ATW Daily News

Other News

Thursday February 14, 2008

Ryanair will take its Internet and call center booking system offline from 10 p.m. Feb. 22 until 11 p.m. Feb. 25. The LCC said the move is necessary to "change over to a new flight booking system," which it is doing in order to comply with a UK Office of Fair Trading mandate that requires all taxes and fees to be included in an advertised ticket price. The carrier reportedly missed a Jan. 31 deadline and received an extension to the end of February. A Ryanair spokesperson told the Irish Independent that OFT "has already accepted that our home page only displays the all-inclusive prices, and that no passenger can make a Ryanair booking without first being aware of, accepting and confirming the total fully inclusive amount. . .We expect that the middle pages of the booking process will be fully tax-inclusive once we replace the existing 'Openskies' booking engine with the 'Newskies' upgraded software."

Bmi will lease two 757-200s to expand its medium-haul network further from London Heathrow. In December, Chairman Michael Bishop told ATWOnline that bmi was looking for additional capacity, possibly 757s or 767-200s, to support growth on several former BMED routes that were performing well (ATWOnline, Dec. 24, 2007). The aircraft have been wet-leased from Astraeus for two years with an option to extend. Two separate cabins will offer a mix of business and economy service.

Bmi will use the 757s to introduce nonstop services from LHR to Almaty and Freetown beginning May 1. Both routes currently are served with a stop. In addition, the airline's new LHR-Tel Aviv service, which it said is "selling beyond expectations," will upgrade to a 757 from an A320 shortly after the March 13 launch. The introduction of the two 757s also will enable schedule enhancements and increases in capacity to existing A321 destinations. Services from LHR to Yekaterinburg and Yerevan now will not operate to destinations beyond, thus boosting point-to-point capacity. An improved daily schedule between LHR and Tehran will be introduced, while flights to Dakar will be suspended.

"The delivery of suitable Airbus A330 aircraft is a little way off and we do not want to delay the range of service enhancements unveiled today," CEO Nigel Turner said. "By leasing the two Boeing 757s, pending the sourcing of suitable A330 aircraft, we are able to accelerate our Heathrow growth and ensure that we can maintain the momentum of our mid-haul route strategy, laying strong foundations for future developments in this important market."

by Cathy Buyck

Deccan Aviation VP-Finance Anand Ramachardran said that the Kingfisher Airlines-Air Deccan merger likely will be completed in April following a sale of shares that will raise $300 million to finance immediate expansion needs (ATW, February 2008). "At the present moment, we are in talks to appoint a suitable merchant banker for the share sale by the end of this month," he said this week at a financial conference in Mumbai. He added that Deccan has filed an initial application with regulators seeking permission for the merged airline to fly international routes starting in August, which will mark Air Deccen's fifth anniversary. Private Indian carriers must operate for five years before legally being allowed to operate internationally (ATWOnline, Jan. 15).

AirAsia X will sell 10% stakes to private equity funds in Japan (Orix Group) and Bahrain (Perigon Capital) for a combined $75 million, an official told Agence France Press, in order to raise money for the purchase of 25 A330-300s. Virgin Group acquired a 20% stake in the startup last summer (ATWOnline, Aug. 13, 2007). The AirAsia X official was quoted by AFP but declined to be named.

Boeing CFO James Bell told an investors conference in Miami Beach that US airlines constitute just 11% of Boeing's $255 billion backlog and that orders will be required "to avoid an unmanageable fleet replacement period post-2012 that approaches about 1,000 aircraft," the Chicago Tribune reported. He said the manufacturer is "trying to reserve some spots" in its production line this year.

Atlantic Airways of Faroe Islands signed a contract for one firm A319 scheduled to deliver in 2011 plus one option. It currently flies BAe 146s.

KLM took delivery of its first 777-300ER as part of a November order for two -300ERs and three 737-700s. It will deploy the aircraft in a two-class configuration on routes to Dubai, Sao Paulo Guarulhos, New York JFK and Manila. KLM has aligned the configuration and specification of its 777-300ER with Air France, which has operated the type since May 2004. KLM currently operates 15 777-200ERs.

Emirates Trading Agency-Assoc. Construction confirmed plans to launch a regional airline in India in October under a joint venture agreement with an unidentified partner, the Arab Air Carriers Organization reported. The new airline will base in Chennai and/or Bangalore and will fly to southern destinations. ETA-AC reportedly is negotiating with Embraer, Bombardier and ATR for aircraft.

JetBlue Airways announced an expansion of its Southern California service that will include its first flights to Los Angeles International and the West Coast debut of the E-190. Thrice-daily New York JFK-LAX and daily Boston-LAX will begin May 21. From Long Beach it will start daily flights to Austin on May 1 and service to San Jose (thrice-daily) and Seattle (twice-daily) on May 21, all operated by a mix of A320s and E-190s. Twice-daily Burbank-Washington Dulles, daily Burbank-Las Vegas and daily San Diego-Seattle all begin May 21.

Aeroflot Cargo launched weekly Moscow Sheremetyevo-Paris Charles de Gaulle service with a 737-300 freighter. Last week the aircraft, on lease from GECAS, began serving Helsinki. SU Cargo will take a second -300F at the end of this month.

Gate Gourmet announced its rebranding to gategroup, an alliance of 11 brands that will serve airline and other travel industry customers. The move follows the significant expansion of the airline catering provider's service portfolio, which, according to Chairman and CEO David Siegel, now ranges "from cuisine to cabin cleaning to sophisticated supply chain management and everything in between."

In addition to Gate Gourmet, gategroup includes Supplair (food services), Pourshins (procurement and supply chain solutions), deSter (food contact items), potmstudios (packaging and industrial design), Harmony (comfort items), eGate Solutions (business applications), Performa (product and branding design), Elan (recruiting, training and contracting services for cabin staff), Gate Aviation (aviation cleaning and management) and Gate Safe (catering, cargo security, inspection and validation). Gategroup services more than 270 airlines and employs some 22,000 in 30 countries. It reported CHF2.5 billion ($2.27 billion) in revenue last year.

Curtiss-Wright Controls reached a $16 million multiyear deal with Saab Aerostructures to provide the large cargo door mechanical system for the 787. Features include flight-critical subassemblies such as the lift, pull-in, latching, locking and vent systems. Production will take place at CWC's facility in Shelby, N.C.