An across-the-board 1% cut in Dept. of Defense appropriations totaling $8.5 billion would cost the Transportation Security Administration $25 million and 500 screener jobs and reduce FAA's funds by $81.9 million, opponents of the measure said yesterday. The Senate agreed yesterday to proceed to the DOD appropriations bill, which is expected to come to a vote today. The report cuts discretionary spending. During the weekend, conferees approved the fiscal 2006 $453.3 billion DOD appropriation, which is $4.4 billion below the President's request.
Latvian carrier airBaltic plans to add four new routes in 2006. The carrier plans to serve Duesseldorf and Simferopol from Riga, and Duesseldorf and Stockholm from Vilnius. Four weekly flights between Riga and Duesseldorf start March 1, with two weekly flights to Simferopol, starting April 11. AirBaltic plans to launch the Vilnius-Stockholm route on March 26, offering a daily flight each weekday except Sunday. The carrier's three weekly flights between Vilnius and Duesseldorf start March 28. -LR
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority wants to operate the Dulles Toll Road in Northern Virginia and oversee the construction of a new rail line, according to a new proposal. MWAA would invest all the revenues generated from the Toll Road into road and rail projects in the Dulles Corridor area. The Virginia Dept. of Transportation currently operates the Toll Road.
Qantas on Jan. 9 will add Christchurch to its trans-Tasman cargo services. The airline will also reroute its four weekly Auckland-Sydney freighter flights to operate Auckland-Christchurch-Sydney, to provide additional freight capacity to the New Zealand market, facilitating the export of perishables and seafood to Australia, Asia and North America.
Up to five airlines are looking to take advantage of a new type of very precise airport approach procedure that FAA will roll out at some of the nation's busiest airports next year, and these carriers are looking to duplicate the cost-saving success that Alaska Airlines has achieved as the first airline to trial the new approaches at a handful of airports.
Brazilian charter operation BRA Transportes Aereos averaged 85% load factors on its scheduled flights, which launched last week. Initial consumer demand exceeded expectations, said Waldomiro Pereira, in charge of planning and traffic at BRA. One reason for that may be BRA's fares, which Pereira said the company is committed to providing at 25%-30% less than the competition's prices.
The Latin American Air Transport Association (AITAL) plans to establish a Latin American business center in the coming year, part of the organization's push to help carriers become more efficient. The association's growing importance can be seen in the turnout at the second Latin American Leaders Forum held last week in Miami. Attendance was up 30% to more than 400 registrants and more than 40 airlines from 28 countries.
Ecuadorian domestic carrier Aerogal recently took delivery of two 120-passenger Boeing 737-200s, which it will use on routes from the mainland and to the Galapagos Islands. In January, a fourth 737-200 will be based in Cuenca to serve heavy traffic on the Cuenca-Guayaquil route, opened seven years ago by Aerogal. New services between Cuenca and Latacunga near Quito, as well as to Coca in the Amazon region, will launch next year.
The seven largest U.S. airlines tracked by the Air Transport Association reported an 11.8% system unit revenue jump in November, ahead of analyst estimates leading to more fourth-quarter optimism.
The Association of Flight Attendants this week announced a petition drive to halt the Transportation Security Administration's implementation of a list of items banned on aircraft that allows some sharp objects, such as four-inch scissors, on board. The announcement comes on the heels of congressional efforts to stop TSA from allowing the items as of today.
The European Union signed an agreement with 10 nations to expand the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA), the European Commission announced this week. New ECAA members are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, Norway and Iceland.
German construction conglomerate Hochtief is looking to expand its air transport portfolio beyond airports and is interested in taking over a majority stake in air traffic control company Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS), CFO Peter Noe said. "We are looking at DFS but have not made a decision yet," Noe noted. Hochtief's airport division is expected to make a profit in 2006, three years ahead of the schedule laid out in an internal business plan, but the company also wants to expand the range of investments by considering DFS as a target.
European Union Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot and Moroccan Minister for Equipment and Transport Karim Ghellab on Dec. 14 signed a "horizontal" air transport accord to replace the bilaterals between Morocco and the different European Union countries with one agreement covering the EU in its entirety. "The agreement will pave the way for the harmonious development of a bilateral market of 4.5 million passengers a year," said the EC.
Boeing will invest US$100 million to jointly set up an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul company in Shanghai with two Chinese companies in the first half of the year.
Air Midwest will face competition from RegionsAir in its bid to renew its essential air service for the Kansas communities of Salina and Manhattan. All four options that Air Midwest proposed for the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's approval would link the two communities to Kansas City International Airport, where it will offer code-share flights with US Airways and Midwest Airlines. The carrier also seeks $200,000 in additional subsidies, citing fuel costs. RegionsAir proposed three daily roundtrip flights from Salina and Manhattan to St.
The Polish government in a surprise move yesterday fired LOT Polish Airlines CEO Marek Grabarek and dismissed Wladyslaw Metelski and Piotr Dubno, two other members of the airline's management board. Tomasz Kopoczynski, a member of the supervisory board and a lawyer representing the SAirLines administrator, was delegated to be interim president of LOT. SAir Group held a 25.1% stake in LOT until its collapse in late 2001.
