American Airlines parent AMR Corp. posted a first-quarter net loss of $375 million, 10.1% worse than the net deficit of $341 million in the year-ago period, citing "declining revenues, fares and traffic."
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew 7.58 billion RPKs in March, down 4.5% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 0.8% to 9.59 billion ASKs and load factor fell 3 points to 79.1%. WestJet flew 1.25 billion RPMs in March, up 0.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 6.3% to 1.52 billion ASMs and load factor fell 4.7 points to 81.9%. It said first-quarter RASM slid 10%-12% year-over-year.
Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme, the pension fund for Aer Lingus and Dublin Airport Authority employees, is likely to suffer a €628 million ($830.8 million) shortfall, according to a SIPTU report cited by The Independent. The union called the shortfall "an extremely challenging vista that must the addressed" and called on EI and DAA to set aside funds from cash reserves to "secure the viability" of the scheme. EI's and DAA's combined net cash balance is nearly €1.4 billion, SIPTU said.
PASSUR Aerospace announced that JetBlue Airways contracted for its ATC Portal, a "next-generation traffic flow management solution that helps improve hub reliability through advanced 'health of the airport' analysis, trend predictions, and alerts capabilities," according to the company.
Pilots at ANA subsidiaries Air Nippon, Air Nippon Network, Air Next and Air Central conducted another 24-hr. strike yesterday, forcing cancellation of 149 flights, or 16.8% of ANA's schedule. Another 14 flights were delayed. The airline said the pilots intended to "express dissatisfaction with the management stance in their spring round of talks." The four unions staged a similar walkout last month ( ATWOnline, March 19).
Vietnam Airlines received government permission to move forward with the purchase of 10 A321-200s for delivery in the 2011-14 period and to join the SkyTeam alliance, according to press reports from Vietnam.
AIMS reached agreements with Maximus Air Cargo, Centurion Air Cargo and MTA for use of its airline crew management, operations control and commercial planning system software.
Embraer delivered 32 commercial aircraft (compared to 38 in the year-ago period) and 40 overall in the first quarter. Commercial deliveries comprised one ERJ-145, five E-170s, three E-175s, 17 E-190s and six E-195s. Its commercial backlog totals 393 aircraft.
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism increased the number of landing slots at Tokyo Haneda as a temporary measure "to support Japan's airline industry during the current difficult economic environment," Japan Airlines said. JAL will use its allotment to operate an eighth daily flight to Hiroshima from May 8 to May 31 and a 20th daily flight to Fukuoka from June 1 to June 30. Additional flights in the July-October period have not been determined. JAL also said it will reduce its daily Tokyo Narita-Delhi service to four-times-weekly from June 1 to Oct. 24.
APG Global Associates said five more airlines joined its interline e-ticketing program--Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Ghana International Airlines, Phoebus Apollo Aviation and Zambezi Airlines. Joining APG IET permits airlines to use the Heli Air Monaco (YO/747) e-ticket as a neutral ticketing platform.
Alaska Airlines said more than 96% of the more than 2,100 passengers who tried inflight Internet during a trial launched Feb. 26 said they would use it again ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27), with more than 78% either "extremely" or "very" likely to recommend it. The service was provided by Row 44 on one 737-700. AS said it will begin evaluating pricing models this week and intends to make a decision before year end.
Following its announcement that it plans to sell 10 aircraft and defer delivery of at least 16 more (including four A380s), Qantas yesterday would not be drawn into commenting on the fate of its first 15 787s as speculation mounted that they also may be deferred.
Southwest Airlines will launch its Boston service on Aug. 16 with five-times-daily flights to Chicago Midway and five-times-daily service to Baltimore. It will operate from two gates at BOS and have approximately 40 fulltime employees at the airport.
US President Barack Obama's order this week loosening restrictions on travel to Cuba could open opportunities for scheduled commercial flights between the US and the island nation and "in all likelihood" will lead to an expansion of US-Cuba charter flights, White House officials said.
United Airlines reintroduced onboard Economy Plus Upsell following the launch of its new handheld credit card scanners, according to a communication from the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA to its members. Up to three "upsells" enticing economy passengers to pay extra to sit in the roomier economy plus section are permitted on narrowbody aircraft and up to 10 on widebodies. AFA told members that upselling should occur only after takeoff.
Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation said all airlines based in the country will be required to operate at least 10 aircraft by 2012, at least five of which must be owned. "If not, they will have to shut down or merge with other airlines to meet the quota," a ministry spokesperson told reporters. The rule change (currently Indonesian carriers only have to own two aircraft) is driven by safety concerns. "We want airlines to be financially sound and committed to giving the best in terms of service and safety," the spokesperson said, according to Agence France Presse.
ARINC said its Asia Pacific Division opened sales and service offices in Mumbai and New Delhi, bringing its representation in the region to 11 countries.
British Airways said that a series of concessions proposed by flight attendants represented by Unite "was welcome, [but] not enough," and a spokesperson told Dow Jones that negotiations will continue ( ATWOnline, April 13).
FedEx revealed in a regulatory filing this week that it will "permanently remove" 10 A310-200Fs and four MD-10Fs from service by May 31. "This decision reflects management's ongoing efforts to optimize the company's express network in light of continued excess aircraft capacity due to weak economic conditions and the expected delivery of newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft in fiscal year [2009-10]," it informed the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
China Southern Airlines yesterday reported its first full-year loss in three years, a CNY4.82 billion ($704.1 million) deficit that represented a reversal from the CNY1.84 billion profit reported in 2007
Turkish Airlines flew 7.5 billion RPKs in the first quarter, up 8.8% year-over-year, against a 14.9% rise in capacity to 11.4 billion ASKs. Load factor fell 3.7 points to 66.1% while passenger numbers rose 8.4% to 4.9 million. Gol flew 1.78 billion RPKs in March, down 16.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 12.8% to 3.25 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 2.2 points to 54.95. Copa Airlines flew 485.6 million RPMs in March, a 9.9% increase year-over-year, against a 15.7% rise in capacity to 627.2 million ASMs. Load factor dropped 4.1 points to 77.4%.
Thomson Airways took delivery of the second of two new CFM56-powered 737-800s yesterday. The first aircraft entered commercial service April 1. The 189-seat leased aircraft are the first new deliveries from Boeing since last year's merger of Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways and are part of a wider fleet renewal program that includes 12 787s.
Southern Air, a Connecticut-based cargo carrier operating 17 747-200 freighters and specializing in long-haul heavy lift services, was ordered by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration to withdraw a lawsuit it filed against nine former employees and pay them more than $7.9 million in wages, damages and legal fees. OSHA concluded that a defamation suit filed by Southern against the former flight crew members, whom the agency said "raised air carrier safety concerns" with the airline, OSHA and FAA, violated whistleblower protections in US law governing FAA and airlines.
KD avia is set to receive a RUB4 billion ($119 million) capital injection from the Russian government, Kaliningrad Region Governor Georgy Boos told Prime-Tass. Kaliningrad holds 9.5% of the carrier. The amount matches that which KD Director-Business Development Mikhail Baskov revealed to ATWOnline four months ago ( ATWOnline, Dec. 15, 2008). KD is more than RUB10 billion in debt, according to the news agency.
