A $192 million fuel hedging gain pushed US Airways to a second-quarter net profit of $58 million, reversed from a $568 million loss in the year-ago period when goodwill impairment charges weighed on the bottom line.
Vueling Airlines posted a second-quarter net profit of €2.9 million ($4.1 million), reversed from an €8.7 million deficit in the year-ago period, as it completed a restructuring plan based on network rationalization, access to new market segments, increased ancillary revenue and cost reductions. Revenue decreased 5.3% to €105.4 million and operating cost fell 25% to €92 million. Operating profit excluding restructuring costs was €13.4 million, reversed from an €11.4 million loss in the 2008 second quarter.
JetBlue Airways yesterday reported a $20 million second-quarter profit, reversed from a $9 million loss in the year-ago period, and said it expects to remain in the black in both the third and fourth quarters. "We believe our strong brand, unique value proposition and ongoing focus on maintaining financial strength will position us for continued success in this recessionary environment. Despite a challenging revenue outlook, we continue to expect to generate a profit every quarter this year," CEO Dave Barger said.
MyAir suspended all operations following a decision by Italian civil aviation authority ENAC to revoke the LCC's AOC effective July 24. ENAC said MyAir's service became unreliable owing to persistent financial difficulties and that it failed to meet restructuring-related obligations. The carrier had been flying on a provisional AOC since June 25. It operated scheduled services linking a dozen Italian cities and destinations in Europe and Morocco with a mixed fleet of A320s and CRJ900s. It commenced operations in December 2004 and had its main bases at Bergamo and Venice.
787's structural design problem, centered on the upper wing join area, is more complex than originally outlined by Boeing and may result in first flight being delayed until next year, engineers told The Seattle Times. One engineer with knowledge of the problem claimed that it will take "at least 3-4 months just to get something installed on the 787," while a second, familiar with Boeing's construction methods, claimed that the fix first must be installed on the nonflying test aircraft in Everett and only will be applied to flight test aircraft if proven successful.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air parent Alaska Air Group reported second-quarter net income of $29.1 million, down 53.9% from a $63.1 million profit in the year-ago period, but said earnings improved excluding special charges owing to significantly lower fuel costs.
Air France KLM flew 17.07 billion RPKs in June, down 6.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 5% to 21.25 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 1.1 points to 80.3%. Air Canada and Jazz flew 4.17 billion RPMs in June, a 9.1% drop year-over-year, against a 7.6% cut in capacity to 5.15 billion ASMs. Load factor slipped 1.3 points to 80.9%. AirTran Airways flew 1.76 billion RPMs in June, down 6.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 5.3% to 2.11 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 1.1 points to 83.6%.
UPS reported second-quarter net income of $445 million, down 49% from $873 million in the year-ago period, on a 16.7% reduction in revenue to $10.8 billion. Chairman and CEO Scott Davis said that while weak global economic conditions have "pressured" the delivery company, "UPS remains financially very strong" and "can weather this recession." CFO Kurt Kuehn added, "Declines in both our domestic and international business appear to be stabilizing but volumes will remain significantly below last year's levels. .
Thai Airways Chairman Ampon Kittiampon told reporters yesterday that the airline negotiated with Airbus to delay the start of its A380 deliveries to December 2012 from late next year, Reuters reported. "We want to postpone the delivery as far as possible to reflect the current market conditions," he said. Last month, two other Thai executives told reporters that the carrier was reconsidering its order for six A380s ( ATWOnline, June 10).
Lufthansa could be headed to another showdown with its pilots. The Vereinigung Cockpit union, which staged a strike last summer ( ATWOnline, July 24, 2008), is asking for a 6.4% pay increase for its 4,500 pilots over the next year or a 9.6% rise over the next 18 months, plus bonuses depending on LH's profitability, a spokesperson told several German media outlets. LH said talks with the union have been constructive, but neither side revealed specifics.
Continental Airlines, which announced 1,700 job cuts this week ( ATWOnline, July 22), told the Air Line Pilots Assn. that 310 pilots, or 7% of the total, could be furloughed, the Houston Chronicle reported. "If reductions are necessary, we expect to begin furloughing pilots as early as Sept. 23. We expect these furloughs to be temporary but at least six months in duration," the airline said in a letter sent to 310 pilots who were selected based on seniority, ALPA told the newspaper.
Copa Airlines said the US Export-Import Bank offered a final commitment for financing two 737-800s scheduled for delivery this year and preliminary commitments covering 10 additional aircraft for delivery in 2010-12. Copa has 25 737NGs on order from Boeing.
AirTran Airways parent AirTran Holdings reported a second-quarter net profit of $78.4 million, reversed from a net loss of $14.8 million in the year-ago period, and projected it will maintain profitability in the second half of 2009 despite the poor economic environment.
Oxford Aviation Academy signed a five-year agreement with British Airways covering provision of pilot training and simulator time for BA CityFlyer's incoming E-170s and E-190SRs.
Boeing reported a $998 million profit in the second quarter, up 17% from the $852 million earned in the year-ago period, and said it has identified a fix to the defect in the 787's upper wing join area that led to last month's first flight postponement and will release a new schedule for the flight test program before the end of September.
Aeroflot carried 758,100 passengers in June, an 11.1% decline year-over-year. Load factor fell 3.8 points to 70.7%. Through the half-year, SU's passenger numbers fell 12.1% to 3.9 million, with load factor at 63.5%.
British Airways and unions are set to resume discussions today on 3,700 job cuts and working conditions, a GMB union spokesperson told Sky News. "Following three days of talks at [the UK Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service] last week, talks are due to resume. . .and some progress has been made. We do not expect the talks to conclude until later in August," the spokesperson said. BA had sought agreements by June 30 but has reached one only with its pilots ( ATWOnline, July 14).
ExpressJet Holdings reported a $13.1 million second-quarter loss, an improvement from the $34.3 million deficit during the same period a year ago. Revenue plunged 61.9% to $170.6 million, a decline attributed to a drop in passengers and the suspension of its ExpressJet branded and Delta Air Lines operations. Operating loss narrowed to $10.8 million from $43.7 million as expenses sank 29.8% to $20.3 million. "These results are reflective of the worldwide drop in passenger revenues, which are forecast to continue through 2009," President and CEO Jim Ream said.
Assn. of Flight Attendants United Airlines chapter, in a communication to members, said 1,926 flight attendants had been accepted for voluntary furloughs. US District Court reversed a bankruptcy court ruling that voided Frontier Airlines' collective bargaining agreement with some 325 mechanics represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
US scheduled passenger airlines employed 6.8% fewer fulltime-equivalent workers in May than in the year-ago month, according to the Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. It marked the 11th consecutive month of decline. The seven network airlines reduced their May employee rolls by 8.2% year-over-year, LCCs' rose 1.2% and regionals' fell 7.7%.
Allegiant Air parent Allegiant Travel Co. continued to defy the shrinking economy during the second quarter, launching 20 new routes and posting a net profit of $23.9 million that compared to earnings of just $2.6 million in the corresponding 2008 period.
Assn. of European Airlines expressed concern over "the continuing trend on the part of airports across Europe to increase the fees they charge to their airline customers in order to compensate themselves for lower traffic levels during the current recession." It said the practice particularly is evident in Germany, where Frankfurt Airport is proposing an 8.4% boost next January to fund future expansion on top of a 4.6% hike for "central infrastructure." Munich announced a 4% increase in charges.
