US Air Transport Assn.said April passenger revenue rose 12.5% compared to April 2009 based on data provided by a sample of its member carriers, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year improvement. The rate of improvement slowed somewhat from March 2010, however, when passenger revenue rose 15.4% year-over-year.
Singapore Airlines reported net income of S$215.8 million ($337.4 million) for its fiscal year ended March 31, a 79.7% drop from a S$1.06 billion profit in the prior year that nevertheless marked a recovery from a net loss of S$466 million recorded in the first half of FY2009-10.
China Eastern Airlines will sign a binding agreement with SkyTeam next month, according to alliance MD Marie-Joseph Male. The carrier signed a letter of intent to join the alliance last month ( ATWOnline, April 19). "We have formed a special team to help CEA meet SkyTeam's various requirements regarding IT systems, frequent-flyer program and marketing so that it will be in line with the standards of the other SkyTeam member carriers," Male said.
British Airways suffered a net loss of £425 million ($534.3 million) for its fiscal year ended March 31, widened 18.7% from a £358 million deficit in the prior year.
Copa Airlines took delivery of its fourth and fifth 737-800s, two of eight it expects to receive in 2010. The aircraft will seat 16 in business class and 144 in economy. Goodrich was selected by Icelandair to provide custom-tailored nacelle maintenance for the airline's RB211-535E4 engines that power its fleet of 19 757s. Agreement includes thrust reverser refurbishment and use of rotable assets and will be performed at Goodrich Aerostructures' Prestwick Service Center.
Frontier Airlines flight attendants voted to join the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA yesterday, defeating the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which also had sought to organize the heretofore-unrepresented workers. According to AFA, 456 out of 879 attendants voted for AFA representation at Frontier, which was acquired out of bankruptcy by Republic Airways Holdings last summer. IBT received approximately 235 votes. The Teamsters represent nearly 1,500 cabin attendants at Republic's other airline units Republic Airways, Chautauqua and Shuttle America.
ARC announced the availability of DataXpert Market Locator, "an online analytical tool that is designed to help predominantly marketers and planners make better decisions off point-of-sale [ticket] data," according to Product Manager Mark Sapiano. Market Locator will enable users, such as airlines and airports, to dig down into ticket purchase transactions to learn more about traveler characteristics and behavior of their customer base, according to ARC, which is marketing the product in partnership with Diio.
LuxairGroup posted net income of €1.3 million ($1.6 million) in 2009, down from an €8.5 million profit in 2008, on an 8.1% drop in revenue to €382.7 million. "All LuxairGroup activities experienced daunting regressions in business and revenue" in 2009, President and CEO Adrien Ney said. "We [have] registered some stabilization and even a slight climb in early 2010, but this won't be able to bring us back to pre-crisis levels yet." He added that volcanic ash-related airspace closures "will certainly mark the 2010 balance sheet."
American Airlines announced that Peter Bowler, president and CEO of regional affiliate American Eagle, is retiring. Bowler will remain in the post, which he has held for 11 years, until a successor is named. AA Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey said Bowler "has overseen the transition of American Eagle to one of the largest regional jet operators in the world, offering over 1,600 flights a day to destinations throughout the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. I offer my sincere thanks for his leadership and many contributions."
UPS Airlines will furlough 54 pilots Sunday and may cut around 250 additional pilots by year end, according to both the company and the Independent Pilots Assn. representing the cargo carrier's 2,800 pilots.
CAAC is lobbying China's big three airlines to order the C919 and said it has formed a "pioneer customer group" for the aircraft comprising Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.
Airbus CEO Tom Enders told a group of journalists including ATWOnline in Hamburg this week that the company expects to deliver 20 A380s while securing orders for "more than 20" this year, including "additional orders from existing customers." He added, "I don't want to make airlines feel like we're putting them under pressure, but more and more it appears that an airline can only compete against an A380 with an A380."
British Airways started implementing its contingency plan to mitigate the effect of cabin crew strikes after the UK Court of Appeal yesterday overturned an injunction blocking the industrial action, which originally was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
SkyTeam said that Vietnam Airlines and Tarom "are on track to become members in June," with Vietnam Airlines joining June 10 in Hanoi and Tarom entering June 25 in Bucharest. The carriers are working with member airlines to guide them on more than 100 joining requirements. The alliance said they are being audited "and need to demonstrate fulfillment and understanding of the requirements to deliver the SkyTeam customer service standards. Both airlines are well on track to pass the audit successfully."
American International Group named former Airbus North America President and CEO Henri Courpron to the post of president and CEO of subsidiary ILFC. He succeeds ILFC Vice Chairman Alan Lund, who has served as president and CEO since March.Steven Udvar-Hazy retired from the post in February after he was unable to arrange a purchase of the aircraft leasing giant he founded ( ATWOnline, Feb. 8). Courpron will be based in ILFC's Los Angeles headquarters.
Lufthansa yesterday took delivery of its first A380-800 in a ceremony at Airbus's Hamburg facility. The Trent 900-powered aircraft is the first of 15 A380s that LH has on order. It expects to receive three more this year and four in 2011.
Malaysia Airlines posted a net profit of MYR310 million ($96.5 million) for the first quarter, reversed from a net loss of MYR694.8 million in the year-ago period, on a 21% rise in revenue to MYR3.3 billion that it attributed to "the economic recovery which boosted global travel."
Air France KLM Group reported a heavy net loss of €1.56 billion ($1.93 billion) for its fiscal year ended March 31, nearly double its €814 million deficit in the prior year, but management reiterated that it believes a breakeven operating result is possible in the current financial year excluding the impact of pre-2009 fuel hedges and subject to costs related to the closure of European airspace owing to volcanic ash.
