Reductions in fuel burn and thus emissions of up to 2% can be realized on transatlantic flights without any major technological investment through simple improvements in cooperation among ATC, airports and airlines, according to an analysis presented at ATC Global in Amsterdam March 9. Initial data from the ongoing study, dubbed "Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions" (AIRE), were released by SEASR and FAA. SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) is the project aimed at completely overhauling European airspace.
British Airways cabin crew represented by Unite announced Friday that members will strike for seven days this month, March 20-22 and March 27-30, and vowed that further industrial action could take place after April 14 "if the dispute has not been resolved."
Gol reported net income of BRL890.8 million ($504.2 million) for 2009, reversed from a BRL1.2 billion deficit in 2008, attributing its profitability to "synergies" created by the merger of Gol's and Varig's operations at the end of 2008 and its transformation into an efficient 737NG operator organized around a short-haul South American network that it believes appeals to Brazil's growing middle class.
American Airlines faces growing problems on two fronts as US FAA announced Friday it is seeking to collect civil penalties totaling $787,500 from the carrier for maintenance violations and its ground workers became the second labor group to ask the National Mediation Board for a release from talks that could lead to a work action.
Oman Air realizes that it is better to remain a "unique boutique airline, rather than to compete against Emirates and company," CEO Peter Hill told ATWOnline at ITB Berlin. "What we are looking at is to develop Oman and to serve the country well for business and tourism," he said. The carrier cannot match the big hubs in the region and will focus instead on point-to-point traffic.
Air China announced plans to raise more than $953 million through a share issue. It will issue up to 585 million new A shares to "10 specific investors" at CNY9.58 ($1.40) per share and 157 million new H shares to a subsidiary of parent company China National Aviation Holding priced at HK$6.62 per share ($0.85). The state-owned parent will subscribe directly to 157 million of the A shares for CNY1.5 billion. CA said the net proceeds from the A share issue will be CNY5.6 billion and will go toward working capital expenditure and its acquisition of a stake in Air China Cargo
ARC reported that ticket sales through participating travel agencies totaled $6.22 billion in February, up a healthy 16.8% over February 2009 and a 4.5% rise over January 2010, "accelerating seasonal expectations." Credit card sales, representing the bulk of agency sales, soared 19% year-over-year to $5.56 billion. Total fares excluding taxes and fees grew 17.5% to $5.22 billion. Domestic fares climbed 15.8% to $2.73 billion on a 12.3% rise in transactions, while international fares were up 19.5% to $2.49 billion on a 9.4% gain in transactions.
SAS Group announced formal agreements with eight unions representing flight and cabin crew that will save the company around SEK500 million ($70.1 million) per year and that satisfy "one of the conditions for participation by its major shareholders in the rights issue." The airline and the unions signed a letter of intent in February and the governments of Denmark, Norway and Sweden were waiting on a final deal before committing to a SEK5 billion capital increase
Thai Airways unveiled a fleet plan designed to accommodate "increased competition over the next five years as well as open skies in Asia and various regions worldwide" and growing customer expectations. Through 2014 it plans to phase out six 747-400s, 10 A300-600s, four A340-500s, three 737-400s and two ATR 72s. It will take delivery of three A330-300s and six A380-800s during the same timeframe and said it plans to acquire an additional seven 300-seat planes for use on regional routes and eight 350-seat aircraft for intercontinental operations to Los Angeles and Scandinavia.
Aer Lingus applied to the US Port Director at Shannon to commence using the Customs and Border Protection facility for flights to New York JFK from early May. EI said it might extend the service to other US cities following the initial trial phase. It currently flies to JFK and Boston from SNN. British Airways' all-premium A318 flight from London City to JFK uses SNN's US customs and immigration pre-clearance facility.
Aeronautical Repair Station Assn. warned that a provision in both the US House and Senate FAA reauthorization bills "will prevent Canadian [Approved Maintenance Organizations] from performing maintenance" on aircraft operated by US airlines.
US Airways will launch service from Charlotte to Ottawa (daily from May 31 aboard an Air Wisconsin CRJ200), Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta (each daily from June 5 aboard an A319), and from Philadelphia to Halifax (thrice-daily from June 1 aboard an Air Wisconsin CRJ200). British Airways will resume six-times-weekly London City-Barcelona service at the end of March, becoming daily in May. New flights from LCY to Majorca and Ibiza will begin in May. Lufthansa will launch six-times-weekly Dusseldorf-Edinburg service on April 26.
Air France KLM said that poor weather and last month's four-day air traffic controllers strike had an estimated €22 million ($30 million) impact on revenue. The company flew 13.98 billion RPKs in February, down 0.6% year-over-year, against a 5% drop in capacity to 17.99 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 3.5 points to 77.7%. British Airways flew 7.79 billion RPKs in February, a 1.1% increase year-over-year. Capacity was cut 1.9% to 10.51 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.2 points to 74.2%.
IATA slashed its projected 2010 loss for the global airline industry by half, stating in a new forecast issued yesterday that a stronger-than-expected recovery in demand, particularly in Asia and Latin America, will result in a full-year loss of $2.8 billion instead of the $5.6 billion predicted in December.
Lufthansa yesterday released details of a year that ended with its first net loss in six years, a €112 million ($152.5 million) deficit that marked a reversal from the €542 million profit posted in 2008, but with an operating profit that reflected "broadly poised and ideally equipped" business segments, according to Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber. Group revenue slipped 10.3% to €22.28 billion, a drop fueled by an 11.8% decline in traffic revenue to €17.6 billion. Operating result plunged 89.8% to €130 million from €1.28 billion in 2008, but remained positive.
Korean Airlines and Asiana Airlines will be subject to fines of KRW10.4 billion ($9.2 million) and KRW640 million respectively for engaging in anticompetitive practices to hurt smaller Korean carriers, South Korea's Fair Trade Commission announced yesterday. The announcement came just days after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission charged KE with air cargo price fixing.
Air France KLM intends to maintain its strong position in Africa and a strategy of continuous growth despite the economic downturn and increased competition, Senior VP-Africa & Middle East Etienne Rachou told ATWOnline. "In terms of the number of destinations, frequencies and product, we are the number one to Africa. We will do everything we can to keep our leadership position," he said yesterday in Brussels.
Emirates President Tim Clark told ATWOnline yesterday in Berlin that the airline's A380s have been a success with passengers and on the balance sheet but that "there are still problems with the reliability of the aircraft. And when we fix snags, we find new ones. I am trying to be kind to Airbus, but they have to solve the problems." The operational reliability of EK's seven in-service A380s is 90%-95%, which he said is not good enough, although he added that the manufacturer "gives us good support." EK plans to take seven more A380s and six 777-300ERs this year.
Qatar Airways will launch its first flights to South America when it begins flying to Sao Paulo Guarulhos and Buenos Aires from Doha later this year. Frequency and dates for the 777 services were not announced. QR already has announced plans to start serving Copenhagen (March 30), Ankara (April 5), Tokyo Narita (April 26) and Barcelona (June 7). Its summer schedule from March 28 will feature capacity increases to 15 additional destinations, including third daily flights to both Colombo and Kathmandu.
China Eastern Airlines has taken a 51% stake in Shanghai Pudong-based cargo carrier Great Wall Airlines. The stake, formerly held by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., reportedly was transferred at the behest of the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which is the controlling shareholder of both CEA and CASTC. CEA said it will integrate Great Wall with its China Cargo Airlines subsidiary as well as with Shanghai Airlines Cargo.
European Commission said "considerable progress has been made in recent months" on a second-stage open skies agreement with the US and that the parties have reached "tentative agreement on a wide range of items." It said it was "confident" that agreement on "a number of important issues" still outstanding can be reached this year. If no second-stage accord is finalized by December, both the EU and US have the right to suspend certain portions of the initial deal that entered effect in March 2008.
Boeing completed initial airworthiness testing on the 747-8 freighter, enabling test engineers to be onboard during future flights and allowing two additional 747-8Fs to begin test flights. "The airplane is performing as expected in the initial stages of flight test," it said. "Since the first flight in early February, the program has conducted 13 flights, achieving several key accomplishments. Pilots have taken the airplane to an altitude of 30,000 ft. (9,144 m.) and a speed of Mach 0.65. The program has completed approximately 33 hr. of flying.
Tibet Air, a startup based at Lhasa Gonggar, yesterday was approved for launch by CAAC. The carrier is expected to base its fleet around the A319 or 737-700 and has registered capital of CNY280 million ($41 million), according to the regulator. Tibet Investment Co. holds 51%, Tibet Sanli Investment Co. 39% and Tibet Ruiyi Investment Co. 10%. China Eastern Airlines had planned to participate but withdrew after facing its own operating loss.
Russian government set aside RUB2.5 billion ($84.3 million) to subsidize 11 airlines to carry passengers to/from the country's far east from April 1 to Oct. 31, an official told ITAR-TASS. Aeroflot, Transaero Airlines and S7 Airlines are among the group.
