Air Berlin yesterday reported a €75 million ($99.6 million) loss for 2008, reversed from a €21 million surplus the prior year, but buttressed its long-term future with the sale of a 15.3% stake to Turkey's ESAS Holding and a share swap with TUI Travel's TUIfly.
Airlines' recovery from the current recession will be slower than in previous downturns owing to a substantial debt burden for consumers and businesses that is likely to curtail spending even after economic growth returns, IATA Chief Economist Brian Pearce told reporters yesterday in Washington.
Sensis said its Multistatic Dependent Surveillance was selected by UK NATS for ground surveillance at London Stansted. MDS will provide full coverage of runway, taxiway and stand areas "to enhance the safe and efficient movement of aircraft on the ground." System already is deployed at Heathrow and Gatwick, Sensis said.
Aeroflot officially dismissed CEO Valery Okulov last week and replaced him with Vitaly Savelyev, a VP at Russian conglomerate Sistema who reportedly has no previous aviation experience. The Moscow Times reported that SU minority investor Alexander Lebedev (through his National Reserve Corp.) withdrew his support of Okulov, paving the way for his ouster ( ATWOnline, March 24).
Qantas domestic flights were halted for 4 hr. yesterday during a wildcat strike by the airline's baggage handlers. The action affected some 400 flights and about 50,000 travelers. The Transport Workers Union was protesting Jetstar Airways' decision to take its ground handling contract away from Qantas Airport Services and award it to independent, and cheaper, Aero-care. TWU officials initially claimed Aero-care's workers lacked security clearance but later changed the focus of the dispute to job security.
American Eagle will furlough 75 pilots and eliminate 45 management positions in line with planned schedule reductions, the company confirmed to ATWOnline yesterday. The pilot reductions will take place in two stages, with the first 35 on May 1 and the remaining 40 on June 1. The management positions will be eliminated over the next few months and are in addition to the 30 layoffs previously announced for 2009.
Norwegian said February yield rose an estimated 8% year-over-year to NOK0.64 (9.64 cents) in February. It flew 528 million RPKs, up 14%, against a 15% increase in capacity to 679 million ASKs. Load factor was level at 78%. Vueling Airlines flew 306 million RPKs in February, down 24.3% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 27% to 457 million ASKs and load factor rose 2.4 points to 67%.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Aviation Director Bill DeCota, speaking yesterday at an Aero Club luncheon in Washington, complained that "the federal funding is not there" to enable US FAA to transition to the NextGen satellite-based ATC system. "We're all disappointed by the lack of investment in NextGen," said DeCota, who oversees New York JFK, LaGuardia and Newark. He said only $800 million was pledged for NextGen in President Barack Obama's 2010 budget proposal recently submitted to Congress.
Liberator.aero will provide its fuel savings program and emissions measurement module to Bangkok Airways under a three-year deal. It said it is targeting a 2% reduction in the annual fuel bill.
Royal Air Maroc placed firm orders for two ATR 42-600s and four ATR 72-600s with options for an additional two 72-600s. The aircraft will be operated by new regional subsidiary Royal Air Maroc Express, which will launch service this summer.
IATA said it welcomed the abolishment of the Dutch departure tax that was introduced last year ( ATWOnline, Oct. 20, 2008) (Oct. 20. 2008). The Dutch government last week decided to eliminate the tax when it implemented an economic stimulus package. "Abolishing the departure tax was the right decision for the Dutch economy," DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said. "It will provide an economic boost in this crisis. . .This is just the tip of the iceberg. Airlines saw $6.9 billion in crazy new taxation last year.
Air France will launch twice-daily London City-Nantes flights April 27 aboard F50s. Finnair will operate four-times-weekly Helsinki-Ljubljana seasonal service March 29-Oct. 23. Separately, it took delivery of its first of eight A330-300s. El Al will start six-times-weekly Tel Aviv-London Luton 767 flights on May 3. Lufthansa Cargo today will launch new weekly MD-11F Frankfurt-Hanoi service. It also will add a weekly Frankfurt-Hyderabad freighter flight on April 6.
Southwest Airlines Pilots Assn. Friday endorsed the tentative five-year deal reached with SWA management earlier this year ( ATWOnline, Feb. 2) and sent the agreement to its more than 5,900 members for a ratification vote. "We believe this contract addresses the needs of our pilot group," SWAPA President Carl Kuwitzky said.
SAS took delivery of its first of 12 88-seat CRJ900s last week. All aircraft should be delivered by January 2010. The carrier also holds options for another 17. It told reporters in Copenhagen that talks to turn the options into firm orders will be held in September for possible deliveries starting in 2010. The 12 CRJ900s a part of a settlement with Bombardier and Goodrich over the Q400 landing gear incidents that led the airline to retire its 27 Q400s in October 2007 and have forced it to wet-lease aircraft to fill the gap.
Emirates said it will introduce an A380 on its Dubai routes to Bangkok (daily) and Toronto (thrice-weekly) on June 1. The aircraft will provide a capacity increase of about 30% on each route.
Air France KLM said last week that it likely will report a €200 million ($271.4 million) operating loss for its fiscal year ending March 31 and stated that its focus for the year beginning April 1 is "to limit our operating loss."
US President Barack Obama Friday announced his intent to nominate former Air Line Pilots Assn. President Randy Babbitt, 62, to be the next FAA Administrator. Previously an Eastern Airlines pilot for more than 25 years, Babbitt is currently a partner in the aviation practice of management consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Following two terms as ALPA president in the 1990s, he founded aviation consultancy Eclat Consulting, which became a part of Oliver Wyman in 2007.
US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) last week expressed frustration with the pace at which FAA is transitioning to the NextGen satellite-based ATC system ( ATWOnline, March 19). "We have to do this and we have to do it right away," he stated during a Senate hearing. "Why are we so slow?. . .We're going to fall farther and farther behind unless we have the intensity and political will and the money in the budget to pay for it. .
Embraer reported 2008 net income of $388.7 million, a 21% drop from $489.3 million the previous year, citing losses on currency hedges as the value of the real fell and sagging sales owing to the global economic downturn. Full-year revenue rose 20.8% to $6.33 billion. Fourth-quarter profit plunged 44% to $111.6 million from $200.9 million a year ago and revenue for the quarter was down 3% to $1.81 billion.
Pratt & Whitney executives said last week that interest in the PurePower PW1000G geared turbofan engine has increased since Lufthansa's recent commitment to Bombardier's CSeries and that additional orders may boost a company whose parent, United Technologies, has launched a major restructuring featuring up to 11,600 job cuts this year.
While it still is completing evaluations of three recently conducted biofuel test flights, Boeing already has drawn enough conclusions to state that it is "very confident. . .high quality jet fuel" can be composed of plant-derived oils, a company official told US lawmakers last week.
Gulf Air entered into a three-year fleet management program with SIA Engineering Co. covering the airline's Airbus fleet including A and C checks, fleet technical management, material management and engineering services, which will be performed at Gulf Air's base in Bahrain as well as in Singapore. According to the airline, the contract has a provision "for SIAEC to work with Gulf Air to insource the MRO services provided by SIAEC," which also will provide training to Gulf Air engineering staff.
US President Barack Obama's administration has not formed a position on the inclusion of US airlines in the EU's emissions trading scheme, State Dept. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs John Byerly said yesterday at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Aviation Symposium.
Pratt & Whitney announced yesterday that its PW4000-100 engine with the Advantage 70 upgrade completed its first test flight aboard an Air Comet A330-200 in Toulouse. The test program will continue through early April. The PW4000-100 is designed to deliver 70,000 lb. thrust for the A330 and will enter revenue service on the Air Comet -200 and an Air Caraibes A330-300 in the summer. Advantage 70 offers a 1% reduction in fuel consumption and increased durability, Pratt said.
