Spirit Airlines pilots ratified a new five-year labor contract with 74% voting in favor in balloting that occurred this month, the Air Line Pilots Assn. representing the LCC's 420 flight deck crew announced Friday.
Alaska Airlines said Friday it flew a 737-700 on a test flight last week over Puget Sound using RNP guidance and demonstrated eight continuous descent approaches into Seattle-Tacoma, reducing carbon dioxide emissions "by 35% compared to a conventional landing."
AirAsia in September will increase service from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu (thrice-daily to nine-times-daily), Kota Bharu (six-times-daily to 12-times-daily), Langkawi (seven-times-daily to 11-times-daily), Solo (daily to five-times-daily), Yogyakarta (daily to thrice-daily), Medan (four-times-daily to six-times-daily) and Surabaya (four-times-daily to eight-times-daily). Spirit Airlines will launch daily Chicago O'Hare service to Las Vegas(Nov. 11) and Atlantic City(March 3).
Spring Airlines reported a half-year net profit of CNY160 million ($23.6 million), a fourfold year-over-year improvement, allowing the Shanghai-based carrier to maintain a profit streak that goes back five years. Spring credited “robust growth of the domestic market” stimulated by the Chinese Spring Festival in February and the Shanghai World Expo for the result, a spokesperson told ATW. Operating revenue climbed 64.4% to CNY1.47 billion.
Continental Airlines continued the trend of US majors reporting strong financial results, posting second-quarter net income of $233 million, reversed from a $213 loss in the year-ago period.
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US Airways and Turkish Airlines reached a codeshare agreement under which US will place its code on Turkish flights to Istanbul Ataturk from Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich. Customers will gain access to Adana, Izmir, Antalya and Ankara via IST and may opt for nonstop travel to IST via New York JFK and Chicago O'Hare. THY will place its code on US flights to Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix from FRA, MUC, ZRH, ORD and JFK. The agreement is subject to US Dept. of Transportation and Turkish government approval.
EgyptAir is seeking to extend its network in Africa and is looking for partners in the central or western regions of the continent with which it can cooperate, Chairman and CEO Hussein Massoud told ATW.
American Airlines’ parent AMR Corp. posted a second-quarter net loss of $11 million, narrowed from a $390 million deficit in the year-ago quarter, and announced yesterday that it has exercised options for 35 additional 737-800s.
US Airways reported second-quarter net income of $279 million, a nearly fivefold increase over a $58 million profit in the year-ago period, and joined the industry chorus in promising no capacity growth despite the strong financial performance.
OnAir announced that Emirates selected its Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir inflight connectivity service for its A380 fleet of 90 aircraft. Installation will start at the beginning of 2011; the first OnAir-equipped Emirates A380 is slated to begin service in June 2012. Aviation Technical Services will install Lumexis Corp.'s Fiber-to-the-Screen IFEsystem onboard 44 "new post-delivery modification" flydubai 737-800s. Installation will commence in October.
Porter Airlines confirmed that CEO Robert Deluce personally filed a lawsuit against Air Canada for breach of contract. He is seeking up to $5 million in damages. The dispute traces back to 1986 when the Deluce family sold Air Ontario and Austin Airways to AC. Under terms of the sale, AC agreed to provide Deluce and his spouse with a free travel pass for life. It honored the contract for 23 years, but Deluce claims that in the fall of 2009 AC “unilaterally, and without warning, stopped honoring the arrangements.”
IATA's quarterly survey of airline CFOs and cargo heads released yesterday reveals a turnaround in the industry's confidence level, which took a beating during the extended recession. The organization said airlines worldwide are growing increasingly confident about both the current operating environment and prospects for the next 12 months, with more than 70% of respondents to its latest "Business Confidence Index" survey reporting "improved profitability during the [second] quarter and a similar proportion expect further improvement over the year ahead."
Finnair went live with the Amadeus electronic miscellaneous document, the fulfillment solution that will allow airlines and travel agencies to sell and track the usage of ancillary charges, on its website. Such charges may be linked to the flight coupon, such as for excess baggage and seat selection, or standalone charges such as lounge access and rebooking fees. Finnair's EMD capability will be extended to Amadeus travel agencies in Europe in September following a pilot with agents in the Finnish market.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $273 million, significantly widened from a $28 million profit in the year-ago period and its best second-quarter result since 1999.
