Interjet still set on SSJ100

Interjet, the launch airline of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 in Latin America, said it will continue with plans to incorporate the aircraft into its fleet, with first deliveries to begin by the end of the year. The announcement came in the wake of a fatal SSJ100 demonstration flight crash in Indonesia earlier this month. 

The carrier said the aircraft has also been certified in Mexico by the local air transport authority DGAC-SCT, as well as the European Air Safety Agency.

In January 2011, the carrier announced an estimated $650 million deal for 15 SSJ100 firm orders and five options.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

FAA proposes $395,850 civil penalty against US Airways

The FAA is proposing a $395,850 civil penalty against US Airways (US), of Tempe, Ariz., for allegedly violating US Dept. of Transportation hazardous materials regulations.

The FAA said a periodic dangerous goods inspection of US facilities at Hartford’s Bradley International (BDL) May 10-18, 2010 revealed the airline “committed various violations on 12 flights to/from BDL between Feb. 26 and May 12, 2010,” it alleged.

In one instance, the FAA alleged that US “had accepted an undeclared shipment containing 10 disposable cigarette lighters filled with flammable gas,” a discrepancy the airline failed to report, according to the regulator.

“In another instance, US Airways offered an improperly packaged shipment containing wet cell batteries filled with alkali—a corrosive—for transportation by air on a US Airways passenger-carrying flight,” the FAA stated.

The FAA also alleged the airline failed to provide pilots with the required "accurate and legible written information" regarding 23 shipments of hazardous materials it accepted for transportation by air.

A US spokesperson told it has “responded promptly to the FAA regarding this matter in June 2010 and initiated a comprehensive review of our hazardous materials handling procedures and systematically evaluated our cargo operations to ensure we operate at the highest level of safety.”

US has 30 days to respond to the agency.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Bankruptcy court approves Delta DIP loan to Pinnacle

A US bankruptcy court approved Delta Air Lines’ (DL) $74.3 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing for Pinnacle Airlines Corp., a significant provider of regional service for DL. The Memphis, Tenn.-based parent of Pinnacle Airlines, Colgan Air and Mesaba Aviation is in the middle of a Chapter 11 restructuring.

President and CEO Sean Menke said, “Combined with cash from our ongoing operations, this funding will be available to help ensure that Pinnacle has sufficient liquidity to meet its operational and restructuring needs. This is an important step in our ongoing efforts to develop a viable business plan.”

According to a Bloomberg report on the court proceedings, judge Robert Gerber became convinced the DIP loan was necessary to prevent Pinnacle from running out of cash by June 1. The regional operator conceded that DL is the only company willing to loan it money at this time.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

New airline in Ivory Coast to launch in July

The West African state of Ivory Coast will again have its own airline this summer, when Air Cote D’Ivoire launches regional services in July.

The airline is a partnership with Air France (AF) and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), the economic development agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).

Initial capital was set at XAF2.5 billion ($4.9 million) and will rise in the short term to XAF25 billion. The Ivory Coast government will retain a majority 51% stake in the new airline, while AF will hold 20% and the AKFED holding company will have 15%. The remaining shares will be held by private Ivory Coast investors.

The new airline will work closely with neighboring Air Burkina and Air Mali, which are also part of the AKFED Group, to develop technical, commercial and operational synergies.

“These three airlines will cooperate very close together, in order to build an economically viable long-term model,” Abdoulaye Coulibaly, chairman of the steering committee for the creation of the new airline, said.

Having established regional routes, Air Cote D’Ivoire will begin operating a domestic route network by the end of this year. Flight and cabin crew recruitment is underway and it is believed the airline will initially operate two leased Airbus A319s, although fleet details have not been confirmed.

Government plans for the new airline were first announced in November 2011 to replace the former Air Ivoire, which ceased operations in March 2011.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

United Continental pilots call for strike action

Leaders of the 12,000 ALPA-represented pilots at United Continental Holdings (UCH) have called for a strike vote after failing to reach a contract agreement through two years of post-merger negotiations.

The parties began talks in May 2010 when United Airlines and Continental Airlines announced their merger plans. They jointly requested mediation by the National Mediation Board (NMB) in December 2010, which began Feb. 28, 2011.

"There has been more than ample time to reach agreement on a new contract,” ALPA chairman-Continental pilots Jay Pierce said. “While a strike is never the pilots' preference for the path to reaching agreement, we are more than willing to use every tool at our disposal … with the agonizingly slow pace of negotiations, management has left us with little option.”

A date for the vote has notbeen set.

ALPA said the call for a vote follows a May 11, 2012 letter to the NMB requesting that it “further assist the parties to bring about an agreement by proffering arbitration, and if not accepted by both parties, issuing a release under Section 5, First of the Act.”

If the NMB grants the parties “self help,” the pilots will be able to strike following a 30-day period.

The two carriers merged in October 2010.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Delta trims capacity on transatlantic routes

Delta Air Lines (DL) said will cut capacity by 5% on transatlantic routes in the fourth quarter as a “proactive measure” against high fuel costs and a weakening euro. It will also reduce Pacific capacity by 1%-2%.

“Transatlantic for us continues to do well, however, we believe with the headwinds that we do see, the fact that the euro is now weakened … coupled with the risks that fuel prices could spike on us at any time, we’d rather get out in front and manage that proactively,” DL president Ed Bastian during the 2012 Bank of America Merrill Lynch global transportation conference. “We're not seeing any signs of weakness per se in any one region.”

For the full year, DL estimates its system capacity will be down 3%-4%, instead of its previous forecast of 2%-3%.

In the first quarter, DL’s consolidated traffic rose 1% to 43.35 billion RPMs while capacity dropped 3% to 54.41 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 79.7%, up 3.3 points.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Russia to subsidize Kaliningrad routesRussia to subsidize Kaliningrad routes

Russian Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsia announced it will spend RUB219.4 million ($7.2 million) to subsidize five carriers that service Kaliningrad (KGD)–Moscow and KGD–St. Petersburg routes. The program runs through Sept. 15.

Aviation authorities signed contracts with five carriers that take part in the program—Aeroflot, Rossiya Airline, S7 Airlines, UTair and Ak Bars Aero.

Last year, the government spent RUB138 million to subsidize these routes.

Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave situated on the west of the country and does not border the main territory. It is surrounded by Poland and Lithuania.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Virgin Atlantic to cease Nairobi service in September

Virgin Atlantic (VS) will cease service to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi from Sept. 23.

VS cited increasing costs and a challenging economic background in both the UK and the African nation as the reasons for the decision.

“Despite the best efforts of our employees, external factors including the high price of fuel, increasing aviation taxes in the UK and insufficient passenger numbers throughout the past five years have contributed to the decision,” VS chief commercial officer Julie Southern said.

VS president Richard Branson added he was “extremely sad to be withdrawing from Kenya ... We hope to return should the economic situation change.”

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Hawaiian tops DOT’s March on-time report

US carriers’ on-time performance (OTP) in March improved over the same period a year ago, but was worse than February’s report.

The US Dept. of Transportation’s (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported that the 15 carriers which log on-time performance data posted an overall OTP arrival rate of 82.2% in March, up from 79.2% in March 2011, but down from 86.2% in February.

In March, the carriers filing OTP data reported that 4.99% of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 4.13% in February; 6.16% by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 4.33% in February; 4.9% by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 3.85% in February; 0.51% by extreme weather, compared to 0.35% in February; and 0.02% for security reasons, compared to 0.03% in February.

Hawaiian Airlines led all carriers in March with an on-time arrival rate of 92.5%. AirTran Airways followed by 90.9% and US Airways at 87.3%.

The three worst performers were ExpressJet Airlines at 74.1%, Virgin America at 74.9% and United Airlines at 77.4%.

DOT said airlines reported three tarmac delays of more than 3 hr. on domestic flights and no tarmac delays of more than 4 hr. on international flights in March. All the long domestic tarmac delays took place March 17 in St. Louis, a day when severe stormshit the area. The affected carriers were American Airlines (219 min.), Shuttle America (187 min.) and ExpressJet Airlines (183 min.).

Article Source : ATW Daily News

FAA approves blended winglets for 767BCF

Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) has received FAA approval to install its blended winglets on the Boeing 767 converted freighter (767BCF).

“Blended winglet technology installed on a Boeing 767-300ER/F/BCF reduces fuel burn by up to 500,000 gallons per aircraft per year while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 5,000 tons per year,” APB said in a statement.

It said the technology can also extend the range of the aircraft by up to 320 nautical miles or increase the payload by up to 16,000 pounds.

More than 4,400 blended winglets are installed on Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Helicopter Service Company to open centralised call centre

Helicopter Service Company (HSC) is moving ahead with the creation of an integrated system of aftersales servicing of Russian-made helicopters.

On June 1, 2012, HSC will open a centralised call centre for operators of Russian helicopters, providing a direct line of communication to quickly address issues concerning aftersales servicing and logistic support. 

The call centre is an important component of the new client-focused system of aftersales support of HSC and Russian Helicopters. The centralised call centre will allow helicopter operators to quickly contact their personal managers at HSC’s client services, place orders for the needed parts and track order execution, and also access all operational and technical documentation of interest. 

“HSC was tasked with consolidating aftersales servicing for the holding and transitioning to a centralised call centrethat works with clients 24 hours a day, providing them with world class support,” said Russian Helicopters CEO Dmitry Petrov.  

As a part of this integrated system, HSC has already created a parts warehouse in Moscow and developed a corresponding web portal. This portal allows clients not only to place orders but also to provide information about their helicopter fleets and operations, which in turn makes it possible for HSC to forecast the need for parts and scheduled their production at the various enterprises of the holding. In turn, this allows for more rapid client request response time in line with global best practices and also enhances price stability and transparency.   

“Our aim is to transition to life-cycle management of Russian-made helicopters, which includes operating cost management,” stated Athur Shtankov, HSC’s COO. “The next phase entails the formation of a product portfolio and price list for helicopter parts as well as the engagement of regional partners for the provision of maintenance services.”

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Pinnacle’s DIP loan from Delta approved

A US bankruptcy court approved Delta Air Lines’ (DL) $74.3 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing for Pinnacle Airlines Corp., a significant provider of regional service for DL. The Memphis-based parent of Pinnacle Airlines, Colgan Air and Mesaba Aviation is in the midst of a Chapter 11 restructuring.

President and CEO Sean Menke said, “Combined with cash from our ongoing operations, this funding will be available to help ensure that Pinnacle has sufficient liquidity to meet its operational and restructuring needs. This is an important step in our ongoing efforts to develop a viable business plan.”

According to a Bloomberg report on the court proceedings, judge Robert Gerber became convinced the DIP loan was necessary to prevent Pinnacle from running out of cash by June 1. The regional operator conceded that DL is the only company willing to loan it money at this time.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

United Continental pilots consider strike action

Leaders of the 12,000 ALPA-represented pilots at United Continental Holdings (UCH) have called for a strike vote after failing to reach a contract agreement through two years of post-merger negotiations.

The parties began talks in May 2010 when United Airlines and Continental Airlines announced their merger plans. They jointly requested mediation by the National Mediation Board (NMB) in December 2010, which began Feb. 28, 2011.

"There has been more than ample time to reach agreement on a new contract,” ALPA chairman-Continental pilots Jay Pierce said. “While a strike is never the pilots' preference for the path to reaching agreement, we are more than willing to use every tool at our disposal … with the agonizingly slow pace of negotiations, management has left us with little option.”

A date for the vote has not been set.

ALPA said the call for a vote follows a May 11, 2012 letter to the NMB requesting that it “further assist the parties to bring about an agreement by proffering arbitration, and if not accepted by both parties, issuing a release under Section 5, First of the Act.”

If the NMB grants the parties “self help,” the pilots will be able to strike following a 30-day period.

The two carriers merged in October 2010.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

New Ivory Coast airline to launch in July

The West African state of Ivory Coast will again have its own airline this summer, when Air Cote D’Ivoire launches regional services in July.

The airline is a partnership with Air France (AF) and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), the economic development agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).

Initial capital was set at XAF2.5 billion ($4.9 million) and will rise in the short term to XAF25 billion. The Ivory Coast government will retain a majority 51% stake in the new airline, while AF will hold 20% and the AKFED holding company will have 15%. The remaining shares will be held by private Ivory Coast investors.

The new airline will work closely with neighboring Air Burkina and Air Mali, which are also part of the AKFED Group, to develop technical, commercial and operational synergies.

“These three airlines will cooperate very close together, in order to build an economically viable long-term model,” Abdoulaye Coulibaly, chairman of the steering committee for the creation of the new airline, said.

Having established regional routes, Air Cote D’Ivoire will begin operating a domestic route network by the end of this year. Flight and cabin crew recruitment is underway and it is believed the airline will initially operate two leased Airbus A319s, although fleet details have not been confirmed.

Government plans for the new airline were first announced in November 2011 to replace the former Air Ivoire, which ceased operations in March 2011.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Delta cuts capacity on transatlantic routes

Delta Air Lines (DL) said will cut capacity by 5% on transatlantic routes in the fourth quarter as a “proactive measure” against high fuel costs and a weakening euro. It will also reduce Pacific capacity by 1%-2%.

“Transatlantic for us continues to do well, however, we believe with the headwinds that we do see, the fact that the euro is now weakened … coupled with the risks that fuel prices could spike on us at any time, we’d rather get out in front and manage that proactively,” DL president Ed Bastian during the 2012 Bank of America Merrill Lynch global transportation conference. “We're not seeing any signs of weakness per se in any one region.”

For the full year, DL estimates its system capacity will be down 3%-4%, instead of its previous forecast of 2%-3%.

In the first quarter, DL’s consolidated traffic rose 1% to 43.35 billion RPMs while capacity dropped 3% to 54.41 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 79.7%, up 3.3 points.

Article Source : ATW Daily News