North American Airlines is planning to add an all-business-class, 100-seat 767-200 for charter operations. The carrier signed an LOI with MLW Air, which serves as the charter marketing agent for Pace Airlines. The cabin will feature 2-2-2 seating with lie-flat seats with 60-in. pitch.
Thai Airways reported a THB4.03 billion ($119.5 million) loss in the third quarter, reversed from a THB426.2 million profit in the year-ago period that was the product of a large foreign exchange gain. Revenue dropped 27.7% year-over-year to THB39.15 billion while expenses including finance costs and excluding foreign exchange losses fell 31.2% to THB40.27 billion owing largely to a 50.1% fall in average fuel price and capacity cuts. TG President Piyasvasti Amranand said that as a result of the downturn, the airline "adjusted its capacity to better reflect demand. .
Environment ministers from 27 EU member states agreed on a proposal to be submitted to the UN climate summit in Copenhagen next month calling for emissions from aviation to be cut by 10% by 2020 from 2005 levels. The EU proposal also calls for all parties to work through ICAO to enable an agreement in 2010 and approved by 2011. It supports the use of global market-based instruments to reduce emissions from these sectors and said such instruments should be developed within ICAO.
Boeing and China are moving toward a cooperative agreement for research and development for developing biofuels. The US aerospace manufacturer is talking with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese universities about a partnership that would involve the commercialization of jatropha. China has been active in the biofuel area for some time, with jatropha being planted since 2007. Wild and cultivated, the plant is to be found in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
KLM will become the first airline to conduct a biofuel demonstration on a passenger-carrying flight later this month. The flight is set to take place on Nov. 23 and will operate with a 747-400 with one engine running on a mixture of 50% camelina-based fuel and 50% jet fuel. It will carry "a select group of passengers," according to the carrier.
Civil Air Navigation Services Organization, while welcoming the ICAO High Level Meeting agreement on aviation emissions against a backdrop of difficult economic and political circumstances, expressed disappointment that the meeting did not recommend any actions for member states to undertake themselves to assist the aviation industry in meeting its environmental goals.
Japan joined FAA, Airservices Australia and Airways New Zealand as a partner in the ASPIRE (Asia and South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions) program. ASPIRE flights use a range of optimized operational procedures and ATC routings, including tailored arrivals, to save time and fuel and were launched last year by Air New Zealand.
Aviation sector could face a shortfall of 77 million tonnes of CO2 when it enters the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, according to a report from RDC Aviation and Point Carbon. At a carbon spot price of €13.25 per tonne (as of Nov. 11), that amounts to a shortfall of €1.02 billion ($1.53 billion).
Air Canada last week began offering a Preferred Seat option to economy passengers, allowing them to reserve "specific exit row and bulkhead seats with extra seat pitch" on all flights. Prices start at C$14 ($13.36) per segment. Aeroflot announced a similar service last week called "Comfort+," which offers seats with increased pitch. Seats are available at airport check-in for RUB700 ($24.30).
Mexicana is pursuing plans to renew its long-haul fleet and is continuing talks with both Airbus and Boeing for six A350s or 787s, Grupo Mexicana CEO Manuel Bora told ATWOnline last week in Mexico City, although he does not expect the carrier to turn a profit this year.
Jazz Air parent Jazz Air Income Fund reported third-quarter net income of C$25.3 million ($24.1 million), down 20.2% from C$31.7 million in the year-ago period, on a 13.2% drop in revenue to C$379.7 million. The Canadian regional said expenses lowered 12% to C$344.9 million.
Copa Airlines and AeroRepublica parent Copa Holdings reported third-quarter net income of $43.1 million, up 87.4% from a $23 million profit in the year-ago quarter, an increase it attributed to "a solid and resilient business model based on developing the most comprehensive and convenient network for intra-Latin America travel and a very competitive cost structure." It recorded a $5.1 million noncash fuel hedge gain and a $14.6 million charge related to the retirement of four MD-80s as AeroRepublica transitions to an all E-190 fleet.
Air France last week announced a simplification to its European medium-haul product that from April 1 will feature just two classes of service, Premium business class and Voyageur economy. Stressing that its service "will not be that of a low-cost carrier," AF is cutting both fares and costs in the back of the aircraft. Economy passengers will pay to check a second bag and will have seat choice at check-in. For €10 ($14.95), they can reserve a booking and fare for "several days" before confirming, AF said.
Airbus said EASA has certified all A330 models for ETOPS "beyond 180 min.," which will be available as a customer-selectable option that will extend diversion distance up to 1,700 nm. (240 min. of flying at one-engine speed under "standard conditions").
ILFC reported a third-quarter profit of $245.8 million, up 9.4% year-over-year, on a 3.7% lift in revenue to $1.35 billion. Nine-month profit climbed 16.6% to $685.7 million. As of Sept. 30 the lessor owned 991 aircraft, with 11 more classified as finance and sales-type leases, while providing fleet management services on another 99. It has 125 new aircraft scheduled for delivery through 2019 including five in the 2009 fourth quarter.
BAA announced Friday the injection of £500 million ($828.4 million) into London Heathrow and Stansted. Money will comprise £200 million of new equity from shareholders and £300 million from BAA Airports Ltd. and FGP Topco Ltd., the holding company owned by the airport operator's three controlling shareholders. "Funding will be used to pay down debt, strengthen the group's medium-term financial ratios and facilitate its access to the capital markets," BAA said.
In an announcement that highlighted the reasons it agreed to merge with British Airways, Iberia Friday reported a €16.4 million ($24.5 million) third-quarter loss that represented a reversal from the €304 million profit earned in the year-ago period.
Troubled Japan Airlines Friday reported a net loss of ¥32.1 billion ($357 million) for its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, reversed from a ¥40.1 billion profit in the year-ago period, and announced it has applied for "certified alternative dispute resolution," an out-of-court mediation process that enables strapped Japanese companies to negotiate debt settlements with creditors.
Chinese government changed its policy regarding fuel surcharges and from Saturday is allowing individual airlines to choose the timing and amount of those surcharges instead of basing them on directives from authorities in Beijing. The government did stipulate that carriers should link surcharges on domestic routes with the domestic fuel price, meaning they can impose surcharges only when domestic fuel prices rise above CNY4,410 ($645) per ton. They can levy fuel surcharges at will on international routes.
Boeing late last week moved the first 747-8 freighter out of its Everett assembly hall for painting, with flight testing set to start in the 2010 first quarter. First aircraft is destined for launch customer Cargoloux, one of nine airlines that have ordered a combined 78 747-8Fs. Boeing has sold 105 747-8s overall, including passenger and VIP variants. The -8F at 76.3 m. is 5.6 m. longer than the 747-400 freighter. The stretch provides 16% more revenue cargo volume, translating to four additional main-deck pallets and three more lower-hold pallets.
Lufthansa Group airlines flew 15.84 billion RPKs in October, a 17.3% increase from the year-ago month owing to the addition of Austrian Airlines and bmi. Capacity was up 14.9% to 19.68 billion ASKs and load factor rose 1.7 points to 80.5%. LH Passenger Airlines flew 11.07 billion RPKs, up 0.7%, against a 1.9% cut in capacity to 13.8 billion ASKs. Load factor climbed 2.1 points to 80.2%. Iberia flew 4.17 billion RPKs in October, down 5.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 6.6% to 5.17 billion ASKs and load factor rose 1.3 points to 80.6%.
Travelport announced a new long-term, full-content GDS agreement with British Airways that will make all the carrier's fares and inventory available on both Galileo and Worldspan until April 2013. The companies said they will "work together in the coming months" to provide travel agents the ability to offer a la carte extras through the GDS.
Vietnam Airlines has signed an MOU for four A380s, VN and EADS officials told reporters in Hanoi. EADS VP Marwan Lahoud said VN is the first new A380 customer since 2006 and that the order was worth $800 million-$1.2 billion, according to Agence France Presse. VN CEO Pham Ngoc Minh told Bloomberg News that the agreement marked the start of negotiations. An Airbus spokesperson contacted by ATWOnline could not confirm the reports. VN has ordered both the 787 and A350.
British Airways and Iberia yesterday agreed to a "binding" MOU to merge under a single holding company that will be 55% controlled by BA shareholders and led by BA CEO Willie Walsh, paving the way for establishment of a third major European airline company by the end of 2010 that would have annual revenue of about €15 billion ($22.5 billion), a fleet of 419 aircraft and a route network comprising 205 destinations.
