WestJet intends to cut C$25 million ($22.3 million) from its cost base over the next six months, President and CEO Sean Durfy said Friday at the carrier's investor day, available via webcast. "We have to really look at the cost because, as I said, revenues are coming down and our cost structure is staying relatively flat, so we are getting a margin squeeze," he explained.
Lufthansa Cargo will begin transferring its Asian hub operation from Astana to Krasnoyarsk on June 1 with the first flight from Tokyo Narita to Frankfurt via Krasnoyark. From August, LHC will operate 22 weekly flights to and from Europe out of KJA. It said the new routing cuts flying time by an average of 12 min., saving up to 2,000 tons of fuel annually ( ATWOnline, March 24, 2008).
Atlantic Airways earned a pre-tax profit of DKK14 million ($2.6 million) in the first quarter, reversed from a DKK2.5 million loss in the year-ago period. The Faroese flag carrier reported a 9.8% year-over-year fall in revenue to DKK101 million but cut its costs by 11.8%. Scheduled passenger numbers have dropped 8% in the year's first four months, it said. Atlantic currently operates BAe 146s and plans to acquire A319s beginning in 2011.
China Eastern Airlines has partnered with the Yunnan provincial government to launch a joint venture based on CEA's Yunnan branch subsidiary that will endeavor to build Kunming into a regional hub, a source close to the matter told ATWOnline. CEA is expected to sell a stake in the branch company to the government, although it is widely speculated that the airline will remain the controlling shareholder.
Praful Patel was reappointed as India's Civil Aviation Minister last week and said that the reinstalled United Progressive Alliance government is "not averse to liberalization" of foreign investment in domestic airlines. Foreign companies currently are allowed to hold up to 49% in Indian carriers, but foreign airlines are forbidden from participating ( ATWOnline, Feb. 13).
Southwest Airlines raised certain baggage charges and will begin allowing pets onboard for a fee as it looks for new revenue streams. SWA said last week that it will raise existing charges for passengers checking a third or overweight bag (51-70 lb.) to $50 from $25 and will add a $25 fee each way for those traveling as unaccompanied minors.
IATA reported a 3.1% decline in international RPKs in April, an improvement from the 11.1% plunge in March but a trend that "should be viewed with caution" considering the shift in the Easter holiday to April and the fact that "traffic gains were at the expense of yields in most regions." It also warned that preliminary data suggest another double-digit decline this month in Europe and perhaps elsewhere. Capacity dropped 2.5% and load factor was 74.4%. "There is no improvement in revenues as yields continue to fall," DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said.
JetAmerica, a low-fare startup, said it will launch services from Newark to Lansing (thrice-weekly), Melbourne, Fla. (thrice-weekly), South Bend (twice-weekly) and Toledo (six-times-weekly), as well as flights from Melbourne to Toledo (twice-weekly) and Lansing (once-weekly) on July 13. A thrice-weekly flight between Toledo and Minneapolis-St. Paul is scheduled to begin Aug. 14. All services to be operated aboard a wet-leased 737-800.
KLM took delivery of the third of eight 777-300ERs. The fourth -300ER is scheduled to join the fleet this summer and will feature the new SkyTeam livery. AWAS delivered a 737-700 to Moskovia Airlines, its first Western-built aircraft. Airline is based at Moscow Zhukovsky.
British Airways will abandon its daily London Gatwick-New York JFK service on Oct. 25 owing to poor performance. The three-class 777 will be used on new thrice-weekly flights from LGW to Male and Sharm El Sheikh. Air India will launch daily Ahmedabad-Frankfurt service aboard a 747-400. Norwegian will launch new routes from Copenhagen to Vienna (thrice-weekly), Dublin (thrice-weekly), Rome Fiumicino (thrice-weekly), and Warsaw (six-times-weekly) and new thrice-weekly services from Oslo Gardermeon to Dublin and Vienna on Aug. 17.
Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht said he sees a "renewed and more aggressive" interest in the alliance from member airlines as well as from nonallied carriers owing to the recession and industry downturn.
Rolls-Royce expressed confidence this week that the open rotor concept can be viable, asserting that it will "comfortably meet Stage 4 noise requirements."
Asserting that aviation is the "fastest-growing emissions source among modes of transportation," a European Commission official reiterated yesterday that all airlines that operate to the EU must submit plans for monitoring and reporting carbon dioxide emissions by Aug. 31 to relevant authorities in EU member states in advance of a 2010 "pre-compliance phase" for the Emissions Trading Scheme that includes aviation from 2012.
"Robust" growth in passenger numbers and ancillary revenue helped boost AirAsia to a MYR203.2 million ($58 million) first-quarter profit, up 26% from the MYR161.3 million reported in the year-ago period.
VLM Airlines will be rebranded as CityJet although it will continue to operate under its own operating certificate, the carriers announced. Both regionals are wholly owned subsidiaries of Air France KLM. Antwerp-based VLM is the largest operator at London City. It will adopt the group's Flying Blue loyalty program and abandon its own VLM Encore program in September ( ATWOnline, Dec. 12, 2008).
Airlines are not sitting idly waiting for major new ATM programs such as US FAA's NextGen and are investing in and employing new technology to reduce fuel burn and emissions, industry leaders Air New Zealand and Southwest Airlines said this week. ANZ GM-Operations and Chief Pilot David Morgan offered a report at the Eco-Aviation conference sponsored by ATW and Leeham Co.
Flybe said it was "surprised" that British Airways decided to impair the value of the carrier, in which it holds 15% following the 2006 sale of its BA Connect regional operation.
Boeing booked five 787 orders and had orders for five 767s cancelled during the week ended May 26, according to the manufacturer's Orders and Deliveries website. The customer(s) were not identified. It now has taken 13 gross 787 orders this year, but cancellations have reduced the net to -44 so far ( ATWOnline, May 12). Its year-to-date totals across all types now are level--65 gross orders and 65 cancellations for a net of zero.
Frontier Airlines Holding reported a $2.4 million net profit in April, reversed from a $26.9 million deficit in the year-ago month. Operating profit was $5 million compared to a $21.9 million operating loss last year. It incurred $1.1 million in bankruptcy-related expenses during the month. Mainline unit revenue rose 1.3% year-over-year to 9.30 cents and unit cost dropped 19.5% to 8.49 cents.
Austrian LCC Niki said it has derived significant benefits from the weakness of Austrian Airlines, and it also is involving itself in its larger rival's privatization process. "In the first quarter of 2009, our passenger numbers increased 34% compared to the same period last year. We are seeing a caravan of passengers not wanting to pay higher fares moving to us," President Niki Lauda told ATWOnline.
Cargoitalia took delivery of the first of three MD-11SF. freighters formerly operated by Alitalia Cargo and currently undergoing certification. It will enter commercial service on a twice-weekly Milan Malpensa-New York JFK-Toronto-MXP-Abu Dhabi-MXP routing. Second aircraft is scheduled to arrive in July with the third before year end. The original Cargoitalia suspended operations last year but was relaunched under the ownership of ALIS (66.7%) and Intesa SanPaolo (33.3%). It recently purchased the cargo assets of Alitalia.
Air Berlin lost €88.4 million ($123.4 million) in the first quarter, widened 48.3% from its €59.6 million deficit in the year-ago period, although revenue and yield rose and its impending partnership with TUIfly appears to be on the verge of being finalized.
