News
Aeromexico finalizes $9 billion 737 MAX order
Grupo Aeromexico (AM) has finalized a purchase agreement for up to 90 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody aircraft. The order follows AM's letter of intent for up to 100 aircraft previously announced July 25. AM said 60 of the 90 aircraft are firm deliveries with 30 options.
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Garuda reports 9-month net income up nearly 52%
Garuda Indonesia (GA) reported a nine-month net income of $56.5 million, up 51.9% from $37.2 million in the year-ago period. It posted consolidated operating revenue of $2.39 billion, up 14.4% from the $2.08 billion year-over-year. GA said the improvements “are the result of the company’s transformation programs undertaken as part of its Quantum Leap 2011-2015 strategy, which “aims to transform Garuda Indonesia into a highly competitive airline of the future.”
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FastJet unveils livery ahead of launch
Pan-African low-cost carrier FastJet has unveiled its livery one week before tickets go on sale. The Stelios Haji-Ioannou-backed airline has taken delivery of three Airbus A319s and will launch operations later this month from its first base in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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Ryanair posts €596 million 1H profit, continues growth
Ryanair (FR) has reported a first-half profit of €596 million ($762 million), up 10% compared to the year-ago period, on revenues of €3.1 billion, up 15% year-over-year. Passengers carried in the first half rose 7% to 48 million. The LCC will pay a one-off dividend of €489 million Nov. 30; the company’s gross cash has reached a record €3.9 billion.
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Ryanair First Half Profit Up 10 Percent
Ryanair's profit in the first half jumped 10 percent, thanks to higher fares and a lower fuel bill, prompting Europe's biggest budget airline to raise its guidance for full-year profit.
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EU To Oppose Ryanair-Aer Lingus Deal
EU antitrust regulators plan to object to Ryanair's proposed takeover of rival Aer Lingus because the Irish budget airline has not offered sufficient concessions, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.
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Kingfisher Revival Deadline December 31
India will not renew Kingfisher Airlines' license to fly if the ailing carrier fails to provide a turnaround plan by end-December, a senior government official told reporters on Monday. The airline has not come up with any revival plan as of now, the official, who declined to be named, said, adding that the airlines' license is due to expire on December 31.
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WestJet Sets October Passenger Record
WestJet Airlines flew with record-setting passenger levels in October for the fourth straight month, Canada's second-biggest carrier said on Monday.
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Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines consider 'joint management'
German chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly proposed "joint management" of Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines (THY) in a meeting with Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Berlin last week. Although Erdogan told local media that he had agreed to the proposal, neither party has outlined a precise plan for cooperation. In 1989, THY and Lufthansa set up a joint venture called SunExpress. The Antalya-based airline has expanded its fleet to 30 aircraft, according to Flightglobal’s Ascend Online database, including Frankfurt-based subsidiary SunExpress Deutschland.
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Turkish Air Shares Jump On Lufthansa Talk
Turkish Airlines is to cooperate more closely with Lufthansa, its chairman was quoted as saying on Monday, helping push shares in Turkey's flag carrier higher.
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US Navy to issue draft RFP for new unmanned strike aircraft before year’s end
The US Navy (USN) hopes to issue a draft request for proposal (RFP) for its nascent unmanned carrier-launched surveillance and strike (UCLASS) aircraft programme before the end of 2012. "The draft RFP is scheduled for release before the end of the year," the USN says. USN budget documents indicate that the service hopes to have the new aircraft in limited operational service by 2020. According to USN officials, that means that a small squadron of perhaps a half-dozen UCLASS aircraft would be ready to train with a carrier air wing by that date, but the unit would not necessarily deploy with the ship.
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United Continental completes inaugural flight of 787 Dreamliner
The first 787 Dreamliner flight by a U.S. airline arrived in Chicago on Sunday morning. Flight 1116 from Houston is hailed as the beginning of a new era for air travel because of the new jet's design, which offers greater fuel efficiency and enhanced passenger amenities.
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American Airlines pilots union anticipates contract this week
A report from the Allied Pilots Association negotiating team told pilots for American Airlines on Sunday that the union expects a contract with the airline to be ready to present to the union's board of directors this week. "In characterizing the negotiations, the committee notes that progress continues and that the pace of negotiations has not slowed," the update said. "However, as is often the case, the important final issues take a bit longer to conclude."
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Southwest begins Key West flights
Southwest launched its own to Key West, Fla., on Sunday (Nov. 4), assimilating another of AirTran's destinations into its own. The Key West transition had already been announced, but the switchover from AirTran service to Southwest-branded flights marks another milestone in Southwest's merger with AirTran. "Southwest attributes its entrance into the market … to the roots planted by its wholly-owned subsidiary AirTran Airways," Southwest says in a release touting its Key West debut.
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Calio: EU's ETS is illegal and will cost U.S. thousands of jobs
The emissions-trading scheme put in place by the European Union is an illegal tax that will destroy thousands of American jobs, writes Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America. Another reason to oppose the ETS, which touts environmental protection as its goal, is that the fees it levies will siphon money away from alternative-fuel development, an advancement that would have a tremendous positive effect on the environment, he writes.
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Airlines are readying to push for anti-ETS moves
With solid bipartisan opposition to the European Union's emissions-trading scheme, Airlines for America is gearing up for a push toward the next steps from Congress and the White House in efforts against the EU policy. "We are spending our time pushing Congress to pass legislation that addresses this issue and urging the White House to move past diplomacy and toward legal action with an Article 84," said Sean Kennedy, senior vice president of global government affairs at A4A, referring to a dispute procedure of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
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Other News
Lufthansa (LH) chairman and CEO Christoph Franz told journalists recently the carrier will continue to play an active part in airline consolidation. “We will, where it is purposeful and possible, actively participate [in terms of consolidation], but only if it is possible at eye level, and it must offer advantages for Lufthansa and our customers,” Franz said during LH’s third-quarter press conference in Frankfurt. Asked if LH could team up with one of the Gulf carriers as they begin to join alliances for the first time, Franz said the industry is in a state of upheaval and growth is shifting toward Asia and the Middle East. “Now Gulf carriers [are] increasingly acting as an engine of consolidation ... we offer a strong network today to Asia. From this perspective, future cooperation with Gulf carriers do not seem profitable enough for us or for our customers.”
Aeroflot (SU) will create a low-cost carrier if state authorities make changes in the air code allowing carriers to sell nonrefundable tickets, SU CEO Vitaly Saveliev said. Currently, Russia’s air code requires every Russian airline to refund the ticket price to the passenger if he/she refuses to fly and informs the carrier in advance. SU said it would create an LCC several years ago, establishing the new carrier on the basis of Saravia (6W) regional airline, which SU acquired from Russian state corporation Rostechnology. However, SU sold 6W at the end of 2011
Horizon Air (QX) and its pilots, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), have reached a tentative agreement to extend their current contract for six years. A ratification vote by the carrier’s 610 pilots is expected to be completed by mid-December. If ratified, the new contract would become amendable Dec. 14, 2018. The current contract was ratified in November 2010 and becomes amendable in December 2015.
Mexico’s domestic air traffic grew 9.1% in September year-over-year, while international traffic increased 6.6%, according to the Director General of Civil Aviation. Grupo Aeromexico was the domestic market leader with a 37% share, followed by Interjet (24.2%), Volaris (20%) and VivaAerobus (13.4%). In the international market, Aeromexico leads Mexican carriers with an 18% market share, followed by Volaris at 5.4%. Systemwide traffic grew 8%.
Republic Airways Holdings (RAH), parent of Chautauqua Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America posted a third-quarter net income of $25.8 million, a $16.8 million increase over the prior year quarter. "We continue to see improved financial performance on our Frontier Airlines business segment, made possible through our restructuring efforts completed last year and the continued network and fleet optimization,” RAH chairman, president and CEO Bryan Bedford said. “We have been engaged in a similar restructuring effort with our Chautauqua Airlines subsidiary … Thus far, that effort has resulted in meaningful financial improvements.”
Iberia Maintenance has signed a five-year contract with GMF AeroAsia to exclusively service and maintain components for Garuda Indonesia’s new fleet of Bombardier CRJ1000 regional jets. The contract covers inspection, repair, testing and certification of repaired and replaced components, and gives the airline access to Iberia's pool of spares. In addition, a Main Base Kit of CRJ1000 components will be positioned at GMF’s headquarters at Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta airport. The components include generators, flight recorders, ovens, fuel pumps, temperature and braking sensors, interphone control panels, emergency lights, battery chargers, digital clocks and windscreen wipers. Maintenance will be carried out at Iberia Maintenance’s Madrid-Barajas installation.
AirBaltic began operating seasonal winter service from Riga to London (8X-weekly), Paris (9X-weekly), Brussels (10X-weekly), Amsterdam (9X-weekly), Budapest (3X-weekly), Vienna (10X-weekly), Munich (10X-weekly), Dusseldorf (5X-weekly), Billund (4X-weekly), Bergen (4X-weekly), Chisinau (2X-weekly), and Oslo (20X-weekly) Oct. 28.
Japan Airlines (JL) and British Airways (BA) have added Rome, Milan, Bologna, Amsterdam and Warsaw to their codeshare cities. JL will place its code on the BA-operated service from London.
American Airlines will launch Dallas (DFW) service to Seoul (daily, May 9) and Lima (daily, April 2), as well as daily Chicago O’Hare (ORD)-Dusseldorf (April 11) and daily New York JFK-Dublin (June 12). It will also launch DFW service to Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas (53X-weekly), Columbia, Mo. (COU) (26X-weekly), and Fargo, N.D (daily); and daily ORD-COU service Feb. 14.
LAN Peru increased its 7X-weekly Lima-New York service to 11X-weekly Nov. 3.
Manx2 will continue to operate 4X-weekly London Oxford service to Jersey and the Isle of Man during the winter season. The service was launched in May.
Icelandair launched 2X-weekly Reykjavik-London Gatwick Boeing 757 service Oct. 18, increasing to 3X-weekly from spring 2013.
Aviation Quote
Mark Twain said, "Courage is the mastery of fear, resistance to fear, not the absence of fear." At times the nearness of death brings an inexplicable exhilaration which starts the adrenaline flowing and results in instant action. The plane becomes an integral part of the pilot's body, it is strapped to his butt, and they become a single fighting machine.
— R. M. Littlefield, 'Double Nickel — Double Trouble.'
On This Date
--- In 1915... The 1st catapult launching of an airplane from a moving ship is made from the USS North Carolina in Pensacola, Florida.
---In 1945... The 1st jet plane to land on an aircraft carrier is a Ryan FR-1 piloted by U.S. Navy Ensign Jake West.
---In 2002… National Airlines, already operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, permanently ceases operations.
---In 2007…China’s first lunar satellite Chang’e1 enters lunar orbit.
Daily Video
Editor’s Choice
Humor
Sergeant’s Methods
A group of Sergeants and a group of Air Force Officers take a train to a conference. Each Officer holds a ticket. But the entire group of Sergeants has bought only one ticket for a single passenger. The Officers are just shaking their heads and are secretly pleased that the arrogant Sergeants will finally get what they deserve.
Suddenly one of the Sergeants calls out: “The conductor is coming!”. At once, all the Sergeants jump up and squeeze into one of the toilets. The conductor checks the tickets of the Officers. When he notices that the toilet is occupied he knocks on the door and says: “Ticket, please!” One of the Sergeants slides the single ticket under the doors and the conductor continues merrily on his round.
For the return trip the Officers decide to use the same trick. They buy only one ticket for the entire group but they are baffled as they realize that the Sergeants didn’t buy any tickets at all. After a while one of the Sergeants announces again: “The conductor is coming!” Immediately all the Officers race to a toilet and lock themselves in.
All the Sergeants leisurely walk to the other toilet. Before the last Sergeant enters the toilet, he knocks on the toilet occupied by the Officers and says: “Ticket, please!”
And the moral of the story?
Officers like to use the methods of the Sergeants, but they don’t really understand them.
Trivia
World Airlines
1. What is the oldest airline still operating under its original name?
KLM
Northwest Airlines
Deutsche Lufthansa
Qantas
2. What airline carried the most passengers in 2005?
British Airways
American Airlines
United Airlines
Japan Airlines
3. Which of these low-cost airlines is not based in India?
Air Blue
Go Air
SpiceJet
Paramount Airways
4. What colour is associated with EasyJet?
Dark Blue
Purple
Orange
Maroon
5. Which of these is not an international airline?
Continental Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Delta Air Lines
6. Which of these European Airlines is not operating?
SABENA
Air Dolomiti
Eurowings
Luxair
7. Which of these is a French airline?
GB Airways
Air Scotland
Brit Air
Aurigny Air Services
8. MALEV the flag-carrier of what country?
Czech Republic
Lithuania
Iceland
Hungary
9. Which of these is not a Japanese Airline?
Skymark Airlines
All Nippon Airways
Asiana Airlines
Hokkaido International Airlines
10. Which of these is a Mexican Airline?
Aero California
Mesaba Airlines
Frontier Airlines
Chautauqua Airlines
