Air Transport World articles from September 2006

Air Transport World archives from September 2006

The American way.(PROFILE)(Company overview)
September 1, 2006... SIX WEEKS AGO, AMERICAN AIRLINES PARENT AMR Corp. surprised Wall Street with a handsome second-quarter net profit of $291 million. To put this achievement into its proper perspective, the last time AMR earned as much, fuel was selling for...

Crowding made easier.(ATM)
September 1, 2006... It's being called a revolution in air traffic management, but as history shows, with any revolution there are complications and disappointments. And so it is with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, a technology that when fully...

Back in the black.(FINANCE)
September 1, 2006... Although it is too early to tell whether the second quarter marked the beginning of US passenger airlines' financial comeback or was merely a brief respite from years of red ink, flat capacity growth and strong demand were enough to overcome...

A pearl of the Orient.(CATHAY PACIFIC CELEBRATES 60 YEARS)(Company overview)
September 1, 2006... Look back into the history of any large company and odds are you will find some ironies lurking in its past. Cathay Pacific Airways, celebrating its 60th birthday this month, is no exception. Here's one: Although its name is virtually...

Coming events.
September 1, 2006... Sept. 6-7 18th FAA/ATA Int'l Symposium on Human Factors in Maintenance & Ramp Operations, Orlando, FL. Contact Ric Anderson at +1 202-626-4134; www.airlines.org. Sept. 6-8 Inter Airport China, China Int'l Exhibition Centre, Beijing. Phone...

AeroTurbine.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... AeroTurbine named Michael King senior VP-material sales.

Air Wisconsin.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Air Wisconsin promoted Vince Portaro to VP-customer service.

Alaska Airlines.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Alaska Airlines selected Tom Kemp as system chief pilot.

Austrian Air Group.(appointments)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Austrian Air Group tapped Peter Baumgartner as head-product management & customer services division, Rudolf Mertl as head-network & sales divisions, Christian Fitz as head-quality collective decision making & process management division, and...

Avion Group.(appointed Hannes Hilmarsson)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Avion Group appointed Hannes Hilmarsson CEO-Air Atlanta, succeeding Hafthor Hafsteinsson, who becomes chairman and remains CEO-Aviation Services. David Masson succeeds Hafsteinsson as CEO-Aviation Aircraft Trading and Johann Karason becomes...

AWAS.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... AWAS appointed Franklin Pray president & CEO.

BAA.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... BAA chose Stephen Nelson as CEO, Luis Sanchez Salmeron as deputy CEO and Tony Douglass as Heathrow CEO.

Boeing.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Boeing elevated Joy Romero to president-Boeing Canada Operations Ltd. & GM-Boeing Winnipeg.

Delta Air Lines.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Delta Air Lines welcomed Michael H. Campbell as executive VP-human resources & labor relatons.

Eastern Caribbean Airlines.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Eastern Caribbean Airlines introduced former Honeywell Aerospace chairman & CEO Bob Johnson as its new CEO.

Eastern Caribbean Airlines.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Eastern Caribbean Airlines tapped Pedro Maldonado as dir.-operations & Jesus Rodriguez-Pazo as chief pilot.

Hawkair.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Hawkair promoted Thomas Beshr to GM.

JetBlue Airways.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... JetBlue Airways appointed Mark Powers treasurer & VP-corporate finance and Martin St. George VP-planning.

Mesa Air Group.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Mesa Air Group selected C.D. Lauritsen as COO-go!, Joe Bock as chief marketing officer-Go!, Kenley Chambers as VP-inflight services, Allen McReynolds as VP-technical services & purchasing, Ed Gomes as VP-customer service, Mark Bicker as...

Northwest Airlines.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Northwest Airlines announced the retirement of Executive VP & General Counsel Barry Simon and the appointment of Perry Cantarutti as VP-reservations.

Pratt & Whitney.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Pratt & Whitney chose Todd Kallman as president-Commercial Engines Division.

SALE.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... SALE welcomed David Farrell as head of risk management.

Singapore Airlines.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... Singapore Airlines announced that Huang Cheng Eng will succeed Fock Siew Wah as chairman & dir.-Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd.

SkyWest Airlines.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... SkyWest Airlines welcomed Patricia Stambelos as asst. general counsel.

US Cargo Sales JV.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2006... US Cargo Sales JV named Chang-Hoon Kang CEO.

Europe's green meanies.(EDITORIAL)
September 1, 2006... Don't look now, but among Europe's political elites a consensus appears to be developing that in terms of the amount of harm they inflict upon the human race, airlines are on a par with tobacco companies and purveyors of illegal drugs. If this...

Farnborough hat trick for Airbus.(AIR SHOW)
September 1, 2006... Airbus came to Farnborough needing to accomplish three things: Demonstrate that it understood and was attacking the A380 production snags; present a new A350 that would capture airlines' attention, preferably via an order from a premier league...

Facts & figures.(Statistical table)
September 1, 2006... Aircraft Data 767-300ER 777-200ER MTOW, 000#s 380.0 - 412.0 580.0 - 656.0 Engine Types CF6-80C2 296; GE90 150; PW4000 180; PW4000...

A room with a runway view.(OPERATIONS)
September 1, 2006... ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT, TENS OF THOUSANDS of pilots and flight attendants are tucked away in hotel rooms in hundreds of cities around the globe awaiting the next duty day or the trip home. No other industry uses as many rooms as do airlines. It is...

India's capacity crunch.(AIRPORTS)
September 1, 2006... LOOK AROUND ANY AIRPORT terminal in India these days and you notice the change from even five years ago. Gone are the gents in suits and women in muted silks; people in the waiting areas today are a truer reflection of the country at large. A...

Air travelers appear to shrug off terror plot.(Financial results, new deals, and reports from every corner of the globe)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The uncovering of a plot linked to al-Qaida to destroy up to 10 US airliners over the Atlantic did not at presstime appear to have scared significant numbers of passengers off airplanes, although it led to massive airport disruptions at...

US Pension overhaul plan passed.(Financial results, new deals, and reports from every corner of the globe)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... US Senate in early August passed pension reform legislation that gives struggling airlines extra time to fund defined retirement programs. Bankrupt Northwest Airlines, a primary beneficiary of the legislation, said it "will save the pension...

United sells NY-London authority to Delta.(Financial results, new deals, and reports from every corner of the globe)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... United Airlines in late July agreed to sell its route authority between New York and London to Delta Air Lines, stating that it "has become unprofitable" and the losses no longer can be justified. Simultaneously, UA announced the transfer of...

ACE to IPO Air Canada.(Financial results, new deals, and reports from every corner of the globe)
September 1, 2006... Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings said last month that it will sell a minority stake in the airline via an IPO and "monetize" Air Canada Technical Services later this year in order to "maximize shareholder value." The announcement came...

A380.(SHOW STOPPER)
September 1, 2006... A380 in a fly-past with the Red Arrows at the Farnborough Airshow, where Airbus launched the A350XWB. Show coverage begins on p. 71.

Northwest Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Northwest Airlines flight attendants were threatening to launch random strikes against the airline as this issue want to press after NWA, with approval from the bankruptcy court, imposed a new contract on the group, which rejected two previous...

WestJet.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... WestJet reported second-quarter net income of C$22.4 million ($19.8 million), widened from net income of C$2.3 million in the year-ago quarter, on a 30.3% rise in revenues to C$425 million. Operating expenses grew 20.9% to C$386.8 million as...

ICAO Council.(Assad Kotaite retired)(International Civil Aviation Organization)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... ICAO Council President Assad Kotaite retired last month and was replaced by Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez of Mexico, who will finish the final year of Kotaite's three-year term. ICAO Secretary General Taieb Cherif also started his second three-year...

American Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
September 1, 2006... American Airlines announced a redesigned business-class section on its 767-300s and 777s that includes lie-flat seats, personal interactive IFE systems and other features.

US Senate Appropriations Committee.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... US Senate Appropriations Committee joined the House of Representatives in attaching an amendment to a bill that prevents US DOT from spending any money in the next year on its effort to ease restrictions on foreign investment in US airlines.

United Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... United Airlines will move its headquarters and 350 management employees to downtown Chicago from its current facility near O'Hare. It also will consolidate several suburban facilities into an Operations Center at its Elk Grove campus. UA is...

Frontier Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Frontier Airlines netted $4 million in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, turning around a net loss of $2.7 million in the year-ago quarter despite the presence of Southwest Airlines at its Denver hub since January. Revenues rose 27.9% to...

Midwest Air Group.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
September 1, 2006... Midwest Air Group, parent of Midwest Airlines and Skyway Airlines, earned $8.8 million in the June quarter compared to a loss of $8.2 million in the year-ago period on a 34.4% jump in revenues to $176.9 million. Operating income totaled $7.5...

Air Canada.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Air Canada's 5,540 sales, customer service and scheduling employees represented by the Canadian Auto Workers Union were awarded a 1% wage increase effective this month, a 1.75% raise in July 2007 and another 1.75% raise the following year by an...

Alaska Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
September 1, 2006... Alaska Airlines' 3,700 clerical, customer service and ramp workers represented by the International Assn. of Machinists ratified four-year labor deals.

Worldspan.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
September 1, 2006... Worldspan signed a five-year, full-content distribution agreement with US Airways. It also signed a five-year global distribution and airline hosting partnership with MAXjet Airways and a five-year Worldspan Meridian hosting and distribution...

Sabre Travel Network and Travelocity.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
September 1, 2006... Sabre Travel Network and Travelocity signed new five-year, full-content agreements with Alaska Airlines.

Spirit Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Spirit Airlines announced that Indigo Partners, the investment firm run by former America West Airlines head William Franke and Oaktree Capital Management, will make an undisclosed but "significant" investment in the Fort Lauderdale-based LCC....

Sun Country Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Sun Country Airlines announced that Petters Aviation, a subsidiary of Petters Group Worldwide and Whitebox Advisors, will purchase the carrier for an undisclosed price. Sun Country operates nine 737-800s to 31 destinations in the US, Mexico and...

US majors traffic July 2006 *.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... FACT FILE US Majors Traffic July 2006 * RPMs % chg. ASMs % chg. LF chg. Airline (bil.) 2005 (bil.) 2005 (%) 2005 AirTran 1.39 26.8 1.71 26.0 81.3 0.5...

Rockwell Collins.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
September 1, 2006... Rockwell Collins completed acquisition of Evans & Sutherland's simulation business for $71.5 million.

United Services.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
September 1, 2006... United Services said Mexicana became the sixth member of its Line Maintenance Network, which now includes 98 worldwide locations.

Delta TechOps and Aeromexico Maintenance and Engineering.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Delta TechOps and Aeromexico Maintenance and Engineering have formed a partnership to market and perform MRO services jointly. In addition, Delta will be the exclusive MRO provider for Aeromexico's CFM56-7s and 131-9B APUs while AM will provide...

NAV Canada.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... NAV Canada will deploy ADSB satellite-based positioning technology in northern Canada at a cost of C$10 million. ADS-B "promises to save customers well over $200 million in reduced fuel costs over 15 years through more flexible and...

Meggitt and AeroMechanical Services.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
September 1, 2006... Meggitt and AeroMechanical Services reached agreement involving joint marketing of Meggitt's condition monitoring system with AMS's Automated Flight Information Reporting System.

Discover the World Marketing.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
September 1, 2006... Discover the World Marketing said US Airways expanded its agreement to cover 10 locations in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

European Commission.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... European Commission in late July released its "Proposed Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on Common Rules for Air Services in the European Union," which among other things will require airlines to include all extra charges...

Assn. of European Airlines.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Assn. of European Airlines called on European regulators to take a closer look at fuel companies' relationships with airlines after Italian authorities fined fuel suppliers 315 million [euro] ($405.4 million) in June for anticompetitive...

Lufthansa.(EUROPE Report)
September 1, 2006... Lufthansa posted a profit of 183 million [euro] ($232.8 million) in the second quarter ended June 30, up 57.8% from 116 million [euro] earned in the year-ago quarter, and a six-month profit of 85 million [euro] compared to last year's breakeven...

British Airways.(EUROPE Report)
September 1, 2006... British Airways said record load factors and a "better cabin mix" helped boost its profit for the three months ended June 30 to 154 million [pounds sterling] ($289.5 million), up 71.1% over 90 million [pounds sterling] earned in the year-ago...

SAS Group.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... SAS Group reported a net profit of SEK553 million ($77.3 million) for the second quarter, up 10.8% over the SEK499 million earned in year-ago period. It credited record passenger numbers and high load factors for the result, even though its...

Ryanair.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Ryanair warned of possible fourth-quarter losses and a winter season "characterized by much more difficult trading conditions" as it announced a record 115.7 million [euro] ($147.6 million) profit in the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, a...

Iberia.(Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana S.A.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Iberia's second-quarter income fell 21.2% to 35.7 million [euro] ($45.6 million) from earnings of 45.3 million [euro] in the year-ago period as a 21% rise in costs driven by fuel and maintenance expense outstripped a 19.2% gain in turnover to...

Finnair.(EUROPE Report)
September 1, 2006... Finnair's second-quarter net profit plunged to an "unsatisfactory" 900,000 [euro] ($1.2 million) from the 26.4 million [euro] earned last year as falling unit revenues and one-time charges weighed on its bottom line. It still expects to post a...

Austrian Airlines Group.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Austrian Airlines Group lost 3.9 million [euro] in the June quarter compared to a 3.4 million [euro] profit in the equivalent 2005 period. Revenues climbed 9.9% to 694.7 million [euro] and expenses rose 5.5% to 685.6 million [euro]. Adjusted...

Swiss International Air Lines.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Swiss International Air Lines and the Aeropers pilots union agreed on the principles of a new three-year labor agreement that will become effective Nov. 1 if approved.

EC.(European Union. European Commission)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... EC is formally investigating the restrictions placed on flights between Sardinia and mainland Italy by the Italian government, which has designated the routes as public service obligations and therefore unavailable to non-Italian carriers....

Newest member.(BIG BABY)
September 1, 2006... Newest member of the 737NG family, the 737-900ER was unveiled last month. First delivery is to Lion Air next spring.

LOT's Centralwings.(EUROPE Report)
September 1, 2006... LOT's Centralwings low-fare subsidiary appointed Maciej Kwiatkowski as CEO.

Airbus parent EADS.(EUROPE Report)
September 1, 2006... Airbus parent EADS reported a 527 million [euro] ($663.9 million) second-quarter net profit, down 9% from 582 million [euro] in the year-ago period, on a 10% rise in revenues to 9.9 billion [euro]. It noted that "operational issues" leading to...

Munich International Airport.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Munich International Airport operator FMG announced its application to the regional government of Upper Bavaria to launch a planning process for construction of a third runway that would increase capacity to 120 operations per hr.

OnAir.(EUROPE Report)
September 1, 2006... OnAir selected mobile network provider Monaco Telecom as its ground infrastructure partner.

Worldspan.(EUROPE Report)
September 1, 2006... Worldspan signed a three-year, full-content participating carrier agreement with Iberia and a multiyear, full-content distribution agreement with Swiss International Air Lines.

Travelport.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Travelport, formerly Cendant Travel Distribution Services, signed a multiyear distribution agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways making the airline's full content available on the Galileo GDS as well as Orbitz and Cheap Tickets.

Sabre Travel Network and Air Madrid.(EUROPE Report)
September 1, 2006... Sabre Travel Network and Air Madrid signed a full-content distribution agreement.

Lufthansa Systems.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Lufthansa Systems announced that Augsburg Airways, Contact Air, Eurowings, Lufthansa CityLine, Germanwings and Cirrus Airlines will equip their cockpits with the Lido Route Manual electronic charting system. It will implement eticketing at...

SAS Ground Services.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... SAS Ground Services renewed its agreement with Novair for ground handling services at 15 Scandinavian airports for an additional three years. It also was chosen by bmi for ground handling at Chicago O'Hare. SAS Ground Services Denmark signed an...

ST Aerospace.(EUROPE Report)
September 1, 2006... ST Aerospace completed the transfer of Airline Rotables of the UK to SAS Component for $22.5 million.

Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas of Spain agreed to acquire Aeroporti di Roma Handling through its Flightcare subsidiary for 72.5 million [euro] ($93.3 million) subject to the approval of competition authorities.

Japan Airlines Group.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Japan Airlines Group narrowed its loss in the seasonally weak June quarter to [yen]26.7 billion ($233.2 million) from a deficit of [yen]38.3 billion in the year-ago period. Operating revenues rose 3.7% to [yen]522.2 billion and international...

ANA.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... ANA said continued economic recovery in Japan and "strong demand for individual and international business travel" resulted in a more than threefold rise in net profit in the first fiscal quarter ended June 30 to [yen]7.6 billion ($66.3...

Singapore Airlines Group.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Singapore Airlines Group earned S$575.1 million ($364.3 million) in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, more than double the S$234.6 million earned in the year-ago period. Current-period results benefited from a S$223 million gain from the...

Cathay Pacific Group.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Cathay Pacific Group reported flat first-half profits of HK$1.67 billion ($214.7 million). Turnover rose 13.4% to HK$27.1 billion but costs were up 14.8% to HK$24.97 billion, dropping operating profit 0.8% to HK$2.12 billion. The airline...

European Airline traffic July 2006.(FACT FILE)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... FACT FILE European Airline Traffic July 2006 % RPKs change ASKs Airline (billions) 2005 (billions) AF-KLM 18.49 4.9...