Canada comes up big time to help the U.S. during the Hurricane Katrina crisis, sending four ships with emergency supplies and disaster specialists to the southern United States this week to help the rescue. The government of Prime Minister Paul Martin also said it would pump an extra 91,000 barrels per day of extra crude oil for the United States to help mounting fuel shortages.Late Friday September 2, Air Canada dispatched an Airbus A321 aircraft from Toronto to New Orleans, Louisiana, carrying bottled water and relief supplies as part of the relief effort organized by the Air Transport Association and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The effort that includes major U.S. flag carriers aims to aid in evacuating 25,000 victims, from New Orleans to Lackland Air Force Base, in San Antonio Texas. Air Canada employees have been working around the clock to prepare an Airbus A321 the largest narrow-body aircraft in its fleet, to move 166 passengers and 5,600 kg of cargo per flight. As Robert Milton, Chairman, President and CEO of ACE Aviation Holdings boarded the first relief flight as it-departed Toronto on Friday en route to New Orleans he said: "Air Canada is proud to represent Canada in this relief effort and contribute to help those in greatest need, as quickly as possible." Air Canada also said that it has formed a partnership with the Canadian Red Cross to help raise funds to assist people affected by Hurricane Katrina. On Saturday (September 3), Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz flight attendants began distributing and collecting Red Cross donation envelopes on flights across its North American network in Canada and the U.S.

As Boeing machinists entered their fourth day of a strike on Monday, during the American national holiday known as “Labor Day”, a parallel of sorts can be drawn with mechanics at Northwest who have been on strike against that airline for the past two weeks. In the case of big rich Boeing, shutting down the aircraft builder’s production line could put a dent into what has so far been a banner year, as the Chicago-based manufacturer finally appeared to be gaining some traction in its air war with rival European manufacturer Airbus Industrie. In the case of NWA that teeters near bankruptcy with some of the oldest aircraft in commercial service, operations are continuing amidst stepped up government oversight of hired in mechanics. “To strike against a company that is near broke doesn’t seem to make much sense,” a source said. “No one ever benefits from a strike,” Boeing said in a statement. We say “Amen” to both statements as workers for both companies get used to meager strike wage benefits.

In Alaska, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner the United States Postal Service (USPS) threatens to cancel air mail destined for Barrow, Alaska on flights from Fairbanks and Anchorage in favor of trucking first to Prudhoe Bay and then flying the mails a shorter distance in a budget cutting plan. Squeeze comes if pullback is put into reality because mail carriage makes air cargo and some passenger flights between those and several other remote destinations cases possible.
Robert Ragar, cargo director at Fairbanks-based Everts Air Cargo said the change would be bad news economically for Fairbanks. Everts flies all-cargo mail and freight to Barrow five days a week. Without the mail Everts would be forced to cut back service, Mr. Ragar told New-Miner. Alaska Air, Everts and Northern Air Cargo distributed a letter in Barrow to spark attendance at a public meeting with USPS that was held late last month, and for another scheduled to take place on September 22. "We, the three mainline carriers that have served this community for many years, want to continue to do so with the same frequency and at a cost as inexpensive as possible," the letter said. "If this change in Barrow's bypass mail actually takes place, our service to your community will be severely degraded." USPS is mandated to provide revenue for so-called “by-pass mail” to outpost cities in Alaska providing service to move commodities for regular postal rates. Although “by-pass’ can be viewed as providing a subsidy to maintain air services, a practice the USPS originally employed to help air service take off in the lower 48 US states during the 1920s, the USPS views cutting air usage in Alaska will both save money and maintain service. Opposition argues that in the long run no money will be saved while mandated air services will be cut. Stay tuned . . .

Word up that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) adds new destinations next month came as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer PIA Tariq Kirmani dedicated resumption of flights to Nairobi September 3 after a seven-year hiatus.
"The addition of Nairobi into the PIA network is part of our expansion plan, that includes two more frequencies to Tokyo, Japan via Bangkok and new flights to Istanbul and Glasgow during the coming winter schedule effective from October 2005.” PIA now operates Nairobi-Dubai-Karachi twice weekly, every Tuesday and Saturday with A-310 aircraft. The carrier also recently introduced flights to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. In terms of home market, PIA is launching a shuttle service between Karachi and Islamabad and Karachi and Lahore with flights departing in each direction between the cities every three hours during daytime business hours.

Ethiopian Airlines said that its new cargo facility at its Addis Ababa hub will be completed in November 2005. Occupying an area of 14,000 square meters the terminal will have a capacity in excess of 100 000 tons air cargo per year. ICM Airport Technics GmbH, a subsidiary of Unitechnik will provide the automated material handling system and control system for the new terminal that will contain advanced stacking/retrieval systems and perishables capabilities for cool-chain shipments. The new facility is being created to serve world air cargo lanes at an important time. Addis Ababa enjoys excellent strategic location with the potential to establish itself as an international hub for perishables such as flowers, fruit and meat. The new Ethiopian air cargo facility figures to accelerate shipper’s recognition that Addis Ababa has the ability to handle cargo in accordance with international standards and expectation.

Finnair took off yesterday from Helsinki-Vantaa (9/4) to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport flying to the ultra-modern new gateway facility that opened earlier last year, in the city that used to be called Canton. Guangzhou includes a first for China airports, in the form of a specially designated transit area for connecting passengers with service to the rest of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. AY’s ten-hour China Guangzhou odyssey flies every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, with return flights from Guangzhou on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The recent numbers showing profits at Finnair can be attributed to tough management, but also to the Finn’s almost uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. Helsinki Vantaa has steadily emerged as gateway of choice for any number of northern European cargo and passenger flights and onward connections because of a relentless campaign by Finnair to build traffic to Asian market during the past few years. Everywhere you turn AY plays its Asia card with style and class including on domestic flights from places such as CDG to HEL where the meal pictured here was served recently. Talk about a cut-above! A chicken noodle lunch combines chunks of chicken, in noodles with miniature carrots washed with soy sauce. For the record the chicken was lovely and tender, with lots of flavor served with a wonderfully soft warm roll. Maybe not something to fly out of your way for in a time of upward fuel costs and surcharges, but Finnair, its good to report, sure has its act together.