Southwest was the best on-time performer among the major U.S. carriers in another poor on-time month for the U.S. airline industry as a whole, as, mercifully for air travelers, their summer of inconvenience and discontent came to an end.
WestJet announced the introduction of new seasonal nonstop service from Toronto to St. Lucia, beginning December 16. WestJet’s enhanced winter schedule also includes new nonstop flights from Hamilton to Nassau, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa.
GOL, parent company of Brazil’s low-cost airlines GOL Transportes Aereos S.A., and VRG, which operates the Varig brand, have begun selling tickets for VRG’s newest route, Rio de Janeiro-Sao Paulo-London. The flights will start October 28.
JetBlue Airways said its traffic in September increased 11.8 percent from September 2006 on a capacity increase of 13.7 percent. Load factor for September 2007 was 71.4 percent, a decrease of 1.2 points from September 2006.
Grupo Mexicana has submitted a takeover bid for Consorcio Aeromexico. At a press conference, the group’s stockholders, board members and CEO said that the bid is for at least 51 percent and possibly as much as 100 percent of the shares of Aeromexico.
British Airways has placed an order for a dozen Airbus A380 and two dozen Boeing 787 aircraft with options for a further seven Airbus A380s and18 Boeing 787s. Both aircraft types will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines.