Archive for March, 2008
March 29, 2008 The European Union and the United States will kick off talks on further liberalization of transatlantic air traffic on May 15, the EU’s senior transport official said on Friday. The first phase of the “open skies” agreement comes into force on Sunday and allows carriers to access any US city from any point in the EU, and vice versa. European airlines have complained this deal unfairly favors US rivals and EU states have threatened to scrap it if Washington does not agree by 2010 to a second phase allowing foreign airlines to buy more voting rights in US carriers and permitting them to run domestic US services. “We’ll be commencing stage two negotiations on May 15 in Ljubljana (Slovenia),” EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot told a news conference. “It will aim to achieve full liberalization in traffic rights, new possibilities for investments by European companies in the United States and for US companies in Europe, measuring the effect on the environment and constraints on exercising traffic rights, access to transport programs financed by the US government, and leasing aircrafts with crew,” Barrot said. “In the long term we want to achieve a completely open skies agreement,” he said. Barrot said the possibility of withdrawing from the deal if there was no progress on the second stage by 2010 was more a threat than a likelihood. Sunday’s move was “a revolution in the transatlantic skies”, that would strongly boost air traffic, Barrot said, expecting 25 million extra passengers over the next five years, on top of the current average of about 50 million passengers per year. The EU expects the number of transatlantic flights to increase by 8 percent for the summer season this year thanks to the deal, with new flights including 16 additional flights per day from London Heathrow. Up until now, 16 EU states including Germany and the Netherlands had bilateral open skies deals with the United States, but could only fly from their home country. For five further countries including Britain, there were restrictions on the number of flights or airlines. Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania had no deal at all. (Reuters)
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten (March 25, 2008) The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) this week released the official program of the upcoming Airport Conference of the Americas, scheduled for July 20 to 22 2008 in St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.
Co-sponsored by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Princess Juliana International Airport, American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), the South Central Chapter/AAAE and the International Association of Airport Executives (IAAE), the conference will bring together airport executives, aviation vendors/consultants and government officials from throughout the Western Hemisphere to discuss challenges such as Safety Management System integration, natural disaster recovery and safety and security. In one venue, airport and government officials and industry suppliers will be able to network with colleagues from the Caribbean and Latin America. The accompanying table-top trade show will be the best opportunity for suppliers to showcase products and services for airports in this region. The event will be held at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort.
“We chose St. Maarten for the venue of our July conference, because we wanted a location that people would want to come to and that was at the same time strategically located,” said Ms. Joan Lowden, AAAE’s Senior Vice President Communications. “The new airport terminal building is fantastic and Sonesta Maho Resort has very good conference facilities, located not too far from the airport; we found so much more on the island than we anticipated. The real challenge will be to get the attendees to actually come to the daily meetings, because the island offers so many things to do.”
Drs. Eugene Holiday, President of the Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company (PJIAE) NV extended invitations to airport executives from the Caribbean and the wider Western Hemisphere to attend the conference and enjoy genuine St. Maarten hospitality. “AAAE conferences are worthwhile events to attend; they provide second-to-none opportunities for aviation professionals. Combined with the fact that St. Maarten is known the world around as “The Friendly Island”, one can only expect a topnotch gathering when PJIAE hosts the July conference. It’s definitely a pleasure to extend an invitation to fellow airport officials,” he said.
AAAE Vice President Ms. Lowden said the conference will be a perfect opportunity for officials from U.S. airports, airlines and aviation companies, as well as Caribbean and Latin American airport and aviation executives, government officials, aviation consultants and vendors involved in any aspect of aviation.
“Airport Executives, come and hear experts discuss solutions to challenges you face every day, meet airport and government officials from the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America and see table-top exhibits with the latest in services/equipment from airport vendors—all in one location. Airport Vendors/Consultants; come meet airport/government officials from dozens of Caribbean and Latin American countries, display your products and learn how the U.S. government can assist in selling your product to airports throughout the Americas. Exhibitors and sponsors may attend one-on-one meetings with officials from the non-U.S. delegations,” she urged. “This event is designed to provide business executives with an edge in developing meaningful working relationships in the important Caribbean/Latin American airport/aviation market. As a result, if your company wants to expand its business markets in this region, you need to be there.”
About PJIAE:
Following a US$ 118.6 million investment program, executed between 1998 and 2006, PJIAE has ultra-modern, state-of-the-art facilities: an ATC Tower and Radar Facility which was commissioned in 2004, and a new, 27,000m2 terminal building, which was officially opened in 2006. There are approximately 1,000 people employed at the airport of which 270 directly by PJIAE. PJIA plays a central role in the economy of St. Maarten and functions as a premier gateway for the surrounding islands. PJIAE caters to an average of 1.6 million passengers and approximately 200 scheduled and charter flights a day from the Caribbean, Europe, North, Central and South America.
About AAAE:
The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and its internal service organization, the Transportation Security Clearinghouse (TSC) is the largest civilian clearinghouse in the US, processing both Criminal History Record Checks (CHRC) and name-based background vetting requests for the aviation community. AAAE sponsors over 80 specialty workshops and conferences each year, held all over the world.
Princess Juliana International Airport operating company N.V.
Simpson Bay, St. Maarten
Drs. E. B. Holiday
President
March 28, 2008
British Airways cancelled a fifth of its flights from Heathrow Airport’s new GBP4.3 billion pound (USD$8.63 billion) Terminal 5 on Friday as the chaos of its shambolic opening spilled into a second day.
The open plan terminal is Britain’s largest enclosed space, equivalent to the size of about 50 football pitches, and was touted as the answer to the delays passengers can face at Heathrow.
British Airways said 80 percent of flights from Terminal 5, including all long-haul flights, would operate on Friday and that customers could check in both hand and hold luggage.
Some stranded passengers spent the night in the terminal, reluctant to pay for nearby hotels even though the authorities had promised to reimburse them.
“I am very sorry that the problems have meant that some of our customers did not experience the true potential of this amazing new building,” British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh said in a statement.
At least 33 short-haul flights were cancelled on Thursday and a new state-of-the-art baggage handling system ground to a halt, leaving only those with hand luggage able to fly.
(Reuters)
March 27, 2008
JetBlue Airways founder David Neeleman unveiled plans on Thursday for a new low-cost airline in Brazil’s fast-growing aviation market, saying he had already raised USD$150 million for the venture.
The carrier, still unnamed, will start with a fleet of three jets made by the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer and should take to the skies in early 2009. In five years, it expects to have a fleet of 76 planes.
“Brazil is a country that needs more competitors, and in particular a different type of competitor,” Neeleman said in Portuguese at a news conference in Sao Paulo.
Like JetBlue, the US discount carrier that Neeleman founded in 1998, the new Brazilian airline will offer low fares and use a point-to-point route structure that flies travelers from one city to another without intermediate stops.
The new carrier will face stiff competition from TAM and Gol, which together command more than 90 percent of Brazil’s domestic aviation market.
But with the Brazilian economy booming and air travel expanding annually at a double-digit pace, Neeleman is betting there is plenty of room for a new player in an enormous country where travelers have few options and where airfares tend to cost 50 percent more than they do in the United States.
“We believe airfares in Brazil are too expensive. It’s time to lower prices to allow more people to fly,” Neeleman said.
Neeleman said the new airline, which still needs government approval, will aim to bring affordable air travel to under-served cities outside congested hubs such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
For its fleet, Neeleman chose the 118-seat Embraer 195, a stretched version of the Embraer 190 that JetBlue flies. The planes will be outfitted with two leather seats on each side of the aisle and live television broadcasts.
“Nobody likes middle seats,” Neeleman said.
Neeleman already placed a USD$1.4 billion firm order for 36 of the planes, with options to buy 40 more. If all options are converted, the value of the deal could surpass USD$3 billion.
Neeleman, 48, has a long history of shaking up the airline industry in the United States. He started as a college student selling package tours to Hawaii before co-founding discount carrier Morris Air in 1984.
In 1993, he sold Morris to Southwest Airlines for USD$22 million in stock. Five years later, he raised USD$135 million and started JetBlue, whose electronic ticketing platform and leather seats with live TV helped redefine affordable air travel.
Because he was born in Brazil, Neeleman is exempt from a law there that caps foreign ownership of domestic airlines at 20 percent. He was raised in the United States, but returned to Brazil at the age of 19 as a Mormon missionary, an experience that helped him polish his Portuguese language skills.
Neeleman, a father of nine, said he is trying to persuade his wife to move the family to Brazil so he can give full attention to the new airline. For now, he plans to divide his time between Brazil and the United States.
Last May, Neeleman was ousted as JetBlue’s chief executive after an embarrassing service meltdown that left thousands of passengers stranded and cost the airline more than USD$30 million. Since then, he has been non-executive chairman, a role he said he may have to give up to focus on the Brazilian airline.
(Reuters)
March 27, 2008
Delta Air Lines said on Thursday it has increased its fuel surcharge on flights within the United States by USD$5 each way.
A spokeswoman for Delta said the surcharge was added because the price of fuel continues to outpace fares.
The increase reflects the pain that airlines are feeling as jet fuel prices, which rise with the price of oil, rise to record levels, and the US economy weakens. A barrel of crude was trading around USD$107 on Thursday.
Delta’s move is the 10th attempted fare increase by major US airlines this year, six of which have stuck, according to Rick Seaney, chief executive of air fare researcher FareCompare. Fare increases last only if the they are broadly matched by rivals.
The spike in fuel prices and a weakening US economy have stalled the airline industry’s modest recovery from the 2001-2006 downturn.
Big airlines are beginning to shrink to cope with much tougher operating conditions. On March 18, Delta unveiled plans to cut 2,000 jobs and scale back flights, leading the efforts by US carriers to cut costs.
Delta, which has been unable to seal a merger with rival Northwest Airlines, will offer voluntary retirement and buyout packages to 30,000 employees.
(Reuters)
March 27, 2008
American Airlines said on Thursday it may start charging USD$25 to check a second bag, a move that could spur revenue and cost savings as fuel prices rise.
American said it filed a notice with the Canadian government indicating it may change its bag fee structure in Canada. That country requires 45 days notice to review such a change.
“This filing is only a formality and a decision has not been made by American Airlines to implement a new checked bag fee structure in Canada,” a company spokesman said.
If American were to begin charging to check a second bag, it would be the third major US airline to make that change. United Airlines and US Airways began charging the fee earlier this year.
The airline industry has been battered by high fuel costs and low-fare competition that makes it difficult to raise ticket prices. As a result, airlines have been looking for ways to bolster revenue and cut costs.
One popular way to achieve these goals is by charging for items and services that used to be included in the fare. Airlines typically check two bags for free, but analysts forecast all the big carriers soon will begin charging for a second bag.
American’s filing in Canada did not indicate what routes the change might affect.
(Reuters)
March 27, 2008
The opening of London Heathrow Airport’s GBP4.3 billion pound (USD$8.6 billion) Terminal 5 ended in chaos on Thursday with its new baggage handling system suspended and dozens of flights cancelled.
The state-of-the-art baggage system is meant to help smooth the journeys of millions of passengers traveling through Heathrow.
But the first day saw at least 33 short-haul flights cancelled and enraged passengers suffering hours of delays because of a backlog caused by technical problems.
Passengers wanting to fly late on Thursday were told they would only be able to take hand luggage onboard.
British Airways, which has its new home at T5, blamed the disruption on “teething problems”.
It apologized, saying customers who had not checked-in could travel with hand baggage only, re-book or receive a refund.
Baggage handling was only one of a series of problems facing passengers. Others included car parking troubles, staff security screening and general confusion over the unfamiliar layout.
“This is not unexpected following one of the most complex and largest airport moves in history,” BA said in a statement.
About 97 percent of its flights went ahead as normal, it said.
Journalist Mark Jones was left sitting on a plane for two hours. “At one point the luggage was returned to the terminal because the system said our flight had already departed,” he said.
Tight security was in place in expectation of demonstrations by green protesters against the expansion of the airport.
In the event, about 200 eco-demonstrators appeared in the main entrance wearing Stop Airport Expansion T-shirts.
Authorities had been on heightened alert after a series of security breaches at Heathrow.
On the eve of Queen Elizabeth formally opening the terminal earlier this month, a man ran onto a runway, while in February, protesters broke into the airport and wrapped a banner around a plane.
The terminal is the equivalent size of about 50 football pitches.
The first passengers to arrive at the new terminal were from Hong Kong at 4:50 a.m., while the first outbound plane left the airport at 6:20 a.m. bound for Paris.
(Reuters)
March 27, 2008
American Airlines took 80 planes out of service and canceled 300 flights on Wednesday after re-inspecting wiring on MD-series aircraft, while Delta Air Lines began similar checks on 133 planes, the carriers said.
It was unclear if there would be service disruptions on Thursday at American. Delta said some cancellations were expected but was not more specific.
Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, said the re-inspection at American was not related to any specific safety incident but to an industrywide safety audit launched last week by the Federal Aviation Administration. “This is related to the audit,” Wagner said.
The FAA audit is to assess airline compliance with agency directives, most of which require aircraft inspections.
Some in Congress have sharply criticized FAA oversight of its own orders and a system that allows airlines to self-report problems to regulators. Maintenance lapses by Southwest Airlines in 2006-07 that were revealed recently triggered the audit as well as investigations by Congress and the US Transportation Department inspector general.
American began re-inspections Tuesday night on nearly 300 MD-80 series aircraft. The narrow body planes are a workhorse at the carrier’s Dallas and Chicago hubs.
The checks assessed whether American followed all procedures of a 2006 FAA order to ensure that wiring for an auxiliary hydraulic pump was properly installed and secured.
The directive, affecting more than 730 aircraft in the US commercial fleet, was aimed at preventing electrical shorts that could trigger a fire in the wheel well, a copy of the order showed.
In some cases, airlines were to install additional protection around wire bundles.
Wagner said 80 planes were parked for closer checks or specific work. Planes were immediately returned to service once the inspections and related fixes, if necessary, were completed. The airline wound up canceling about 300 flights, slightly more than 10 percent of mainline operations.
In response to developments at American and after consulting the FAA, Delta began voluntary checks of its own MD-series planes — 117 MD-88s and 16 MD-90s.
As of Wednesday night, Delta had not found any problems.
Under the FAA audit, safety inspectors are looking at airline compliance with 10 safety directives. The directives vary, depending on what type of aircraft is flown. The first reports on airline compliance are due at the end of the week.
FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette said preliminary results showed a “high rate of compliance.”
United Airlines grounded seven Boeing 747s last week to retest altitude indicators. United said no problems were found and the unscheduled checks were unrelated to the FAA audit.
The House of Representatives Transportation Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee have scheduled hearings next month on airline maintenance and FAA oversight.
Airline stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as the price of oil — directly linked to the price of jet fuel — again moved higher. American lost USD$1.02, or 10.6 percent, to close at USD$8.61 while Delta fell USD$1.23, or 12.3 percent, and finished at USD$8.74 in regular trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Both posted slight gains after hours.
(Reuters)
March 27, 2008
US airline stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as the price of a barrel of oil — directly linked to the price of jet fuel — rose more than USD$4.
Delta Air Lines’ shares suffered the largest percentage decline in midday trading, falling 10.2 percent to USD$8.95 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Northwest Airlines shares were down 9.8 percent at USD$9.06 on the NYSE. The Amex airline shed 7.6 percent.
Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl said the drop in share prices was the result of the oil price spike. Nymex crude was up USD$4.20 at USD$105.42.
Earlier on Wednesday American Airlines said it voluntarily canceled nearly 10 percent of its flights to check plane wiring to comply with a request by the Federal Aviation Administration.
American parent AMR’s shares were weaker after the news and were down 7.4 percent at USD$8.92 on the NYSE.
Shares of UAL, parent of United Airlines, were down 7.8 percent at USD$22.24 on Nasdaq.
(Reuters)
March 27, 2008
International visitors flying into New York now face being identified by all ten fingerprints, part of a heightened security system aimed at identifying potential terror suspects and visa fraud.
The upgraded system, part of the US government’s Homeland Security program and its war on terrorism, increases the chances of catching illegal or potentially dangerous entrants into the country, officials said at a media briefing at John F. Kennedy Airport.
The system expands the digital fingerprinting of international visitors to ten fingers from two.
“Quite simply, this change gives our officers a more accurate idea of who is in front of them,” said Paul Morris, an executive director at the US Customs and Border Protection agency. “For those who may pose a risk, we will have greater insight into who they are.”
The added measure came under fire from critics who claim it is not only ineffective but could violate passengers’ privacy.
“As near as I can tell, there has been absolutely no success from this in catching terrorists,” said Bruce Schneier, chief security technology officer at BT Counterpane in Santa Clara, California, who has studied the system.
“The real question of these programs is, are they the best use of our terrorism dollar,” Schneier said.
Officials announced on Tuesday the system has been added to several entry points at Kennedy and is already in use at airports in Washington, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and other major US cities.
The upgrade, to be installed at all US ports of entry by September, will cost around USD$280 million, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.
The US government has been collecting digital fingerprints and photographs of nearly all non-citizens aged 14 and up entering the country since 2004, officials said, in a Homeland Security program called US-VISIT, at a cost of USD$1.7 billion.
Visitors’ fingerprints are checked against federal criminal and immigration records, and boosting the system will allow authorities to match fingerprints against a larger number on record, US officials said.
On an average day, almost 14,400 international visitors undergo the fingerprinting process at Kennedy, officials said.
More than 2,000 criminal and visa fraud cases have been detected by the screening process, introduced in response to security concerns following the attacks of September 11, 2001, US officials said.
Great Britain has introduced ten-finger scans of visa-carrying foreigners into the country, while Canada and the European Union are working on similar programs.
(Reuters)