Singapore announced the conclusion of an open skies agreement with Peru and new bilateral air services agreements with Colombia and Ecuador. The deal with Peru includes unlimited hub rights for cargo operations. The Colombian agreement provides for up to eight weekly passenger and cargo flights, increasing to 14 by January 2011, while the Ecuador deal provides for up to 56 weekly passenger flights between and beyond the two countries along with an open skies provision for cargo operations. There currently are no direct scheduled flights between Singapore and South or Central America.
Iberia Group said it will ground three more A320s and postpone delivery of an A340-600 this year, bringing its full-year capacity reduction to 6% from 4.3% previously. IB already had parked five A320s and delayed delivery of an A340-600 from October 2009 to September 2010. It made the announcement as it reported a second-quarter net loss of €72.8 million ($103.8 million) compared to income of €21.2 million in the year-ago period.
Iberia announced the reorganization of its management structure including splitting its airline division into a Commercial and Clients division "focusing on generating income" and a Production Division "charged with enhancing profitability." The former will be led by Maintenance and Engineering Division Manager Manuel Lopez Aguilar and the latter by Production Management Unit head Juan Bujia. The former Airline Division led by Enrique Donaire has been dissolved.
Boeing said yesterday that 787 first flight "is expected by the end of 2009" with first delivery to launch customer ANA pushed back to the 2010 fourth quarter, a schedule that allows for a longer flight test program than previously planned to provide "some cushion. . .to account for unknowns."
SAS Group airlines flew 2.41 billion RPKs in July, down 13.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 17.3% to 2.88 billion ASKs and load factor rose 3.6 points to 83.8%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines reported a 7.6% drop in July yield as it flew 2.22 billion RPKs, a 15.3% decrease. Capacity dropped 19% to 2.63 billion ASKs and load factor was up 3.7 points to 84.5%. Norwegian said July yield rose 4% year-over-year to NOK0.59 (9.75 cents) while unit revenue was up 6% to NOK0.52. The LCC flew 1.28 billion RPKs, up 10%, against a 9% lift in capacity to 1.46 billion ASKs.
Warning that it expects a "continuation of the current market trends," Aer Lingus yesterday reported a €73.9 million ($105.5 million) loss in the first semester of 2009, widened more than threefold from the €21.6 million lost in the year-ago period.
Virgin Blue Holdings blamed the tough operating environment, one-off charges and nonrecurring costs for a A$160 million ($133.2 million) loss in the fiscal year ended June 30, the company's worst-ever result and a reversal from the A$97.7 million surplus reported the prior year.
Virgin America narrowed its second-quarter loss to $15.8 million from the $64.4 million deficit suffered in the year-ago quarter, claiming that its "business model is right on track" and its service and amenities "provide an unrivaled value proposition at a time when consumers are more discerning than ever." Revenue rose 46.9% to $135.9 million against a 4.7% decline in costs to $147.3 million. Operating loss improved 81.6% to $11.4 million from $62.1 million in the second quarter of 2008.
Star Alliance said EgyptAir, South African Airways and TAP Portugal are the first members to use the alliance's newly developed Common IT Mobile Platform. The mobile services are being rolled out in stages and currently include flight schedules, real-time departures and arrivals and lounge information among other features. More interactive services such as frequent-flyer program status, online check-in and seat selection and mobile boarding passes with 2D barcodes will be made available in the coming weeks, Star said.
Thales said it completed "phase four" of Mexico's nationwide air traffic modernization program for air navigation services provider SENEAM. The phase involved the upgrade of the sites at Mazatlan, Hermosillo, Puerto Vallarta, San Jose and Tijuana airports. Mexican ATC centers "are now operating exclusively with the Thales Eurocat ATM system," the company said.
East Star Airlines may become the first Chinese carrier to go bankrupt following the Wuhan local court's rejection of China Equity Group's re-launch plan ( ATWOnline, Aug. 26). CEG Chairman Wang Chaoyong said the lack of an agreement on how to handle East Star's sizeable debt was the reason for the rejection. The troubled airline owes money to China National Aviation Fuel Co. and several airports.
Philippine Airlines yesterday said its $301.4 million loss in the fiscal year ended March 31 prompted an array of "extraordinary" cost-cutting measures including the offering of early retirement packages to employees. It also approved the reduction in par value of its shares to PHP0.2 (0.4 cent) from PHP0.8 and a 25% increase in its authorized capital stock to PHP20 billion. PAL's fiscal 2008-09 revenue rose 8.6% to $1.63 billion but expenses climbed 23.5% to $1.9 billion. Load factor dropped 3 points to 76.2%.
IATA reported yesterday that declines in passenger and cargo traffic slowed in July, but warned that airlines still are struggling financially owing to severe falls in revenue and yields. International passenger demand dipped 2.9% year-over-year, a "relative improvement" over June's 7.2% decrease and the 6.8% lowering through the year's first seven months. International cargo's 11.3% decline was improved over June's 16.5% dip and the average monthly drop of 19.3% in January-July.
Shandong Airlines earned a CNY112.5 million ($16.4 million) net profit in the first six months of 2009, up 91.9% from the CNY58.6 million reported in the year-ago semester thanks to a recovery in domestic demand and government subsidies. Half-year operating revenue fell 3.6% to CNY2.34 billion against a 6.9% decrease in expenses to CNY18.56 billion. Passenger boardings climbed 13.5% to 3.5 million but cargo traffic fell 3% to 37,000 tons. Shandong's fleet comprises 12 737-300s, three 737-700s, 15 737-800s, eight CRJ200s and two CRJ700s.
Air New Zealand said its quick decision to remove capacity in response to the economic downturn, along with its fuel hedges, were responsible for better-than-expected results in the fiscal year ended June 30, including a NZ$21 million ($14.4 million) profit that represented a 90% drop from the NZ$218 million earned the prior year.
CSA Czech Airlines suffered a $99.6 million loss in the first half of 2009 under international accounting standards and confirmed yesterday that it will reduce both its fleet and its workforce as it seeks to return to profit next year. The carrier reported a pre-tax profit of CZK500 million ($28.2 million) in 2008 but has failed to weather the industry crisis, suffering a drop in passenger demand that led executives to contemplate the cuts three weeks ago ( ATWOnline, Aug. 6).
Hawaiian Airlines' Air Line Pilots Assn. MEC launched a strike ballot lasting until Sept. 10 asking for authority to strike in protest of "two-and-a-half years of stalled contract negotiations and six years of bankruptcy-imposed contract terms," the union said. Permission to strike also must be secured from the US National Mediation Board, which first must formally declare an impasse in negotiations and establish a 30-day cooling-off period after which either side can resort to self-help measures.
Southwest Airlines and US FAA officials met yesterday to discuss an agency inspector's recent discovery that SWA is operating more than 40 737s with parts produced by an uncertified vendor, a finding that led to the Aug. 22 grounding of the aircraft from early morning to 3 p.m.
An-12 freighter operated by Republic of the Congo-based Aero Fret Business crashed yesterday around 12 mi. from its intended destination of Brazzaville, killing all six aboard. It departed from Pointe Noire, according to news reports. Those killed included two Congolese citizens traveling with the cargo and four crew comprising two Ukrainians and two Moldovans, the Russian consul in Brazzaville told media. Republic of the Congo banned passengers from traveling aboard An-12s in 2007 but cargo carriage remains permissible. No cause of the crash was given.
Aircraft Conversions of the Netherlands announced delivery of its fourth F50 freighter conversion to Bergamo-based MiniLiner. The company has received orders for 10 full F50 conversions plus five options.
Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines' 17 member carriers transported 11.5 million passengers on international flights in July, down 7.8% from the year-ago month. International RPKs dropped 8.5% to 48.65 billion against a 6.5% cut in capacity to 63.5 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 1.7 points to 76.6%. "Traffic reductions may be easing, but a return to growth is still some way off," AAPA DG Andrew Herdman said.
US Airways and Continental Airlines yesterday announced they will follow American Airlines' recent decision to start charging $50 for a second piece of checked baggage on transatlantic flights ( ATWOnline, Aug. 24). As with AA, first checked bags will remain free.
