ATW Daily News

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Tuesday June 30, 2009

Yemenia Yemen Airways A310-300 with more than 150 people onboard crashed late last night in the Indian Ocean. Flight IY626 was on its way from Sanaa and was due to land at Moroni, the Comoros capital. Reports early Tuesday indicated that one five-year-old child was found alive, but that no other survivors had been located. Yemenia operates four -300s, as well as two A330-200s and four 737-800s. Airbus said the aircraft involved in the accident was built in 1990 and had been operated by Yemenia since October 1999.

South Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said it plans to spend about KRW4 trillion ($3.12 billion) to expand Incheon International, enabling it to handle 41% more passengers and 29% more freight by 2015. A second passenger terminal and a new railway line to Seoul will be among the enhancements, according to a statement cited in multiple news reports. Construction is set to begin in early 2011. Incheon currently has capacity for 44 million passengers and 4.5 million tons of cargo annually.

Bombardier Aerospace announced the conversion of two options for Q400 NextGen turboprops held by Porter Airlines into firm orders, raising to 20 the number of commitments made by the Toronto-based carrier. The two firm orders are worth approximately $45 million, according to the manufacturer.

Air India will pay about half of its employees their June wages on July 3 rather than July 15, Aviation Industry Employees' Guild General Secretary George Abraham told Mint. AI had planned to defer payment owing to a cash shortage but relented after negotiations and a strike threat (ATWOnline, May 4). A meeting regarding payments to remaining employees is scheduled for July 4.

American Society for Testing and Materials approved a new specification that "details the properties and criteria necessary to control the manufacture and quality of alternative fuels for safe use in aviation," US FAA said. The effort was supported by the FAA/industry-sponsored Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative. FAA Acting Assistant Administrator for Policy, Planning and the Environment Nancy LoBue said the step could lead to approval of a number of alternative fuels in the next few years. Once approved by the full ASTM committee later this year, the specification will enable use of synthetic fuels from multiple feedstocks in combination with conventional jet fuel up to a 50% blend, according to the agency.

Iberia will not be required to launch a full bid for Vueling Airlines following its merger with Clickair, Spanish stock market regulator CNMV ruled. Iberia will own 45.9% of the merged entity, exceeding the 30% threshold that normally triggers the obligation to make a full bid under domestic regulations. Completion of the two competitors' merger is expected in mid-July (ATWOnline, June 29).

London Heathrow Terminal 5's baggage system was operational again yesterday following a mechanical glitch that resulted in a shutdown lasting several hours Sunday. British Airways was forced to close check-in desks at midday and then reopen them about an hour later for passengers with carry-on bags. Flights continued to depart without passengers, with some 5,000 stranded, according to reports (ATWOnline, May 4).

OzJet Airlines of Australia announced its acquisition by Strategic Airlines, a charter and ACMI operator. Strategic said it will introduce an A320 on OzJet's Perth-Derby service by the end of September, replacing a chartered F100. Strategic ED Michael James said it will "retain some of the existing [OzJet] employee base for future company operations." In May, Strategic placed an A320-200 into service with Solomon Airlines on a Brisbane-Honiara flight. It reached agreement to lease an A330-200 from Swiss International Air Lines in April and will begin operating the aircraft in October. It expects a second A320-200 on lease from Aercap to arrive next month.

Lufthansa will phase out its last A300-600 on July 1 following a flight from Rome Fiumicino to Frankfurt as part of the company's effort to cut €300 million ($421.6 million) in costs this year. The type served as the backbone of LH's continental fleet for 22 years. It operated 26 A300s in addition to 24 A310-200s/300s. All the A300-600s have been offered for sale and some already have been purchased.

AWAS delivered a 737-700 to Aerovias de Integracion Regionales, the first of two winglet-equipped 737-700s that Colombia-based AIRES will take from AWAS this year.

Fokker Services said a change in the F100 flight manual now allows for just two cabin attendants in aircraft seating 100 passengers or fewer. Previously, three were required unless an operator received specific permission from local aviation authorities. Fokker said the adjustment could result in €150,000 €200,000 ($210,790-$281,050) in annual savings per aircraft.

Southwest Airlines launched its New York LaGuardia service Sunday. It is flying to Chicago Midway five-times-daily and Baltimore thrice-daily from Gate B4 in LGA's Central Terminal Building.

Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines, both set to be acquired by Republic Airways Holdings (ATWOnline, June 25), announced a codeshare agreement covering multiple routes out of Denver and Milwaukee that will begin "by late summer."

Republic Airways Holdings airlines flew 851 million RPMs in May, down 5.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 4% to 1.12 billion ASMs and load factor slipped 1 point to 75.8%.

Pinnacle Airlines flew 380.3 million RPMs in May, down 7.9% year-over-year, against a 4.4% fall in capacity to 509.9 million ASMs. Load factor dropped 2.8 points to 74.6%.

Elbit Systems announced a $76 million deal with the Israeli Ministry of Transportation to supply its C-MUSIC system, an infrared countermeasure technology designed to protect commercial aircraft from missiles.

Tailwind Technologies of Ohio announced the formation of Hartzell Aerospace "to serve as the consolidating platform for the aerospace companies Tailwind holds, apart from its general aviation business, Hartzell Propeller." These companies include Industrial Tube Co., Electrofilm Manufacturing Co. and AcousticFab.

Travelport GDS announced a new multiyear, full-content agreement with Porter Airlines, giving all Galileo- and Worldspan-connected travel agents access to the airline's full published fares and inventory, including Web fares. Access will be implemented in a phased approach, with Apollo customers gaining access June 30 followed by Worldspan and Galileo in August, according to Travelport.