American Airlines flew 10.15 billion RPMs in April, a 1.3% year-over-year decrease, while capacity fell 2.1% to 12.38 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 0.7 point to 82%. American Eagle Airlines operated 700.32 million RPMs, up 8.7%, against an 8.8% lift in capacity to 966.13 million ASMs. Load factor dipped 0.1 point to 72.5%.
Delta Air Lines and US Airways said they intend to challenge in the US Court of Appeals the decision by the Dept. of Transportation that they must sell slots at New York LaGuardia and Washington National as a condition of having their slot swap transaction approved ( ATWOnline, May 5).
Copa Holdings, parent of Copa Airlines and Aero Republica, reported first-quarter net income of $36.7 million, down 48.7% from a $71.6 million profit in the year-ago period, on an 8.6% lift in revenue to $335.2 million. It said its net income was affected negatively by a $19.8 million charge related to the devaluation of the Venezuelan currency and a $400,000 noncash charge associated with mark-to-market fuel-hedge contracts. Operating income was $70.8 million, up 2.8% from $68.9 million last year.
RwandAir placed an order for two 737-800s, the airline and Boeing announced yesterday. The Kigali-based carrier said it is "renewing and expanding its fleet to broaden its network." It currently operates only regional jets. The 737-800s "will enable us to eventually expand to regional hubs across Africa and the Middle East," Chairman John Mirenge said. "They will become the mainstay of our fleet."
Spirit Airlines President and CEO Ben Baldanza came to Washington yesterday and defended his airline's controversial plan to impose a $45 fee for carryon luggage that goes into overhead bins, telling the International Aviation Club that passenger response to the fee has been positive.
Air Canada reported a first-quarter net loss of C$85 million ($82.7 million), narrowed from a C$400 million deficit in the year-ago period, and said the improvement was helped by foreign exchange gains and rebounding passenger and cargo traffic.
The European Parliament approved several amendments to the European Commission's draft directive on aviation security charges and decided that measures that are not listed as standard EU aviation security techniques, such as body-scanning machines, should be paid for by member states rather than airlines or passengers.
The Feb. 25, 2009, crash of a Turkish Airlines 737-800 on approach to Amsterdam Schiphol was caused by a malfunctioning radio altimeter, a non-stabilized approach, poor reactions from the pilots and insufficient directions from air traffic control, the Dutch Safety Board concluded in its final report released yesterday.
Turkish Technic signed a base maintenance contract with Sky Express to perform one C6 check on a 737-500. Work will be carried out at Turkish Technic's Istanbul facilities this month. AJ Walter Aviation announced a partnership with EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering to support Air Arabia's new Egyptian fleet of A320s. AJW will provide spares leasing and power-by-the-hr. support.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air, Polar Air Cargo and Titan Aviation Leasing, continued its strong economic performance in the 2010 first quarter with net income of $33.8 million, up 44.5% from a $23.4 million profit in the year-ago period.
Lufthansa offered more color on its first-quarter loss, with CFO Stephan Gemkow cautioning yesterday that "a recovery in demand is not enough to secure a good result." LH reported Tuesday that it suffered a first-quarter net loss of €298 million ($393.9 million), widened from a €267 million deficit in the year-ago quarter, even though it is seeing "positive demand trends in the cargo and passenger businesses" ( ATWOnline, May 5).
China's government has decided to exempt Chinese carriers from its 3.21% international routes operation tax in an effort to support domestic carriers' expansion. The new policy is retroactive to Jan. 1 with Beijing planning to return taxes paid by Chinese airlines during the first four months. Air China stands to benefit the most because it operates the highest number of international flights among the nation's carriers. It will save about CNY549 million ($80.5 million) in operating expenses based on its 2009 financial report.
BmiCEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told ATWOnline that the carrier's acquisition last year by Lufthansa Group gives it "reason to survive" but cautioned that a strong restructuring process is necessary to turn it around.
Abu Dhabi Airports Co. appointed James Bennett CEO. Bennett will retire as president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, operator of Washington National and Dulles airports, on May 8 after holding the position for 14 years.
reported 2009 net income of €35 million ($46.6 million), down 10.3% from a €39 million profit in 2008, on a 2.9% drop in revenue to €224.1 million. Passenger throughput dipped 4.8% year-over-year to 12.23 million. "We have managed to hold our course in 2009, generating a satisfying profit in a difficult year,” CEO Michael Eggenschwiler said. "Traffic figures already recovered in November and December 2009. The first quarter of 2010 brought with it 5.8% growth in passenger numbers. And so we are looking ahead with cautious optimism."
rose 7.6% in March compared to March 2009 to 279.8 million arriving and departing passengers, according to Airport Council International's PaxFlash traffic report. Domestic traffic climbed 5.6% to 150.1 million passengers while international traffic enjoyed double-digit growth, up 10.1% to 127.5 million. Airfreight also continued to recover, with total traffic up 25.6% to 6.1 million tonnes. International airfreight leaped 32.4% to 4 million tonnes and domestic climbed 14.6% to 1.8 million tonnes.
