter season.

Vancouver-based HMY Airways.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Vancouver-based HMY Airways changed its name to Harmony Airways. The carrier operates three 757s in scheduled and charter services to destinations in Canada, the US and Mexico.

Smiths Aerospace.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Smiths Aerospace was selected by Boeing to provide the 7E7's landing gear actuation and control systems as well as the high-lift actuation system. It also will supply the flightdeck interfaces and electronics. Value of the deal could reach $1.6...

Rockwell Collins.(North America report)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Rockwell Collins will provide the 7E7's pilot control system, which includes the wheel, column and rudder pedals and the associated mechanisms.