Air Mauritius Group reported a loss of €85.5 million ($119.2 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31, a reversal from the €17 million surplus posted in the prior year. A €50.8 million charge related to the unwinding of 40% of its fuel hedges and an actual €49.7 million hedging loss were key drivers of the result. Revenue rose 0.2% to €448.6 million on a 9% fall in passenger numbers to 1.2 million.
Air India said Chairman and MD Arvind Jadhav has "requested" all executives at the GM level and above to "voluntarily forego" their salaries and incentive payments in July. Last week the company said it would defer employee checks by two weeks until July 15 ( ATWOnline, June 17).
Comair, a regional subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, will close its maintenance base at Orlando International on Sept. 7 and eliminate 81 jobs, according to a "Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification" filed with the state of Florida and cited by the Orlando Business Journal. Comair said "unprecedented financial challenges due to difficult economic times" prompted the decision. Some employees will be eligible for employment elsewhere within the airline.
The British Airline Pilots Assn. announced a tentative "pay and productivity package" it said would deliver permanent annual savings to British Airways of £26 million ($42.5 million) beginning Oct. 1. The deal, which it said "will help BA get through the current economic downturn whilst, for the first time, giving pilots the mechanism to take a real share in the wealth they will help to create," remains subject to membership ratification. Some 95% of BA's 3,200 pilots are BALPA members.
Porter Airlines will begin serving Boston from Toronto City Centre on Sept. 14 with up to three daily nonstop roundtrips. Boston is the third US destination for the Canadian carrier, which currently offers service to Chicago Midway and Newark.
Flybe will wet-lease four Q400s to the re-launched Olympic Airlines from August 2009 until September 2010. Aircraft will be operated by Flybe staff and fly under its AOC. Chairman and CEO Jim French said, "Over the past 18 months or so, Flybe has been offered literally dozens of opportunities to start up or support startups globally, all of which, until this one, we have declined.
Thai Airways appointed Piyasvasti Amranand, who served as Thailand's energy minister in 2006-08, as its new president. He will fill the vacancy left by Apinan Sumanaseni's resignation last year. In addition, Chairman Ampon Kittiampon told reporters that Thai will borrow THB23 billion ($670.5 million) from four domestic banks but still needs an additional THB14 billion from foreign lenders for aircraft financing, according to press reports ( ATWOnline, March 2).
Brussels Airlines Co-CEO Bernard Gustin said he expects the European Commission to approve Lufthansa's acquisition of the airline "in the next coming days," according to Reuters. He also said, "I do not believe that we will be profitable [in 2009] but that still remains our target." SN lost €12.2 million ($16.9 million) last year ( ATWOnline, April 9).
Honeywell Aerospace was selected by Gulf Air to provide 15 131-9A APUs for Gulf's A320s scheduled for delivery from this year through 2012. The contract is valued at more than $8 million and covers maintenance through 2022.
Continental Airlines 777 landed safely at Newark yesterday morning after Capt. Craig Lennel, 60, died during the flight from Brussels. CO said the pilot "apparently [died] of natural causes," according to CNN, and the first officer and a reserve officer took the controls. The Associated Press reported that the 247 passengers onboard were not told of the pilot's death, although several passengers, including a doctor, approached the cockpit after the crew asked for the help of any medical professionals onboard.
While consolidation and alliance membership present a viable option for many airlines trying to negotiate the industry downturn, Emirates continues to prefer its independence, President Tim Clark emphasized to ATWOnline. Speaking at the recent IATA annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Clark said that neither entry into an alliance nor a merger with Etihad Airways, about which there has been considerable press speculation, is in the cards.
Enders: GE not likely to be part of A350 program McNerney: 'My nerve' to launch new aircraft programs 'spectacularly strong' Wizz Air signs MOU to buy 50 A320s Bombardier signs 17 new CSeries supplier contracts, promises on time EIS in 2013 European Investment Bank gives Safran €300 million 'cleaner aircraft engine' R&D loan
US Airways named Northwest Airlines Assistant Treasurer Keith Bush as VP-financial planning and analysis and promoted MD-Technology Delivery Todd Christy to VP-business technology.
Aviation Capital Group and Egyptian Civil Aviation Finance Holding formally established Civil Aviation Finance and Operating Leases (CIAF-Leasing) at this week's Paris Air Show. The new lessor will concentrate primarily on new and younger narrowbody aircraft to be operated by customers in North Africa and the Middle East, CIAF Holding Chairman and CEO Medhat Hassanein confirmed to ATWOnline. He said he is targeting a portfolio of about 50 narrowbodies within five years, with some of the aircraft placed with EgyptAir. Operations are expected to begin in the 2009 fourth quarter.
WestJet and the WestJet Pilots Assn. announced the ratification of a four-year labor agreement effective July 1 with 89% of those voting approving the deal. WJPA Chairman Dave DeVeaux said the contract provides for "fair and market-driven pay scales" and maintains the pilots' position as stakeholders in the LCC.
Libyan Airlines CEO Mohamed Ibsem told ATWOnline at the recent IATA Annual General Meeting in Kuala Lumpur that the union of his carrier and Afriqiyah Airways under the Libyan African Aviation Holding Company umbrella likely has paved the way for a merger of the state-owned carriers.
Aerolineas Argentinas took delivery of one purchased 737-700, with a second scheduled to arrive before the end of the month. It will lease nine further -700s/-800s "in the following months" as it replaces its 737-200s and MD-80s.
Lufthansa Technik signed a 10-year contract with SAS Scandinavian Airlines covering MRO on landing gear on four A319s, eight A321s, four A330s and seven A340s. AJW Aviation expanded its power-by-the-hour contract with Bulgarian charter airline BH Air to include an additional three A320s.
Ryanair yesterday announced winter cuts at both Dublin and Shannon, blaming Ireland's €10 ($13.84) "tourist tax" for an 11% year-over-year fall in passenger traffic at DUB in the first five months of 2009. From the start of the winter schedule it will reduce the number of aircraft based at DUB to 16 from 17 and at SNN to three from four. It will cut 44 weekly flights from its DUB schedule and 36 from SNN, resulting in 350 and 300 job losses respectively. "Further cuts can be expected in the coming months if the €10 tourist tax is not scrapped.
Continental Airlines said that its 737-800 biofuel demonstration flight conducted Jan. 7 resulted in a 1.1% increase in fuel efficiency in the engine fueled by a 50/50 blend of algae-derived biofuel and traditional jet fuel. Greenhouse gas emissions from the CFM56-7Bs were estimated to be reduced 60%-80%. The flight was conducted over Houston in partnership with Boeing, GE Aviation/CFM International and Honeywell subsidiary UOP and was the first such test conducted by a commercial airline in North America.
FedEx Express, the shipping giant's airline segment, finished its fiscal year ended May 31 with a $794 million operating profit, down 58% from the $1.9 billion reported in 2007-08, while the company suffered a 91% plunge in consolidated profit to $98 million.
Cyclone Manufacturing of Ontario won a three-year, $12 million contract from Embraer to supply structural components for the E-190/195 and the Legacy 450-500. E-jet component deliveries (for eight aircraft per month) are scheduled to begin in late July.
Singapore Airlines flew 5.92 billion RPKs in May, down 22.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 13.9% to 8.85 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 7.8 points to 66.9%. Turkish Airlines flew 13.88 billion RPKs from January through May, up 10.8% from the year-ago period. Capacity rose 18.5% to 20.56 billion ASKs and load factor fell 4.7 points to 67.5%.
