Island airline set to fly despite criticism

A new airline will begin flying out of Toronto City Centre Airport in the fall, but critics want those flights grounded before they ever leave the tarmac.

Porter Airlines plans to run 10 round-trip flights a day to Ottawa, president Robert Deluce told a news conference in Ottawa yesterday.

The route, the first scheduled by the privately owned firm, will be serviced with 70-passenger Bombardier Q400 turboprop airplanes and will mainly target business travellers.

The carrier eventually plans to fly to 17 cities in the United States and Canada, including Boston, Chicago, Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and Montreal.

The announcement drew harsh criticism from area MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina), an outspoken critic of the Toronto Port Authority which oversees airport operations.

All-Luxury Airline… for Smokers

Smintair is a new luxury airline concept that is being developed by a German entrepreneur. The name is derived from a longer title: Smoker’s International Airlines.

On board, not only will smoking be permitted, but the airline promises to “bring back the exclusivity in flying encountered in the 1960s.” The plan is to offer two jets, Boeing 747s, and round-trip service from Dusseldorf to Tokyo. There will only be 138 seats on each plane (compared to 347 on a normal commercial 747) and they will not offer coach or economy seating. Business class seats will have 70″ of legroom (compared to the standard 55″) and First Class will have 80″ of leg room.

Alexander Schoppmann, the founder of Smintair, says that the “no smoking” policy of airlines was originally implemented so that companies could cut back on air conditioning systems; Schoppmann says that his airline will restore systems that can handle the smoking without problem. He is confident that fliers will be willing to pay for the comfort and services his airline will offer.

On a final note, Smintair does state on its employment application that “Allergics against tobacco smoke or militant anti-smokers are asked to not apply.”

Intra-European Airline Traffic up 8.5%

European Regions Airline Association (ERA) traffic statistics report, January – March 2006 The number of scheduled passengers carried by ERA airlines grew 8.5% in the first quarter of 2006 – an almost 4 point rise from the 4.8% growth recorded for the same period in 2005.

Meanwhile, seat km growth was 7.3%, a marginal increase on the 7.2% reported last year, suggesting that airlines have kept capacity at 2005 levels.

Passenger load factor continues to grow, with a high of 60.5% recorded for the month of March, while the average for the quarter showed a slight increase to 57.9% (from 57% in 2005). This is again the highest load factor for the first quarter on ERA record. Hours and landings achieved growth of 2.4% and 1.8% respectively.

Marriott Gets Airline Check-In Stations

Marriott is doing its part to keep you from missing your flight.

Just like Hilton did, Marriott has started to place “dedicated lobby computer stations” in their lobbies with printers so guests can print out their boarding passes before heading to the airport.

How it works is this: The stations will feature icons of major airlines on the screens. Guests choose their airline and are then taken to that airline’s website, where they can begin the check-in process–much like you would do from a home computer. Once they check-in, guests can print their boarding passes right there.

Airline Worker Loses Leg In 747 Accident

A South African Airways ground crewman is in serious but stable condition today after a freak accident at Johannesburg International Airport forced doctors to amputate his leg.

The Pretoria News reports the man — whose name hasn’t been released because his family hasn’t yet been notified — was chocking a British Airways 747 when his leg became entangled in the jumbo-jet’s landing gear.

Passengers aboard the flight from London were forced to remain on board for more than an hour as rescuers tried to free the crewman.

He was immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital… where his mangled leg was amputated. An investigation is now underway.

So far… no official comment from British Airways.

Patent suit over airline water

BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA � International Water-Guard Inc. (IWG) has launched a patent infringement lawsuit in a Canadian court against Bombardier Inc. relating to IWG’s treatment system for potable water in aircraft, according to a June 27 CCN Matthews news report.

The dispute began in 2002, IWG said, but made its way to court after Bombardier used a system similar to IWG’s despite warnings from IWG, the report said.

“Protecting our patented aircraft circulating potable water system is key to the growth strategy for our company,” IWG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David. C. Fox said in the report.

Bombardier Inc. is a manufacturer in the field of aerospace, transportation, and aircraft; IWG is a company specializing in water treatment products and systems for the aviation industry.

Three-way ’shootout’ seen in airline battle

The current three-way interisland airline battle isn’t going to be pretty for the legacy carriers, says an historian of Hawaii airlines.

“I think in the long, we’re going to see that peaceful coexistence is not really an option,” said Peter Forman, a former pilot for TWA. “I think you’re going to see a shootout at the O.K. Corral.”

Forman, whose book “Wings of Paradise,” is in local bookstores, tells PBN no third-party entrant has yet displaced a legacy carrier, but some of them have set off bruising fare wars that led to wage cuts and layoffs. He thinks this is especially likely with Mesa Air Group’s foray into the market, because direct Mainland flights to neighbor islands have cut into the interisland market.

Patent suit over airline water

BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA � International Water-Guard Inc. (IWG) has launched a patent infringement lawsuit in a Canadian court against Bombardier Inc. relating to IWG’s treatment system for potable water in aircraft, according to a June 27 CCN Matthews news report.

The dispute began in 2002, IWG said, but made its way to court after Bombardier used a system similar to IWG’s despite warnings from IWG, the report said.

“Protecting our patented aircraft circulating potable water system is key to the growth strategy for our company,” IWG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David. C. Fox said in the report.

Bombardier Inc. is a manufacturer in the field of aerospace, transportation, and aircraft; IWG is a company specializing in water treatment products and systems for the aviation industry.

Three-way ’shootout’ seen in airline battle

The current three-way interisland airline battle isn’t going to be pretty for the legacy carriers, says an historian of Hawaii airlines.

“I think in the long, we’re going to see that peaceful coexistence is not really an option,” said Peter Forman, a former pilot for TWA. “I think you’re going to see a shootout at the O.K. Corral.”

Forman, whose book “Wings of Paradise,” is in local bookstores, tells PBN no third-party entrant has yet displaced a legacy carrier, but some of them have set off bruising fare wars that led to wage cuts and layoffs. He thinks this is especially likely with Mesa Air Group’s foray into the market, because direct Mainland flights to neighbor islands have cut into the interisland market.

It’s a matter of airline safety

Robert Cribb’s article is timely. Airlines are under pressure to cut costs and passengers must understand that its okay to pay a little more and be safer rather than pay less and compromise safety (Jetsgo is a case in point).

Customers need to let the airlines know their priorities. As an Air Canada employee, the one thing I know my employer never compromises on is passenger safety and I would like it to remain that way.

It is now public knowledge that it was the Air France cabin crew who evacuated passengers from the aircraft without any loss of life.

Canada’s airlines are trying to change the Transport Canada regulation regarding minimum crew on board the aircraft from a 1:40 flight attendant to passenger ratio to a 1:50 ratio.

Safety is our collective responsibility and the unions are urging the public to let their MPs know how they feel about such a compromise on passenger safety.