Chinese carriers earned collective net income of CNY5.52 billion ($815 million) for the month of July owing to robust domestic demand growth, according to CAAC.
Korean Air posted a second quarter net loss of KRW233.1 billion ($197 million), reversed from a KRW78.5 billion profit in the year-ago period, blaming the negative swing in part on a 30% year-over-year surge in fuel costs and the falling value of the won.
Flight Sciences International and Pratt & Whitney are collaborating UK-based emissions verification specialist CICS warns Pratt & Whitney signed an agreement
An industry consortiumled by LFV Sweden and including Swedavia, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, GE Aviation and Rockwell Collins has been awarded an active role in the Atlantic-Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions Green Connections project to validate how existing technology can be better utilized and how ground-based operations can be improved to reduce air travel CO2 emissions. The contract is one of 18 new projects selected by the SESAR Joint Undertaking involving 40 airlines, airports, ANSPs and industry partners to expand AIRE.
Boeing will develop an ecoDemonstrator Program to speed environmental technologies in the areas of fuel efficiency, noise reduction and operational efficiency. At the same time, the program will be used to ready technologies at a faster pace for aviation applications.
Air New Zealand has achieved 0.1 RNP for operations into Queenstown, giving it the ability to operate down to a cloud deck of 600 ft., 423 ft. lower than the previous 0.3 RNP, with the 737-300. The ceiling for the A320 in RNP 0.1 is even lower at just 400 ft.
Boeing sees the US military’s ambitious biofuel target of 50% usage by 2016 as a positive for the aviation industry and not a threat. Addressing media at last month’s Farnborough Airshow in the UK, MD-Environmental Strategy Billy Glover told this newsletter that the US military is a valuable cornerstone partner.
Qantas has warned that it will be seeking new hubs in Europe and thus new travel destinations because of the UK’s recent decision to halt further runway development at London Heathrow and Gatwick on environmental grounds.
LOT Polish Airlines announced that Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport will be closed Sept. 4, 5, 11 and 18 for runway work. The carrier said selected short-haul flights could be operated by ATR 42/72 turboprops. Long-haul flights to Chicago, New York and Toronto, operated by 767-300ERs, will be diverted to Gdansk, Rzeszow, and Katowice as well to Krakow. European flights operated by Embraer Regional Jets and 737 Classics will be diverted to several airports throughout the country.
Aegean Airlines became the first operator to commit to upgrading its Airbus A320 fleet with the FANS-B+ retrofit solution offered by Airbus, enabling aircraft/ATC datalink without voice backup. Deliveries from Airbus of the kits and service bulletins associated with the upgrade will be aligned with C-checks beginning in January 2011, Airbus said. According to Airbus, the Datalink Services Implementing rule applying to airlines operating in Europe comes into effect on Jan. 1 2011 for new aircraft and in February 2015 for in-service aircraft.
ARC reported that July ticket sales through participating travel agencies climbed 14.5% compared to July 2009 to $6.5 billion, marking the ninth consecutive month of improvement but a slowdown compared to a 22% year-over-year improvement in June. Credit card sales grew 15% in July compared to July 2009 to $5.9 billion. Total fares excluding taxes and fees rose 14.2% to $5.5 billion. Domestic fares climbed 8.9% to $3 billion on a 1.4% lift in transactions and international fares leaped 21.2% to $2.5 billion on a 10% rise in transactions.
Airbus delivered two A380s yesterday from Hamburg. Air France took its fourth and Emirates received its 12th. The deliveries bring the total in-service fleet to 35 of which 12 have been delivered in 2010.
An Azerbaijan Airlines A319 (msn 2588, built 2005) sustained substantial damage at Istanbul Ataturk International Airport yesterday after it veered off the runway on landing and its nose undercarriage collapsed, according to Ascend. No injuries were reported among the 128 passengers and crew, who safely evacuated the aircraft. The accident happened at 11 a.m. local time Ascend reported. Flight AHY075 was arriving from Baku, Azerbaijan.
Responding to an upswing in demand, Cathay Pacific Airways plans to increase its flights in November to Australia and New Zealand, along with additional flights to Canada, France and Japan. Beginning Nov. 15, the airline will expand its Sydney service from 24 times a week to four times daily; Perth will move from daily to 10 weekly. Brisbane and Cairns will get another weekly linked flight beginning Nov. 21. Cathay will add two more flights to Auckland, making a total of 12 flights per week starting Nov. 27.
AirAsia claims to have set a new world record of selling over 538,000 seats in one day with its “Mind Blowing Fare” campaign, which offers fares from just MYR1 ($0.31) for both domestic and international flights. The airline’s previous best record was 390,000 seats sold in a day, achieved when it ran its “Free Seats” campaign across the entire AirAsia Group of AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia and Thai AirAsia last November.
Hanjin Group, the parent of Korean Air, announced the opening of a new cargo terminal at Navoi International Airport in Uzbekistan, enabling KE to expand its cargo network by adding routes from Navoi this year. “The new Navoi Cargo Terminal has been designed based on Korean Air’s state-of-the-art cargo terminals at Incheon International Airport,” said KE President and COO Chang Hoon Chi. The Navoi Cargo Terminal is set to become the center of the modern day “Silk Road” with its advanced airport infrastructure.”
Air Astana said it enjoyed record first-half pre-tax earnings of $33.5 million, a jump of 34% over the year-ago period. Revenue rose 24% to $245 million.
Copa Holdings, parent of Copa Airlines and Aero Republica, reported net income of $18.6 million in the second quarter ended June 30, down 66.3% compared to earnings of $55.2 million in the year-ago period.
Ghafari Associates has announced that it has been awarded a contract from Bombardier Aerospace to redevelop its manufacturing complex in Montreal to support the lean manufacture of the CSeries aircraft.
Qantas reported a A$116 million ($104.4 million) net profit for its fiscal year ended June 30, down 5.7% in the prior year, crediting improving international yields, a robust frequent flyer program and its two brand–Qantas and Jetstar–strategy.
SITA’s New Frontiers Paper takes a look 5-10 years into the future, when billions of low-risk passengers will be processed quickly, conveniently and cost-effectively, without compromising the focus on high-risk travellers.
Frontier Airlines will launch six-times-weekly Des Moines-Denver service Oct. 24 aboard an E-190. WestJet will operate seasonal weekly service from Quebec City to Cancun (Dec. 11-April 30) and Ft. Lauderdale (Dec. 12-April 24). It will also operate weekly Saskatoon-Phoenix service Dec. 17-April 29 and weekly Edmonton-Orlando service Dec. 18-April 30, as well as twice-weekly Ottawa-Las Vegas service Dec. 9-April 28.
International Lease Finance Corp.said it plans to offer $500 million of senior unsecured notes due in 2017. Proceeds will be used to repay a portion of outstanding secured loans from AIG Funding, as well as for general corporate purposes, it said. Barclays Capital Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are co-managers of the offering.
