ATW Daily News

Other News

Wednesday November 25, 2009

Continental Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines were fined a combined $100,000 and Mesaba Airlines $75,000 by the US Dept. of Transportation yesterday for their roles in the stranding incident at Rochester (Minn.) International in August. ExpressJet was the operator of CO Flight 2816 and Mesaba was responsible for ground handling. Passengers were stuck onboard the ERJ-145 for more than 5 hr. overnight after a Mesaba representative incorrectly informed the captain that passengers could not deplane because there were no airport security screeners working at that time (ATWOnline, Aug. 24).

"These precedent-setting enforcement actions involve consent orders that reflect a settlement by the carriers of violations alleged by DOT's Aviation Enforcement Office," the agency said, adding the fines are the first of their kind. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he "hope[s] that this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travelers."

Spring Airlines expects to report a CNY120 million ($17.5 million) net profit for 2009, a sixfold increase from the CNY20 million earned last year, according to the Chairman Wang Zhenghua. The Shanghai Hongqiao-based LCC was CNY140 million in the black through September owing to rapid growth in the domestic market, "but the fourth quarter is the traditional low season, so it's not surprising that we are suffering from a daily loss of CNY600,000 this month," Wang noted.

Spring is planning a dramatic fleet expansion. "We have decided to introduce 14 A320s in the next few years, which will cost about CNY5 billion," Wang said. It currently flies 14 A320s. It plans to go listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in the second half of 2010 and has no plans to introduce a strategic or financial investor before then. It also is planning on introducing international routes. Its fleet will remain anchored by the A320, "so the best possibility is to open new routes to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau," he revealed.

Ryanair will set up its 37th base, and first in Norway, at Oslo Rygge in March with three aircraft and 16 new routes, it announced yesterday. It currently service six destinations from RYG. New destinations will be Aarhus, Berlin Schonefeld, Dublin, Dusseldorf Weeze, Eindhoven, Gdansk, Krakow, La Rochelle, Malaga, Memmingen, Palma, Paris Beauvais, Riga, Wroclaw, Valencia and Treviso. The LCC said its investment at the airport will exceed $200 million and that it eventually expects to serve 1.7 million passengers per year.

IATA said that 19 of 34 Eurocontrol states have proposed overflight charge increases in 2010 that will result in a 2.7% net lift in average unit rates equal to around $360 million. The Eurocontrol Enlarged Committee for Route Charges is scheduled to meet today. Armenia proposed the largest increase (32%), while Poland (18%), Romania (17%) and Austria (14%) are the largest when adjusted for the amount of traffic. Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Moldova, Malta, Bulgaria and Finland proposed reductions. IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said the nations intending to increase fees are "completely divorced from reality."

Turkish Airlines firmed its order for two A330-200 freighters announced three weeks ago (ATWOnline, Nov. 9). Delivery will begin next fall, Airbus said. THY currently operates four A310 freighters.

Baltia Air Lines, a New York JFK-based startup aiming to serve Eastern Europe, took delivery of its first 747, it announced yesterday. It said the aircraft was purchased and "paid for in full" and that it "has no debt, and we intend to expand our fleet using revenues generated once we start flight operations."

Emirates said it will begin serving Paris Charles de Gaulle with a 489-seat A380 on Dec. 29 rather than Feb. 1. "An operational review, coupled with demand on the route, has led to an earlier introduction," it said. EK operates the route twice-daily. The A380 will fly thrice-weekly to start, becoming daily Jan. 17. EK also announced a new five-times-weekly Dubai-Tokyo Narita service starting March 28 aboard a 777-300ER. Japan Airlines will codeshare. EK currently serves Osaka Kansai.

EasyJet announced the following new services: Paris Charles de Gaulle to Helsinki Vantaa (daily on Feb. 8), Catania (thrice-weekly on Feb. 9), Agadir (four-times-weekly on Feb. 9); Milan Malpensa to Casablanca (six-times-weekly on Feb. 11), Agadir (thrice-weekly on Feb. 11), Porto (five-times-weekly on Feb. 12) and Malta (thrice-weekly on March 30); daily London Stansted-Cagliari on March 28, four-times-weekly Manchester-HEL on March 30 and twice-weekly Liverpool-MLA on June 13. The LCC said it plans to take delivery of six A319s next year, increasing its fleet to 185 aircraft.

Flydubai will launch four-times-weekly Dubai-Kathmandu service on Dec 15.