Commercial747 retired from passenger service in Japan Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) formally retired its Boeing 747 aircraft, marking a key milestone in the type's gradual disappearance from the world's airliner fleet. The widebody, which was a domestic variant of the 747-400, operated its last flight on the Tokyo Haneda-Okinawa route, says an ANA spokesman. The particular aircraft bears the registration JA8961. The retirement marks the end of passenger service for the 747 in Japan, where the type was once widely used by both ANA and its competitor Japan Airlines, one of the 747's first customers.
LinkEtihad To Present Alitalia Plan SoonEtihad Airways has finished examining Alitalia's books and will soon present a plan to revamp the loss-making Italian airline that is likely to include demands for job cuts and debt restructuring, several sources familiar with the matter said. Alitalia was kept afloat by a government-engineered EUR€500 million (USD$688 million) rescue package last year but it needs to find a cash-rich partner willing to invest to revamp its flight network or else risks having to ground its planes. Etihad has been in the final phase of due diligence for a possible investment in Alitalia since February. A tie-up with the Abu Dhabi carrier could bring Alitalia the resources it needs to invest in a new strategy focused on long-haul routes.
LinkBoeing lands first order for BBJ MaxBoeing has officially launched its line of Boeing Business Jets (BBJs) based on its 737 Max following an order from an undisclosed customer, according to a media release from the Chicago-based company. Boeing says an existing BBJ customer ordered the aircraft and that the first Max-based BBJ will be delivered without a finished interior in 2018. The aircraft will be finished at a completion center chosen by the customer, says Boeing.
LinkSearch For MH370 Drags On, As Probe Narrows To CrewMalaysian police have ruled out involvement of any passengers in the disappearance of flight MH370, while Australian officials warned bad weather and a lack of reliable information were impeding efforts to find wreckage from the plane. Up to 10 planes and nine ships from a half dozen countries on Wednesday scoured a stretch of the Indian Ocean roughly the size of Britain, where the Boeing 777 is believed to have crashed more than three weeks ago. Authorities have not ruled out mechanical problems as causing the disappearance, but say all the evidence suggests the plane was deliberately diverted from its scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Malaysia's police chief said the investigation was focusing on the cabin crew and pilots, after clearing all 227 passengers of possible involvement in hijacking, sabotage or having personal or psychological problems that could have been connected to the disappearance.
LinkFAA raises concerns about safety data sharing, pilot trainingThe US Federal Aviation Administration says great strides have been made in improving safety, but continued improvements are contingent on further data sharing by the industry and more relevant pilot training. “I can't over-emphasise enough the importance of what data sharing does,” says John Hickey, deputy associate administrator for aviation safety at the FAA. “Data sharing allows data-driven decision making…when an airline, aircraft manufacturer, and a government regulator come together and look at the data together, they cannot but make the right decision.” Hickey was speaking at the IATA Ops conference in Kuala Lumpur. He said data sharing by carriers helped reduce the USA’s fatal accident rate by 70% from the 1990s to the 2000s.
LinkCourt Rules For Airline In Frequent Flyer DisputeThe US Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that an airline customer cannot sue after being thrown out of a frequent flyer plan. On a 9-0 vote, the court said Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg cannot pursue his claims against Northwest Airlines, which ceased operations in 2010 after merging with Delta Air Lines. He claimed breach of contract under Minnesota state law. The court held the federal Airline Deregulation Act barred Ginsberg's lawsuit. The act says states have no say in regulating the price, route or service of an air carrier. Ginsberg, an educator from Minnesota who travels widely and leads tours as part of his work, sued in 2009, saying he and his wife were thrown out of the program a year earlier for making too many service complaints.
LinkLufthansa Seeks Buyer For Part of IT UnitLufthansa is seeking a buyer for part of its IT unit as it seeks to overhaul the entire division, and has already held some early talks with interested parties. Lufthansa is currently undergoing a group-wide restructuring program to improve operating profit by EUR€1.5 billion (USD$2 billion) by the end of 2015, compared with 2011. Lufthansa Systems will be divided into three parts - Infrastructure, Airline Solutions and Industry Solutions. The Infrastructure division, which employs 1,400 people, will be sold, while the other two will remain within the Lufthansa group.
LinkLufthansa Pilots Start Three-day StrikeLufthansa pilots started a three-day walkout on Wednesday in a dispute over early retirement, effectively grounding Germany's largest airline in one of the biggest strikes to hit the company. Lufthansa has cancelled 3,800 flights during the strike, which runs until the end of Friday, and says the stoppage will cost it tens of millions of euros. The pilots' walkout is the third strike to hit Frankfurt airport, Europe's third-largest by passenger numbers, in six weeks after industrial action by security staff and public sector workers. With many flights cancelled in advance, Lufthansa passengers mostly stayed away. Lufthansa check-in desks at Frankfurt were being used as 'rebooking' desks, but queues were short and many had already rebooked online. Those passengers at the airport seemed satisfied with the service being offered.
LinkDelta Air Lines reports 3.9% increase in traffic for MarchDelta Air Lines reported a 3.9% increase in traffic for March on a year-over-year basis. Passenger revenue per available seat mile also rose by 1% during March, while the carrier's load factor also ticked up by 0.6% for the month.
LinkDelta joins Virgin at Heathrow Terminal 3Delta Air Lines relocated several flights today to Terminal 3 of London's Heathrow Airport, which allows Delta to join partner Virgin Atlantic in the same terminal. Through an agreement, the two carriers are offering 32 nonstop daily flights between the U.S. and U.K. over the summer.
LinkSouthwest CEO: Labor contracts need to reflect current realityGary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, says the carrier's business model still works after 43 years. "Not only has the world changed, but our relative position within the industry on costs has changed," Kelly says. "Now we just need to make sure our labor contracts are updated to reflect the current reality."
LinkSouthwest Airlines installs electronic displays at Chicago's Midway AirportPassengers traveling from Chicago's Midway International Airport on Southwest Airlines will be better able to monitor the status of their flights with the airline's new electronic monitors. The new monitors display up-to-the-minute information about Southwest flights including departure status and destination information. They replace manually-operated boards that included only flight numbers and destinations.
LinkIATA: Airline safety improved in 2013The International Air Transport Association says that airline safety improved in 2013. The group said that more than 3 billion people flew safely on 36.4 million flights.
LinkAirbus to showcase A350 seats, cabin at design centerAirbus plans to unveil its A350 seats and cabin interiors next week at the aircraft manufacturer's Cabin Design Centre in Hamburg, Germany. The facility includes showrooms for different configurations of the A350. Qatar Airways is the launch customer for the A350.
LinkBoeing machinists union could elect new leaderBoeing Co machinists cast ballots on Thursday in a rare election for control of one of North America's largest industrial unions, a contest that could see a shift to a more militant stance if the challengers are successful. At stake is leadership of 332,000 dues-paying members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace workers, which represents workers as diverse as airline ticket agents, wood workers and lobstermen, as well as about 32,000 workers in the Seattle area who assemble Boeing jetliners.
LinkPre-Check lands at Atlanta airport's international terminalThe Transportation Security Administration says that travelers enrolled in its PreCheck program can now enjoy expedited security screening at the international terminal in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. PreCheck enrollees are given access to special security screening lanes and are excused from time-consuming chores like removing their shoes and taking laptops from their cases.
LinkFAA reduces required flight time for Farmingdale State College graduatesThe Federal Aviation Administration will now allow Farmingdale State College aviation graduates to serve as first officers on commercial airlines with 1,000 hours of flight time instead of the 1,500 normally required. Farmingdale officials say that of about 300 colleges and universities that offer aviation degrees, only 45 are authorized by the FAA to certify their graduates for the reduced flight hours.
LinkBlog: Airlines have fun with April Fools' DayU.S. airlines celebrated April Fools' Day on Monday with some pranks, including a story from Southwest Airlines about a flight to Mars. Spirit Airlines also issued a tongue-in-cheek press release announcing the availability of lie-flat beds in its cargo holds. However, one carrier offered a promotion that was not a joke -- JetBlue Airways offered a free flight to customers with birthdays on April 1.
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