EgyptAir said it will offer OnAir's inflight Internet service on its A330-300s. It offered no further details, but press reports indicated that installation will take 18 months and begin in August 2010.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airline does not expect to try to obtain new capital beyond the A$500 million ($389.6 million) raised through a February share placement ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5). "We have built up our cash balances and our plans going forward have deferred capital expenditure," he said in comments cited by Reuters.
Air Southwest of Plymouth, England, will add the SZ code to its flight numbers beginning May 31, allowing its flights to be available for sale in external systems. It previously used the WOW prefix. "Our website. . .will continue to be our main source of bookings, but we now see great opportunities in being able to use global sales systems. And it means we can work more closely with other airlines in the future," MD Peter Davies said. Air Southwest serves 13 destinations
Aegean Airlines reversed its traditional first-quarter deficit, posting a €4.6 million ($6.4 million) profit compared to a €4.4 million loss in the year-ago period, crediting falling oil prices, fleet renewal and reduced distribution costs owing to the rise in Web sales. It broke even on the operating level compared to a €6 million loss last year but recorded a €4.4 million gain on the sale of its participation in three catering companies. Revenue increased 13% to €111.3 million on a 9% lift in passengers to 1.2 million.
Blue1 will furlough each of its 450 employees for 2-4 weeks, a spokesperson told Finnish national broadcaster YLE. Leave will be staggered and will not affect scheduled flights. The SAS Group subsidiary serves 24 destinations.
US Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James May yesterday said the organization does not support the environmental approach being taken by the Aviation Global Deal Group, the partnership among Air France KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Qatar Airways, Finnair and UK airports operator BAA.
Air New Zealand yesterday revealed the results of its Dec. 29 747-400 biofuel test flight at the Eco-Aviation conference presented by ATW and Leeham Co. in Washington, saying that data gathered from the 2-hr. flight show that a 50/50 blend of jatropha-based fuel and standard jet fuel could reduce fuel burn by 1.2% and carbon dioxide emissions by 60%-75% on an average 12-hr. 747 flight.
Deccan 360, a cargo startup established by Air Deccan founder G.R. Gopinath, launched service yesterday with an A310 freighter flight from Delhi to Hong Kong. "Deccan 360 will be the first Indian company to create a hub-and-spoke distribution model in the express industry in India," parent company Deccan Express Logistics said. "Deccan 360's air and surface network will offer unmatched, next-day connectivity to more than 85% of the Indian GDP." The carrier reportedly will add more A310Fs later this year.
Natural Resources Defense Council International Climate Policy Director Jake Schmidt said the "writing is on the wall" regarding carbon dioxide emissions standards for US airlines. Speaking yesterday in Washington at the Eco-Aviation conference presented by ATW and Leeham Co., he said that "no source of emissions can be left unchecked. . .Emissions controls are coming. Within the US, aviation will be covered in some form or another. Inevitably it's coming."
Alitalia has been reestablished as an IATA member and said it is "now in a position to play an active role in all the association's projects, confirming its intention to be a key player in the air transport world, at the same time as following an investment strategy to continuously improve its services and products."
British Airways CEO Willie Walsh said the airline would consider purchasing bmi's slots at London Heathrow if they became available, the Financial Times reported. "In the current environment, it is difficult to argue we should go out and acquire those slots. Having said that, it may be the only opportunity we ever get," Walsh told the paper. Bmi is the second-largest slot holder at LHR after BA with about 12%.
American Airlines will operate a cashless cabin on US and Canadian mainline flights beginning June 1. Separately, American Eagle will launch twice-daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Manhattan, Kan., service on Aug. 25 aboard an ERJ-145.
WestJet announced yesterday that its codeshare partnership with Southwest Airlines, slated to launch by late 2009, "will be delayed" because SWA "has decided to redirect a portion of its resources dedicated to the codeshare project towards other near-term revenue opportunities." Calgary-based WS emphasized that its new Sabre reservation system will be online by the fourth quarter and could handle implementation of the codeshare ( ATWOnline, July 9, 2008) but said SWA is concerned about launching the arrangement i
Republic Airways Holdings reached an agreement with Midwest Airlines to operate two 100-seat E-190ARs with service scheduled to begin in August and September. Currently, Republic operates 12 76-seat E-170s under the Midwest Connect brand. Midwest Chairman, President and CEO Timothy Hoeksema said the new aircraft will enable Midwest to once again offer nonstop service to the West Coast from Milwaukee.
Air India started construction of an MRO and engineering center at Hyderabad Shamshabad. Facility will include a 9,000-sq.-m. hangar, component overhaul shops and offices and will cost approximately INR800 million ($16.8 million), the carrier said. AI is targeting completion in 18 months.
El Al reported a $39.8 million first-quarter loss, narrowed 20.4% from the $50 million deficit posted last year. Revenue was down 26% to $346.7 million as passenger numbers fell 13% year-over-year. "Strict management of expenses together with the drop in fuel prices after offsetting for hedging expenses led to a significant drop in the company's costs and better results," President Haim Romano said in a statement cited by Reuters.
US Airways will launch daily Charlotte-Rio de Janeiro Galeao service on Dec. 2. Route will be US's first to South America and will be operated by a 204-seat, two-class 767. Felix Airways launched flights from Sana'a to Sharjah and Djibouti.
Lufthansa Group airlines flew 12.2 billion RPKs in April, down 4.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 1% to 16.14 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 2.8 points to 75.6%. United Airlines flew 9.39 billion consolidated RPMs in April, an 8.7% decline year-over-year. Capacity fell at the same rate to 11.75 billion ASMs, leaving load factor at 79.9%. China Southern Airlines flew 7.47 billion RPKs in April, up 2.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.1% to 9.78 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 1.6 points to 76.4%.
Jat Airways intends to change its name, Chairman Sasa Vlaisavljevic told Vecernje Novosti. Names under consideration are Air Serbia, Serbia Airlines and Serbia Airways, the newspaper reported.
Chinese carriers had failed to pay bills totaling about CNY1.87 billion ($273.6 million) combined to 32 airports as of Dec. 31, according to the China Civil Airports Assn. Domestic carriers blamed "financial difficulties" for the defaults, which comprise mainly landing, parking and security fees.
Russia's S7 Airlines will join oneworld next year, the 10-member group announced, adding 54 new destinations and eight new countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) to the alliance's network.
Astra Airlines of Greece acquired a second 99-seat BAe 146-300 from BAE Systems Asset Management. The Thessaloniki-based charter and ACMI carrier took its first of the type last July and will use the new aircraft to launch its first scheduled flight to Kiev.
Virgin Atlantic nearly doubled its pre-tax profit to £68.4 million ($108.7 million) for its fiscal year ended Feb. 28 from £34.8 million in the prior year. CEO Steve Ridgway said the company increased profitability despite "the toughest trading environment ever" because "with some of the lowest fares ever" it is "winning market share from our competitors." He added that "load factors remain resilient as travelers take advantage of these bargain fares." VS said fares are "at their lowest level in 25 years." The airline will celebrate its 25th anniversary on June 22.
The Star Alliance Chief Executive Board accepted Aegean Airlines' membership application yesterday, Star CEO Jaan Albrecht announced at a news conference in Athens. Aegean is the first Greek carrier to join an alliance and will add a network spanning 23 domestic and 24 international routes on 200 daily flights.
Jet Airways finished its fiscal year ended March 31 INR4.02 billion ($84.7 million) in the red compared to a INR2.53 million loss in 2007-08 and said a return to breakeven and profitability "requires exceptional efforts" considering the "sluggish demand" forecast for the coming year. The Indian carrier enjoyed a 23.4% increase in revenue to INR118 billion, but a year marked by plunging demand, overcapacity and the Mumbai terrorist attacks proved too great a burden on the bottom line ( ATWOnline, Jan. 19).
