| MAGAZINE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| MARKETPLACE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
 |
| COMMUNITY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| RESOURCES | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
 |
 |
Airline Insider-July/August 05 |
| Written by Brian Dunn | |
|
HARMONY IN CHINA Harmony Airways has been given the green light by Ottawa, along with Air Canada, to operate scheduled service between Canada and China. Air Canada already serves China, but is being allocated five more flights a week to accommodate new service between Toronto and Beijing and three flights per week for new cargo service between Toronto and Shanghai. As part of the new service, Air Canada has introduced cargo service between Toronto and Calgary using an MD-11 freighter aircraft capable of carrying 84 tonnes of cargo. Four of the carrier’s five weekly flights from Toronto to Shanghai will be via Calgary. Meanwhile, Vancouver-based Harmony has signed an agreement with Japan Air Lines to participate in its frequent-flyer program. The JAL frequent flyer will now have the option to redeem JAL points for use on Harmony flights. The booking is made through the JAL Los Angeles offices and JAL will pay Harmony for each seat used. Harmony has also introduced a Business Class product on its Boeing 757s. Harmony plans to introduce service to China through a codeshare agreement with China Eastern Airlines later this year and expects to launch daily service to China next summer using its own aircraft. The China routes will help Harmony grow beyond its current fleet of three Boeing 757-200s, said Gary Collins, the airline’s CEO. He said Harmony is negotiating to acquire a fleet of six to eight Airbus A350s or Boeing 787s for service to China. In addition, the airline was scheduled to acquire a fourth 757-200 in June for expanded service that will see Harmony launch twice-weekly service from Calgary to Honolulu in December and a weekly service between Calgary and Maui. AIR CANADA TECHNICAL SERVICES SIGNS WITH MERGED US CARRIERS Air Canada Technical Services’ objective of becoming a Tier One maintenance, repair and overhaul operator within the next five years has been given a major boost with its recent signing of a $1.5- billion maintenance contract with US Airways-America West. To seal the deal, Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings is investing $95 million for a 7% stake in the newly merged airline which will give it expanded gate access at some US airports which in turn should help grow its passenger traffic south of the border. In addition, Air Canada expects to create 700 aircraft servicing jobs in Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. ACTS already employs more than 3,600 workers and its revenue could exceed $1 billion next year, with less than half coming from Air Canada. Earlier this year, Air Canada signed a five-year, US$300-million maintenance contract with Delta Air Lines to service over 200 Boeing 757s and 767s. The division now has about 100 customers, including BWIA West Indies Airways, JetBlue Airways, Transat A.T., UPS and Lufthansa’s regional City Line. The latest deal with US Airways-America West involves servicing a combined fleet of 361 Boeing and Airbus aircraft. To become a Tier One MRO operator, ACTS needed to expand globally and increase its annual revenue beyond its current $700 million which it just did with its latest coup. The ACE unit’s goal is to become a significant player in the global MRO marketplace by capturing between 10% and 15% of an estimated $49-billion market, said ACTS president Bill Zoeller. RECENTLY AT WESTJET WestJet Airlines is now offering live in-flight Bell Express Vu satellite-TV service on all 39 of its Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The free service, which uses equipment from Live TV installed in each seatback, allows passengers to surf up to 24 channels. The airline has also applied to Transport Canada to certify extended twin-engine operations allowing it to start flying its Boeing Next-Generation 737s on longer routes such as Halifax-London or Vancouver-Hawaii. If its application is accepted, WestJet will examine the possibility of operating its 737-700s and 800s on routes as long as six hours over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The carrier added that its fleet of 18 737-200s will be retired within a year. South of the border, WestJet has eliminated its service between Toronto and New York/La Guardia due to its inability to secure additional gates at La Guardia. The carrier began the service last September. WestJet will redeploy the aircraft used on the route for daily seasonal service between Toronto and Victoria which runs between July 5 and September 5. AIR CANADA’S FLEET RENEWAL PLAN FOR 767-200S AND 767-300S Air Canada could be the launch customer for Aviation Partners Boeing blended winglets on the Boeing 767- 300ER, which would enhance fuel burn by about 5%. The airline hopes to install the winglets as part of a plan to rejuvenate its fleet of 43 767-200s and 767-300s that Air Canada plans to operate until deliveries of its Boeing 787s begin in 2010. Air Canada said it will spend about $5 million per aircraft on refurbishing the 767’s interiors, installing in-flight entertainment systems and adding winglets. The carrier hopes to offset the cost of the fleet renewal plan by selling its 767s, Airbus A330s and A340s. CANJET AIRLINES CanJet Airlines has launched twice daily service between Toronto and Calgary and once daily between Toronto and Vancouver as part of a new phase of expansion into Western Canada. “Our flight schedule has been developed to create convenient connections in both directions between Calgary and Vancouver and the key Atlantic Canada centres of Halifax, Moncton, St. John’s and Deer Lake,” said Chris Kelly, director of strategic planning at CanJet. |
