Lufthansa will launch flights from Munich to Miami (thrice-weekly on March 29 aboard an A330-300), Tashkent (thrice-weekly on March 28 aboard a PrivatAir 737-800) and Teheran (four-times-weekly on March 29 aboard a PrivatAir 737). Iberia will operate new weekly flights from Madrid to Amman and Damascus July 3-Oct. 30 aboard an A319 and will re-launch summer services to Washington Dulles (thrice-weekly from March 29), St. Petersburg (twice-weekly from June 1), Dubrovnik (four-times-weekly from June 20) and Zagreb (twice-weekly from July 3).
Oman Air will install both Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir on its A330 fleet starting next month, with installation scheduled to be complete over the summer. Aircraft have been fitted with the Airbus ALNA V2 system, using Honeywell's SwiftBroadband solution.
Transaero Airlines said it concluded a "stable" 2009 with a 3.6% increase in passenger numbers to 5 million and a 6.7% lift in RPKs to 18.73 billion. FTKs rose 8.6%. It launched 12 domestic routes from Moscow Domodedovo and added seven aircraft: One 777, one 747-300, two 737-800s, two 737-500s and one Tu-214. It decommissioned two 747-200s and now flies 47 aircraft.
Aircell said it has secured $176 million in equity financing from both new and existing investors. It will use the funds for network expansion and operations "during this rapid growth phase of the business." Its Gogo inflight Internet service currently is available on more than 700 aircraft with nine airlines.
SAS Group airlines flew 1.59 billion RPKs in December, a 10.9% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 16.4% to 2.27 billion ASKs and load factor rose 4.3 points to 69.7%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 1.45 billion RPKs, down 11.7%, against a 17.3% cut in capacity to 2.05 billion ASKs that lifted load factor 4.4 points to 70.5%. Finnair said its fourth-quarter scheduled yield fell more than 12% year-over-year and the full-year figure was down 14%. "No rise in prices is perceptible," it said.
Star1 Airlines of Vilnius, which launched scheduled services in July, said revenue in its first six months of operation reached LTL28 million ($11.4 million) and that it carried 36,000 passengers on routes to London Stansted, Milan Malpensa, Dublin and Girona. The carrier said its market share at Vilnius International reached 5%. Load factor was 69%. Star1 operates a single 148-seat 737-700 on scheduled routes. It also flies charters.
JetBlue Airways said it will decide by the end of the current quarter whether it will maintain its corporate headquarters in New York City or move to Orlando, where its training facility is located, the Associated Press reported. Following a meeting with Florida Governor Charlie Crist, JetBlue CEO Dave Barger told reporters that the airline is "in a jump ball at this point" regarding the possible move.
Southwest Airlines yesterday reported its 37th consecutive full-year profit, a $99 million surplus that represented a 44.4% decline from the $178 million earned in 2008, and remained committed to maintaining flat capacity this year despite improving booking trends.
EasyJet said it remains "on track to deliver substantial profit improvement" during its fiscal year ending Sept. 30 as it reported a solid 10.5% year-over-year increase in revenue to £607.5 million ($990.3 million) in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31. Revenue per seat increased 4.2% to £47.50, comprising a 1.9% rise in ticket revenue to £37.60 and a 14% hike in ancillary revenue to £9.90. Operating cost per seat excluding fuel rose 10.3%.
Iberia flew 3.85 billion RPKs in December, a 2.7% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity was cut 6.4% to 4.87 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 3 points to 79%. Air Berlin said December unit revenue fell 6.5% year-over-year to €4.98 cents (7.06 cents). It transported 2.1 million passengers, up 0.8% year-over-year, while load factor rose 0.5 point to 73.1%.
US FAA sent a portable temporary air traffic control tower to Haiti to assist with aircraft operations at heavily damaged Port-au-Prince International. The tower is 44 ft. long, 13 ft. high and 8 ft. wide, weighs about 25,000 lb. and was transported aboard a chartered cargo aircraft. Assembling the tower will take around 48 hr., according to the agency. Controllers providing terminal ATC services have worked outside at a folding table using military radios to handle about 160 flights per day, FAA said.
Gulf Air signed a preliminary lease agreement with Embraer for two E-170ARs scheduled for delivery in early March. Aircraft will be leased for three years, with an option for a further five, and will seat seven in business class and 60 in economy. Gulf said it will initiate a "full analysis and evaluation of all the regional jets on the market including Embraer, Airbus and Bombardier" in order to select the "optimal" aircraft to complement its new regional focus ( ATWOnline, Nov. 24, 2009).
Airbus said the second A330-200F flew for the first time Wednesday. The Trent 700-powered aircraft flew for 3 hr. The 200-hr. flight test program is expected to result in mid-March certification, with first delivery to Etihad Crystal Cargo scheduled for the summer. The first -200F, powered by PW4000s, initially flew in November and currently is undergoing cold-weather testing in Canada ( ATWOnline, Nov. 6, 2009).
Blue Wings' 48% shareholder Alexander Lebedev said he has accepted an offer from CEO Jorn Hellwig to sell off his stake, according to the dpa news agency. Hellwig currently owns 26% of Blue Wings, which suspended operations last week ( ATWOnline, Jan. 14). Lebedev reportedly has invested more than €500 million ($709.2 million) in the German airline.
Continental Airlines reported a 2009 net loss of $282 million, improved 51.9% from a $586 million deficit in the year-ago period, and pointed to a fourth-quarter profit of $85 million as a sign that it is "holding the line on costs and working more efficiently." Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Smisek warned that CO and the US airline industry "likely have a long and slow road to recovery ahead," though he noted, "A long and slow recovery is better than what we had in 2008 and 2009."
Yemenia Yemen Airways firmed its order for 10 A320 family aircraft announced at the Dubai Airshow, Airbus said ( ATWOnline, Nov. 17, 2009). No engine choice was announced.
Los Angeles World Airports security chief Erroll Southers withdrew from consideration as head of the US Transportation Security Administration Wednesday after his nomination drew criticism from Republican lawmakers concerned about the possibility that he might allow TSA to unionize. They also cited false testimony to Congress in the late 1980s regarding improper access of legal records. "It is clear that my nomination has become a lightning rod for those who have chosen to push a political agenda at the risk of the safety and security of the American people," Southers said.
EU and US yesterday jointly declared that "urgent measures" related to aviation security should be "considered" at a high-level meeting planned for Luxemburg in April, though the two sides continue to differ on specifics.
Ryanair will further reduce its capacity at Dublin Airport this summer and focus on "higher-yield, outbound, peak-month, summer sun routes, rather than stimulating year-round inbound tourism with low-access fares." It cited "high and rising" airport charges and the Irish government's €10 ($14.18) "tourist tax" ( ATWOnline, June 18, 2009). The LCC will cut its Dublin-based fleet from 18 aircraft last summer to 15 and trim weekly rotations by some 19% from more than 600 to fewer than 500.
Delta Air Lines private jet service subsidiary Delta AirElite acquired Segrave Aviation, a North Carolina company specializing in wholesale charter aviation services, private aircraft management, aircraft maintenance and fixed-base operations. DL said the transaction was "all cash" but declined to state a figure. It said the acquisition will "double the size of the Delta AirElite fleet."
China Southern Airlines has committed to purchasing 20 A320 aircraft for delivery in 2011-13. The carrier said it would pay less than the $1.54 billion catalog value for the aircraft and that the fleet expansion will increase ATKs by 4.5%. Aircraft are part of the order for 110 A320 family aircraft and 40 A330s that the Chinese government placed with Airbus in November 2007.
United Eagle Airlines will re-launch as a state-owned carrier Friday and will be renamed Chengdu Air. In October, Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, manufacturer of the ARJ21 and C919, purchased a 48% stake in loss-making UAE from Sichuan Airlines for CNY1 billion ($146.3 million) ( ATWOnline, Oct. 19, 2009). Sichuan's stake was reduced to 41% and Sichuan Communication Investment Group holds the remaining 11%. Sichuan Airlines is controlled by the provincial government and China Southern Airlines.
The UK revealed a further set of measures to enhance aviation security, including introduction of a "no-fly" list, suspension of Yemenia Yemen Airways' direct flights "pending enhanced security" and its intention to "promote enhancements to the international aviation security regime, including stronger security arrangements in airports and greater sharing of information" with ICAO, the EU and G8 nations.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. kicked of the US airline industry's full-year reporting season yesterday by announcing a $1.47 billion net loss for 2009, improved 30.7% from a $2.12 billion deficit in 2008, on a 16.2% decline in revenue to $19.92 billion.
