US Air Transport Assn. earlier this week called on FAA to withdraw its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking overhauling airline training programs for aircraft crewmembers and flight dispatchers.
CAE announced that President and CEO Robert Brown will retire Sept. 30 to be succeeded by Marc Parent, currently executive VP and COO. Brown will continue as an adviser until the end of December. He became president and CEO in August 2004.
SAS Group launched a new SEK2 billion ($272 million) cost-saving program after posting its seventh consecutive quarterly consolidated net loss, a SEK1.05 billion second-quarter deficit that compared to a SEK422 million net loss in the year-ago period.
Gol reported second-quarter net income of BRL353.7 million ($191 million), reversed from a BRL166.5 million loss in the year-ago period, citing its revamped route structure focused on shorter-haul flying and the "successful consolidation" of Gol and Varig assets at the end of 2008. It said the strong quarter reflected its "strategic focus on generating consistent operating results. . .based on high frequencies between the main domestic airports, underpinned by punctuality and regularity, and a modern standardized fleet" composed of 737NGs.
Afriqiyah Airways took delivery of its first new A330-200, one of three of the type ordered in 2006. The aircraft features a 230-seat dual-class configuration and will be deployed on long-haul operations on routes from Tripoli to Africa and Europe.
AirAsia posted second-quarter net income of MYR139.2 million ($39.6 million), a nearly fifteen-fold improvement over a MYR9.4 million profit in the year-ago quarter. It credited robust traffic growth stimulated by low fares, growing ancillary revenue and "substantially lower" fuel prices for the strong performance. CEO Tony Fernandes noted that the LCC's results "stand in stark contrast to those of most legacy carriers" and pointed to its "three-prong strategy of lowering fares, stimulating travel. . .and capturing market share."
Delta Air Lines and US Airways yesterday announced a massive slot swapping deal that, if approved by regulators, will greatly enhance US's presence at Washington National and enable DL to "create a domestic hub" at New York LaGuardia.
AirTran Airways announced yesterday that it will expand operations at New York LaGuardia and Washington National from Nov. 4, and reportedly it will cease operations at Newark on Oct. 25. The Associated Press reported that AirTran obtained additional slots at LGA and DCA from Continental Airlines in exchange for its slots at EWR. Neither airline confirmed the deal. AirTran did say in a statement that it will begin offering LGA-Indianapolis service and boost LGA-Orlando flights from Oct. 25.
Goodrich and Xi'an Aircraft International Corp. signed agreements to form two 50/50 joint venture companies that will manufacture landing gear and engine nacelle components "focused on the fast-growing Chinese aerospace market," including competing to be selected on Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China's C919 single-aisle transport currently under development. The two JVs will be between XAIC on the one hand and Goodrich Landing Gear and Goodrich Aerostructures on the other.
TAM and Air China announced yesterday that they will begin codesharing on flights this month to allow passengers to travel between Sao Paulo and Beijing via Madrid Barajas. TAM passengers originating at GRU will be able to connect to MAD-PEK Air China flights while Air China passengers originating in the Chinese capital will be able to connect to MAD-GRU TAM flights. Both carriers are members of Star Alliance.
News from Travel Technology Update: Air Canada suspended activity related to the implementation of a new reservations system under development with ITA Software. The carrier recorded a second-quarter impairment charge of C$67 million (US$61.9 million) related to the development of the system, dubbed Polaris.
Premium Aerotec, the largest aerostructures supplier for the A350, last week began construction of a 25,000-sq.-m. hangar in Augsburg that will serve as the manufacturing plant for the new aircraft's fiber composite components, especially the large side shells of the rear fuselage section. The facility's shell is expected to be completed in November, with production set to begin in the 2010 first quarter, according to Airbus parent EADS.
Virgin America will launch service to Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 18 with twice-daily flights from both San Francisco and Los Angeles. It will be VX's 10th destination. Separately, President and CEO David Cush told Bloomberg News yesterday that the airline would be interested in Frontier Airlines' A320 family aircraft if the Denver-based carrier is acquired by Southwest Airlines, which operates 737s ( ATWOnline, Aug. 11).
PNG Airlines DHC-6-300 Twin Otter that is believed to have crashed in Papua New Guinea yesterday, killing all 13 passengers and crew onboard, may have been located by search parties near the remote Kokoda airstrip. Flight CF4684, a charter flight that was en route from Port Moresby to Kokoda, is believed to have gone down near its intended destination. According to press reports, villagers told search parties that the wreckage was located nearby.
Bombardier Aerospace announced the termination of its firm purchase agreement with Italy's MyAir, which suspended operations last month ( ATWOnline, July 24). The original 2006 order was for 19 CRJ900s, 15 of which were converted to CRJ1000s in early 2007. Four CRJ900s have been delivered. Bombardier said the CRJ1000 development program "continues to move ahead" and that the first production aircraft is flying from its Wichita test base.
US Dept. of Transportation announced civil penalties against Continental Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and US Airways for consumer regulation violations. DOT said CO was fined $75,000 for "violating the Department's requirement that airfare ads must state the full price to be paid by the consumer" on its website. HA and US "failed to disclose to consumers when flights sold by the carriers were being operated under a codesharing arrangement" and were fined $50,000 and $70,000 respectively.
China Eastern Airlines enjoyed a first-half turnaround, reporting a CNY984.7 million ($143.9 million) profit based on international accounting standards that compares to a CNY212.5 million net loss in the first six months of 2008. CEA credited a CNY2.79 billion hedging gain and "elimination of the civil aviation infrastructure tax that was imposed in the second half of last year, as well as government subsidies," for the result. Operating revenue dropped 15.8% to CNY17.5 billion while expenses fell 15% to CNY16.86 billion owing to lower fuel prices.
Air France KLM flew 19.45 billion RPKs in July, down 3.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 4.1% to 22.86 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 0.7 point to 85.1%. Alaska Airlines flew 1.79 billion RPMs in July, up 0.1% year-over-year. Capacity fell 5.4% to 2.12 billion ASMs and load factor rose 4.6 points to 84.3%. Hawaiian Airlines flew 745.4 million RPMs in July, a 10.4% increase year-over-year, while capacity rose 1.9% to 874.7 million ASMs. Load factor surged 6.5 points to 85.2%.
Air Arabia posted an AED89.7 million ($24.4 million) second-quarter profit, up 10% from the AED81.5 million reported in the year-ago period, on a 6% rise in revenue to AED458.4 million. "We are pleased with the positive results achieved today amidst the ambiguity of global economy performance and the impact of swine flu on air travel trends. Air Arabia's continuous profitability and growth figures demonstrate the fundamental strength of the airline's dynamic business model," CEO Adel Ali said.
Turkish Airlines said it has decided to lease an A321-200. It revealed no further details. Belavia Belarusian Airlines acquired one ex-Flylal 737-500 from ILFC. It now operates five 737-500s, three 737-300s, three CRJ-100/200s, four Tu-154Ms and one Tu-134.
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said yesterday that he has asked the Dept. of Transportation's general counsel to determine whether Continental Airlines or ExpressJet Holdings "violated any laws" when 47 passengers were held overnight last week onboard an ERJ-145.
Ryanair will open its 34th base at Leeds Bradford in March when it will launch 14 new routes with two based 737s. New destinations will be Carcassonne, Faro, Ibiza, Knock, Krakow, Limoges, Malaga, Malta, Montpellier, Murcia, Nantes, Palma, Pisa and Treviso. It currently serves Dublin, Girona and Alicante from the airport and plans to operate 63 weekly flights to/from LBA next spring. It also announced the launch of four-times-weekly Bristol-Malaga service in October, its fourth "winter sun run" from the airport announced in the past week.
Ethiopian Airlines posted a net profit of ETB1.35 billion ($117 million) in its fiscal year ended June 30, a 165% increase over the prior year's figure and a company record.
US Airways said July consolidated passenger RASM fell approximately 15% year-over-year while total unit revenue was down around 12%. It flew 5.86 billion consolidated RPMs, down 4.1%, against a 5.6% cut in capacity to 6.83 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.3 points to 85.9%. American Airlines flew 11.66 billion system RPMs in July, down 6.4% year-over-year. Capacity fell 8% to 13.36 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1.4 points to 87.3%.
