Air Transport World articles from June 2006

Air Transport World archives from June 2006

Wanted: a security standard.(advance passenger information)
June 1, 2006... AS THE WORLD'S GOVERNMENTS increasingly adopt Advance Passenger Information as a requirement for air travelers, airlines once again find themselves on the brink of a complex proliferation of standards. And once again they are calling for...

Coming events.
June 1, 2006... June 4-6 ACI-North America Economic Specialty Conference, Hyatt Regency Montreal Centre-Ville, Quebec. Phone +1 202-293-8500; www.aci-na.org. June 5-6 Travel Distribution Summit Europe '06, Business Design Centre, London. Phone +44 (0) 207...

Air Canada Technical Services.(appointments)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Air Canada Technical Services appointed Stephane Guerin CFO, Danielle Poudrette senior VP-business strategy, Pat Iaconi VP-corporate development, Mark Swearingen executive VP-airframe maintenance and Ron Elvidge VP-components & engine...

Air Wisconsin.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Air Wisconsin's former chairman & president, Preston Wilbourne, died April 20 at the age of 80.

Alaska Airlines.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Alaska Airlines welcomed Paul McElroy as dir.-internal communications.

ASIG.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... ASIG promoted Dan Sellas to VP-sales & marketing.

ATA Airlines.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... ATA Airlines welcomed John Kelly as VP-maintenance & engineering.

Boeing.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Boeing named Tod Hullin senior VP-public policy & communications, Thomas Downey VP-corporate communications, Laurette Koellner president-international relations and Stanley Deal president-Connexion by Boeing.

Cendant Corp.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Cendant Corp. tapped Jeff Clark as CEO-travel services business.

Etihad Airways.(appointments)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Etihad Airways appointed Raymond Korban GM-UAE & Oman, Kirk Albrow GM-Europe & Americas, Ian Lovelock GM-Middle East & Africa, Charles Phelps-Penry GM-Asia/Pacific, Peter Baumgartner mgr.-marketing, Peter van Gompel mgr.-product & service...

Evergreen Air Center.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Evergreen Air Center elevated T.J. Jim Toomey to president.

JetBlue Airways.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... JetBlue Airways selected Richard Zeni as VP-revenue mgt.

Mesa Air Group.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Mesa Air Group chose Paul Rizo-Patron as VP-corporate development and Jim Marshal as VP-human resources.

Nordam.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Nordam hired Greg Thomas as dir.-supply chain services.

Northwest Airlines.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Northwest Airlines named Crystal Knotek senior VP-ground operations, Chris Collette VP-finance & staffing-ground operations and Tim Rainey senior VP-flight & inflight operations.

NTSB.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... NTSB Member Ellen Engleman resigned from the board on May 31.

Skyway Airlines.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Skyway Airlines appointed Dennis L. Malloy VP-customer services & interline affairs and Kerry Sandberg Scott dir.-human resources.

Southwest Airlines.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Southwest Airlines announced that June Morris and Rollin King are retiring from the board of directors.

Swiss WorldCargo.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Swiss WorldCargo introduced Dieter Vranckx as VP-area mgt.-Asia, Middle East & Africa.

Thai Airways.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... Thai Airways elevated Apinan Sumanaseni to president succeeding Kanok Abhiradee.

UAL Corp.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... UAL Corp. tapped Scott Dolan as senior VP-cargo & airport operations, Alex Marren as VP-operational services and Sean Donohue as VP-customer experience.

US Airways Group.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... US Airways Group named Brad Beakley VP-reservations & inventory services, Tom Trenga VP-revenue mgt. and Andrea Rader dir.-corporate communications.

World Air Holdings.(PEOPLE)
June 1, 2006... World Air Holdings welcomed Michael W. Towe as CFO.

Give the people what they want.(Northwest Airlines Corp.)(Editorial)
June 1, 2006... Count us among those who applauded when Northwest Airlines began offering passengers the opportunity to reserve a select number of aisle or exit row seats in the economy cabin for an additional fee of $15. Whether or not the program is...

Bag of tricks.(AVIONICS & SYSTEMS)(Electronic Flight Bags)
June 1, 2006... FOR SOME, THE ELECTRONIC FLIGHT Bag is a rather neat way of displaying airport and approach plates and is supplied by a teaming of Astronautics, Jeppesen and Boeing. Certainly the EFB is a cool technology, but it also is available from 15 other...

Facts & figures.(Statistical table)
June 1, 2006... Aircraft Data A320-200 737-400 737-800 MTOW, 000#s 162-169.8 138.5-150.0 155.5-174.2 Engine Types CFM56-5A 367; CFM56-3B2 62; CFM56-7B24 104; ...

Distribution unchained or unchanged?(DISTRIBUTION)
June 1, 2006... Us deregulation of the global distribution systems market in 2004 had all the immediate impact of a whisper in the woods. At the time, most of the US Major airlines already were locked into three-year, "full-content" direct connect agreements...

Mesa plays to win.(PROFILE)(Jonathan Ornstein)(Company overview)
June 1, 2006... One thing that can be said about Mesa Air Group Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein is that he loves a challenge. Whether on the basketball court or in the boardroom, his natural instinct is to play hard and play to win. His acumen as a...

As MRO evolves, IT follows.(MRO-IT)(Maintenance, repair and overhaul)(Information Technology)
June 1, 2006... Maintenance, repair and overhaul organizations are investing millions of dollars in IT systems to manage their operations. Those facilities equipped with the latest software are far more likely to get the work than those without IT. In...

Star touches down in Shanghai.(China Southern Airlines Company Ltd., Shanghai Airlines, Star Alliance Services GmbH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Shanghai Airlines accepted a formal invitation to join Star Alliance last month, becoming the second Chinese carrier to commit itself to a global airline partnership. China Southern Airlines signed an MOU with SkyTeam two years ago. Air China...

Iberia to launch no-frills carrier.(Financial results, new deals, and reports from every corner of the globe)(Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana S.A.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Iberia confirmed it will launch a low-cost airline to compete with the ever-growing herd of LCCs operating to and within Spain. It will be based at Barcelona and is due to launch in October with five aircraft. Four other Spanish companies will...

Airbus eyes wider fuselage for A350.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Airbus is close to announcing a radical revamp of the A350, according to insiders in Toulouse. CEO Gustav Humbert told reporters in late April that the company would make some some sort of decision by summer. Key to the new variant,...

DOT amends foreign control NPRM.(Department of Transportation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... US Dept. of Transportation, responding to negative comments regarding its proposal to ease how it interprets foreign control of US airlines, released revised version it said addresses concerns by federal lawmakers that areas involving safety,...

FAA to set life limits on aircraft.(Federal Aviation Administration)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... US FAA proposed requiring airframe manufacturers to place life limits on their transport aircraft, including those currently in service. Operation of aircraft beyond this limit would be prohibited, unless operators have incorporated an extended...

Northwest Airlines pilots in early May ratified a 5.5-year contract expected to reduce pilot labor costs by $358 million per year.(airlines contracts)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Northwest Airlines pilots in early May ratified a 5.5-year contract expected to reduce pilot labor costs by $358 million per year. The contract retains the 23.9% pay cut agreed to in November, gives pilots an $888 million unsecured claim and...

Delta Air Lines.(tentative labor agreement ratified)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Delta Air Lines pilot union leaders ratified the tentative labor agreement reached with the airline and sent it to members for a May vote. The contract provides approximately $280 million in annual givebacks of the $325 million Delta originally...

Air Canada.(ACE Aviation Holdings financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings had first-quarter net income of C$118 million ($107.3 million) driven by gains from the spinoff of AC Jazz, versus a C$77 million loss in the year-ago quarter. First-quarter revenues rose 14.1% to C$2.48...

Open skies agreement between the UK and Canada signed in April offers virtually unlimited passenger and cargo flights to and from third countries to UK carriers via Canada and to Canadian airlines via the UK.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Open skies agreement between the UK and Canada signed in April offers virtually unlimited passenger and cargo flights to and from third countries to UK carriers via Canada and to Canadian airlines via the UK. Under the new bilateral, which...

United Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(restructuring)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... United Airlines consolidated its airport operations and cargo divisions into one unit be led by Senior VP-Cargo Scott Dolan. Senior VP-Airport Operations Larry De Shon will leave the airline and Alex Marren will assume the role of...

WestJet.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(earnings of WestJet Airlines Ltd. )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... WestJet reported record first-quarter earnings of C$12.9 million ($11.4 million), a reversal of a net loss of C$9.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 31.6% to C$387.6 million on an 18.9% gain in RPMs to 2.3 billion.

Hawaiian Holdings.(Hawaiian Holdings financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Hawaiian Holdings, parent of Hawaiian Airlines, reported that its net loss for the first quarter ended March 31 widened to $12.3 million from $2.1 million in the year-ago period. The 2005 results are only for the parent company, which acquired...

78 more where this came from.(Financial results, new deals, and reports from every corner of the globe)
June 1, 2006... Southwest Airlines firmed options for 79 737-700s, bringing its firm order book to 140.

Midwest Air Group.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(earnings)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Midwest Air Group, parent of Midwest Airlines and Skyway Airlines, lost $8.7 million in the first quarter, narrowed from a $15.9 million deficit in the year-ago period.

Alaska Airlines flight attendants ratified a new four-year labor contract that the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA said "provides a more generous profit-sharing program.".(confirmation of labour contract)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Alaska Airlines flight attendants ratified a new four-year labor contract that the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA said "provides a more generous profit-sharing program." No other details of the deal were released.

Airbus A320, A321 and A319 were given 180-min.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
June 1, 2006... Airbus A320, A321 and A319 were given 180-min. ETOPS approval by US FAA last month.

Boeing.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(earnings)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Boeing reported a 29% increase in first-quarter net income to $692 million compared to a $535 million profit in the first quarter of 2005 on rising commercial aircraft sales and deliveries. Revenues grew 12% to $14.26 billion. Boeing Commercial...

ARINC and SITA.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
June 1, 2006... ARINC and SITA announced formation of an industry technical work group to define the next generation of business-to-business messaging among air transport operators.

Air Canada Technical Services.(contracts)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Air Canada Technical Services will provide component MRO and support for JetBlue's A320 fleet under a 10-year, $200 million contract. Work will be performed at ACTS' Montreal components facility.

Crane Aerospace & Electronics.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
June 1, 2006... Crane Aerospace & Electronics was selected to supply the onboard tire and brake monitoring system for the 777.

Aeronautical Engineers Inc.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
June 1, 2006... Aeronautical Engineers Inc. of Florida said it received EASA approval for 737-300 freighter conversions. It already had FAA approval.

Empire Aero Center.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(heavy maintenance contracts)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Empire Aero Center of New York will provide heavy maintenance on Transaero Airlines 747-200s. Midwest Airlines signed a deal with Empire for scheduled heavy maintenance on its 11 MD-80s.

Japan Airlines Group.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(earnings)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Japan Airlines Group blamed sluggish traffic growth caused by "safety-related occurrences" and anti-Japanese sentiment in China for its inability to overcome rising fuel costs, resulting in a loss of [yen]47.2 billion ($423.2 million) in the...

ANA Group.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... ANA Group posted net income of [yen]26.7 billion ($233.1 million) for its fiscal year ended March 31, down slightly from income of [yen]26.9 billion the previous year but a performance considered a success given rising fuel costs and other...

Singapore Airlines Group.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(earnings)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Singapore Airlines Group recorded a massive S$1.24 billion ($791.3 million) profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, just 8.3% down on the previous year despite soaring fuel costs. Revenues rose 11.1% to S$13.34 billion. Operating profit fell...

The end of the line.(Douglas Aircraft facility)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Assembly workers pose with the final 717-and the last commercial transport-to be built at the former Douglas Aircraft facility in Long Beach. Aircraft was set to be delivered to AirTran May 23 simultaneously with another 717 to Midwest.

US majors traffic April 2006 *.(FACT FILE)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... US Majors Traffic April 2006 * RPMs % chg. ASMs % chg. LF +/- chg. Airline (bil.) 2005 (bil.) 2005 (%) 2005 AirTran 1.20 32.9 1.53 22.5 78.8 6.2...

Korean Air.(earnings for Korean Air Lines Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Korean Air credited rising passenger and cargo demand and a strong won for an impressive first quarter during which it more than doubled its net profit to KRW127 billion ($134 million) from the KRW59 billion earned last year. Operating revenue...

Asiana Airlines.(Asiana Airlines financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Asiana Airlines earned KRW41.26 billion ($45.4 million) in the first quarter ended March 31, a 28.9% rise over the year-ago period when it earned KRW32 billion. According to wire service reports, the higher net profit occurred despite a 4.1%...

China Southern Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(earnings)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... China Southern Airlines lost CNY1.85 billion ($229.8 million) in 2005 compared to a CNY155 million profit in 2004. Revenue increased 59.7% to CNY38.29 billion but expenses surged 71.6% to CNY39.6 billion, turning a CNY909 million operating...

Air China.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(earnings)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Air China reported a "satisfactory" 0.85% increase in annual profit to CNY2.41 billion ($299.7 million) for 2005. "As with other carriers, the rising cost of jet fuel was a major challenge for us," Chairman Li Jiaxiang said. Operating revenue...

China Eastern Airlines.(China Eastern Airlines financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... China Eastern Airlines reported a loss of CNY955.1 million ($119.1 million) in the first quarter, according to press reports. The total was more than double its full-year 2005 loss of CNY467.3 million. Revenue climbed 55.8% to CNY7.48 billion....

Jet Airways.(Jet airways financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Jet Airways reported a 15% increase in its full-year profit to INR4.5 billion ($100.1 million). After three quarters, Jet's net earnings lagged 13.2% behind the same nine months in 2004, but it benefited from a 71% surge in profit to INR2.3...

Virgin Blue.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(earnings)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Virgin Blue's unhedged exposure to escalating jet fuel prices undermined its net earnings for the first half of the financial year, with the carrier reporting an 8.5% fall in profit to A$68.2 million ($52.4 million) reflecting a 33.7% rise in...

Hainan Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(earnings)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Hainan Airlines reported an 11.7% decline in first-quarter profits to CNY12.1 million ($1.5 million) from CNY13.7 million earned in the year-ago quarter, according to a company statement cited by Reuters. Hainan will change its name to...

Thai Airways.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(appointment)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Thai Airways board elevated Executive VP Apinan Sumanaseni to president May 1. He succeeds Kanok Abhiradee, who was suspended by the Thai prime minister and stripped of most of his major responsibilities last summer following heavy financial...

New Zealand and India reached a new air services agreement allowing daily flights between Mumbai and Auckland with codesharing onward to other cities in each country.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... New Zealand and India reached a new air services agreement allowing daily flights between Mumbai and Auckland with codesharing onward to other cities in each country. Services can be nonstop or via Australia or Singapore.

Air Pacific.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(acquisition)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Air Pacific reached agreement to acquire the assets and business of domestic carrier Sun Air. Under terms of the deal, Air Pacific subsidiary Fiji Airlines Ltd. will take over the operations of Sun Air from July 1 subject to the transfer of...

The EC.(EUROPE Report)(European Commission)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The EC said in late April that it would refer Greece to the ECJ for failure to comply with its September 2005 decision requiring the country to quantify and recover all unlawfully granted aid to Olympic Airways and its successor Olympic...

Lufthansa Group.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Lufthansa Group reported a net loss of 98 million [euro] for the three months ended March 31, narrowed from a 116 million [euro] deficit in the year-ago quarter. Changes in the group's composition that included the integration of Swiss...

The big switch.(Financial results, new deals, and reports from every corner of the globe)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Air New Zealand switched its order for four 787-8s to the larger 787-9 and will be the first customer to take delivery of the type in 2010.

Quoted briefly.(air carriers regulations)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... "We continue to believe that our proposed policy would remove unnecessary restrictions on US air carriers' access to the global capital market without compromising the statutory requirement that US citizens remain in actual control of such...

British Airways.(EUROPE Report)(air fares)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... British Airways announced a "radical shakeup" in its short-haul fare structure in an apparent attempt to stay competitive with LCCs. One-way fares for flights within the UK and Europe were reduced by up to 50% to more than 65 destinations....

Armavia A320.(aircraft accident)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Armavia A320 carrying 105 passengers and eight crew crashed in the early morning of May 3 into the Black Sea about 3 mi. off the Russian coast near Sochi, killing all 113 onboard. The Armenian airliner coming from Yerevan reportedly missed its...

SAS Group.(EUROPE Report)(chief executive officer retires)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... SAS Group President and CEO Jorgen Lindegaard, who steered the airline through the most challenging period in its history and returned it to profit for the 2005 financial year after four years of losses, announced he will leave in the fall. "I...

Aeroflot.(Aeroflot financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Aeroflot reported a 4.7% year-over-year decline in annual profit to RUB6.03 billion ($220.3 million), according a company statement cited by press reports. Revenues for 2005 increased 11.5% to RUB62.85 billion. The airline carried 6.7 million...

Finnair Group.(earnings)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Finnair Group unveiled a cost-cutting plan aimed at achieving annual savings of 80 million [euro] as it reported a first-period loss of 3.8 million [euro] ($4.8 million), reversing last year's March quarter profit of 12.2 million [euro]. It...

EasyJet.(earnings for easyJet Airline Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... EasyJet posted a net loss of 28.9 million [pounds sterling] ($52.9 million) for the six months ended March 31, widened from the 15.4 million [pounds sterling] deficit in the year-ago period. Revenues grew 13.8% to 629.5 million [pounds...

Austrian Airlines.(Austrian Airlines financial report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Austrian Airlines narrowed its first-quarter adjusted net loss before taxes to 67.7 million [euro] ($83.7 million) from 76.8 million [euro] in the year-ago period as increases in traffic, load factor and revenue were offset by rising fuel...

Ryanair.(EUROPE Report)
June 1, 2006... Ryanair will open its 16th European base at Marseille Provence, where it will base two new aircraft and fly to 13 destinations from November.

Avion Group.(new flights)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Avion Group said its new Germany-based carrier Star Europe will start flying this summer from Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne and Stuttgart to unspecified destinations in Europe and the Middle East using three A320s.

Malev Hungarian Airlines.(earnings)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Malev Hungarian Airlines reported a loss of HUF1.3 billion ($6.1 million) for its fiscal year, a HUF3.6 billion improvement over a loss of HUF4.9 billion in 2004.

EU.(European Union signs agreement)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... EU reached agreement May 5 with 10 neighboring countries to work toward establishment of a European Common Aviation Area by 2010 comprising 35 nations and more than 500 million people. Eight non-EU nations, including Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia...

Airbus.(fatigue tests)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Airbus said it achieved "two major test milestones in the A380 program in early May." Fatigue tests on an A380 in Dresden reached 10,000 cycles, twice as many as needed for certification, according to COO Charles Champion, who heads the A380...

Sabena Technics.(EUROPE Report)(fire accident)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Sabena Technics hangar at Brussels Airport was destroyed May 5 by a fire that damaged three A320s plus a C-130 that were in the shop for heavy maintenance. One A320 belonged to Armavia, which lost another A320 when it crashed into the Black Sea...