Estonian government is discussing reacquiring a majority share in Estonian Air by purchasing part of SAS Group's stake, officials told The Baltic Times. OV currently is held by SAS (49%), Estonia (34%) and Cresco investment bank (17%). Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said it will partner with another airline investor on the acquisition. "SAS plans to sell its holding in Estonian Air and has made a corresponding offer to the Estonian state.
US Dept. of Justice, whose objection to the antitrust immunity application from several Star Alliance members was dismissed by the Dept. of Transportation over the summer ( ATW, August 2009), has expressed similar concerns over the transatlantic ATI application from oneworld partners American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian.
Spirit AeroSystems, based in Wichita, announced the immediate commencement of direct international parts sales and distribution. It said it is "responding to [international] customers' expressed desire to deal directly with Spirit and not through an intermediary" and that it now is "fully capable of engaging directly with international customers." It said it plans to establish "regional centers around the world to be closer to [customer] markets" and that the transition from its current distributor will be complete by June 30.
Malaysia Airlines, whose current long-haul fleet comprises 747s, 777s and A330s, yesterday announced plans to purchase 15 A330-300s for delivery in 2011-16, with options for an additional 10.
Air France will launch five-times-weekly Paris Charles de Gaulle-Abu Dhabi service on May 3 aboard a two-class A330. Air Canada will launch daily Toronto-Copenhagen service on June 24 aboard a 767-300ER. Royal Air Maroc will launch twice-weekly Agadir-Lyon service in February aboard an A321. Air New Zealand will operate weekly Sydney-Roarotonga flights in July-October 2010 aboard a 767-300.
Rockwell Collins will provide avionics and pilot controls to Irkut Corp. for use on the new MC-21 narrowbody passenger aircraft set to enter service in 2016. Rockwell will partner with Concern Avionica and Aviapribor on the avionics and pilot controls respectively.
LAN Airlines flew 2.62 billion RPKs in November, up 13.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 8.8% to 3.3 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 3.2 points to 79.5%. Copa Airlines flew 552.9 million RPMs in November, up 14.2% year-over-year, against a 7.8% lift in ASMs to 675.8 million. Load factor rose 4.6 points to 81.8%. SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew a combined 1.37 billion RPMs in November a 9.4% increase year-over-year. Capacity was up 7.8% to 1.78 billion ASMs and load factor climbed 1.1 points to 77%.
Qantas took delivery of its fifth A380 Monday and will take the sixth before the New Year. It plans to operate the aircraft on a Melbourne-Singapore-London Heathrow routing beginning Jan. 22. It has flown the A380 between Sydney and LHR since January. From March 29, QF's six A380s will operate daily SYD-Los Angeles, five-times-weekly SYD-SIN-LHR, thrice-weekly MEL-LAX and twice-weekly MEL-SIN-LHR.
Boeing flew the second 787 yesterday with much less fanfare than last week's first flight. ZA002, powered by the Trent 1000 and already painted in ANA livery, took off from Paine Field in Everett at 9:09 a.m. local time and flew for 2 hr. before landing at Boeing Field. Capt. Randy Neville and Chief Pilot Mike Carriker took the aircraft to 13,000 ft. and an airspeed of 200 kt. ZA002 test flights will focus on systems performance, Boeing said ( ATWOnline, Dec. 16).
Japanese officials said yesterday that the government will not guarantee any loans extended to Japan Airlines ( ATWOnline, Dec. 9). Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said the government had agreed to "consider" backing some ¥100 billion ($1.09 billion) in loans from the Development Bank of Japan, "but it did not say we would actually do it." He added: "This is a matter that should be worked out by private companies.
While Turkish Airlines' network and bottom line continue to grow, CEO Temel Kotil admitted to ATWOnline that more is needed to fulfill his ambition to make the carrier a global player--"I'm not satisfied with our image," he said. Speaking to this website in Istanbul, Kotil said THY still has work to do in establishing and increasing the public's confidence in its brand. "We have to show the people that TK is already offering a top product. So far, the [lack of] awareness of our brand is a big problem." He said he is considering increasing the advertising budget.
SkyWorks Leasing announced a mandate to remarket three 757-200SFs for sale or lease. Two are currently on lease with Varig Logistica and will be available in January and May respectively. Aircraft were converted in 2006 at Flightstar Aircraft Services.
Madrid-based Air Comet, which specialized in flights to Latin America, suspended all operations yesterday and had its AOC revoked by Spanish authorities.
Qantas said it will post a pre-tax profit of A$50-A$150 million ($44.5-$133.5 million) for the fiscal first half ending Dec. 31. The company reported a A$216 million net profit in the year-ago period but suffered a pre-tax loss of A$107 million in the six months ended June 30. "Operating conditions have improved when compared to the second half of 2008-09, with passenger volumes and yield improving," QF said yesterday.
The 3.1% decline in 2009 passenger traffic (RPKs) is the industry's "largest on record," according to ICAO, which is predicting a "moderate" increase of 3.3% next year and "full recovery" of 5.5% in 2011.
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal released a ruling yesterday agreeing with BAA's claim regarding apparent bias in the Competition Commission ruling forcing it to sell London Gatwick and Stansted ( ATWOnline, May 19).
GECAS announced the sale of 15 aircraft valued at some $830 million and currently on lease with various airlines to China Development Bank subsidiary CDB Leasing. CDB President Wang Chong said the transaction "will greatly expand our international presence." It signed a financing deal with Embraer this month ( ATWOnline, Dec. 14).
TAM announced the acquisition of Pantanal Linhas Aereas, a small regional that operates ATR 42s out of Sao Paulo Congonhas. TAM said it paid BRL13 million ($7.3 million) for the shares.
Rwandair plans to buy two single-aisle aircraft from either Airbus or Boeing for delivery in 2011 and will lease two planes in the interim, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications Michael Peter Otieno told Reuters, adding that the carrier plans to acquire "about six aircraft" over the next five years. It bought two CRJ200s from Lufthansa that it plans to add before year end ( ATWOnline, Dec. 8).
The US Dept. of Transportation yesterday announced a final ruling forcing US airlines to deplane passengers after a 3-hr. delay under most circumstances, among other consumer-friendly provisions, which the Air Transport Assn. said would lead to unfavorable "unintended consequences."
IATA welcomed the Copenhagen Accord reached at the UN Climate Change Conference last week as "an important step in the right direction," and said the fact that aviation emissions were not addressed specifically was "a reflection of the proactive measures the industry has taken to set challenging targets for itself, together with an aggressive strategy to achieve them" ( ATWOnline, Dec. 16).
Jet Airways received approval to lease out three 777-300ERs to Royal Brunei Airlines. Jet also announced the launch of a daily Delhi-Doha flight on Jan. 21 aboard a 737-800.
US Air Transport Assn., American Airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines last week initiated a legal challenge in the UK High Court of Justice against aviation's inclusion in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, arguing that it violates the Chicago Convention (ratified in the UK in March 1947), the Kyoto Protocol, the US-EU open skies agreement and is "contrary to the customary international law principle that each state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory." The lawsuit was filed against the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate C
