Vueling Airlines reported second quarter net income of €13.5 million ($17.5 million), a more than fourfold increase over a €3 million profit in the year-ago quarter, when it was still a standalone company. Vueling, which merged with Clickair last year, attributed the improved net profit in to its "cost reduction program and the capture of merger synergies." The LCC said the negative EBIT impact of April's European airspace closures was “in excess” of €1 million.
The Unite union representing British Airways flight attendants confirmed it will take BA to court over its decision to remove travel concessions from cabin crew who took part in the past strike actions. “After careful consideration, Unite believes that management’s action breaches European human rights legislation. It also believes that this sanction, which has impeded the resolution of the long-running dispute, was taken without proper disciplinary procedures being followed,” it said.
Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choon Seng has signaled that he will step down soon, according to a Bloomberg report yesterday. “It’s at the mercy of the board, but I am getting on in years,” Chew, who turned 64 yesterday, told Bloomberg after a shareholders' meeting in Singapore. "I should move on.”
United Airlines and Continental Airlines yesterday announced the executive management team for the merged carrier and it will not include UA President John Tague or UA CFO Kathryn Mikells.
A Lufthansa Cargo MD-11 freighter crashed on landing at Riyadh yesterday, catching fire and breaking apart. The two pilots were able to escape via the emergency slide and were being treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries. LHC said in a statement it had spoken with both pilots by phone.
Following Air Berlin’s disclosure Monday that it intends to join oneworld, CEO Joachim Hunold said yesterday the move is "the next logical step" for the carrier.
Boosted by a €1.03 billion capital gain from the sale of its 23.1% stake in Amadeus, Air France KLM Group posted a net profit of €736 million ($953 million) for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, reversed from a €426 million deficit in the year-ago period.
TRAXwas selected by Vietnamese startup Air Mekong to implement its maintenance and engineering software solution. Air Mekong plans to launch operations this year with a CRJ900.
Ryanair announced it will open its eighth base in Spain at Seville in November with two 737-800s and 29 routes. There will be 10 new routes to Bari, Eindhoven, London Gatwick, Marseille, Palma, Paris Beauvais, Santiago, Valencia, Venice Treviso and Zaragoza. The LCC will offer over 250 weekly return flights to/from Seville. It said it aims to increase its passenger traffic at the airport to 1.5 million.
American Airlines yesterday released its own free travel app for the iPhone to provide customers with mobile access to day-of-travel information. Once logged in, passengers can check which gate they will be departing from, where they will sit and their position on the standby list. They will also be able to set parking reminders, view terminal maps, access mobile boarding passes, book and check-in for flights, and use GPS to locate the nearest airport served by AA.
China Southern Airlines is stepping up its efforts to make gains in the Western cargo market by expanding its cargo fleet and adding international routes.
Singapore Airlines reported net income of S$253 million ($184.7 million) for its fiscal first quarter ending June 30, reversed from a S$307 million loss in the year-ago period, and said the recovery in passenger demand and yield evident in the quarterly results "will hold up for the rest of 2010."
Aer Lingus Group said it should do “no worse than break even” in 2010 following a stronger-than-expected first half combined with reductions in fuel and staff costs.
Aviation Partners Boeingannounced orders from both Allegiant Air and Air China for blended winglets. Installations have begun for Allegiant's six shipsets of 757-200 blended winglets; delivery of Air China's 30 737NG blended winglets will begin in 2011. It additional said that Hainan Airlines has committed to install winglets on all future 737-800 deliveries (it currently has 45 on order).
Dragonair will resume daily Hong Kong-Fukuoka service Oct. 31 aboard an A320. Delta Air Lineswill launch twice-weekly Detroit-Sao Paulo service Oct. 21 aboard a 767-300ER, eventually increasing to five-times-weekly. The route must be approved by the US Dept. of Transportation.
Flybe announced it has brought forward the delivery of the first of its 35 E-175s to Spring 2011 to place the aircraft on an eight-times-daily Guernsey-London Gatwick service. “We’ve pulled out all the stops with Embraer … to bring forward the delivery of the first of our new E-175 jets so that we can base an aircraft in Guernsey,” CCO Mike Rutter said.
The US National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate a July 21 incident in which a United Airlines 777-200 encountered severe turbulence. According to NTSB, UA Flight 967 was en route from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles when it encountered severe turbulence about 60 mi. southeast of Kansas City at approximately 34,000 ft. The aircraft diverted and landed safely at Denver. The aircraft had 255 passengers and 10 crew members onboard.
The US Office of Special Council , an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency that is designed to operate as "a secure channel for disclosures of whistleblower complaints," said Friday that it has received a report from US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that substantiates allegations of FAA inspectors failing "to provide effective oversight of [Northwest Airlines’ Airworthiness Directive] process, resulting in the carrier's continued systemic AD non-compliance."
UPS posted second-quarter net income of $845 million, up 89.9% over a $445 million profit in the prior-year period, and noted that "strong export growth in all regions" with Asia leading the way helped to boost the bottom line.
