Colgan Air Fined For Flight Crew Rest Violations

FAA is seeking a civil penalty of $153,000 against Colgan Air for operating 17 flights without giving pilots or flight attendants the required minimum amount of rest, the agency said Friday.

The FAA alleges that between June 14, 2008 and Feb. 23, 2009, Colgan scheduled flight duty time for two captains, two first officers and six flight attendants on a seventh day after they had been on duty for the previous six consecutive days. FAA regulations required the airline to relieve each crewmember from duty for at least 24 consecutive hours during any seven consecutive calendar days. One of the captains operated four flights without adequate rest. Each of the other flight crew members operated one flight without meeting this rest requirement.

The FAA also alleges that Colgan failed to give three flight attendants a required scheduled rest period of at least eight consecutive hours after scheduling them on flights after their previous duty period. Two of the incidents took place on June 15, 2008 and the third took place on Sept. 16, 2008.

Finally, the FAA alleges that Colgan scheduled a first officer for flight time on Nov. 7, 2008 when the pilot’s total flight time in commercial flying exceeded eight hours between required rest periods.

This civil penalty involves alleged violations predating the FAA’s new pilot flight, duty and rest rules that were announced in December 2011. The new regulations will go into effect in December 2013.

Colgan Air has 30 days from the receipt of the civil penalty letter to respond.

Airbus Negotiating A380 Sales With Two New Prospective Customers

Airbus SAS (EAD), the world’s biggest commercial planemaker, said it’s negotiating with two new potential Middle East customers to sell the A380 superjumbo.

The delivery schedule of the planes is a determining factor for the deal, Habib Fekih, Airbus’s president for the Middle East, said in an interview. The company’s commercial customers in the region are Emirates, the world’s largest carrier by international traffic and the biggest operator of the aircraft, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad and Doha-based Qatar Airways.

The Middle East has become the main sales region for the A380, with Emirates having ordered 90 in total and Qatar Air and Etihad a combined 20. Emirates, which already operates 20 of the double-decker aircraft, is marketing its location as a multi- directional hub in Dubai that can connect any two points in the world with an A380 with just one stopover.

The Toulouse, France-based planemaker forecasts demand for 50 to 100 plane orders from Middle Eastern carriers this year, predominantly for narrow-body aircraft to replace ageing fleets, according to Fekih. This year has “good prospects,” even if it looks quieter in terms of regional orders than 2011, which was an “exceptional year”, he said.

“The region ordered a lot of wide-bodies in the last few years so I believe orders for wide-bodies will be lower than last years,” said Fekih. “On the other hand, we have a lot of airlines replacing their A320s, or what we call the single-aisle fleets, because those were delivered in the early nineties.”

Replacing Narrowbodies

Airlines that need to replace narrow-body planes include, Etihad, Egypt Air and Tunisair, the executive said, adding that many A320 fleets have been in operation for 20 years.

Additionally, there could be “top ups” for five or 10 wide-body aircraft from Gulf carriers, though large individual orders are more likely to come from other carriers.

“We have Sri Lanka, Pakistan, North Africa, I think Ethiopia, these are the sort of people where there’s very good traffic growth and there’s possibility for orders,” he said. “There are airlines that need to replace their wide-bodies and narrow-bodies so consequently we can expect orders from there. It’s a prospect.”

In total, the manufacturer is in “serious negotiations” with ten regional customers for potential orders of different aircraft sizes, he said.

Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has ordered one A380 as a private jet. Other airlines in the Middle East that operate long-haul routes include Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJAL), Saudi Arabian Airlines and Gulf Air.

By building regional hubs, Gulf carriers are winning long- haul passengers from European airlines Air France-KLM Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) with Emirates carrying 31.4 million passengers during its 2010-11 financial year. As airlines in the region expand their global networks and invest heavily in growing their fleets, Airbus won 150 orders from the Middle East last year.

Article Source : Bloomberg

Etihad's Shanghai service begins

Etihad Airways has commenced scheduled flights between its hub in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, China.

The airline will initially operate five weekly Airbus A330-300 services to Shanghai’s main international airport – Pudong (PVG) – with commitments to a daily schedule from 15 April.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, James Hogan, said the new route had special significance as the first non-stop commercial passenger flight between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai: “The new Shanghai route adds much more than just another destination to the Etihad Airways global network.

“It brings the capital of the UAE and the commercial and financial centre of mainland China closer together and creates new opportunities for government, trade, tourism and cultural exchange.

“Shanghai is today the most populous city in China with an estimated 23 million inhabitants and is a powerhouse economy with a total GDP in excess of US$256.3 billion.

“It’s also building an ambitious future in which it will be the world’s epicentre of financial and international trade.

“Our entry into the Shanghai market is timed to take advantage of these opportunities.

“We have great confidence that the Shanghai route will contribute to a sustainable future for our passenger and cargo business in China.

“Our schedule provides full connectivity to key destinations and offers passengers from the Shanghai catchment greater choice and travel convenience.”

Mr Hogan (above right) also noted the Abu Dhabi-Shanghai route was the only one in Etihad Airways’ China network to offer the luxury and prestige of a three-class aircraft with first, business and economy cabins.

“From our world-leading first class, with its private suites and onboard chefs, through to our inspired service in economy, Etihad Airways will offer travellers from the region an incomparable flying experience.”

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Doors open on flydubai's new training centre

Flydubai officially opened its new state-of-the-art training centre today, making it the only certified Boeing 737 facility in the UAE.

Flydubai’s CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith, was joined by the Director General of Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ), Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, to cut the ribbon on the new centre, which has been approved by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

The centre, located at DAFZ, not only allows flydubai to train its own cabin and flight deck crews, but to also conduct third party training to other airlines, including Global Jet, around the region.

Al Ghaith said: “Today is a very exciting day for flydubai. I am very proud of the efforts the team has made to create a training centre of this calibre. We have now had 30 batches of cabin crew graduate from our internal programme and I look forward to seeing more complete this world-leading training as well as welcoming other airlines to take advantage of the excellent training facilities we have here.”

The facility, which was built at a cost of more than AED 2 million, includes a fire and smoke training simulator plus four large classrooms and a dedicated computer-based training room. It is an expansion of the original training centre, which was opened in August 2010, and houses a 737 door trainer, emergency training slide, pilot training seat as well as four traditional classrooms.

Al Zarooni said: “Today’s opening not only highlights the excellent facility flydubai has built here at the Freezone, but also shows the flexibility of our facilities to cater for diverse business activities. I wish flydubai every success for its training centre and look forward to welcoming more crews to Dubai to train here.”

Flydubai trains all its cabin crew in-house, from entry level to supervisors. All cabin crew undergo a thorough five-week course prior to their first flight, which includes cabin service, first aid and safety and security training. The airline also conducts recurrent training for both cabin and flight deck crews.

Flydubai operates from the modernised Terminal 2 building on the north side of Dubai International Airport.

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Esling makes surprise move from Cessna to join Gulfstream

Gulfstream has named veteran international sales executive Trevor Esling as regional senior vice president, International Sales, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Esling, who has more than 25 years experience in the aviation industry, comes to Gulfstream from Cessna Aircraft Co., where he served as senior vice president of international sales, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Prior to working at Cessna, Esling was employed by BAe Commercial Aircraft, BAe Corporate Jets and Raytheon Aircraft Inc.

In his new role at Gulfstream, Esling is responsible for leading the Europe, Middle East and Africa sales team. He will work with current and new customers, including those in Russia, and will be based in central London. He reports to Scott Neal, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing. 

“Trevor’s deep international business experience and highly effective relationship-based sales manner make him the perfect choice to lead our sales efforts in Europe, Middle East and Africa,” said Neal. “His previous experience with major airframe manufacturers gives him a unique knowledge of the aircraft market.”

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Bombardier's 2011 profit up 8% despite lackluster aerospace performance

Bombardier posted net income of $837 million for 2011, up 8% over a $775 million net profit in 2010. Bombardier Aerospace, however, saw full-year EBIT fall 9.4% to $502 million as revenue slid 2.3% to $8.6 billion.

The unit's results are partially skewed by the fact that it last year moved to a Dec. 31 year end from Jan. 31 previously.

Aerospace's backlog at year end increased by 14.6% compared to Jan. 31, 2011, to $22 billion. The unit received 249 net aircraft orders for the year, up 23.9% from 2010. Deliveries totaled 245 aircraft, down 4.2%. The manufacturer delivered 78 commercial aircraft last year, down 19.6% from 2010.

"Bombardier Aerospace expects to deliver approximately 180 business aircraft and 55 commercial aircraft [this year]," the Montreal-based company stated. "EBIT margin for [2012] is expected to be approximately 5%."

Bombardier president and CEO Pierre Beaudoin said the aerospace unit "navigated through another demanding year … We maintained our profitability, increased our level of net orders, grew our backlog … and continued to invest in many new programs." He noted that the current level of firm orders for the CSeries "represents the first two-and-a-half years of production" on the program. The narrowbody aircraft is slated to enter service by late 2013.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Jade Cargo, China’s UniTop strike restructuring deal

Jade Cargo International, a Lufthansa Cargo (LHC)/Shenzhen Airlines (ZH) joint venture that temporarily suspended operations earlier this month, has signed a letter of intent with China’s UniTop Group to restructure the troubled carrier.

UniTop is a Chinese logistics enterprise founded in 1998 with a registered capital of CNY31 million ($4.9 million). It is expected the restructuring process will take two months to complete. In the meantime, the carrier is preparing to resume operations with its fleet of six Boeing 747-400Fs.

“With this step, the restructuring of Jade Cargo has taken a move forward, benefiting all stakeholders,” the carrier said in a statement. Jade Cargo, founded in October 2004, has faced continuous financial difficulties.

Industry analysts said it will not be easy for UniTop to help Jade Cargo make a turnaround as the cargo market is still in a depression. China’s big three airlines have all suffered operating losses on the cargo side last year; this year’s predictions are not optimistic as cargo traffic continued to drop 28.7% in January compared to the same period last year.

Grandstar Cargo International Airlines, the joint venture launched by Sinotrans Air Transportation Development Co. and Korean Air in 2007 , has also suspended operations Jan. 1 and could face liquidation if it can’t find a proper suitor.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Air France KLM sells half of Amadeus shareholding for €467 million

Air France KLM Group (AF KLM) has sold about half of its 15.22% shareholding in Amadeus IT Holding, netting €467 million ($627.5 million).

The sale of 7.5% of its ownership in the travel technology and distribution company is surely part of its efforts to restore profitability. The Franco-Dutch group in January launched a three-year “transformation plan” to bring the company back to profitability by immediately cutting costs by €1 billion and rapidly reducing debt by €2 billion to €4.5 billion by the end of 2014 .

On March 8, AF KLM will announce financial results for its shortened nine-month financial year 2011. An analyst consensus forecast an operating loss of around €240 million and a net loss of up to €650 million. IAG this week announced a €555 million net profit for 2011.

AF KLM sold the 7.5% stake in Amadeus though a private placement. Rothschild has acted as adviser of the Group. The placement was managed by Goldman Sachs International and Santander.

AF still retains 7.72 % of Amadeus IT Holding and said this brings its shareholding in line with Iberia’s and Lufthansa.  The three carriers, together with SAS Scandinavian Airlines, founded Amadeus as a global distribution system (GDS) in 1987. 

 “Air France, as well as Iberia and Lufthansa, which hold respectively 7.50 % and 7.61 % of the share capital of Amadeus IT Holding S.A., have each agreed to a lock-up of a 90-day period,” AF KLM Group said in a short statement.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Southwest, AirTran given single operating certificate

FAA has granted Southwest Airlines (SWA) and AirTran Airways a single operating certificate, formally combining the world's largest low-cost carrier (LCC) with the third largest LCC in North America.

Dallas-based SWA acquired Orlando-based AirTran last year in a deal valued at around $1 billion in aggregate (below the $1.4 billion originally estimated), or approximately $7.57 per share of AirTran common stock. Including SWA's assumption of AirTran's debt, the transaction was valued at $3.2 billion. SWA estimates net annual synergies will exceed $400 million by 2013.

"We cannot overstate the significance of having received our single operating certificate—it is a monumental step in the regulatory process—and achieving it enables us to move forward with the integration of the two airlines into a single carrier," SWA COO Mike Van de Ven said.

The carrier cautioned in a statement that "the transition to a single ticketing system is a large and complex process that will take several years to complete." Van de Ven said that "most employees and customers will see little or no immediate difference in the two airlines' flight operations." SWA has ruled out capacity growth this year.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

IATA: Premium traffic up 3.7% in December

IATA reported that international premium traffic for December was up 3.7% compared to the year-ago month, and a 1.7% growth in November.

“Although premium travel strengthened at the end of 2011, the trend for the previous eight months had been flat at best,” said IATA in its latest premium traffic monitor. “Over the past two months, premium travel has expanded further than economy, improving the mix for airlines and ending the deterioration seen since early 2011,” IATA said.

Economy travel grew 7.4% in December, compared to the same month in 2010. IATA said that economy travel “continues to trend upwards, albeit at a slower pace than in the first half of 2011.”

According to IATA, during the year as a whole, premium travel markets grew 5.5%, with economy travel growing 5.1%.

The strongest premium traffic growth in December was recorded on the Central America-South America routes, which reported a 31.1% growth year-over-year. Next highest growth rate was on Europe-Middle East routes (up 11.1%), followed by routes within Africa (up 10%) compared to December 2010. IATA said exports from some central and northern European markets to growing Asian economies may account for the strength of Europe-Far East markets.

The worst performing routes in December were on Europe-Southwest Pacific routes, declining 17.5%, followed by routes in the South Pacific (down 9.7%) and Africa-Far East routes (down 9%).

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Turkish Technic eyes global MRO joint ventures

Turkish Technic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkish Airlines (TK), is looking beyond its borders for MRO joint ventures as its new state-of-the-art MRO facility in Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen nears opening this summer.

GM Ismail Demir told in Istanbul that discussions with potential MRO providers are ongoing in areas including Eastern Europe and Russia.

“We are really busy here in Istanbul,” he said, noting that Turkish Technik must expand to position itself to be a global player. He believes regions that create synergies with the company include Russia and the CIS, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Air New Zealand picks up discarded services

Air New Zealand (NZ) has announced a capacity increase between Auckland and several North American destinations, after Qantas decided to withdraw its Auckland-Los Angeles route in May.

This move closely follows the mid-February collapse of Australian regional Air Australia (formerly Strategic Airlines), which grounded its fleet Feb. 17, after it said there were “no funds available to meet operational expenses.”

NZ will increase its 12X-weekly Los Angeles-Auckland (AKL) service to 14X-weekly in mid-June, using a combination of 304-seat Boeing 777-200 and 332-seat 777-300 aircraft. It will begin using 379-seat 747-400 on its San Francisco-AKL service, moving the route to 5X-weekly beginning in April, and upgrading to a daily service during peak demand periods. Its AKL-Vancouver service, which has previously operated between 2X- and 4X-weekly, will move to a 5X-weekly 777-200 service during the peak December-February season.

“Air New Zealand is able to add further capacity into North America if there is sufficient demand,” the carrier said.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

American loses $234 million in January

Operating under Chapter 11 status has not stopped the steady flow of red ink at American Airlines (AA) parent AMR Corp. 

The bankrupt company, which incurred a $2 billion net loss in 2011 , reported a $234 million net loss for the month of January, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Revenue generated during the month totaled $2.03 billion while costs were $2.04 billion, producing a $5 million operating loss. Net profit was affected by $170 million in reorganization charges and more than $60 million in interest expenses incurred in January.

Aircraft fuel was the airline's highest monthly expense at $704 million, followed by labor at $601 million. AA is attempting to cut $1.25 billion in annual labor expenses.

Article Source : ATW Daily News