The AirAsia Group has posted what it terms an "outstanding" result of a net profit of MYR447 million ($141 million) for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 on revenue of MYR1.54 billion.
The US Air Transport Assn. on Monday named Nicholas Calio, head of global government affairs for Citigroup, as its new president and CEO,effective Jan. 1. He will succeed James May, who led the US airline industry's major trade group since February 2003. Calio, who has been with Citigroup since 2003, previously served as chief liaison to Congress for former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
LAN Airlines said it signed a definitive agreement to purchase 98.94% of Colombia's Aires for $12 million in cash and the assumption of $100 million in net liabilities including $18 million of bank debt.
China Eastern Airlines is considering canceling its order for 15 Boeing 787s owing to the aircraft program's continuous delays, according to a CEA insider.
British Airways and Iberia shareholders on Monday voted in favor of the merger of the airlines at special meetings in London and Madrid, respectively, ending years of speculation and on-and-off discussions that took off following IB's announcement in spring 2007 that it was open to a full or partial sale.
China Eastern Airlines is considering canceling its order for 15 Boeing 787s owing to the aircraft program's continuous delays, according to a CEA insider. "Most probably we [will] cancel," the source told ATW. "We are negotiating with Boeing about choosing [a] replacement aircraft type…now."
British Airways named Nick Swift CFO, effective March 7, 2011. He will replace Keith Williams, who will become CEO of the BA operating unit upon completion of BA's merger with Iberia early next year. Austral Lineas Aereas took delivery of the fourth and fifth Embraer 190s out of 20 it has on order. The aircraft are configured in a two-class, 96-seat layout. They will join the fleet immediately, serving domestic routes in the Argentine regional's network.
Pratt & Whitney said ground testing of its first PW1524G engine for the CSeries is on schedule. It has accumulated approximately 60 hr. of testing. The company said it is through about half of the PW1500G engine test program. The PW1524G undergoing testing is the first of an eight-engine validation and certification program that will run over the next 24 months, with first aircraft flight slated for 2012 and EIS scheduled for 2013.
Aviation research firm OAG reported that US airlines have been adding domestic seat capacity at "an accelerated rate over the last four months, increasing 3% in November 2010" compared to the same month a year ago. Despite worldwide expansion, OAG said US domestic capacity "had been declining year-over-year and hadn't seen growth until recently when it grew 0.8% in August, and has remained steady since."
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 successfully completed a High Intensity Radiated Field testing program at Alenia Aeronautica's facilities at Turin-Caselle airport, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. stated. "The preliminary results show that the aircraft meets all certification requirements regarding HIRF," it said. The SSJ100 achieved first flight in early November ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 5).
Embraer forecasted a total demand of 950 new regional jets for the Chinese market over the next 20 years, comprising 20 in the 30-60 seat range, 425 in the 61-90 seat segment and 505 with 91-120 seats. Embraer China President Guan Dongyuan said that China's booming economy "fosters the development of its regional aviation market, which generates great opportunities for players in the aviation industry."
The European Commission said Wednesday it is sending a formal request, or "reasoned opinion," to seven of the EU's 27 member states asking them to "speed up" the adoption of legislative and administrative measures necessary for inclusion of aviation in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme.
TAP Portugal said its privatization process could start next year. CEO Fernando Pinto stated at the ALTA meeting in Panama City that privatizing the carrier "is part of a [government] plan and this process could start in 2011." TAP enjoys high load factors on its long-haul routes, especially to South America and Africa, "but the high fuel price spoils everything," Pinto stated. Nevertheless, TAP operates up to 80 weekly flights to Brazil.
TAM President Libano Miranda Barroso told ATW in Panama City that the planned TAM/LAN Airlines merger will "have some similarity to the [British Airways] and Iberia merger" with both carriers' brands continuing to exist.
ATW apologizes that owing to technical difficulties with our vendor Yesmail Express, ATW has been unable to deliver our daily e-news since November 23.
Includes: World Airline Traffic World Airport Traffic IATA Fuel Prices Aircraft Data Aircraft Values Aircraft Deliveries US Major and National Airline Traffic US Ontime Performance U.S. Fuel Cost and Consumption US Mishandled Baggage US Consumer Complaints
