According to Continental Airlines, carriers serving New York’s three major airports should be temporarily exempt from new federal rules that fine airlines for tarmac delays.

In a Department of Transportation filing, Continental Airlines said delays from John F. Kennedy International Airport’s runway closure and construction impact all major airports in New York City.

Due to New York’s complex and interconnected airspace, Continental said “delays and delay mitigation strategies at one New York area airport adversely affect and inconvenience air carriers and passengers at another New York area airport.” Bad weather and conflicting runway approaches could cause “exponential increases” in the number of delays occurring at the other New York airports, said Continental.
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Virgin America announced this morning that it will start direct flights from Orlando International Airport to both Los Angeles and San Francisco starting August 19.

The two-year old airline, affiliated with Virgin Atlantic that now brings thousands of British tourists into Orlando, also announced introductory one-way air fares start start at $149 to LA and $199 to Frisco.

The new Orlando to California routes were among several changes the company announced, including new service between Toronto and California.

Currently, only United Airlines provides direct service between Orlando and San Francisco, while several carriers — United, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines — provide direct flights between Orlando and Los Angeles. (continue reading…)

Delta Air Lines Inc., the world’s largest carrier, is adding shuttle service with 11 daily round-trip flights between New York’s LaGuardia and Chicago’s O’Hare airports to attract business customers.

The service to O’Hare, the world’s fourth-busiest airport, will begin June 10 and replace less-frequent flights to Chicago Midway, Delta Air Lines said today in a statement. The carrier also is adding flights from Los Angeles to four U.S. cities including Hartford, Connecticut.

The Chicago shuttle steps up competition with AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and UAL Corp.’s United Airlines for business travelers, who typically pay the highest fares. Those rivals both have hubs at O’Hare. The flights will use 76-seat Embraer 175 jets, and attendants will serve meals or bagels and complimentary wine and beer, as on other Delta Shuttle routes. (continue reading…)

Airline stocks have been flying high in 2010 thanks to renewed hopes over an economic recovery, an uptick in business travel, and a stronger dollar. The Claymore/NYSE Arca Airline ETF (FAA) has shot higher on the news, gaining nearly 5% on the week and 15% so far on the year. A slight pullback in oil prices–one of the primary negative factors weighing on the airline industry–has also added momentum to FAA in recent sessions. Ongoing concerns over the financial health of Europe have boosted the greenback, which generally moves in the opposite direction of oil.
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Airlines worldwide will lose a collective $2.8 billion in 2010, half the previous forecast, as emerging markets lead a rebound in traffic, the International Air Transport Association said.

The loss estimate was cut from $5.6 billion after a “much stronger recovery in demand” at the end of 2009 that continued into the first months of this year, the Geneva, Switzerland- based association said in a statement today.
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U.S. airline passenger numbers will reach 1 billion in 2023, two years later than projected, because of slow economic growth, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The revision in the agency’s annual forecast follows an “unprecedented” drop in operations last year, when take-offs and landings fell 10.4 percent, said Nan Shellabarger, the agency’s director of aviation policy and plans.
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American Airlines is upping the ante for an alliance with Japan Airlines in an effort to outbid Delta and gain access to JAL’s trans-Pacific routes.

American Chief Executive Gerard Arpey told JAL Wednesday that his company will not compete with the financially struggling Japanese carrier for connecting passengers to other points in Asia if it remains American’s partner in the Oneworld alliance, according to The Associated Press. American’s exclusivity offer would involve American feeding traffic between the U.S. and Japan but not elsewhere in Asia.
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Japan’s transport ministry expects the U.S. government to rule on two expected airline antitrust applications by October 2010 before enacting a landmark new aviation deal.

The ministry expects the applications involving Japanese members of two global airline alliances to be filed by mid-February, and called on its counterpart “to give expeditious consideration,” according to a letter sent to the U.S. State Department.
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Delta Air Lines Inc. and its SkyTeam alliance partners offered as much as $1 billion in incentives to lure Japan Airlines Corp. away from the Oneworld group led by American Airlines.

SkyTeam airlines may invest $500 million in Japan Air, and Delta would supply $200 million in financing and $300 million to cover lost sales, Delta President Edward Bastian said today. American’s bid may consist of $1 billion from private-equity firm TPG Inc. and $300 million from the airline.
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