Etihad Airways said passenger numbers for the first quarter increased 11% year-over-year with a 5% rise in premium traffic. Load factor was 75%, up 2 points. RPKs climbed 25.4% to an undisclosed figure, growth it attributed to the "continued expansion" of its route network, addition of 10 aircraft to its fleet and "aggressive sales and marketing" of its services. ASKs lifted 22%. "Our 2010 performance is already showing positive results, with all major indicators showing strong improvements on January and February of last year," CEO James Hogan said.
ILFC announced yesterday it will sell a portfolio of 53 aircraft with a book value of $2.3 billion to Macquarie Aerospace for $1.99 billion. Completion of the sale is slated to occur over the remainder of the year, subject to closing conditions. The sale will raise the average age of ILFC's fleet of approximately 1,000 jet aircraft from 7.4 years to 7.6 years, it said. According to Standard & Poor's, "This is the first sale of a large aircraft portfolio since the global financial and economic crisis began in late 2008.
Blue1 is increasing the frequency of its Helsinki-London Heathrow service from daily to twice-daily from April 26. Turkish Airlines will launch thrice-weekly Istanbul-Sochi service from May 25.
Finnair signed a five-year deal with Champ Cargosystems to transition to automated cargo operations. It will implement the Cargospot Airline, Handling and Revenue modules to interface with global messaging solution GCCS as well as install Web booking, distribution and tracking solution CargoWEB as an ASP service.
Cathay Pacific Airways captain and first officer are being lauded after successfully overcoming apparent erratic power surges in the A330 they were operating and landing at an unusually high speed at Hong Kong International Tuesday afternoon. Problems started for the crew of CX Flight 780 en route to HKG from Surabaya when the aircraft, with 309 passengers and 14 crew aboard, was on descent about 20 min. from Hong Kong. Its two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines began to behave erratically with significant variations in thrust. When the A330 touched down at 239 kt.--109 kt.
US National Mediation Board told American Airlines to resume negotiations with its ground workers and flight attendants while NMB considers requests from the unions representing the labor groups to be released from federally mediated talks to begin 30-day countdowns toward possible strikes
US Sens. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) joined a growing chorus of lawmakers taking on Spirit Airlines, introducing legislation to prohibit air carriers operating in the US from charging fees for carryon baggage.
Bombardier Aerospace announced that Pluna Lineas Aereas Uruguayas signed a follow-on firm order for three CRJ900 NextGen regional jets and has taken options on an additional six. The Montevideo-based airline already operates seven of the type from an order announced in July 2007. Based on the list price for the aircraft, Bombardier valued the order at approximately $120 million, rising to $370 million should all six options be exercised.
An AeroUnion A300B4-200 freighter crashed on approach to Monterrey at around 11 p.m. local time Tuesday, hitting a roadway leading to the airport and striking a car, killing all five crew and a motorist on the ground. Flight 302 operated by the Mexico City-based cargo carrier was en route to Los Angeles via MTY after originating at MEX. According to the Aviation Safety Network, it had been cleared to land but came down about 2 km. short of the runway threshold and "burst into flames."
Amadeus IT Holding launched its IPO on the Spanish stock exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia yesterday following approval and registration of its prospectus by the Spanish Financial Securities Markets Regulator. It set an indicative per-share price range of between €9.20 ($12.50) and €12.20, giving it an enterprise value (equity plus debt) of between €7.3 billion and €8.4 billion.
Korean Air reported 2010 first-quarter net income before taxes of KRW226.9 billion ($202.3 million), its fourth consecutive quarterly profit and a major reversal from a deficit of KRW673.9 billion in the year-ago period, citing "surging growth" in its international passenger business and "rising demand" for premium services for the strong result.
Bmibaby appointed Julian Carr MD succeeding Crawford Rix. Carr joined the airline in May 2008 as commercial director, responsible for revenue management, network planning, marketing, PR, customer relations and e-commerce.
Air France KLM Group could gain between €230 million ($313 million) and €280 million in cash from the planned IPO of Amadeus, Les Echos reported. AF KLM declined to comment. Amadeus IT Holding last month announced it would float at least 25% of its share capital on the Spanish stock exchange in the first half of this year
American Airlines 767-300 carrying 145 passengers and crew made an emergency landing yesterday morning at Reykjavik Keflavik after five flight attendants "became aware of some fumes in the cabin," a spokesperson for AA told
Dutch court fined Milan resident Thomas Salme €2,000 ($2,700) for piloting commercial passenger jets in European countries "for more than a decade" without a license, the Associated Press reported. Salme was apprehended in the cockpit of a Corendon Airlines 737 shortly before it was to depart from Amsterdam Schiphol for Ankara carrying 101 passengers.
Pegasus Airlines will operate a seasonal weekly service between Antalya and Birmingham May 2-Oct. 17. Royal Air Maroc will commence twice-weekly Agadir-Nantes flights Oct. 30 aboard a 737-800 in two-class configuration. Jazeera Airways will launch thrice-weekly Kuwait-Lahore service May 12.
Baltia Air Lines signed a lease agreement for office space at St. Petersburg Pulkovo. "The signing of the lease agreement in addition to our recently signed fuel and cargo agreements in St. Petersburg were made in preparation for the start of scheduled service," the New York-based startup said. It commenced the FAA Air Carrier Certification process last February ( ATWOnline, Feb. 10, 2009).
MTU Aero Engines completed the first high-speed low-pressure turbine for the PW1524G slated to power CSeries aircraft. Pratt & Whitney VP-Next Generation Product Family Bob Saia said the component's completion "ensures the test program for the PW1524G engine continues on schedule." The turbine will be dispatched to Pratt, which plans to put the first PW1524G test engine through its paces later this year on a test stand at its West Palm Beach facility.
Abu Dhabi Airports Co. appointed James Bennett CEO. Bennett will retire as president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on May 8 after holding the position for 14 years.
Boeing announced yesterday that TUI Travel will be the launch customer for the manufacturer's 787 GoldCare lifecycle support program. It said it reached agreement with the leisure operator to support its fleet of 13 787s. TUI, which last year lowered its firm order for Dreamliners from 23, is expected to take delivery of its first 787 in early 2012. The 13 787s will be operated by Thomson Airways, Tuifly Nordic, Jetairfly and Arkefly. The GoldCare contract is for a period of 12 years from the delivery date of each aircraft.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it began court proceedings against Malaysia Airlines and its wholly owned cargo subsidiary, alleging they engaged in "price fixing of airfreight." MAS is the 13th carrier to be targeted by ACCC
Merpati Nusantara Airlines 737-300 crashed yesterday while attempting to land at Rendani in Manokwari in the remote Indonesian province of West Papua. The accident occurred at approximately 9:36 a.m. local time, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The runway was described as being wet owing to drizzle. There were no fatalities but the number of injured was put at between 20 and 78 by various press reports. The flight, carrying 109 passengers and crew, originated in Sorong, also in West Papua.
Virgin Blue Group canceled two 777-300ERs on firm order for its V Australia subsidiary scheduled for delivery next year, converting the order to two options for 2012 delivery. The company said the move is designed to allow new CEO John Borghetti an opportunity to review fleet strategy. One option under consideration is to take a few "early 787s that have become available," sources tell ATWOnline. Last month, Virgin Blue ordered up to 100 737s for its domestic, New Zealand and regional international flights.
Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel yesterday told reporters on the sidelines of a New Delhi business conference that "the worst is over" for struggling Air India, which has seen average monthly losses of INR4 billion ($90 million) begin to come down by INR1 billion a month.
China Southern Airlines reported a 2009 net profit of CNY358 million ($52.5 million), reversed from a net loss of CNY4.83 billion in 2008. The Guangzhou-based carrier said its improved performance was driven by a "domestic market rebound stimulated by economic recovery in the second half of 2009." Industry analysts pointed out that a CNY3 billion "subsidy" from Beijing last year also helped CZ return to the black.
