Czech government selected Air France KLM and the Unimex/Travel Service consortium to proceed to the second round of bidding for a 91.5% stake in CSA Czech Airlines ( ATWOnline, March 24). Aeroflot and Odien, a private investor firm, were rejected. AF KLM issued a statement confirming its selection but provided no further details.
News from Travel Technology Update: Bill Me Later likes to keep it simple, for both consumers and merchants. The company can approve U.S. residents for deferred payment in a matter of seconds, with just the address, the last four digits of a customer's Social Security number and a birthdate. For merchants, Bill Me Later provides a guaranteed payment: Bill Me Later takes the risk of consumer defaults, although John Reistrup, vice president of travel marketing, said that rarely happens. "We've been pretty conservative," he said.
Macquarie AirFinance closed the purchase of two CFM56-5B3/P-powered A321-200s from Aercap. Aircraft are on lease to Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia through 2015.
AirAsia X will increase five-times-weekly Kuala Lumpur-London Stansted service to daily on July 1. Jetstar Pacific will add a fourth daily Ho Chi Minh City-Da Nang flight and a second-daily Hanoi-Da Nang frequency and will increase four-times-weekly Hanoi-Can Tho service to daily on June 1.
Sensis said Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International now is operating with Sensis Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model X, a runway incursion detection and alerting system. Fifteen of the 35 airports to receive the technology through FAA's ASDE-X program are operational, the company added.
Jamaica Defense Force counterterrorism unit stormed a CanJet 737 that had been hijacked on the ground for more than 8 hr. at Montego Bay by a lone gunman early yesterday morning, arresting the perpetrator and freeing six hostages. The ordeal began at around 10 p.m. Sunday night when "a young man armed with a gun. . .forced his way through security checkpoints" and boarded the 737, which was on a stopover en route to Santa Clara, Cuba, from Halifax, according to CanJet. The perpetrator demanded to be taken to Cuba.
Austrian Airlines Group flew 1.24 billion RPKs in March, an 18.1% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 14.3% to 1.72 billion ASKs and load factor was down 3.3 points to 72.1%. Pinnacle Airlines flew 407.1 million RPMs in March, up 0.5% year-over-year, against a 6.4% increase in capacity to 550.4 million ASMs. Load factor dropped 4.3 points to 74%. SkyEurope Airlines transported 307,540 passengers last month, down 39% year-over-year. Load factor rose 2.7 points to 73.6%.
US Environmental Protection Agency last Friday issued a proposed ruling that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases "contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare." The ruling, which had been expected, sets the stage for the agency to regulate and even restrict CO2 emissions under the Clean Air Act. The proposed finding now moves to a public comment period. In addition to CO2, EPA identified five other gases--Methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride--that it said are contributing to global warming.
Swiss International Air Lines CEO Christoph Franz confirmed to ATWOnline yesterday that passenger numbers in first and business class dropped at a double-digit rate during the past several months, leading the airline to park one A340-300 until summer. "This is equivalent to a 6% drop in long-haul capacity that we originally planned for the summer of 2009," Chief Network and Distribution Officer Harry Hohmeister said. If the downturn continues, Franz said LX conceivably could ground more aircraft. "But then you ruin your network," he conceded.
Singapore Airlines suffered another record passenger decline in March, a 23% year-over-year plunge to 1.3 million. RPKs fell 21.8% to 6.27 billion against a 9% cut in capacity to 9.03 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 11.4 points to 69.4%. Loads fell in all regions, with the deepest reduction (18 points) on European routes. China Southern Airlines flew 7.29 billion RPKs in March, up 4.8% year-over-year. Capacity climbed 3.3% to 9.65 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 1.1 points to 75.6%.
European Low Fares Airline Assn. urged UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling to remove the Air Passenger Duty or at the very least scrap the proposed increases due to take effect in November 2009 and November 2010 ( ATWOnline, Nov. 27, 2008). ELFAA member airlines carry more than one-third of all passengers departing UK airports.
Air Berlin may face a pilots strike as 82.2% of voting Vereinigung Cockpit members voted to approve a walkout. The union board must confirm the move. Talks broke down after AB said the union's proposals would result in an additional €30 million ($39.6 million) in personnel costs per year.
IATA expanded its agreement with the Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee to include safety provisions aimed at reducing accidents in Russia and the CIS. IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani, speaking last week at a press conference in Moscow, warned that "Russia's safety record is well below international standards" ( ATWOnline, Feb. 20). He noted that Russian airlines have an accident rate of one per 155,000 flights, "far worse than the global average of one accident for every 1.2 million flights.
Austrian Airlines Group confirmed to ATWOnline that it will stay afloat until it is taken over by Lufthansa. AAG Executive Board member and CCO Andreas Bierwirth told shareholders at a meeting last week that €90 million ($118.8 million) is still available from the €200 million in aid granted by the Austrian government and that the amount will be sufficient until LH's acquisition of the struggling carrier is approved ( ATWOnline, March 20).
On the heels of a HK$8.56 billion ($1.1 billion) 2008 loss that represented its first full-year deficit in a decade, Cathay Pacific Airways said Friday that it will confront a "toxic combination" of challenges with measures including an 8% capacity cut beginning next month and unpaid leave for employees.
Aerospace and Defence Industries Assn. of Europe supported calls from Airbus and ATR for both EU and national authorities "to provide financial support to the industry's customers, in particular through the implementation of funding schemes aimed at facilitating airlines' access to liquidity for the purchasing of new aircraft."
Southwest Airlines Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly last week strongly rejected Wall Street advice that the LCC begin charging for checked baggage to generate more revenue. During a conference call to discuss SWA's third consecutive quarterly loss, multiple analysts pushed Kelly to follow other US carriers and implement baggage fees. But he insisted the move would drive away customers. "The bottom line assessment is we believe we're having a meaningful impact [telling consumers] that we are alone in not charging bag fees and that [impression] is increasing our demand," Kelly explained.
SIA Engineering extended the coverage of a three-year Fleet Management and Support Services contract with Gulf Air. Initial deal covered 14 A320s, six A330s and nine A340s and was valued at $100 million. Subsequently, the contract was extended to cover an additional four A330s, one A320 and increased scope of services, bringing the total value of to $135 million.
Airbus said it "achieved a significant maintenance cost improvement due to the optimization of scheduled maintenance program intervals" for the A330/A340 family. The A check interval has been extended from 600 to 800 flight hr. and the heavy maintenance check from 10 years to 12. The company said that as a result, operators typically will need to perform five A checks per year rather than seven based on "typical utilization" of 4,400 flight hr. per year.
Shenzhen Airlines reported a first-quarter net profit of CNY160 million owing to a strong rebound in the domestic market; the year-ago result was not available and the carrier did not disclose its first-quarter revenue, expenses, passenger or cargo traffic. Owing to double-digit growth in the domestic market, Chinese carriers posted a collective net profit for the quarter of CNY1.78 billion, according to CAAC.
American Airlines said its first of its 42 787-9s, originally scheduled to arrive in 2012, now likely will be delivered in the second half of 2013 owing to last year's Boeing machinists strike. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, AA said the new schedule was "based on preliminary information received from Boeing." It also holds 58 787 options.
Nice Cote d'Azur Airport and Air France, in partnership with Amadeus and IER, are trialing a new "Pass and Fly" boarding device through Oct. 30 on the Nice-Paris Orly route. It is being offered to members of NCE's Club Airport Premier program and AF's loyalty program.
