http://www.starallianceemployees.com/ Star Alliance - HotTopics - RSS Feed en http://www.starallianceemployees.com/fileadmin/media/box/icon_ht_white.gif http://www.starallianceemployees.com/ 30 30 Star Alliance - HotTopics - RSS Feed TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1338335661.html Brazil's Embraer is counting on a recovery in the United States to offset weaker demand from Europe, the company's CE said Tuesday. Speaking at the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit, Frederico Curado said the US regional aviation market is poised for growth after years of stagnation, which should bolster the company's order pipeline from a more than five-year low. 'Reliance on the North American market is growing,' Curado said. 'Our expectation there is for growth this year, compensating the decline in Europe.' That could reverse Embraer's earlier efforts to diversify away from business in the United States, which made up just 20% of net revenue last year, down from 68% in 2005. While Embraer is kicking off new sales campaigns in the United States, Curado said prospects in Europe are limited for now to smaller options from existing contracts. European business may continue slipping from a quarter of total revenue in 2011 and a third in the prior two years. Curado said t he company aims to halt its backlog's slide in 2012 and replace each regional jet delivery with a new order. Airlines' financing options are slimmer than before that crisis, Curado said, but a greater participation of state banks and leasing companies has ensured enough credit for new orders. General News Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120529-709086.html Danish airport operator Copenhagen Airports said Tuesday it plans to sell its 49% holding in NIAL Group, the parent company of Newcastle International Airport, as it seeks to develop Copenhagen airport. The company said the planned divestment is expected to be made in connection with an upcoming refinancing of NIAL and that a number of potential buyers will be invited to submit bids. The stake in NIAL is booked at a value of zero Danish kroner in Copenhagen Airports' annual report for 2011. Debts in the subsidiary will be deducted from any profit made from the sale. General News Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-29/airbus-blinking-first-with-a350-helps-boeing-plot-777-successor.html Airbus is losing the staring contest with Boeing. The European planemaker may have to rework its A350-1000 wide-body jet as cancellations mount and airlines criticize the design of Airbus’s alternative to Boeing’s 777. That gives Boeing some breathing room before it commits to a successor to the world’s top-selling twin-aisle airliner. The pending decisions on the 777 and the A350-1000 show the risks in an industry whose products cost billions of dollars to develop and typically stay in production for decades. While Airbus and Boeing share a duopoly for single-aisle jets, the US company holds the advantage in wide-body planes, which offer higher margins because they cost three times as much. “Airplane development is one of the best real-life case studies in game theory,” said Carter Copeland, a Barclays analyst. “These are big bets with long-life paybacks. Decisions about components, technology, production systems, all have an important bearing on the long-term pr ofit profile of these programs.” Boeing said it stands to benefit from Airbus moving first, because the rival product would help the company hone its response. The next plane probably will come at the turn of the decade and have a new engine, said Randy Tinseth, Boeing’s VP for marketing. General News Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f8362780-a992-11e1-9772-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1w88Li5gY Proposed EU rules will exacerbate the problem of pilot fatigue and therefore increase the risk of aircraft accidents, according to a new report by MPs. The Commons transport committee is calling for changes to the rules on flying hours following a survey by the British Airline Pilots Association that found 43% of its members had reported falling asleep while on the flight deck. The committee expressed particular concern at a draft EU rule allowing pilots to work night shifts lasting 11 hours, and accused the European Aviation Safety Agency, the regulator responsible for the proposals, of ignoring scientific evidence. An estimated 15 to 20% of fatal aircraft accidents are attributed to human error stemming from fatigue, and the UK, like other countries, has national rules on how many hours pilots and cabin crew can fly for. However, such rules are due to be harmonised across the EU through proposals by Easa, and the transport committee concluded the changes could lead to a wat ering down of UK standards. “Proposed EU rules on the working hours and conditions for pilots and cabin crew must be improved or safety could be at risk,” said the committee. General News Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/295678/orient-thai-objects-to-taa-t1-demand Airlines have urged the airport authority not to cave in to a demand by Thai AirAsia for incentives including turning over a whole terminal for its exclusive use in exchange for shifting its base to Don Mueang airport. The privately owned Orient Thai Airlines is a vocal opponent to TAA's proposal that Airports of Thailand Plc provide Terminal 1 at Don Mueang Airport for it exclusively. T1 is one of three passenger terminals at Bangkok's old airport but is the only one active, making it the boldest of TAA's conditions. Knowing state-controlled AoT has been pressured by the government to ease congestion at Suvarnabhumi Airport by moving some budget and point-to-point flights to Don Mueang, TAA, the country's largest low-cost carrier, has toughened its bargaining stance. 'Is it appropriate to turn over T1 entirely to them?' asked Orient Thai founder Udom Tantiprasongchai. He said TAA's traffic volume now and over the medium term are still not large enough to justify the whole oc cupation of T1. Non-aligned airlines Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1338334762.html Kingfisher Airlines said on Tuesday that there were no dues to be currently paid to the tax department, after television channels reported that the debt-laden carrier's bank accounts have been frozen over unpaid tax dues. Kingfisher, owned by drinks baron Vijay Mallya, has been struggling to repay US$1.3b of loans and has cut the number of its flights, as it seeks cash to continue operations. Kingfisher's bank accounts were frozen earlier this year by tax authorities for non-payment of tax deducted at source, severely hurting the company's ability to keep flying. The freezing order was later removed after the airline agreed to pay dues on a regular schedule. Non-aligned airlines Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120529-711606.html Colombia's flagship airline Avianca and Chile's Sky Airline will start operating under a code sharing agreement Thursday, Avianca said in a statement. With the imminent merger of Chile's flagship LAN Airlines SA and Brazil's carrier TAM, other players in the region are looking to partner to face the upcoming competition from what will be the largest airline in Latin America. Avianca and Sky Airline signed a code sharing agreement to strengthen both airlines' Latin American routes. Non-aligned airlines Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303807404577433681364262276.html A long, public spat between Boeing and Air India is threatening to delay the delivery of the 787 Dreamliner jet to the airline, just days before the first aircraft is scheduled to land in New Delhi. Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said Tuesday that Air India won't take delivery of the planes until the carrier and Boeing agree on a compensation amount for the delay. The timing of Singh's statement came as a surprise to industry analysts as his ministry said last week that the 'first Dreamliner would come to India by [the] end of this month as scheduled.' Dinesh Keskar, Boeing's senior VP in charge of sales for Asia-Pacific and India for commercial airplanes, also said earlier in May that the first 787 jet would be delivered to Air India toward the end of May, and the second in June. A delay in the delivery of the Dreamliner would be another setback for loss-making Air India, which is currently struggling to maintain its flight schedule due to a protest by some pilot s. 'We have to decide on a compensation mechanism before taking delivery of the Dreamliner,' Mr. Singh told reporters. Air India 'has worked out a compensation package and is seeking a legal opinion on several steps on how to take it forward,' he said. Singh didn't disclose the compensation that Air India plans to seek from Boeing, but said a panel of ministers would consider an amount. He didn't say when the panel would meet. Non-aligned airlines Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://atwonline.com/aircraft-engines-components/news/s7-airlines-receives-new-737-800-0529 Russia’s S7 Airlines took delivery of a new Boeing 737-800 from International Finance Leasing Co. (ILFC). The Moscow Domodedovo-based aircraft, painted in GH livery, features a 162-seat, two-class cabin layout. The new aircraft is the seventh 737-800 in the airlines’ fleet. In June, S7 and GH will take delivery of two more of the type. S7 Airlines group’s fleet comprises 48 aircraft: 20 A319s, 14 A320s, one A310, two 767-300s, four 737-400, seven 737-800 (ATW Daily News, Jun 10, 2011). The average fleet age is eight years. OneWorld / Members of OneWorld Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120529-706227.html Finnish police believe Mika Vehvilainen, CE of Finnair, profited unlawfully from a real-estate deal involving the company and one of its major institutional investors according to a preliminary investigation, the Helsinki police said Tuesday. The police are investigating the deal in which Finnish pension fund Ilmarinen, the state-controlled Finnair's fourth biggest shareholder, purchased the private home of Vehvilainen for E1.8m before renting it back to him as part of his remuneration package -- Finnair pays Vehvilainen's rent -- when he joined the carrier in 2009. 'There is also reason to suspect that the granting and receiving of that advantage was done with the intention to show preference,' the police said in a statement. The police said they handed their preliminary investigation to the parties involved two weeks ago. The respondents have until June 12 to make final statements. Assistant State Prosecutor Jorma Kalske will then consider whether to charge Vehvilainen. 'Th e CEO has the full support of the board,' said Harri Kerminen, Finnair's vice chairman. OneWorld / Members of OneWorld Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1338335077.html France's new Socialist government opposes a E400,000 indemnity payment for former CE of Air France-KLM, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, as it seeks to clamp down on executive pay, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Tuesday. A representative of the French state, which holds a 15.9% stake in the loss-making Franco-Dutch carrier, will not vote in favour of Gourgeon's payout at a shareholders meeting on Thursday, the minister said. 'The indemnities and bonuses paid to the former chief executive of Air France-KLM, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, and approved by the previous government, are not in agreement with the rules of wage moderation and decent behaviour announced by the president,' the statement said. The minister said the government would announce measures shortly to govern executive pay. SkyTeam Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1338334555.html Air France-KLM could wait until 2014 or 2015 before taking control of Italian airline Alitalia, in which it has held 25 percent since January 2009, La Tribune website reported on Tuesday. Air France-KLM, which has the option to boost its stake from next January 13, wants to carry out the transaction through a share swap and would not have enough time to revive its flagging stock price between now and next year, La Tribune added. SkyTeam Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/aviation/air-nz-confirms-it-has-lifted-its-stake-in-virgin-australia/story-e6frg95x-1226373026052 Air New Zealand has confirmed it was behind a large parcel of Virgin Australia shares that changed hands Tuesday. The transaction was part of a deal announced in September to increase Air NZ's stake from 14.99% to 19.99% at 29.7c a share. Virgin shares closed unchanged at 42c. It was acquired through an equity derivative agreement with Deutsche Bank that allowed Air NZ to increase its stake by up to 5% provided it did not breach the airline's 49% foreign ownership cap. Air NZ said the completion of the restructuring at Virgin Australia to separate its domestic and international arms meant this condition was met. 'Under the agreement, Air New Zealand was guaranteed a minimum of 3.5% and up to a maximum of 5%,' a spokeswoman said. Air NZ 'has today taken physical delivery of 3.5% and intends to move to 5% over time'. Star Alliance / Members of Star Alliance Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2012/05/united-airlines-new-denver-routes-hub/703351/1 United has announced that it will add two routes from its Denver hub. Service to Shreveport, La., will begin Aug. 28 while nonstop flights to Grand Forks, N.D., will start Oct. 3. United Express affiliate ExpressJet will fly one daily round-trip flight on the Denver-Shreveport route using 50-seat Embraer regional jets. SkyWest, another United Express affiliate, will use 50-seat Canadair regional jets for United's two daily round-trip flights on the Denver-Grand Forks route. Additionally, United says it plans to upgrade its existing Denver-Anchorage service to a year-round schedule. The airline began that route May 1 with plans to operate it as summer-only seasonal service. 'These new routes cap off a monumental month for Denver, for United and for our customers,' said James Starnes, United's director of Domestic Planning. 'United is committed to the 'Mile High City,' and these new services underscore our commitment to bring to Denver the best network and schedule that any air line offers.' The new routes also come as the Denver City Council approved a deal with United last week to amend the carrier's lease at Denver International. The deal trims United's Denver bill by $22m a year but requires United to boost service. Star Alliance / Members of Star Alliance Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-29/united-continental-sued-by-black-pilots-alleging-bias.html United Continental was sued for racial discrimination by 22 black pilots who allege the company offers minority employees fewer promotions to upper management than whites. The company’s “highly subjective decision making” about promotions discriminates against minority captains and operations supervisors, according to a complaint filed today in federal court in San Francisco. Minority captains are subject to a “dual employment track” and relegated to part-time jobs with less job security and opportunity for promotions, while non- minority employees get full-time, higher wage positions, the pilots said in the complaint. Virtually all black employees at the company are in non-management positions, according to the complaint. The few blacks in management are promoted to give the appearance of diversity and then excluded from “informal” e-mails and social gatherings where operating procedures, managerial issues and corporate advancement opportunities are discussed, the pilots allege. “United does not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind,” Megan McCarthy, a spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. The company believes the lawsuit is without merit and will defend against it, she said. Star Alliance / Members of Star Alliance Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/1204310/1/.html Turkish Airlines cancelled more than 100 flights on Tuesday after a large part of its workforce downed tools in protest at government plans to outlaw strikes in the aviation sector. The airline announced that a total of 104 domestic and international flights had been cancelled as a result of what it termed the 'illegal' industrial action. Many other flights faced lengthy delays, according to Turkish television. The aviation workers' union Hava-Is has been calling for the government to scrap a bill banning strikes. They are also unhappy at what they regard as a hostile Turkish Airlines management whom they blame for the collapse of a collective bargaining agreement. Star Alliance / Members of Star Alliance Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120529-714537.html Debris from an Air Canada jet bound for Japan Monday that struck four parked cars near Toronto's Pearson International Airport came from the engine's turbine blades, Canada's aviation safety board said Tuesday. The Boeing jet, powered by two GE90 engines, was in its initial climb from Toronto en route to Tokyo when the crew had to shut down one of the engines. The aircraft dumped fuel into Lake Ontario before returning to Toronto, where it landed safely. None of the 318 passengers and 16 crew were injured, the airline said. While the cause of the engine failure has yet to be determined, it wasn't from a bird strike, the Canadian agency leading the investigation said. 'There was no damage to the front of the engine,' said Don Enns, the Ontario regional manager for Ottawa-based Transportation Safety Board of Canada. 'There is no suggestion that it ingested anything. No bird strike or anything like that.' The investigative team has 'numerous pieces' of debris that 'likely' came from both the turbine's stator vanes, or stationary airfoils, and the rotator blades, Enns said. Star Alliance / Members of Star Alliance Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://atwonline.com/airline-finance-data/news/air-china-launch-new-airline-inner-mongolian-government-0529 Air China plans to launch a new airline with the Inner Mongolian government to expand its domestic market share, according to CA chairman Wang Changshun. Wang said CA will be the controlling stakeholder of the new entity, which will be based on the assets of CA’s branch company in the Inner Mongolian region. The new carrier is subject to Civil Aviation Administration of China approval. Star Alliance / Members of Star Alliance Wed, 30 May 2012 07:09:50 +0200 http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/295505/aot-cuts-flights-during-runway-repair Airports of Thailand will curtail incremental scheduled and charter flights during the shutdown of one of the two runways at Suvarnabhumi airport for maintenance next month. Somchai Sawasdeepon, GM of the airport, said the restriction is meant to prevent flight congestion from worsening during the 60-day closure of the eastern runway for an overlay that is due to start on June 11. Airlines are advised not to add more frequencies through Suvarnabhumi during this period, while charter operators are being told to stage their flights through Don Mueang, Bangkok's old airport. Some operators want the work to be carried out after 10 carriers including Thai AirAsia move their bases from Suvarnabhumi to Don Mueang in July under a state policy of easing air traffic away from Suvarnabhumi. Somchai said there is no better time for AoT to carry out the work, which has already been postponed twice this year, as it coincides with low-season traffic situation. General News Tue, 29 May 2012 07:04:37 +0200 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303807404577431751480209894.html India's airlines are taking several measures to soften the impact of the rupee's recent plunge, including scrapping unprofitable overseas flights, accelerating plans to shift major maintenance work to India and trimming the number of foreign pilots. 'With the dollar at this level, we can't take artificial covers, so we are taking other initiatives,' Jet Airways India VP for Finance Mahalingam Shivkumar said. The rupee, Asia's worst-performing currency, has lost about 19% to the US dollar and 10% against the euro in the past 12 months. Indian carriers traditionally don't make large currency hedges because the ones which fly overseas are pretty much covered as they earn in dollars and make payments in the same currency. However, the rupee's recent slide has made life difficult for the airlines, which have to pay monthly rentals to foreign plane leasing companies, aircraft maintenance charges, salaries to expatriate employees, overseas airport charges, fuel at international airp orts and overseas loan and interest repayments. Jet's Shivkumar said the company won't renew the contracts of expatriate pilots when they end in the next few months, and that they will be replaced with local pilots. Both SpiceJet and Air India are trying to shift their major plane maintenance work -- which airlines typically do overseas -- to recently-set up local facilities. Analysts, however, said these measures won't be enough. General News Tue, 29 May 2012 07:04:37 +0200