Singapore Airlines flew 6.46 billion RPKs in June, an 18.2% plunge from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 14.4% to 8.54 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 3.5 points to 75.7%. Air New Zealand flew 2.32 billion RPKs in June, down 10.1% year-over-year, against a 12.3% cut in capacity to 2.92 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 2 points to 79.5%.
Rolls-Royce yesterday announced a series of investments including construction of a new wide-chord fan blade factory in Singapore and several new UK facilities. The Singapore factory will be a part of Rolls' "Facility of the Future" at its Seletar Campus, construction of which will begin in the 2010 first quarter and which will require an investment greater than S$700 million ($486 million).
Airports Council International-World said the number of arriving and departing passengers worldwide was 4.87 billion in 2008, up just 0.1% from 2007. A record 1,357 airports, which account for 98% of global traffic, were included in the report released yesterday. "We are a long way from the dynamic 6.8% growth witnessed in 2007," ACI-World DG Angela Gittens said. Domestic freight dropped more than 5.4% while international freight was reduced by 2.5%. Aircraft movements fell 2.1% to 77 million. The impact of crude oil prices and the global recession were cited as reasons for the decline.
United Airlines said that around 2,100 flight attendants have accepted voluntary furloughs, eliminating the need for involuntary measures. By Aug. 31 UA will reduce its cabin staff by 2,100 positions, including the original 1,550 voluntary furloughs announced last fall ( ATWOnline, Sept. 29, 2008).
Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings remained in the black in the second quarter, posting a $27.5 million profit that compared to a $54.3 million surplus in the year-ago period.
Aircell Chairman Ron LeMay and President and CEO Jack Blumenstein have swapped titles, the inflight Internet and communications service company announced.
Jet Airways suffered a INR2.25 billion ($46.1 million) loss in its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, a reversal from the year-ago period's INR1.43 billion profit, but said that "operationally the performance has stabilized" and that efforts to reduce capacity and costs "have started to show results."
SAS Group said June yield dropped an estimated 5.3% year-over-year. Group airlines flew 2.52 billion RPKs during the month, down 17%, against a 13.2% cut in capacity to 3.29 billion ASKs. Load factor dropped 3.1 points to 76.7%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 2.32 billion RPKs, down 14.9%, against a 15% fall in ASKs to 3.01 billion. Load factor rose 0.1 point to 77.2%. Aer Lingus flew 1.6 billion RPKs in June, a 0.7% decline year-over-year. Capacity dipped 0.5% to 1.97 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 0.2 points to 81.3%.
Qatar Airways announced a 40% combined increase in capacity to Paris Charles de Gaulle, Madrid, Athens and Stockholm Arlanda. Doha-CDG service will increase to twice-daily from 11-times-weekly beginning Oct. 25, DOH-MAD will rise to daily from four-times-weekly on Dec. 2, daily DOH-ATH will be twice-daily from March 2010 and DOH-ARN will receive an extra weekly frequency on Oct. 25.
US House of Representatives today will unveil legislation that, if passed, will require more stringent screening and training for pilots flying commercial aircraft. The Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009 is being introduced by bipartisan leadership of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the subcommittee on aviation including James Oberstar (D-Minn.), John Mica (R-Fla.), Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) and Thomas Petri (R-Wis.). The proposed law follows a series of Congressional hearings on the February crash of a Colgan Air Q400 that killed 50.
Third prototype Sukhoi Superjet 100 flew for the first time Saturday at Komsomolsk. Aircraft will undergo cabin and avionics testing and will be the first fitted with passenger equipment and the certification-ready avionics suite. It then will be sent to Italy for its noise level, ILS, precision navigation and high-intensity radiated field tests. The first Superjet flight took place in May 2008 with the certification campaign commencing in October. The first two aircraft have accumulated more than 700 flight hr. over some 270 flights, said Sukhoi, which has sold 122 so far.
Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson will sink another A$80 million ($65.3 million) into Brisbane-based Virgin Blue as part of a deeply discounted (31%) A$231 million capital raising designed to bolster a balance sheet buffeted by one-off costs and souring hedges.
Embraer broke ground Sunday on a 15,000-sq.-m. facility in Evora that will be "dedicated to manufacturing complex airframe structures and components in composite materials." It is due to be completed at the end of 2011 and represents an investment of €48 million ($68.2 million), the manufacturer said.
OpenSkies said it will suspend its daily Amsterdam-New York JFK service on Aug. 16, citing a significant drop in demand due to the current economic environment. The British Airways subsidiary launched the route late last year and said it developed a 16% market share since then, but "it was not enough to sustain a profitable service at this time," CEO Dale Moss conceded.
Cambodia Angkor Air, a joint venture between the Cambodian government (51%) and Vietnam Airlines (49%), was launched at a Phnom Penh ceremony yesterday. Officials said the startup is capitalized at $100 million and will begin flying today to Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City with two ATR 72s, according to press reports from the capital. Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said the carrier will operate an A321 in the "near future," and eventually will serve Sihanoukville and Bangkok. The country's Royal Air Cambodge shut down in 2001.
Ryanair reported a €123 million ($174.6 million) net profit in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, reversed from a €90.5 million loss in the year-ago period, but it issued a warning that full-year net income will be at the lower end of its previous guidance of €200-€300 million because its full-year decline in yield will be "at or slightly more" than 20%.
Volga-Dnepr Group, the outsize air cargo specialist that also operates scheduled 747 freighter carrier AirBridgeCargo Airlines, said its overall traffic for the first six months of 2009 fell 5% to 835,000 FTKs. ABC actually saw an uptick as it transported 65,100 tons of freight during the half year, a 4.6% year-over-year increase.
AirTran Airways will launch thrice-weekly Harrisburg-Fort Lauderdale service Nov. 5 aboard a 717. Wizz Air will commence twice-weekly service from Bucharest to Catania and Forli Sept. 21 and Oct. 28 respectively. It will launch twice-weekly service from Katowice to Munich West and Venice Treviso Sept. 22 and 29 respectively (increasing to thrice-weekly from the winter schedule). Icelandair last week launched four-times-weekly Seattle-Reykjavik service and will begin twice-weekly Reykjavik-Brussels flights in June 2010.
American Airlines Friday raised its fee for a first and second checked bag on flights within the US by $5. The fee for the first bag will be $20 instead of $15 and for the second $30 instead of $25. The change, which also applies to American Eagle and AmericanConnection flights, will take effect for tickets purchased on or after Aug. 14.
Aria Air Il-62 originating in Tehran crashed on landing at Mashhad Friday, killing at least 16 including the carrier's managing director, in the second fatal crash in Iran in fewer than 10 days. Mehdi Dadpey, who was one of Aria's founders in 1999, headed the Iranian airline and also served as a flight captain including on Friday's doomed Flight 1525. The carrier was grounded by Iranian authorities following the crash.
Curtiss-Wright signed a data license with Boeing for the use of detail engineering design to obtain parts manufacturing authority for replacement flight control spare parts. License permits Curtiss-Wright Controls to manufacture licensed PMA parts under its FAA-approved system and distribute directly to operators.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Friday he would approve Air Canada's agreements with its unions and retirees for a 21-month moratorium on pension fund contributions and fixed payments for the 2011-13 period ( ATWOnline, July 21). He added that he "would not have [granted approval] without the consent of the unions."
ARINC was awarded a contract to install its vMUSE passenger check-in platform at Manila International's two main terminals. ARINC recently won the contract to supply the new passenger systems at Manila including 84 check-in counters and 15 boarding gates in Terminal 1 and 40 check-in counters and 6 boarding gates in T2.
Garuda Indonesia last week rolled out a new product, service concept and corporate identity. The carrier, which earlier this month was removed from the EU's list of banned airlines ( ATWOnline, July 15), is in the process of taking delivery of 64 aircraft over the next two years including 10 777-300ERs in 2011.
UK passengers have been making claims against British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways in increasing numbers relating to the carriers' price-fixing practices on long-haul flights between Aug. 11, 2004, and March 23, 2006, Dow Jones reported ( ATWOnline, July 14). More than 211,000 refunds have been processed so far, of which 170,000 are from UK passengers, claimant law firm Hausfeld & Co. LLP said. Payment has been authorized in 133,000 of these cases.
