Norwegian will add an eighth 737 to it Stockholm Arlanda base and launch service to London Gatwick (six-times-weekly from April 29), Edinburgh (thrice-weekly from May 6) and Munich (thrice-weekly from May 7).
Comair Ltd., which operates the South African regional franchise of British Airways and LCC kulula.com, reported a ZAR32.6 million ($4.2 million) profit in the fiscal semester ended Dec. 31, up 2.7% from ZAR31.8 million earned in the year-ago period, and said it has placed an order for eight 737-800s.
Air Berlin yesterday confirmed the purchase of a 25.9% stake in Niki for €21 million ($28.7 million), giving it 49.9% ownership in the Austrian LCC ( ATWOnline, Feb. 17). It also will grant a €40.5 million loan repayable in three years with either cash or the remaining 50.1% of Niki.
AirBaltic took over facilities and equipment at Riga International formerly belonging to Oxford Aviation Academy and is establishing airBaltic Training, which President and CEO Bertolt Flick said "is crucial to meet the growing needs of airBaltic and to generate additional revenue by providing flight crew training services to other airlines." The airline operates 10 737-500s, eight 737-300s, two 757-200s and 11 F50s and plans to open at least nine new routes from Riga in 2010 ( ATW's Airports Today, February 2
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines joined United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines in applying to serve Tokyo Haneda. The US Dept. of Transportation will distribute four slot pairs ( ATWOnline, Feb. 17). AA applied for the right to operate daily 777 flights to HND from both New York JFK and Los Angeles beginning Oct. 1 and DL proposed daily flights from Seattle (A330-300s), Detroit, Honolulu and LAX (all 747-400s) beginning Oct. 31.
Qatar Airways confirmed the launch of flights from Doha to Copenhagen (four-times-weekly on March 30), Ankara (four-times-weekly on April 5) and Tokyo Narita (daily via Osaka Kansai on April 26). Incheon, now served via KIX, will become a daily nonstop on March 28. In addition, Doha-Barcelona flights begin June 7. Blue Air will launch thrice-weekly Warsaw-Larnaca March 28. Ariana Afghan Airlines launched service from Kabul to Frankfurt and Al Ain and from Kandahar to Ankara.
Air Jamaica will reduce its fleet to six aircraft (one A319, four A320s and one A321) from nine and suspend Montego Bay-Orlando International and St. George's-New York JFK service on March 9 and flights from MBJ and Kingston to Chicago O'Hare, Curacao, Havana and Nassau on April 12. President and CEO Bruce Nobles said the cutbacks are "necessary as we seek to meet our financial obligations." JM then will operate 161 weekly flights, including service from Jamaica to Baltimore, Philadelphia, Toronto, Fort Lauderdale and JFK.
Niki is expecting to announce a capital increase Thursday in order to strengthen its position against primary competitor Austrian Airlines, and Air Berlin said yesterday that it is "in advanced negotiations" regarding an increase of its 24% stake in the Austrian LCC. Local media reports suggested that new capital could come from either AB or a new investor and that AB is considering raising its stake to as much as 49%. Niki CEO Otmar Lenz said he could not comment when contacted by ATWOnline.
Midex Airlines, an Al Ain-based cargo carrier, said it plans to take delivery of two 747-200Fs on March 30 and four 747-400Fs later this year. It currently operates six A300-200Fs and three 747-200Fs, according to its website. It also announced the appointment of George Ibrahim as COO.
IATA reported that the number of premium passengers on international flights grew 1.7% year-over-year in December 2009, the first year-over-year rise in premium travel since May 2008.
Royal Jordanian posted a JOD28.6 million ($40.1 million) profit last year, reversed from a JOD24.7 million deficit in 2008, as a drop in fuel costs and "capacity management" helped the carrier weather the global recession and its impact on demand. RJ said the result "reflect[s] the airline's ability to make the best use of available resources, in spite of their limitations, and to continue its fleet modernization program and automate and facilitate travel procedures."
American Airlines will resume service to Port-au-Prince on Feb. 19. A flight from Miami that morning will be the first commercial service to the country since the Jan. 12 earthquake, AA said. It will offer twice-daily MIA flights as well as a daily Fort Lauderdale frequency and a four-times-weekly service from New York JFK. American Eagle will launch daily ATR 72 flights from PAP to San Juan, Santo Domingo and Santiago, Dominican Republic, on March 12. Southwest Airlines will launch five-times-daily Boston-Philadelphia service on June 27.
Lufthansa Systems announced the release of its Integrated Commercial Platform, which it said combines and integrates products from the NetLine and ProfitLine suites. LHS said the ICP is "completely modular."
United Airlines applied to the US Dept. of Transportation for the right to fly between San Francisco and Tokyo Haneda with a 777-200 and Continental Airlines applied for the right to operate a Newark-HND 777 service and a Guam-HND 757-400 service. Hawaiian Airlines applied for Honolulu-HND authority. Four pairs of slots at HND are available to US carriers under the new bilateral air services agreement with Japan.
News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus has formalized a change in the way it draws up airline contracts, replacing the Participating Carrier Agreement with a Global Distribution Agreement, covering core GDS services, and an Optional Services Agreement.
Lufthansa Cargo will cut more than 400 jobs and has extended reduced work hours for ground staff imposed in March 2009 through Feb. 28, 2011. "We suffered steep losses in revenue and tonnage last year, the worst in the history of Lufthansa Cargo," a spokesperson told Bloomberg News.
Rossiya transported 2.9 million passengers in 2009, down 15.3% from the prior year, owing largely to the spinoff of its Moscow branch and its concentration on operations in St. Petersburg. It flew 6.09 billion RPKs last year. Rossiya is scheduled to be merged into Aeroflot, along with five other smaller airlines, this year ( ATWOnline, Feb. 4). United Airlines said January consolidated passenger RASM increased an estimated 9.5%-11.5% year-over-year.
British Airways announced that in conjunction with Washington-based Solena Group it will establish a "sustainable jet-fuel plant" to convert "waste biomass" to "low-carbon fuel to power part of its fleet from 2014." It said the plant would be a first in Europe. It did not set a date for when the plant will be operational. "The new fuel will be derived from waste biomass and manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility that can convert a variety of waste materials, destined for landfill, into aviation fuel," it said.
Aircell named Centennial Communications CEO Michael Small president and CEO. Former Chairman Ron LeMay took over those roles last July and now will return to his previous position.
Jazeera Airways announced the purchase of Sahaab Aircraft Leasing for KWD25.6 million ($88.3 million), a transaction the carrier said will offer "a platform to pursue strategic vertical integration initiatives lined up for 2010 and 2011 that include an airline acquisition and access to global leasing markets." Sahaab currently owns nine A320s that Jazeera operates under a sale-and-leaseback deal and has firm orders with Airbus that will see its owned A320 fleet increase to at least 38 units by 2016.
Air Arabia posted a AED452.2 million ($123.1 million) profit in 2009, down 11.3% from the AED509.7 million reported the prior year, as it continued to grow despite what it called "an enormously challenging period." Revenue slipped 4.5% to AED1.97 billion and "cost of sales" was cut 3.5% to AED1.61 billion, the LCC said. Operating profit was down 14.2% to AED249.1 million from the AED290.2 million reported in 2008.
Amadeus has formalized a change in the way it draws up airline contracts, replacing the Participating Carrier Agreement with a Global Distribution Agreement, covering core GDS services, and an Optional Services Agreement.
