Airlines

FAA temporarily grounds 787

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that as a result of an in-flight, Boeing 787 battery incident in Japan, the FAA will issue an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) to address a potential battery fire risk in the 787 and require operators to temporarily cease operations. Before further flight, operators of U.S.-registered, Boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the batteries are safe. The FAA also said that it will work with the manufacturer and carriers to develop a corrective action plan to allow the US 787 fleet to resume...

November traffic results show improvement: IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released traffic results for November 2012, showing an improvement in both passenger and air freight demand. Air travel was 4.6% higher compared to November 2011, up on the October result of 2.9%. Air freight volumes edged up 1.6% over the same period after declining 2.6% in October, year to year. Passenger capacity rose 3.2% and load factor improved one percentage point to 77.3% compared to the year-ago period. "November brought some positive signs for air transport demand -- particularly for air cargo. It is premature to consider this a...

Icelandair adds flights from Halifax

Icelandair will resume seasonal service from Halifax starting June 1 and has announced six additional flights through Nov. 4. The additional three weeks of service from Nova Scotia will be a part of Icelandair's 2013 expanded network and offer more options and greater frequency when travelling to Europe from Canada. This year, Icelandair will celebrate 76 years of aviation with new destinations (Zurich, Switzerland and St. Petersburg, Russia) and daily service to the U.K., including regular flights to London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Glasgow. Icelandair allows passengers to stopover in...

Copa signs full distribution agreement with Travelport

Copa Airlines, subsidiary of Copa Holdings, S.A., has signed a new global full content agreement with Travelport. The new multi-year agreement secures access to the airline's full range of published fares and inventory for all Travelport-connected travel agents, corporate customers and online agencies worldwide booking through Galileo and Worldspan. The agreement also includes a common framework to provide enhanced Copa Airlines functionality to Travelport's agents, such as the addition of merchandising services, providing Copa Airlines with the ability to sell ancillary services through...

Air Canada reports record load factors for 2012

For the month of December, Air Canada reported a record system load factor of 82.1% cent, versus 81% cent in December 2011, an increase of 1.1 percentage points. System traffic increased 3.2% on a system-wide capacity increase of 1.8%. For the full year 2012, load factor was a record 82.7%, versus 81.6%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points. Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity. "For both the month of December and full year 2012, Air Canada achieved record load factors of 82.1 and 82.7%,...

WestJet, Porter report strong December numbers

WestJet has announced December traffic results with a record load factor of 81.9%. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 7.2% year over year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 6% over the same period. The airline flew 17.4 million guests in all of 2012, which is a year-over-year increase of 8.6% or approximately 1,383,000 additional guests. "We are very pleased to close out the year with six consecutive monthly load factor records and record high loads in all four quarters. Our positive momentum culminated in 2012 with a new single-day record of...

United unveils new lounge concept

United Airlines has unveiled its new United Club lounge in Terminal 2 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, the first to feature a new design prototype that the airline will use when building and renovating lounges worldwide. The 13,300 square foot United Club features a completely redesigned interior reflecting elements of flight and travel. United has outfitted the club with an expansive bar and lounge area, dynamic lighting, redesigned furniture and additional workstations and power outlets - all designed to enable customers to relax or work with greater ease and comfort. As with all...

Feds forge expanded air agreement with Saudi Arabia

The federal government recently announced that the existing bilateral air transport agreement between Canada and Saudi Arabia has been expanded. The amendments, which were recently negotiated during the ICAO Air Services Negotiation Conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will give additional flexibility for airlines of both countries to determine routings and pricing, and allow them to respond to market developments more rapidly. "This expanded air transport agreement will facilitate the movement of people and goods and will provide new business opportunities for Canada's air industry to the...

Etihad flies record 10.29 million passengers in 2012

Etihad Airways surpassed its target of carrying 10 million passengers in 2012 and is set to achieve a 22% increase on the total of 8.41 million passengers for 2011. The increase in passenger numbers -- up to a total of 10.29 million -- represents an extra 1.88 million passengers travelling on the carrier's global network that now covers 87 of its own passenger and cargo destinations, and 245 codeshare destinations. The passenger growth for Etihad is mirrored by its equity partners. By the end of 2012, airberlin is expected to have carried 33.4 million passengers, Virgin Australia 19.5 million...