Air Transport World articles from May 2009

Air Transport World archives from May 2009

No friends in high places.(Editorial)
May 1, 2009... Eight months after equal measures of recklessness, stupidity, greed, market ignorance and political meddling resulted in an economic meltdown that has led to a trillion dollars in taxpayer bailouts, the highest US jobless rate in 30 years and...

Airlines urge DOT to oppose ATI proposal.(News Briefs)(Department of Transportation )(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... The US Air Transport Assn. and Assn. of European Airlines jointly urged the US Dept. of Transportation to oppose a provision in the proposed House of Representatives FAA reauthorization legislation that calls for airline alliance antitrust...

Vietnam looks to SkyTeam.(News Briefs)(Vietnam Airlines Corp.'s contract)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... SkyTeam in April signed a preliminary agreement outlining Vietnam Airlines' "intentions to undertake exclusive discussions" to join the group next year, which would bring the alliance back to 10 members following the impending departure of...

Star Alliance, CO win ATI.(News Briefs)
May 1, 2009... US Dept. of Transportation on April 7 approved Continental Airlines' entry into Star Alliance, granting tentative antitrust immunity to the carrier and certain Star partners and to CO's proposed transatlantic joint venture with Air Canada,...

Boeing to cut widebody production.(News Briefs)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Responding to "significant deterioration in the business environment for airlines and cargo operators driven by unprecedented global economic conditions," Boeing said in April that 777 production will dip to five aircraft per month from seven...

Aviation stakeholders commit to eco-efforts.(News Briefs)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Industry representatives at the fourth Aviation & Environment Conference in Geneva (March 31-April 1) committed to playing their role in mitigating climate change and urged ICAO "to redouble its efforts" to present a unified, global emissions...

Asiana, Cargolux, NCA admit price-fixing.(News Briefs)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Asiana Airlines, Cargolux Airlines International and Nippon Cargo Airlines became the latest carriers to reach an agreement with the US Dept. of Justice to plead guilty to conspiring to fix air cargo prices and will pay criminal fines totaling...

IATA sees $4.7 billion world loss in 2009.(News Briefs)(International Air Transport Association)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... IATA in late March revised downward its 2009 forecast, projecting a global airline industry loss of $4.7 billion for the year, a near-doubling of the $2.5 billion loss it forecast in December. Collective revenue is expected to decrease 12%...

ICAO: fatalities down 25% in 2008.(News Briefs)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Scheduled service airline passenger fatalities fell 25.2% to 439 in 2008 from 587 in 2007, though the actual rate of accidents per 100 million scheduled RPKs decreased only "marginally" from approximately 0.01391 in 2007 to about 0.01370 in...

Air France.(TRIPLE SEVEN SQUARED)
May 1, 2009... Air France took delivery of the 777th 777, a -300ER, last month. Aircraft was painted in the airline's new livery. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

US President Barack Obama.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(appointment of Randy Babbitt)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... US President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Randy Babbitt, 62, to be the next FAA Administrator. Babbitt is currently a partner in the aviation practice of management consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Prior to that he founded Eclat...

Air Canada.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(appointment of Duncan Dee as executive vice president and Chief executive officers)(Montie Brewer resigned Chief Executive Officers)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Air Canada President and CEO Montie Brewer resigned March 31. He was succeeded by Calin Rovinescu, who was an AC executive from 2000 to 2004 before joining Genuity Capital Markets. Brewer joined AC as an executive VP in 2002 and was elevated to...

Five Delta Air Lines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Laura Liu, Crystal Knotek and Anna Schafer left from the company)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Five Delta Air Lines senior management officials will leave the company June 1, the Associated Press reported. The departing executives are Senior VP-International Laura Liu, Northwest Airlines Senior VP-Customer Service Crystal Knotek, NWA...

American Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
May 1, 2009... American Airlines parent AMR Corp. posted a first-quarter net loss of $375 million, 10.1% worse than the net deficit of $341 million in the year-ago period, citing "declining revenues, fares and traffic." Separately, Senior VP-Human...

US National Transportation Safety Board.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... US National Transportation Safety Board said that an AA MD-82 inflight engine fire in September 2007 was "probably due to an unapproved and improper procedure used by mechanics to manually start one of the engines." NTSB added that "the fire...

Southwest Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(financial news)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Southwest Airlines' stretch of unprofitability continued with a first-quarter net loss of $91 million, reversed from a $34 million profit in the year-ago period and the LCC's third consecutive quarter in the red, leading it to initiate a...

AirTran Airways.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... AirTran Airways pilots voted to end their independence and join the Air Line Pilots Assn. The carrier's nearly 1,700 pilots have been represented for 12 years by the independent National Pilots Assn.

Bombardier Aerospace.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Bombardier Aerospace announced that Alenia Aeronautica will provide horizontal and vertical stabilizers for the CSeries family, Fokker Elmo will be responsible for the design and production of the wiring and interconnection system and Goodrich...

GE Aviation.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
May 1, 2009... GE Aviation began flight testing its GEnx-2B engine for the 747-8.

Pratt & Whitney.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(contract)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Pratt & Whitney said its PW4000-100 with the Advantage 70 upgrade for the A330 completed its first test flight aboard an Air Comet A330-200 in late March. Advantage 70 offers a 1% reduction in fuel consumption and increased durability, Pratt...

Rockwell Collins.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Rockwell Collins reached agreements to install its dPAVES IFE system with CanJet Airlines (two 737-800s), Air Europa (12 737s plus 13 options) and Air Arabia (49 A320s).

B/E Aerospace.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
May 1, 2009... B/E Aerospace received an FAA STC for installation of its Overhead Flight Crew Rest on British Airways' 777-200ERs.

Delta TechOps.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Delta TechOps announced an eight-year, $55 million contract extension with Star Air covering engine MRO on the 22 CF6-80A2/C2 engines powering the carrier's 11 767-200SFs plus APU and component support. TechOps finalized new five-year MRO...

PASSUR Aerospace.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
May 1, 2009... PASSUR Aerospace said JetBlue Airways contracted for its ATC Portal, a "next-generation traffic flow management solution."

Timco Aviation Services.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
May 1, 2009... Timco Aviation Services will provide line maintenance transit checks for Icelandair at Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Discover the World Marketing.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
May 1, 2009... Discover the World Marketing was chosen by Condor Airlines for representation in Canada.

Qantas.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Qantas Airways Ltd.'s financial news)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Qantas last month said it will ground and sell 10 aircraft, eliminate 1,750 more jobs (including 500 management positions) and defer at least 16 orders as it battles the economic downturn, which it warned will result in a pre-tax profit for the...

Singapore Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Singapore Airlines said it signed "in principle agreements" with unions representing ground staff, cabin crew and administrative employees to shorten the work month by one day and could not rule out further cost-containment measures if the...

FedEx MD-11.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... FedEx MD-11 en route from Guangzhou to Tokyo Narita crashed March 23 while landing in high winds, cartwheeling on the runway and catching fire, killing the two pilots. The crash was nearly identical to two previous landing accidents involving...

Australian Transport Safety Bureau.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Australian Transport Safety Bureau classified an Emirates A340-500 tail strike incident at Melbourne on March 20 as "significant" and an "accident." The aircraft was en route to Dubai with 225 passengers. It landed safely back at Melbourne.

Qantas.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Qantas Airways Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Qantas and the ATSB said they will consult with and assist Dutch crash investigators after a QF 737-800 suffered a radio altimeter malfunction last month similar to the one that is suspected of causing the loss of a Turkish Airlines 737 on...

Virgin Blue.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Virgin Blue Airlines Proprietary Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Virgin Blue grounded five 180-seat 737s and cancelled 28 flights from its daily schedule of 300. The moves affect 400 workers, who will be offered leave without pay, job sharing and shorter hour options.

CAAC.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Civil Aviation Administration of China)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... CAAC said it will disallow competition on 51 domestic routes that Chinese airlines have added or will add between March 29 and Oct. 24. The regulator said that each of the routes will be operated by only one carrier for three years. Analysts...

China Southern Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... China Southern Airlines reported its first full-year loss in three years, a CNY4.82 billion ($704.1 million) deficit for 2008 that represented a reversal from the CNY1.84 billion earned in 2007. A 1.6% year-over-year rise in revenue to CNY54.40...

China Eastern Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(China Eastern Airlines Corporation Ltd.'s financial news)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... China Eastern Airlines reported a CNY13.93 billion ($2.04 billion) loss in 2008, according to domestic accounting standards, a reversal from a CNY604 million net profit in 2007. Its loss under IFRS reached CNY15.26 billion. Operating revenue...

Air China.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
May 1, 2009... Air China joined its "big three" rivals in suffering a significant 2008 loss, reporting a CNY9.15 billion ($1.34 billion) deficit under Chinese accounting standards that marked a reversal from the CNY3.7 billion profit in the previous year. The...

Shanghai Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
May 1, 2009... Shanghai Airlines cited a sharp drop in domestic demand, the economic downturn and higher fuel prices as it reported a 2008 net loss of CNY1.25 billion ($182.8 million), nearly tripling a deficit of CNY435.12 million in 2007, on an 8.6% lift in...

Wuhan-based East Star Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Wuhan-based East Star Airlines was forced by CAAC to suspend operations March 15 owing to its heavy debt burden and the collapse of a stake sale deal with Air China parent CNAC. It was launched in June 2005 and operated 10 A320s. Air China...

Chengdu-based United Eagle Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(acquisitions)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Chengdu-based United Eagle Airlines, a privately held carrier, agreed to merge with Sichuan Airlines through the sale of a 56% stake for CNY200 million ($29.2 million), boosting Sichuan's stake to 76%. The remaining 24% is held by five private...

China Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(China Airlines Company Ltd.'s financial news)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... China Airlines lost TW$32.35 billion ($968.9 million) in 2008, widened sharply from the TW$77.5 million deficit reported in 2007. Operating loss of TW$10.21 billion compared to TW$41.54 million the prior year. CI said fuel costs climbed 45%...

Air New Zealand.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Air New Zealand is doubling the number of premium economy seats on its 777-200ER fleet to 36, resulting in an additional 72,000 Pacific Premium Economy seats on its long-haul network annually.

US FAA.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
May 1, 2009... US FAA and CAAC signed an MOU "to share best environmental practices at airports in the two countries," according to FAA.

International Aero Engines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
May 1, 2009... International Aero Engines delivered the first set of V2500s to Airbus's A320 final assembly line in Tianjin.

GE Aviation.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
May 1, 2009... GE Aviation said it completed its acquisition of Airfoil Technologies International-Singapore with the purchase of Teleflex's 51% stake for $300 million.

Honeywell.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(contract)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Honeywell provided upgraded satellite communications equipment to Malaysia Airlines that will permit passengers to use mobile phones and PDAs in flight as part of a pilot program through mid-2009.

Nordam Group.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Nordam Group's interiors and structures division delivered bar structures for Air New Zealand's 777-200s and V Australia's 777-300s. Nordam was awarded the ANZ bar project by Altitude, ANZ's aircraft interiors business, covering eight aircraft....

SR Technics.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(contracts)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... SR Technics and Air India announced an expansion to their existing maintenance contract covering Air India Express's CFM56-7Bs to include CFM56-5Bs on AI's 27 A320 family aircraft (planned to increase to 43 by 2010).

Honeywell.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
May 1, 2009... Honeywell said Qantas received approval from Australia's CASA to use the Honeywell SmartPath Ground-Based Augmentation System at Sydney for satellite-based landings on QF's A380s.

Nav Canada and Sensis.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Nav Canada and Sensis technology will be used to upgrade ATC towers at Melbourne, Adelaide and Rockhampton, with the potential for additional towers under an agreement with Airservices Australia.

Lufthansa Systems.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
May 1, 2009... Lufthansa Systems said V Australia selected its Lido RouteManual, Lido FMS Navigation Database Service and Lido eAPM solutions.

Naverus.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
May 1, 2009... Naverus will design performance-based navigation procedures for Air China's A330 fleet at Lhasa and for Sichuan Airlines' A319s under separate contracts with the carriers.

CAAC.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
May 1, 2009... CAAC put a Thales A320 full flight simulator into service at its Hua-Ou Aviation Training Center, the facility's third FFS.

US majors traffic March 2009.(FACT FILE)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... US Majors Traffic March 2009 * RPMs % chg ASMs % chg. LF chg. Airline (bil.) 2008 (bil.) 2008 (%) 2008 AirTran 1.59 -7.2 1.97 -8.4 80.7 1.1 Alaska 1.56 -8.1 ...

China's Chongqing Airlines.(SOUTHWEST BY CHONGQING)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... China's Chongqing Airlines recently took delivery of the first of three new A319s to be operated on routes to tourist destinations in the country's southwest region. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Air France KLM.(EUROPE Report)(Air France S.A.'s financial news)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Air France KLM said it likely will report a [euro]200 million ($271.4 million) operating loss for its 2008-09 fiscal year ended March 31. As recently as mid-February it had expected to report an operating profit. On April 15 it confirmed...

Lufthansa.(EUROPE Report)(Deutsche Lufthansa AG)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Lufthansa informed the European Commission formally of its plans to acquire Chairman Michael Bishop's 50%-plus-one-share stake in bmi, lifting its holding in the UK carrier to 80%. The EC set a May 14 provisional deadline for its initial...

British Airways.(EUROPE Report)(L'Avion)(OpenSkies)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... British Airways will sell 11 of its 15 757s for cargo conversion, with the aircraft leaving the fleet between 2010 and 2012. The four 757s operated by BA's transatlantic OpenSkies subsidiary will remain. OpenSkies completed its merger with...

Air Berlin.(EUROPE Report)(ESAS Holding)(TUI Travel PLC )(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Air Berlin reported a [euro]75 million ($99.6 million) loss for 2008, reversed from a [euro]21 million profit in 2007, but buttressed its long-term future with the sale of a 15.3% stake to Turkey's ESAS Holding and a share swap with TUI...

SAS Group.(EUROPE Report)(Initiatives Empresarials Aeronautiques)(Scandinavian Airlines System)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... SAS Group completed the sale of 80.1% of Spanair to Initiatives Empresarials Aeronautiques, a Catalonian consortium comprising Consorci de Turisme de Barcelona, Catalana d'Inciatives, Volcat 2009 and Fira de Barcelona, for [euro]1 ($1.32). SAS...

Aeroflot.(EUROPE Report)(Valery Okulov dismissed at Aeroflot Russian Airlines)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Aeroflot at the end of March dismissed CEO Valery Okulov and replaced him with Vitaly Savelyev, a VP at Russian conglomerate Sistema. Okulov held the post for nearly 12 years and has accepted a position overseeing civil aviation in the Russian...

Turkish Airlines.(EUROPE Report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Turkish Airlines said it achieved a net profit of $874 million in 2008, which would represent a nearly fourfold increase from the $224 million reported in 2007. Annual revenue jumped 26% to $4.72 billion. Operating profit rose 25% to $488...

Dermot Mannion.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Dermot Mannion's eventful tenure as Aer Lingus CEO, which featured privatization, two successful defenses against a Ryanair takeover and a reversal in fiscal fortunes leading to a [euro]107.8 million ($145.3 million) loss last year, ended April...

Colin Chandler.(EUROPE Report)(resignation at easyJet Airline Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Colin Chandler, EasyJet chairman since 2002, will resign effective July 1 and be replaced on an interim basis by Senior Independent Director David Michels, the LCC said in April.

Austrian Airlines Group.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Austrian Airlines Group announced a one-year agreement with flight crew at Austrian and Tyrolean Airways that includes reduced work time and deferred compensation and constitutes an important step in its effort to cut costs by [euro]225 million...

Brussels Airlines.(EUROPE Report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Brussels Airlines reported a [euro]12.2 million ($16.3 million) net loss for 2008, a reversal from the [euro]23.1 million profit earned in 2007, owing largely to mark-to-market fuel hedging losses. Revenue increased 7% year-over-year to...

Finnair.(EUROPE Report)(Finnair Technical Services)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Finnair said it will begin negotiations to furlough employees at Finnair Technical Services for 2-3 months in an effort to save approximately [euro]7 million ($9.5 million). It already has committed to furloughs for pilots and catering...

CSA Czech Airlines.(EUROPE Report)(Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... CSA Czech Airlines privatization attracted nonbinding expressions of interest from AF KLM and Aeroflot, the Czech Finance Ministry announced. The Czech government is selling its 91.5% stake in the airline. Other interested parties are charter...

Austrian LCC Niki.(EUROPE Report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Austrian LCC Niki posted a profit of [euro]7.1 million ($9.6 million) in 2008, up 103% on the prior year, President Niki Lauda told ATW, on a 25% year-over-year increase in revenue to [euro]229 million.

Dutch government.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Dutch government at the end of March decided to abolish its departure tax at Schiphol. The tax added [euro]11.25 ($17.83) per ticket for intra-European flights and [euro]45 for longer segments.

Greek government.(EUROPE Report)(Olympic Airlines acquired with Marfin Investment Group)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Greek government signed an agreement to sell Olympic Airlines' flight, maintenance and ground handling divisions to Marfin Investment Group, which should take over the carrier in October if the deal is approved by the country's parliament. It...

EC VP-Transport Antonio Tajani.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... EC VP-Transport Antonio Tajani said the EC's DG-Transport and Energy will investigate the "lost luggage phenomenon" reported in a study released by the UK CAA-established Air Transport Users Council. The study revealed that airlines mishandled...

EU and Mongolia.(EUROPE Report)
May 1, 2009... EU and Mongolia signed a horizontal aviation agreement designed to "restore legal certainty regarding bilateral air services agreements" between Mongolia and 12 EU member nations.

GKN Aerospace.(EUROPE Report)
May 1, 2009... GKN Aerospace broke ground on its Filton-West manufacturing facility at Bristol that will manufacture wing spars and trailing edge assemblies for the A350.

Oracle and SITA.(EUROPE Report)
May 1, 2009... Oracle and SITA announced a 15-year agreement "to develop the most open and agile airline reservations system ever designed."

SAS Scandinavian Airlines.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Wideroe and Blue1 signed a 10-year agreement to adopt the full Amadeus Altea Customer Management platform to manage global sales and reservations, inventory and departure control processes.

SR Technics Group.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... SR Technics Group, as previously announced, began closing its line maintenance base at Dublin last month with the laying off of 700 of the base's 1,135 employees. "All remaining activities are expected to be wound down or transferred to other...

Lufthansa Technik.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Lufthansa Technik opened a [euro]60 million ($80.9 million) MRO facility at its LHT Malta subsidiary. The 60,000-sq.-m. complex features two wide-body hangars and one narrowbody bay and will become a second maintenance center for LH's A330 and...

Shannon Aerospace.(EUROPE Report)
May 1, 2009... Shannon Aerospace completed a 2C check on an Azerbaijan Airlines A319 in cooperation with parent Lufthansa Technik.

Lufthansa Systems.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Lufthansa Systems said it will provide a package of aeronautical IT solutions including Lido RouteManual navigation charts, the Lido FMS navigational database and the Lido OC flight planning solution to Meridiana under a five-year contract that...

Lufthansa Flight Training.(EUROPE Report)(Lufthansa Flight Training Berlin GmbH)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Lufthansa Flight Training opened a simulator center in Munich in late March. Swiss Aviation Training will operate its own E-190/195 simulator initially, followed by an LFT A320 FFS with an A330/A340 FFS running by year end.

Sensis.(EUROPE Report)
May 1, 2009... Sensis said its Multistatic Dependent Surveillance was selected by UK NATS for ground surveillance at London Stansted.

Aviapartner Handling.(EUROPE Report)
May 1, 2009... Aviapartner Handling signed a contract with Swiss to provide full handling services in Lyons starting March 29.

European airline traffic March 2009.(FACT FILE)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... European Airline Traffic March 2009 Load Airline RPKs % chg. ASKs % chg. factor (billions) 2008 (billions) 2008 (%) 2008 Aer...

US Export-Import Bank.(LEASING & FINANCE BRIEFS)
May 1, 2009... US Export-Import Bank announced approval of some $1.08 billion in financing to support the delivery of up to 30 737-900ERs to Indonesia's Lion Air.