Delta Air Lines added its BusinessElite lie-flat bed service on all New York JFK-London Heathrow flights and will launch the product next month on flights from JFK to San Francisco and Los Angeles.
KLM received its fourth new 777-300ER, part of an order for seven of the type. New aircraft features SkyTeam livery and will perform its first commercial flight on Aug. 28 to Nairobi. Boeing said the delivery will mark an in-service evaluation of a new chrome-free primer and paint, which it will apply to 14 aircraft initially "with the intention of making it a standard option in the future."
Gol filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed global offering of preferred shares expected to gross BRL550-BRL650 million ($299.7-$354.1 million) "depending on market conditions." Gol said it intends to use the proceeds "for general corporate purposes and to strengthen its balance sheet, particularly its cash and cash equivalents position."
EasyJet transported 4.7 million passengers in July, up 4.3% year-over-year. Load factor rose 1 point to 90.3%. SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew 1.75 billion RPMs in July, up 8.9% year-over-year, against a 4.5% lift in capacity to 2.09 billion ASMs. Load factor climbed 3.4 points to 83.5%. Frontier Airlines said July mainline yield fell 15% year-over-year to 10.27 cents while RASM dropped 11% to 9.44 cents. It flew 862.3 million RPMs, down 12%, against a 16% cut in capacity to 937.4 million ASMs. Load factor rose 4.2 points to 92%.
TAM and Amadeus announced yesterday in Sao Paulo a 10-year technology partnership to replace multiple legacy applications currently in use by the airline with a single integrated platform based on Amadeus's Altea Customer Management Solution. The carrier will implement the full package including reservations, inventory and departure control, with the first phase expected to be complete by year end and total implementation within three years.
Korean Air said the number of reserved seats on international routes for September is up 21% year-over-year on a 9% increase in supply. Largest gain is to Japan at 59%, followed by the Americas at 12% and Europe at 10%. Chinese demand is level. KE's international passenger numbers are up 9% this month and rose 5% in July.
Virgin Nigeria signed an agreement with Ethiopian Airlines to cooperate on MRO for VK's seven aircraft, pool technical resources and conduct joint training, according to a statement cited by widespread press reports. Contract ends a four-year technical partnership between VK and Virgin Atlantic, which is looking to sell its 49% stake in the Nigerian carrier ( ATWOnline, Aug. 20, 2008).
Austrian Airlines Group's acquisition by Lufthansa could be completed as early as Sept. 3, a source close to the transaction in Brussels told ATWOnline. "We expect news from the EU very soon, and this date could be possible," the source said. Media in Germany and Austria were reporting yesterday that an official confirmation of the takeover from EU authorities should come by the end of this month. An AAG spokesperson declined to comment on the possible schedule.
Boosted by a domestic market that "did better than expected," Air China reported a CNY2.82 billion ($411.8 million) profit in the first six months of 2009 under IFRS, more than double the restated CNY1.05 billion earned in the year-ago semester.
China Equity Group yesterday revealed additional details of its plan to re-launch East Star Airlines, including its intention for it and its partners to hold 70%-80% of the reorganized carrier with debtors holding the remainder ( ATWOnline, Aug. 24). East Star Group currently owns the largest share (40%) while GECAS, China National Aviation Fuel Co. and several airports are the debtors.
Air Berlin CEO Joachim Hunold yesterday expressed satisfaction that the carrier returned to profitability in the second quarter with net income of €7.1 million ($10.2 million) despite the fact that the "sector continued to struggle." He cited "rigorously enhancing performance" as a primary reason AB had a relatively positive quarter during which expenses lowered 4.3% year-over-year to €825.5 million ( ATWOnline, Aug. 25).
Rockwell Collins said China Southern Airlines selected its MultiScan weather radar, GLU-920 Multi-Mode Receiver and advanced sensors for 10 A330s, with deliveries scheduled to start in March 2010. EgyptAir selected its Multiscan Hazard Detection System, TTR-2100 Traffic Avoidance System and a full communications, navigation and surveillance suite including the GLU-925 Multi-Mode Receiver for five A330s plus three options scheduled for delivery from August 2010 through 2012.
Garuda Indonesia CEO Emirsyah Satar told reporters yesterday that the carrier intends to raise $300-$400 million through an IPO in the first half of next year, Dow Jones reported. He said earlier that the offering would comprise 15%-20% of the company.
Bombardier took delivery of the first fuselage test barrel for the CSeries at its Saint-Laurent facility. The 7-m.-long, 3.7-m.-wide barrel was built by Shenyang Aircraft Corp. The new aircraft's final design phase is scheduled to begin next year. Shenyang is set to manufacture "just over 10%" of the CSeries, Bombardier said.
Turkish Airlines reported a net profit of €48 million ($68.7 million) through the first six months of 2009, down 64% year-over-year, implying a second-quarter loss of approximately €25.6 million. THY earned TRY155 million ($105.4 million/€73.6 million) in the first quarter ( ATWOnline, May 18) and said the sinking bottom line was the result of "the fall on tangible assets caused by the global recession and its effects on the global aviation sector."
Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali said Sunday that the carrier's mandate to cut costs may include revisions to its aircraft order book. "We do not yet know what size or shape Gulf Air will take following this review; however, as a result it may be necessary for us to look at our fleet orders with our suppliers and to adjust them according to the airline's newly defined requirements," he said in a statement to Dow Jones. Gulf has 15 A320s scheduled for delivery between this year and 2012 and 20 A330-300s set to arrive beginning in 2012.
WestJet yesterday announced a revised fleet plan featuring deferred delivery of 16 aircraft and purchase of an additional 14 737-700s that will see the Canadian LCC operating between 112 and 135 planes at the end of 2016. The 14 new aircraft will be delivered in 2015-16. The airline, which currently flies 81 737s, also has 23 leases with Aviation Capital Group up for renewal between 2013 and 2016.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew a combined 7.72 billion RPKs in July, down 8.2% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 7.5% to 9.25 billion ASKs and load factor was down 0.6 point to 83.5%. Iberia flew 4.73 billion RPKs in July, a 3.7% fall from the year-ago month. Capacity was down 3.8% to 5.58 billion ASKs and load factor rose 0.2 point to 84.8%.
Air New Zealand strongly denied a report from Australia's Fairfax Media that ANZ staff, including Deputy CEO Norm Thompson, colluded with Emirates on fixing cargo rates between Australia and New Zealand. The Fairfax report, citing court documents presented by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in relation to its ongoing investigation of Emirates, alleged that Thompson and Emirates SkyCargo Senior VP Ram Menen discussed prices to be charged in October 2003.
Qantas yesterday took delivery of its fourth A380. It will use the aircraft to increase its thrice-weekly Sydney-Singapore-London Heathrow service to five-times-weekly and to operate a fourth weekly Sydney-Los Angeles flight from Sept. 7. QF's fifth and sixth A380s are due to arrive by year end, at which point flights to LHR and LAX will be daily and Melbourne-LAX will increase to thrice-weekly from twice.
Air Berlin announced a €7.1 million ($10.2 million) second-quarter profit, down 9% from the €7.8 million achieved in the year-ago period, in a preliminary earnings statement released yesterday. Second-quarter revenue fell 3.8% to €836.2 million as the airline reduced capacity and operating profit rose 33.3% to €17.6 million from €13.2 million. The company expects to announce detailed results today.
Allegiant Air yesterday said it expects third-quarter ASMs to increase approximately 40% year-over-year on a 35% lift in departures and fourth-quarter capacity to rise some 18% on a 12% increase in departures. Separately, it said it has given 120-day notice of its intention to cancel its Cuban charter service, which, although profitable, is "exposing the airline. . . to operational complexity inconsistent with our operating philosophy," according to CEO Maurice Gallagher Jr.
Naverus said it delivered a National Aerospace Assessment to Swedish air navigation service provider LFV designed to develop a "roadmap" for Performance Based Navigation implementation. Naverus said PBN at Sweden's major airports could save an estimated 9 million kg. of fuel per year and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 30,000 tonnes.
Continental Airlines will launch flights to Washington Dulles from both Houston Intercontinental (thrice-daily) and Cleveland (twice-daily) on Nov. 1. ExpressJet will operate the Houston flight aboard an ERJ-145 and CommutAir will operate the Cleveland service with a Q200. CO said the new routes are designed to increase connections with future Star Alliance partner United Airlines. Etihad Airways' winter schedule beginning Oct. 25 will feature a 15% year-over-year increase in capacity and 950 weekly flights, including new service to Hyderabad starting in November.
