With about an hour and a half to go before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court closes in Hawaii, sources tell us that Aloha Airlines is set to file for bankruptcy protection before the end of the day.
More information as it becomes available.
UPDATE: Courts will be open in Hawaii on Friday. Filing could be made tomorrow.
Technorati Tags: Aloha Airlines, bankruptcy, Hawaiian Airlines, Mesa Air Group
The Wall Street Journal is reporting online that United Airlines has temporarily grounded several Boeing 747 jumbo jets to check for compliance with federal maintenance requirements, “in a move that signals the controversy over government oversight of airliner safety checks and repairs is spreading, according to three people familiar with the issue.”
The article goes on to say:
“United’s move, which one person familiar with the matter said covers as many as six long-haul 747 aircraft that had some of their cockpit instruments validated as part of an overseas maintenance check, comes as U.S. airlines are stepping up self-audits of their maintenance compliance. At the same time, the Federal Aviation Administration is launching first-of-a-kind spot checks of compliance with mandatory safety directives at every U.S. carrier.
The FAA ordered the temporary groundings after discovering that test equipment used at a maintenance station in South Korea was faulty, according to one person familiar with the issue.
Re-checking the accuracy of the affected cockpit instruments may only take several hours. But one person familiar with the details said United already has delayed one trans-Atlantic flight from San Francisco by as much as five hours. FAA and United officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The six affected United aircraft, according to people familiar with the details, all went through major maintenance work at a maintenance facility in South Korea, and FAA inspectors on site noticed that some of the test equipment there wasn’t properly calibrated. It’s unclear how many of the planes flew away from the South Korean facility without having their cockpit instruments verified. It’s also unclear whether other U.S. or foreign airlines may face the same problem.”
Ticker: (Nasdaq:UAUA)
I don’t know how else to look at the news this afternoon that Global Aero Logistics CEO Subodh Karnik has resigned.
Global Aero is the parent company of ATA, World Airways and North American Airlines.
The new CEO of Global should be a familiar name. He’s the ex-CFO of Southwest Airlines and ex-CEO of ATA — John Denison. And, as we all know, John is very close to current Southwest CEO Gary Kelly.
People tell us this afternoon that we could hear about what Southwest is going to do with ATA’s international certificate in as little as 48 hours.
Ticker: (NYSE:LUV)
Technorati Tags: ATA Airlines, Southwest Airlines
US Airways and its mechanics union have reached a tentative contract agreement. The airline said Wednesday that the deal will see mechanics receive a 10% raise once the contract is ratified.
In addition, these raises will be followed by 3% raises every year until 2011. New overtime rates were apparently also negotiated. A pension plan is also going to be offered to members.
IAM spokesperson Joseph Tiberi was quoted in an Associated Press story as saying, “After two bankruptcies at US Airways and more than two years of negotiations after the merger, employees are finally seeing something positive.”
IAM also represents the fleet service workers at the airline. That group and the airline came to terms on a new contract last summer. However, union members rejected the deal. New negotiations are now in progress on that contract.
Goldman analyst Richard Safran writes today in a research note, “We now think deliveries will start in the third quarter of 2009 versus the current ‘early’ 2009 target.”
The deliveries he’s talking about are the Boeing 787 deliveries.
Safran writes that Boeing “continues to underestimate the amount of work required on the 787.”
Safran says that production problems on the first batch of 787s on Boeing’s production line would delay turning the power on in the first plane, push back the first test flight and extend the amount of time Boeing needs to conduct full flight tests on the aircraft.
(NYSE:BA)
Technorati Tags: Boeing, Boeing_787, delays
Stunning news out this afternoon, as the Air Force announced that Airbus and Northrop Grumman have been awarded the $40 billion Air Force tanker deal.
According to the Air Force, the contract is for the right to build up to 179 tanker aircraft, to be called the KC-45A, for the Air Force.
“The tanker is our number one procurement priority right now,” said Air Force Gen. Duncan McNabb in a press release about the deal. “Buying the new KC-45A is a major step forward and another demonstration of our commitment to recapitalizing our Eisenhower-era inventory of these critical national assets.”
The KC-45A is expected to be able to provide refueling to both Air Force and Navy planes, while its predecessor, the KC-135, must be configured for one or the other before takeoff.
It was widely believed that Boeing held the edge in these negotiations. As one report said tonight, “Boeing officials must be feeling a little bit like the New England Patriots.”
This award comes after a scandal involving the revelation that a top Boeing official had conducted illegal job negotiations with an Air Force acquisition official who later joined the company broke in 2001 — scuttling what was widely believed to be, at the time, a slam-dunk contract for Boeing.
One thing is for sure. Stars aren’t the only thing falling on Alabama tonight. So are dollar bills. A big part of the Airbus pitch on this contract was the fact they would manufacture the aircraft outside of Mobile, AL.
In regard to our posting yesterday here’s the official notice from United Airlines’ SkyNet:
“The United Express team is working closely with our partners to provide replacement flying aircraft during the Spring Break travel period. In anticipation of the high load factors, we’ve signed a contract with ExpressJet Airlines, Inc., one of the world’s largest operators of regional aircraft, to provide three Embraer ERJ145 aircraft from March 12-29.
· ExpressJet is a new flying carrier for us. They have provided similar short-term capacity to other airlines and we are confident in their ability to provide efficient and reliable regional jet service for UAX.
· ExpressJet will be flying 20 flights per day carrying approximately 1,000 customers, and will operate into Dulles with service to Savannah, Pittsburgh, Huntsville, Jacksonville and Charleston, South Carolina. In order to be available during our peak demand period, the aircraft will be flown in ExpressJet livery.”
Ticker: United Airlines (Nadsaq:UAUA) ExpressJet (NYSE: XJT).
As the pilots of both airlines apparently continue to try and come to terms on their seniority issues – the rest of us sit and wait. No news yet today on just when the Delta/Northwest merger may be announced.
In other rumblings however, one of our trusted moles sent us a communication this morning in which he outlined how a proposed United/Continental deal may come together. Remember, you heard it here first.
According to him, the bulk of the existing United Airlines brand will continue to be used internationally, but Continental will take over the domestic operation for the most part.
Other details we were told included the fact that there has already been a transition team put together. The deal will be announced after Delta/Northwest goes public.
There will initially be a holding company set up to run both airlines. This operation will continue for three-five years. This will allow for a “smoother transition” from the two airlines into one operation.
And, in another piece of related United Airlines news, we are being told that because of continued problems with Mesa Air Group cancellations, that United has turned to ExpressJet, and that ExpressJet is going to be adding regional service on behalf of United –beginning no later than the middle of March.
Indications are that ExpressJet will start flying at least three aircraft for United at that time, with the possibility that more aircraft could be added fairly quickly, “as needed.”
Did United contact any of its other regional feeders about providing service before turning to ExpressJet? Apparently. But from what we hear there were no takers.
Tickers: (Nasdaq:MESA); (NYSE:XJT); (NYSE:CAL); (Nasdaq: UAUA); (NYSE:DAL); (NYSE: NWA)
Last week in PlaneBusiness Banter I told subscribers that based on our read of the “chatter” coming to us from various sources, it looked as though we could hear in the next week or so news concerning a potential Delta-Northwest deal. Or at the very least it was pretty clear that the airline would be talking about this at its upcoming board meeting.
Today the Wall Street Journal has just gone with a story that says yes, the Delta board will be discussing a potential deal — but according to their story Delta will be looking at both a potential deal with Northwest and with United.
My take on the news?
I still think that Delta’s CEO Richard Anderson would prefer to do a deal with Northwest, if it can be structured accordingly.
However, he’s also one of the smartest CEOs we have in the industry right now, and as a result, he knows that he needs to look at all current options — and these are the two main options right now.
I still think there is more push coming from the United side on a potential deal here, than vice versa.
But again, Anderson and the board are doing what they should be doing — evaluating the possibilities.
This WSJ news really shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. If not, they’ve not been paying attention.
Ticker: (NYSE:DAL); (Nasdaq:UAUA); (NYSE: NWA).
We all saw this coming didn’t we? Especially after the airline recently halted trading in its shares on the Alternative London Stock Exchange. The company said at the time that it was “seeking new financing,” but with oil reaching new all-time highs — this shutdown should not have come as a surprise to many.
Still — it’s Christmas Eve. Not a good day to shut the doors and file for Chapter 11. Then again, I guess no day is a good day.
The airline is to be commended however, for trying to take care of its passengers.
According to press reports, and based on what the airline has posted on its own website, “MAXjet has contracted with Eos Airlines for seats on Eos’ scheduled all-Premium service to accommodate passengers awaiting a return flight between New York and London. Passengers needing return travel between London, Los Angeles and Las Vegas will be contacted regarding their flight re-accommodations. Any customers who choose to make flight accommodations directly should seek a refund from their point of purchase (credit card or travel agency) for the unused leg of their journey. We have also secured hotel rooms in London, New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles through early January 2008 which we will provide to affected passengers whose travel plans have been disrupted.”
Technorati Tags: airline industry news, MAXjet