Delta Air Lines told employees in a message last week that it "must eliminate additional salaried positions" owing to the "severity of this economic downturn." It did not specify the number of jobs to be cut.
Continental Airlines issued a public offering of 14.4 million shares of Class B common stock at $11.20 per share, for which it expects to earn $158.4 million in net proceeds. Goldman Sachs is acting as the sole underwriter for the offering.
Alaska Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. last week jointly announced ratification of a two-year contract extension covering the airline's 658 aircraft technicians. The extended contract, which becomes amendable on Oct. 17, 2011, provides the mechanics with a 1.5% pay increase on Oct. 17 in both 2009 and 2010.
Aegean Airlines will launch twice-daily Athens-London Heathrow service Oct. 25 aboard A321s. Garuda Indonesia reinstated thrice-weekly Jakarta service to Sydney, Melbourne and Seoul Incheon aboard A330-200s. Porter Airlines will launch four-times-daily Halifax-St. John's service Oct. 5. Wizz Air will operate seasonal weekly service to Grenoble from Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca Dec. 12-March 27.
Japan Airlines reported a steep ¥99 billion ($1.04 billion) net loss for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, dramatically widened from a ¥3.4 billion loss in the year-ago period, and announced "drastic adjustments" to its international flight network.
China Eastern Airlines GM Ma Xulun said he expects the carrier to complete its acquisition of Shanghai Airlines by year end. Last month CEA said it would acquire SAL through a share swap of 1.3 China Eastern shares for each Shanghai Airlines share ( ATWOnline, July 14). SAL will become a wholly owned subsidiary of CEA but will keep its brand.
Finnair President and CEO Jukka Hienonen announced his resignation Friday after the airline posted its fourth consecutive quarterly net loss, a €26.1 million ($37.5 million) second-quarter deficit that reversed net income of €13.4 million in the year-ago period.
Ryanair reiterated that it will continue to cut flights at "high cost, tourist tax airports" in the UK and Ireland and switch aircraft to EU countries and airports that offer no tourist taxes and lower airport costs. To that end, the LCC said it will operate to 43 new Spanish destinations, a notable contrast with its recently announced steep capacity reductions at Stansted and Dublin ( ATWOnline, Aug. 1).
Copa Holdings, parent of Copa Airlines and Aero Republica, posted second-quarter net income of $55.2 million, an 81.3% increase over a $30.4 million profit in the year-ago period that was aided by a $27.1 million noncash mark-to-market fuel hedge gain.
Delta Air Lines said July system traffic including regional affiliates decreased 2.5% year-over-year to 19.52 billion RPMs on a 3.6% reduction in capacity to 22.27 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 87.7%, up 1 point. Air Canada said July system traffic including Jazz Air decreased 3.3% to 4.85 billion RPMs on a 4.1% dip in capacity to 5.8 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 83.6%, up 0.6 point.
China's airlines earned a collective net profit of CNY3.85 billion ($563 million) in the first half of 2009, a 4.1% increase over a CNY3.7 billion profit in the year-ago period. The earnings improvement was helped by lower fuel prices, elimination of the civil aviation infrastructure tax that was imposed in the second half of last year and an exemption from bunker surcharges, CAAC Minister Li Jiaxiang said. China's domestic jet fuel price lowered 34.7% year-over-year in the first half, leading to an estimated CNY10.5 billion in savings for the country's carriers.
WestJet yesterday reported second-quarter net income of C$9.2 million ($8.6 million), down 65.7% from a C$26.8 million profit in the year-ago period, and announced that it will lower capacity by 1%-2% in the current quarter.
EgyptAir and Boeing said yesterday that the airline converted a previous order for two 777s into an order for an additional eight 737-800s. The order previously had been added to Boeing's Orders & Deliveries website and attributed to an unidentified customer ( ATWOnline, July 17). The carrier has seven 737-800s in operation and is slated to take delivery of an additional five this year. It has five 777s in its fleet and is scheduled to receive six 777-300ERs beginning next year.
United Airlines announced yesterday that it will be moving its Operations Center to Willis Tower in downtown Chicago from its current location in the suburban town of Elk Grove near Chicago O'Hare. The move, which will affect 2,800 employees, was decided on after the airline and the City of Chicago "agreed to an economically viable incentive program that will ensure the city is competitive to other locations and makes financial sense for United," according to UA.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told an industry forum in Sydney that the time is "absolutely not right" for mergers with competitors and would represent a distraction from managing the airline. The strongly worded statement, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, distanced Joyce from his predecessor Geoff Dixon, who touted industry consolidation at the same forum the previous day. Joyce said mergers between airlines in the Asia/Pacific region are more than 10 years away owing to regulatory and competition hurdles.
Gulf Air will have to cut costs significantly to reduce its perennial losses, members of the Bahrain parliament said, adding that the state-owned airline is expected to post a 2009 loss of $200-$300 million, Reuters reported. New CEO Samer Majali ( ATWOnline, July 7), who officially started this week, is expected to focus on closing unprofitable routes and enhancing the airline's Internet booking capabilities so the number of call-center agents can be reduced.
Monarch Aircraft Engineering signed a five-year contract with Wizz Air Ukraine to provide A320 line and light maintenance services in the Ukraine. Goodrich Corp. said it added electronic engine control accessories to its MRO capability at its Dubai MRO campus. The capability covers all electronic engine controls for Rolls-Royce Trent 500, 700 and 800-powered aircraft. AAR announced that AeroControlex Group selected it as a distributor of aftermarket parts for AeroControlex's lubrication pump product line.
Pinnacle Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Assn. reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract covering the carrier's 1,250 pilots, which will have to vote on its ratification. Talks had been ongoing since 2005. Pinnacle revealed few details, saying only that the tentative deal includes a pay increase.
Pegasus Airlines is planning an IPO for the second half of next year, Chairman Ali Sabanci said yesterday on Turkey's CNBC-e network. Pegasus parent ESAS Holding is Air Berlin's largest shareholder at 15.3%.
SuperJet International received EASA Part 147 certification from the Italian Aeronautical Civil Authority authorizing it to develop training courses for the first customers of the Sukhoi Superjet 100. Certification also enables SuperJet to conduct training specifically for aeronautical engineers responsible for maintenance and release to service of the aircraft.
US Air Transport Assn. said yesterday that it "applauded" the ASTM International Committee on Petroleum Products and Lubricants, which develops standards related to oil products, "for passing a new specification that will enable the use of synthetic fuels in aviation." President and CEO James May said the specification "brings us one step closer to our aim of widespread production of cleaner, alternative fuels that will help the industry meet its environmental goals while enhancing the security and competitiveness of its energy supply."
Vueling Airlines A320 "experienced a small fire" in its right engine yesterday morning while being pushed back from Paris Orly's Terminal South, triggering an emergency evacuation. Flight VY9127 was bound for Alicante and had 165 passengers onboard. All passengers and crew were evacuated although eight suffered minor injuries, the LCC said in a statement.
EADS established a subsidiary in Japan that the Airbus parent said will "help coordinate and support [its] marketing campaigns and industrial partnerships" in the nation. EADS Japan will be based in Tokyo and "will forge further long-term business relationships with Japanese industry and aerospace institutions," it said, noting that EADS and its subsidiaries "already buy directly or indirectly through its first tier suppliers products worth some $1 billion annually in the country."
