Air Transport World articles from November 2004

Air Transport World archives from November 2004

Jet fuel prices *.(Trends)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 1, 2004... Jet Fuel Prices * September 17, 2004 New York 135.36 Us Gulf Coast 133.94 Los Angeles 142.90 Rotterdam 138.70 Singapore 130.38 cents per gallon Apr. 109.27 May 115.98...

Top 20 airlines.(Trends)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 1, 2004... Top 20 Airlines January-September 2004 Rank Airline RPKs (000) 1 American 157,958,001 2 United 139,711,723 3 Delta 132,235,646 4 Northwest ...

Exchange rate: currency units per US dollar.(Trends)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 1, 2004... Exchange Rate Currency units per US dollar Country/Currency 9/30/04 7/30/04 Brazil/Real 2.855 3.036 Canada/$ 1.2699 1.3267 China/Yuan ...

A bigger threat.(Editorial)
November 1, 2004... There is a harmless insect in some parts of the US that lives most of its 17 years underground before appearing simultaneously in great numbers, discovering it has wings, and flying about for a month to mate, spawn and die. This was the year...

US Airways sees some progress but time is running out.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US Airways was making slow but steady progress toward achieving the cost goals outlined in its second bankruptcy filing but the question is whether time will run out with oil topping $52 a barrel. The carrier reached a tentative agreement with...

Aer Lingus brings LCC pricing to the transatlantic.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The long-anticipated entry of low-fare competition on the transatlantic began on Sept. 27 as a transformed Aer Lingus unveiled a new fare structure with lower prices and fewer restrictions for travel between the US and Ireland. One-way...

Deja vu as US, EU clash on subsidies.
November 1, 2004... The decision by the US government to renounce the 1992 US-EU Agreement on Large Civil Aircraft and file a claim with the World Trade Organization alleging that Airbus has received "billions of dollars in unfair subsidies by European...

Alitalia bridge loan approved.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Alitalia's restructuring took another step forward last month with the provision of a 400 million [euro] ($495 million) government-backed loan intended to keep the airline aloft until early next year, when it hopes to achieve a 1 [euro]-2...

Rolls-Royce captures ANA 7E7 order.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Rolls-Royce has walked off with another engine selection on the 7E7 and it is a big one. On Oct. 13, All Nippon Airways' board of directors selected the Trent 1000 over GE's GEnx to power 50 firm aircraft set to enter service beginning in 2008....

Ryanair to add IFE.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Ryanair, which in recent months has mulled charging passengers to check luggage and negotiated with Boeing to remove "nonessentials" from 737-800s currently on order--including reclining seats, window shades, headrests and seat...

Air New Zealand.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Air New Zealand's hopes of rescuing its proposed alliance with Qantas in its present form were killed off after the New Zealand High Court in late Sept. rejected an appeal by the two carriers to overrule the NZ Commerce Commission's earlier...

Singapore Airlines.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Singapore Airlines sold its remaining 6.3% stake in Air New Zealand last month to a spread of financial institutions for NZ$61.7 million ($41.6 million). The sale of the SIA parcel has left the New Zealand government as the only substantial...

The UK and India.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The UK and India reached agreement to increase the number of weekly flights between the countries from 19 to 40 for each side over the next two years. The deal also opens up new direct routes to Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi and will boost...

Qantas.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Qantas confirmed that its new low-cost airline to be based in Singapore will be called Jetstar Asia and will start flying later this year. The first 180-seat A320 arrived in Oct. and the airline will have five by Jan. The LCC is a partnership...

Quote of the month.
November 1, 2004... "We believe that it is time to bring the low-fare concept now prevalent in the US and European domestic markets to transatlantic travel."--Aer Lingus Executive VP Jock Foley

SriLankan Airlines Group.(Asia/Pacific report)(SriLankan Airlines Group)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... SriLankan Airlines Group reported a 75.9% increase in net profit after taxation to 5.64 billion rupees ($54.6 million) for the fiscal year ended last March 31. Revenue for the group, which consists of SriLankan Airlines and subsidiary SriLankan...

Japan Airlines.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Japan Airlines will offer passengers a high-speed inflight Internet connection service dubbed JAL SkyOnline from Dec. 9. The service, which is built on Connexion by Boeing's broadband Internet system, will be available on 747-400 flights...

International Aero Engines.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... International Aero Engines will provide engine maintenance on China Northern Airlines' V2500s powering 23 A320s under a 10-year Fleet Hour Agreement.

Rockwell Collins'.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Rockwell Collins' AVOD entertainment system was chosen by ANA for four 737s with the potential for 41 additional orders. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in Dec. 2005.

B/E Aerospace.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... B/E Aerospace's MiniPod lieflat business-class seat was chosen by Korean Air for its 777s and 747s. The contract is valued at more than $25 million and deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2005.

Teledyne.(Asia/Pacific report)(Jetstar)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Teledyne's Wireless GroundLink for recording and transmission of flight data information was selected by Jetstar for its 20 A320s.

Sabre Holdings.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Sabre Holdings opened its Asia/Pacific headquarters in Shanghai. Separately, Sabre said Malaysia Airlines plans to deploy Movement Manager, part of the Sabre AirOps Suite, for "enhanced monitoring and scheduling of its daily flight operations."...

Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd will modify an additional 20 aircraft under its 747-400 Special Freighter conversion program with Boeing. Earlier this year, Boeing contracted with TAECO for the first 13 aircraft. Xi'an Aircraft...

AAR.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... AAR was selected to perform landing gear MRO services for Malaysia Airlines' 737-300s and 747-200s.

Trax.(Jetstar Airways )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Trax was selected by Jetstar Airways to provide its comprehensive maintenance application for the carrier's new fleet of A320s.

Air Canada.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Air Canada exited bankruptcy Sept. 30 with what it described as reduced operating costs, a strengthened balance sheet, a reorganized corporate structure and a new fleet. "We have fundamentally reinvented who we are. Air Canada can no longer be...

United Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... United Airlines, citing "fundamental changes in our industry, including ongoing high fuel costs, intense pricing pressure and continuing overcapacity," on Oct. 6 said it will cut domestic mainline capacity (ASMs) by 12% while boosting...

Cendant Corp.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Cendant Corp., a travel services and real estate conglomerate, announced at the end of Sept. that it will purchase online travel company Orbitz for roughly $1.25 billion. Orbitz was founded in Feb. 2000 by five airlines--American, United,...

Delta Air Lines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Delta Air Lines will reduce wages and trim health care and vacation benefits for executives, supervisory and administrative employees by 10% in 2005 as part of its transformation plan that aims to achieve $5 billion in cost savings by 2006. CEO...

Northwest Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Northwest Airlines and negotiators for its pilots union announced a tentative agreement that if ratified will provide the airline with $265 million in annual savings from the pilot group. As part of the agreement, NWA management and salaried...

US airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US airlines will be required to provide the US Transportation Security Administration with one month's worth of PNR data under a notice of proposed rulemaking issued in Sept. Data will be used for testing TSA's Secure Flight program, the...

US Dept. of Transportation.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US Dept. of Transportation this fall will publish a proposal to extend the requirements of the Air Carrier Access Act to non-US airlines that operate to the US, as directed by Congress. The Act, which is intended to prevent airlines from...

Hawaiian Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Hawaiian Airlines reached an agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that resolves SEC's investigation of a 2002 $25 million self-tender stock transaction. Under the settlement, the agency will not file any claim or seek...

American Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... American Airlines and partner AmericanConnection will expand service from St. Louis beginning in Dec., resulting in a 15% increase in AA's jet departures from its St. Louis hub by Feb. 2005 versus Nov. 2003 levels.

Southwest Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Southwest Airlines mechanics, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn., approved a three-year extension to their agreement with the company, which was scheduled to become amendable in Aug. 2005. Terms were not released.

America West Airlines.(North America report)(Transport Workers Union)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... America West Airlines dispatchers, represented by the Transport Workers Union, voted to ratify a new four-year deal. Terms were not released.

US majors traffic: September 2004.(North America report)(Illustration)
November 1, 2004... US Majors Traffic September 2004 RPMs % chg. ASMs (billions) 2003 (billions) Alaska 1.25 14.9 1.82 American 9.85 9.4 ...

ATA Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ATA Airlines reached a tentative agreement with its flight attendants, represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants, that calls for "cost savings in the area of productivity and a 10% overall reduction in hourly base rates." The deal is...

AirTran Airways.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... AirTran Airways said its International Brotherhood of Teamsters-represented employees ratified a new one-year contract covering the approximately 300 mechanics and inspectors at the airline's maintenance bases in Atlanta and Orlando as well as...

Former Douglas Aircraft Co. President Donald Douglas Jr.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Former Douglas Aircraft Co. President Donald Douglas Jr. died Oct. 4. He was 87 and had been ill for most of this year. Douglas took over as president from his father, Donald Douglas Sr., in the late 1950s and led the company until its merger...

Boeing.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Boeing delivered 67 commercial aircraft in the third quarter ended Sept. 30--three 717s, 49 737NGs, two 747s, three 757s, two 767s and eight 777s. In the year-ago period, Boeing delivered 65 aircraft. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the...

Parker Hannifin.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Parker Hannifin was selected as the hydraulic subsystem supplier for the 7E7.

Rockwell Collins'.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Rockwell Collins' newest moving map and inflight information product, Airshow 4200, was selected by Air New Zealand. The system will be installed on eight new 777s and seven existing 747s beginning in mid-2005.

ARINC.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ARINC added the new TWX1200 Thunder Storm Warning System to its ForeWarn family of lightning warning products.

Hamilton Aerospace Technologies.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Hamilton Aerospace Technologies signed a $1.5 million contract with Aero California covering heavy maintenance checks and other work on five DC-9s operated by the airline.

Airline Automation.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Airline Automation's Automated Flight Firming and Super Dupe Snooper was selected by Midwest Airlines.

Aviation Protection Systems.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Aviation Protection Systems will market the Israel-designed Flight Guard Manpads defense system in the US under an exclusive agreement with ELTA Systems, a unit of Israel Aircraft Industries.

NCR Corp.(North America report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... NCR Corp. acquired privately held Kinetics for $26 million. Kinetics makes automated ticket kiosks among other systems.

British Airways.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... British Airways is hiring 200 extra customer service staff at London Heathrow in an effort to avoid a repeat of a week of flight disruptions that occurred at the end of Aug. owing to staff shortages and technical problems. The decision to add...

SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express shareholders, as expected, signed a binding agreement to create a single airline group based in Brussels. Under the terms of the deal, inspired by the Air France-KLM construction, SN Brussels and Virgin...

EasyJet.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... EasyJet posted a 17% increase in unaudited revenue to 1.09 billion [pounds sterling] ($1.96 billion) for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The airline stuck with its guidance for year-end earnings, saying pre-tax profits are expected "to exceed...

JetBlue Airways Corp.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... JetBlue Airways Corp. said it filed a universal shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the offer and sale, from lime to lime on a delayed basis, of up to $1 billion aggregate amount of its...

AWAS.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... AWAS completed the restructuring of its lease agreements with Cameroon Airlines. Under the new terms, the airline will continue to operate one 767-300ER and one 757-200 on Iong-term leases from AWAS with one 757-200 to be returned on a...

Swiss International Air Lines.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Swiss International Air Lines leased an MD-11 to Air Namibia.

Vietnam Airlines.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Vietnam Airlines will lease two GE90-94B-pewered 777-200ERs from ILFC. The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in May and Oct. 2005 and the lease terms are for eight years each. Vietnam already leases two other 777-200ERs and two 767-300ERs...

Aeroflot Russian International.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Aeroflot Russian International Airlines revenues rose 26% to $879 million in the first eight months of 2004 while its net profit for the period more than doubled to $83 million. The target revenue for the year is now $1.36 billion. Passenger...

Lufthansa Technik-TEAC.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Lufthansa Technik-TEAC AirTrack satellite-based movingmap system was selected by Air Berlin for its entire fleet. LHT launched a maintenance-record information system, or Maris, at the end of Sept. Separately, the unit reappointed...

Lufthansa Systems.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Lufthansa Systems unveiled Lido Route Manual. The product, which was developed over 2.5 years at a cost of 15 [euro]-20 [euro] million ($18-$25 million), generates navigation charts electronically from the Lido navigation database.

GE Capital Aviation Training.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... GE Capital Aviation Training signed a three-year training agreement with Air Malta covering 737-300 and A320 training.

European airline traffic: September 2004.(Europe report)(Illustration)
November 1, 2004... European Airline Traffic September 2004 RPKs % chg. ASKs (billions) 2003 (billions) AF-KLM (1) 14.66 6.9 18.45 AUA Group (2) 2.05 18.7 2.65...

OnAir.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... OnAir is now the name of the inflight communications product being developed by SITA, Airbus and Tenzing. It will offer broadband Internet as well as in-seat telephony when fully developed (ATW, 10/04, p. 30).

AirTV.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... AirTV signed a launch services agreement with Arianespace to orbit its first broadband satellite to support AirTV's new inflight entertainment system currently under development. The AirTV 1 satellite will be placed in orbit in 2007.

SAS Flight Academy.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... SAS Flight Academy officially opened a new training center at Oslo Gardermoen. The center houses three full flight simulators--a 737NG, a 737 Classic and a Dash 8-100/-300--and includes cabin training equipment for those aircraft types.

SR Technics Switzerland and Swiss International Air Lines.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... SR Technics Switzerland and Swiss International Air Lines decided to refer their dispute over the interpretation of their "full-support" maintenance contract to an arbitration process.

Iberia Maintenance.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Iberia Maintenance was awarded a contract from Air Luxor to service the JT8D-219s powering the Egyptian airline's MD-80-83s. The contract is for five years with a one-year extension possible.

MNG Technic.(Europe report)(Germania Airlines )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... MNG Technic was chosen by Germania Airlines to perform C checks on its seven MD-82s/83s plus insulation blanket and EGPWS modifications on the aircraft. MNG will perform C checks on four MD-88s for Onur Air.

Ryanair.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Ryanair sold its fleet of 20 737-200s and spare engines and parts to US-based used aircraft and spare parts supplier Autodirect Aviation for $10 million. All aircraft will be removed from the fleet by year end.

Barcelona's El Prat Airport.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Barcelona's El Prat Airport opened its third runway. The 2,660-m.-long 07R-25L is parallel to main runway 07L-25R and will raise the airport's capacity to 90 operations per hr. and more than 450,000 per year.

Sensis Corp.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Sensis Corp said Vienna International Airport is using its Multistatic Dependent Surveillance for operational surface surveillance to augment existing primary, secondary and surface movement radar.

Teledyne Controls'.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Teledyne Controls' AirFASE flight data analysis software tool was selected by Hapag-Lloyd, TUI Airlines, Britannia UK and Britannia Nordic.

Navitaire.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Navitaire inked new deals with Vuding, SkyEurope, Jetstar Asia and Independence Air to operate the Navitaire airline distribution, decision support and operations platforms.

Shepherd Systems'.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Shepherd Systems' newest market information data transfer solution, Clarity, was selected by Varig and Oman Air.

LanPeru.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... LanPeru faced a possible shutdown last month following a local court ruling that the carrier did not comply with citizenship law owing to its partial ownership by LAN (formerly LanChile). A decree by Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo delayed...

Financially struggling Vasp.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Financially struggling Vasp had its operating certificate extended until April by the government amid a major crisis surrounding Brazil's fourth-largest airline. Six of Vasp's aircraft were grounded by Brazilian aviation authorities between...

Virgin Atlantic Airways.(Africa/Middle East report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Virgin Atlantic Airways and the Nigerian government, as expected, formalized an agreement establishing a new airline to be called Virgin Nigeria based in Lagos. The carrier is expected to launch early next year. Initially it will operate...

KLM.(Africa/Middle East report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... KLM said its Flight KL591 was robbed at gunpoint in Johannesburg Sept. 16. Police intervened and shots were exchanged but no passengers or flight and ground personnel sustained any injuries. The group of armed men struck while freight was being...

A section of a wall.(Africa/Middle East report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A section of a wall under construction in a new terminal at Dubai International Airport collapsed Sept. 27, killing at least five and injuring 12 workers, Dubai's Dept. of Civil Aviation said. The terminal is part of a $4 billion expansion...

Kenya Airways.(Africa/Middle East report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Kenya Airways signed an agreement to join the Component Services Program offered jointly by Boeing and Air France Industries for its 777s.

FedEx Corp.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... FedEx Corp. posted net income of $330 million for the fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31, more than double income of $128 million in the prior-year period, which was net of business realignment costs totaling $132 million and a one-time tax...

Japan Airlines.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Japan Airlines, which took the first of two new 747-400Fs last month, also has opted to convert three of its passenger 747-400s into Special Freighters under the conversion program offered by Boeing. JAL holds options for four more conversions....

CNF.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... CNF entered into a definitive agreement with UPS under which UPS will purchase CNF's Menlo Worldwide Forwarding business for $150 million in cash plus the assumption of approximately $110 million of debt.

World Airways.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... World Airways will operate a freighter on behalf of Lufthansa Cargo Charter between Nuremberg and Xian through Dec. 2005. World will operate a DC-10F on the route through year end, switching to an MD-11F at the beginning of 2005.

GF-X Exchange.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... GF-X Exchange said Martinair Cargo and Tampa Cargo joined the airfreight reservation system.

Atlas Air.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Atlas Air wet-leased a 747-400F to Emirates SkyCargo from last month.