Singapore Airlines parent SIA Group reported net income for its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30 of S$380.2 million ($295.6 million), turned around from a S$158.8 million net deficit in the prior-year period, as revenue jumped 17.9% to S$3.63 billion.
Virgin America achieved profitability for the first time in the third quarter, posting net income of $7.5 million, reversed from a $5.9 million net loss in the year-ago period.
US Airways announced Monday it plans to add a total of 500 flight attendants and pilots through “a combination of new hires and recalls of furloughed workers.” It said the need for the workers is driven by planned retirements and attrition. The carrier plans to hire 420 flight attendants and 80 pilots by July 2011. After the recalls, US said it expects to employ approximately 4,970 pilots and 7,300 and flight attendants.
AerCap Holdings earned $51.9 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 46.2% over income of $35.5 million in the year-earlier period. The operating lessor's net income excluding the impact of mark-to-market interest rate caps and share-based compensation climbed 56% to $61.1 million. Revenues during the period soared 125% to $478.1 million primarily owing to an increase in sales revenue and basic lease rents "driven by the additional aircraft acquired" in the merger with Genesis Leasing and the deliveries of forward order aircraft.
Three days after celebrating the launch of its Istanbul Ataturk-Washington Dulles service, Turkish Airlines told reporters in Washington that it intends to begin serving Detroit, Houston, Miami, Boston and Atlanta. "We are in the planning period," CEO Temel Kotil said.
Republic Airways Holdings reported third-quarter net income of $21.3 million, widened from a $2.6 million net profit in the year-ago period, and also announced Monday that it intends to offer 12 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering.
Boeing and SpiceJet announced an order for 30 winglet-equipped 737-800NGs during US President Barack Obama's visit to India. The deal is valued at approximately $2.3 billion at list prices. The order was previously disclosed on Boeing’s website in July as being from an unidentified customer.
Aer Lingus reported third-quarter operating profit (before exceptional items) surged 35.4% over the year-ago period to €79.2 million ($111 million), as revenue rose 5.5% to €411.7 and operating costs remained virtually flat (+0.3%) at €332.5 million.
Norwegian Air Shuttle has taken a major step away from its original LCC business model with the signing of an initial LOI with ILFC to lease two new 787-8s for 12 years with deliveries from the fall of 2012. Norwegian currently operates an all-737 fleet.
Boeing and Saudi Arabian Airlines announced an order Monday for 12 Boeing 777-300ERs with options to buy 10 more in a deal valued at $3.3 billion at average list prices.
Qantas will keep its Airbus A380 fleet grounded until at least Wednesday as it focuses on whether newly discovered oil leaks may hold the clue to the catastrophic failure of the No. 2 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine last Thursday (ATW Daily News Nov. 5).
US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday that the country's ban on air cargo from Yemen will continue and has been extended to also include all airfreight from Somalia.
Qantas will keep its Airbus A380 fleet grounded until at least Wednesday as it focuses on whether newly discovered oil leaks may hold the clue to the catastrophic failure of the No. 2 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine last Thursday ( ATW Daily News Nov. 5).
(Corrected Version) Qantas will change out at least three Rolls-Royce Trent 900s on two Airbus A380s owing to inspections resulting from the uncontained failure on a QF A380 last Thursday (ATW Daily News, Nov. 5). ATW incorrectly reported that Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines would also change engines.
Japan Airlines will launch premium economy service on one of two daily 777-200ER Tokyo Narita-Bangkok services Jan. 26. The aircraft is also equipped with its JAL Shell Flat Seat in executive class. SAS and Icelandair reached a codeshare agreement effective Nov. 8 under which the carriers will operate service beyond SAS's Copenhagen and Stockholm hubs to Berlin, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Milan, Munich, Vilnius, Zurich and Warsaw.
Delta Air Lines flew 16.61 billion system RPMs in October, up 8.6% from the year-ago month, on a 9.5% increase in capacity to 19.91 billion ASMs. Load factor slipped 0.7 points to 83.4% Southwest Airlines flew 6.85 billion RPMs in October, up 8.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 5% to 8.39 billion ASMs as load factor jumped 2.5 points to 81.7%.
Continental Airlines announced Friday its technicians and related employees, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, ratified a new collective bargaining agreement ( ATW Daily News, Sept. 13). We are committed to reaching fair and mutually beneficial agreements with all of our unions, and are pleased our Continental technicians have voted to ratify this contract,” said Senior VP-Technical Operations Jim Keenan.
Rolls-Royce announced that Tunisair chose the Trent 700 to power three Airbus A330s in a deal valued at $200 million at list prices. Tunisair Chairman and CEO Nabil Chettaoui said the A330s "will replace our A300-600 aircraft” and allow the airline to operate new scheduled flights to North America upon delivery from Airbus in 2012.
Gulfstream International Group, parent of the airline, filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code Nov. 4. The small Ft. Lauderdale-based turboprop operator said it intends to continue operating as it works to restructure its debt and secure long-term financing. It has arranged $5 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Victory Park Capital Advisors.
Embraer and Republic Airways Holdings finalized an order for up to 24 Embraer 190s, plus 24 options with conversion rights to E-195s, which was announced at the Farnborough International Airshow ( ATW Daily News, July 23). In July, the companies stated the deal was valued at $960 million.
An Aerocaribbean ATR 72-200 operating a domestic Cuban flight between Santiago and Havana crashed en route Thursday, killing all 68 passengers and crew onboard. The crash at 5:45 p.m. in a mountainous region near Sancti Spiritus occurred as Hurricane Tomas neared the eastern part of the island nation, where Santiago is located. By early Friday, Cuban authorities had suspended flights at the country's airports owing to the hurricane.
Jet Airways earned net income of INR124 million ($2.8 million) in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, a major reversal from a INR4.07 billion net deficit in the year-ago quarter, as revenue surged 31.2% year-over-year to INR35.23 billion.
