Airlines

HOUSTON, June 17 -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced the results of its Jan. 7, 2009, biofuel demonstration flight, which was conducted in partnership with Boeing, GE Aviation/CFM International, and Honeywell's UOP. The biofuel blend performed as well as or better than traditional jet fuel, displaying an approximately 1.1 percent increase in fuel efficiency over traditional jet fuel in different stages of the demonstration flight.

Overall life cycle greenhouse gas emissions related to using a biofuel of the nature used on the Continental demonstration flight are estimated to be reduced by 60 percent to 80 percent as compared to traditional jet fuel.    » read more »

Murray Demands Halt to Illegal, Unfair Airbus Subsidies in Letter to E.U.; Calls subsidies "trade-distorting," "completely unacceptable," and "a major step in the wrong direction"

June 16, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) sent a letter to Ambassador John Bruton, head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the U.S, expressing deep concern over reports that Airbus is seeking $5 billion in additional launch aid from four European Union countries, and urging an end to Airbus subsidies.    » read more »

Boxer and Snowe craft legislation on NTSB recommendations, greater FAA oversight for flight safety following Buffalo commuter plane crash

June 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) today announced the One Level of Safety Act, bipartisan legislation to restore confidence in America’s commercial aviation industry by addressing a number of the issues that came to light during the recent National Transportation Safety Board hearings on the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 outside of Buffalo, New York.    » read more »

EVERETT, Wash., June 17 -- Final assembly has begun on the first Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner destined for delivery to launch customer ANA (All Nippon Airways) of Japan.

ANA and Boeing launched the 787 program with a firm order for 50 of the all-new composite jetliner. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2010.

Boeing and ANA celebrated the occasion with a traditional "Kagami wari" ceremony, the breaking open of a wooden "Taru" (sake barrel) lid with wooden mallets.    » read more »

LE BOURGET, France, June 17 -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) and MC Aviation Partners (MCAP), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp., have finalized an order for two Next-Generation 737-800s valued at $153 million at list prices.

The order represents MCAP's first direct purchase of airplanes from Boeing.

"We are delighted that we signed a purchase agreement with Boeing for two 737-800s. We consider this a very memorable event for MCAP and Boeing. These aircraft will be leased to Skymark Airlines Inc. in Japan," said Tatsuo Sato, CEO, MCAP.    » read more »

LE BOURGET – June 16, 2009 -- Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has selected the GEnx-1B engine to power its new fleet of 35 Boeing 787-9 aircraft and 10 GE90-115B-powered Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

The total value of both engine orders is worth $2.2 billion (USD) list price. Additionally, the airline holds options for 25 Boeing 787 aircraft and 10 Boeing 777-300ERs with purchase rights for a further 10 Boeing 787 and five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Etihad Airways has also signed a multi-year OnPointSM solution agreement with GE Aviation for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of its entire firm GEnx and GE90 engine fleet. The OnPoint solution agreement is valued at more than $1.7 billion (USD) over the life of the agreement.    » read more »

LE BOURGET, France — June 16 2009 — Cebu Pacific has selected CFM International’s CFM56-5B engine to power 10 new Airbus A320 aircraft in a firm engine order valued at approximately $155 million U.S., including spare engines. The airline is scheduled to take its first aircraft in October 2010, with deliveries continuing through November 2013.

Cebu Pacific (CEB) took delivery of its first CFM-powered Airbus A320 in 2005. Today, the airline operates a fleet of 21 A319/A320 aircraft, 100% powered by CFM56-5B engines.    » read more »

EVERETT, Wash., June 15 -- The second Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner has moved to the flight line to begin fuel testing. This is the second of six 787s being used in the all-new airplane's flight-test program.

"Momentum continues to build with each milestone achieved," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 Dreamliner program.

Each of the six flight-test airplanes will be used for a specific set of tests during the flight-test program. This airplane, designated ZA002, will focus on systems performance. Like its predecessor, ZA001, this airplane has successfully completed a rigorous series of tests while still in the factory. Fuel testing began immediately upon the airplane entering the fuel dock.    » read more »

American Airlines Targets U.S. Hispanic Consumers With Launch of National Advertising Campaign; Print and Broadcast Ads Seek to Bring More Latinos to American Airlines

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 10 -- American Airlines this week launched a national advertising campaign aimed at U.S. Hispanic travelers in an effort to increase American's business and to better serve the booming Latino population.

With this new campaign, American seeks to continue to be the airline of choice, uniting Latinos and their families by meeting all of their travel needs - connecting them to business associates and loved ones in any part of the world.    » read more »

US Airways Announces Results of 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 10, 2009-- US Airways (NYSE: LCC) announced the results of its annual meeting of stockholders held today in New York. Stockholders voted to re-elect Herbert M. Baum, Matthew J. Hart, Richard C. Kraemer and Cheryl G. Krongard to three-year terms on the Board of Directors, expiring at the annual meeting of stockholders in 2012.    » read more »

Gillibrand Giving Voice to Buffalo Crash Families - Raising Their Questions to Top Aviation Officials; Senator To Get Answers From DOT, FAA, NTSB

June 10, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - At today's Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Aviation Safety & FAA Oversight, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will submit questions from the family members of victims in the Flight 3407 crash in Buffalo about fundamental failures in our aviation system.    » read more »

June 9, 2009 -- The nation’s largest airlines had a rate of on-time flights this past April that was higher than both the same month last year and the mark posted in March 2009, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 79.1 percent in April, better than both the 77.7 percent on-time rate of April 2008 and March 2009’s 78.4 percent.    » read more »

Schumer To Make New Push To Pass Legislation Making Bird Strike Reporting Mandatory - Only 20% Of Strikes Are Currently Reported

June 9, 2009 -- Today, United States Senator Charles E. Schumer announced he will make a renewed push to pass his legislation, The Wildlife Strike Act, S. 1162, requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make bird strike data mandatory in the wake of a new report that reveals that only 20% of bird strikes in New York are reported. Schumer will push to have his legislation included as part of the FAA Reauthorization Bill which has already passed the House and is now moving through the Senate.    » read more »

June 09,2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced the Air Medical Service Safety Improvement Act of 2009, which aims to improve safety for flight crews, flight nurses, and passengers aboard emergency air medical service helicopters.    » read more »

June 8, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced legislation today that would revise an arbitrary restriction on Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) that limits competition and reduces choices for travelers. By allowing the marketplace to operate more freely, this simple fix would give travelers more options and may lead to lower airfares on certain routes, particularly to the West.    » read more »