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Delta, JetBlue See Sandy Hitting Q4 Results
Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways on Friday said flight cancellations as a result of super storm Sandy would hurt their fourth-quarter results, denting both revenues and earnings.
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SA Airline 1time Pulls Plug On Rescue
South African budget airline 1time said on Friday it had filed for liquidation and cancelled its flights, after pulling the plug on a rescue plan.
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London Mayor Attacks UK's Airport 'Inertia'
London's mayor accused the British government on Friday of "utter inertia" on airport expansion policy with pressure growing for a launch of major infrastructure projects to help shore up the floundering economy.
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SAS Eyes Selling Ground Handling Unit
Scandinavian airline SAS aims to sell its ground handling unit in a move aimed at restoring profitability, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.
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Thai Air To Seek Tie-ups To Counter Fuel Costs
Thai Airways will actively seek partnerships with other airlines to counter high fuel prices, its new president said in an interview.
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Ryanair joins EasyJet in expanding reserved seating option
Ryanair will extend its reserved seating option from four to six rows, effective 1 November, with the addition of rows 5 and 15 to the paid-for ancillary service. For a fee of between £10-15 ($16-24), passengers can reserve their seats and benefit from priority boarding on Ryanair flights.
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Frontier sale to be resolved in early 2013, says Republic
Republic Airways Holdings will begin meeting prospective buyers of its low-cost subsidiary Frontier Airlines this month, and aims to decide on a sale in early 2013. Republic's chief executive Bryan Bedford says in an earnings call today that the company has made "significant progress" in its effort to spin off Frontier, and is "cautiously optimistic" that it will resolve the Frontier sale early next year.
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ALAFCO firms order for 20 737 MAX 8s
Kuwaiti lessor ALAFCO has finalized an order for 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, the first sale of the type into the Middle East. The order, previously announced at the Farnborough Airshow in July, is valued at $2 billion at current list prices. The aircraft will be powered by new CFM International LEAP-1B engines. Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Ray Conner said, “This is the first order for the 737 MAX from the Middle East, which is one of the aviation industry's highest growth regions.”
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US DOT report alleges serious misconduct by airports authority managing DCA and IAD
US Dept. of Transportation (DOT) inspector general Calvin Scovel has issued a harshly critical report on the organization managing Washington National (DCA) and Dulles (IAD) airports, citing “weaknesses … related to contracting, financial disclosure, travel, ethics and transparency.” The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) manages DCA and IAD under a long-term lease with DOT that extends to 2067. It is governed by a 17-member board of directors that oversees around 1,400 employees. Concerns about misconduct raised in 2011 prompted members of Congress to ask the DOT inspector general to conduct a comprehensive audit of MWAA.
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Swiss regional Darwin plans expansion
Swiss regional carrier Darwin Airline (F7) is looking to add new aircraft, routes and partners, building on a recent non-equity alliance with Albanian low-cost carrier Belle Air (LZ). F7 is a scheduled regional airline which was founded in 2003. It operates a fleet of six Saab 2000s and has bases in Lugano, Geneva and Rimini, serving 20 destinations over the summer and 12 during the winter.
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Airlines begin assessing financial impact of Hurricane Sandy
Delta Air Lines (DL) said it canceled flights due to Hurricane Sandy, which hit the US northeast early this week, will negatively impact their October revenues by $45 million and decrease October profit by $20 million. The more than 3,500 canceled DL flights in October caused a 2% system capacity reduction year-over-year for the carrier. But DL said it expects a lesser impact to its November operational results.
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Other News

IATA: Traffic growth continues to slow in September. September brought a continued slowing of commercial aviation’s rate of traffic growth, with regions increasingly showing variations in their fortunes, according to IATA. Year-on-year passenger traffic growth for September was 4.1%. For cargo, growth was just 0.6%. The slowdown in growth rates initially became apparent in the second quarter, with no growth in the passenger market between April and August. September’s 4.1% increase in passenger numbers year-over-year was down on August’s 5.3% year-on-year growth rate and well below the 6% average growth recorded throughout 2012’s first half.

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has agreed to lease three Boeing 787-8 aircraft from the International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC). Delivery is scheduled for the first half of 2015.The aircraft will be powered by GEnx-1B70/75 engines. ET CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said the agreement was in line with the carrier’s vision 2025 strategic road maps. “Ethiopian is scaling up its fast, profitable and sustainable growth” as it brings its 787 fleet to 13 by 2015, he said.

Air Seychelles (HM) is launching 3X-weekly flights to Hong Kong (HKG) via Abu Dhabi (AUH), firming up plans that were recently disclosed. Speaking to ATW at the World Route Development Forum in Abu Dhabi, HM CEO Cramer Ball said HM would launch services to China, via AUH, in early 2013 using an ex- Jet Airways Airbus A330. Etihad Airways (EY), which owns 40% of HM, has now confirmed that HM will launch 3X-weekly flights between AUH and HKG in February 2013. EY will codeshare on the EY-operated service, although it remains subject to regulatory approval.

Air New Zealand (ANZ) has taken delivery of its first of seven ATR 72-600 aircraft, part of a deal that included five options, worth more than $270 million (ATW Daily News, Oct. 20, 2011). Deliveries are scheduled to be completed by 2016. The 68-seat ATR 72-600, which is painted in an all-black livery for New Zealand’s national rugby team, is scheduled to enter service early in November, with a first flight between Christchurch and Wellington. ANZ has a fleet of 11 ATR 72-500 aircraft in service with its subsidiary, Mount Cook. The arrival of the new fleet of ATR 72-600s will grow Mount Cook’s ATR fleet and will enable the airline to further expand its domestic operations with new destinations and frequencies.

British Airways (BA) will drop its longstanding London Gatwick – Manchester (LGW-MAN) service March 31, citing deteriorating performance on the sector. The route is served up to 3X-daily by a Boeing 737-400 and is a legacy route originally served by Dan-Air, which BA acquired some 20 years ago. A BA spokeswoman said a combination of factors was behind the decision. “Gatwick historically for BA is more of a leisure airport. We still have good load factors from Gatwick to places such as the Caribbean and Orlando, but a lot of those destinations are now also served direct from Manchester.”

Boeing and the State Corp. Russian Technologies (Rostech), a majority shareholder in the joint stock company VSMPO-AVISMA Corp., are working on an agreement to expand collaboration in titanium procurement and technology development, Boeing said in a statement. Aviation Equipment, a Rostech sister company, will invest $30 million in the deal. The first stock will start in Moscow in November. Later the company plans to launch regional centers. Components delivery for Western-built aircraft takes from one to three days in Russia, according to Boeing. Aviation Equipment CEO Maxim Kuzyuk said the new distribution center will reduce this time to six hours. The company plans to supply carriers only with spare parts for Boeing at the beginning, but later components for Airbuses and modern Russian aircraft will be added.

Flydubai has acquired a $117.5 million loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank supporting exports of Boeing 737-800s.

Lufthansa (LH) will begin testing hourly schedule intervals from Frankfurt to Hamburg, Berlin Tegel and Munich in the upcoming winter schedule. LH wants to deliver a more sustainable, easy-to-remember schedule for business travelers.

UTair Aviation (UT) has selected Row 44 to provide inflight connectivity services, providing its passengers with high-speed Internet access and premium entertainment, including a selection of live TV channels, delivered directly to their Wi-Fi-enabled devices. UT plans to outfit four Boeing 737-800s and three 767s in the 2013 second half. Later it plans to add Wi-Fi Internet access on its new 737NGs, which were ordered at Paris Air Show in 2011 and Airbus A321s, which were ordered at July’s Farnborough Airshow.

Aviation Quote

To be a good fighter pilot, there is one prime requisite — think fast, and act faster.

— Major John T. Godfrey, USAAF.

On This Date

--- In 1908... Wilbur Wright receives the Grand Gold Medal of the Aéro Club of France for advances in aviation.

---In 1910... The Willows airship N° 3 City of Cardiff arrives after the 1st dirigible flight across the English Channel, flying from London in 10 hours and 30 minutes.

--- In 1911... Calbraith Rodgers becomes the 1st person to cross the United States in an airplane.

---In 1981…First flight of the AV-8B Harrier II 161396.

---In 2003…Etihad’s ceremonial first flight.

---In 2005…Britannia Airways ceases operations.

Daily Video

Editor’s Choice

Humor

Lost Balloon

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost.

He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be an Republican," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help so far."

The woman below responded, "You must be a Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault!"

Trivia

Airliners


1. Which company built the ill-fated Comet?

Hawker Siddeley
De Havilland
Handley Page
Vickers

2. Which of the following does not belong?

DC-5
DC-6
DC-4
DC-7

3. Who was primarily responsible for the design and development of the Constellation?

Juan Trippe
Malcolm Loughhead (Lockheed)
Howard Hughes
Glenn Martin

4. Which Convair model was the company's last entry in the commercial airliner market?

990
240
880
340

5. Which passenger plane was never used as Air Force One?

Douglas DC-7
Lockheed Constellation
Douglas DC-6
Boeing 707

6. Which of the following is not a jumbo jet?

Boeing 747
McDonnell Douglas MD-82
Lockheed L-1011
Douglas DC-10

7. What was the designation of the four-engine jet airliner being produced by Airbus prior to the A380?

A350
A321
A320
A340

8. Before Boeing introduced its long-haul 747-400 series, a smaller version of the 747 was built that had a range of almost 7,000 miles. What was the designation of this popular 'mini-jumbo'?

747-250
747-SB
747-SP
747-200

9. During the 1950s turboprop aircraft made up a large portion of the commercial airliner fleet. Which of the following was not a turboprop?

Lockheed Electra II
Bristol Britannia
Vickers Viscount
Martin 404

10. In the romantic era of the Clippers, Pan Am bought flying boats from Martin, Sikorsky and Boeing. What was the designation of the airplane built by Boeing for service in the fabled Clipper fleet?

307
247
377
314