Kingfisher Airlines deferred delivery of its five A380s by two years to 2014 because it wants to wait for the higher-MTOW A380-900 that can fly nonstop to the US, a spokesperson from Kingfisher parent UB Group told Dow Jones. The airline already has deferred delivery of 32 of 48 A320s it was scheduled to take in late 2008 and 2009.
ARINC reached a deal with Enerjet to provide data link communications including its AviNet Ground Network and GLOBALink for 737-700 charter flights. Work involves configuring avionics and data message flow through ARINC's network to interface with Enerjet's applications and third-party providers.
Claiming that its "situation as this relegation battle begins is stronger than many others," Finnair yesterday reported a €42 million ($54.4 million) loss for 2008 that compared to a €101.6 million profit in 2007.
Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Tony Tyler confirmed to ATWOnline at this week's oneworld anniversary event in Madrid that the carrier has no plans to lay off employees despite the current downturn and repeated profit warnings.
LCAL, the Dubai-based lessor established in 2004 to buy and lease 787s, cut its Dreamliner order from 21 aircraft to five, dealing another blow to Boeing's troubled next-generation aircraft program. The 16 cancellations announced by the manufacturer yesterday, valued at $2.8 billion, marked the second big 787 order cut revealed in the last two weeks. Russia's S7 confirmed last week that it had cancelled its order for 15 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 30).
US House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) this week introduced legislation that would require the US Dept. of Transportation to renew airline alliances' antitrust immunity every three years.
STG Aerospace said US FAA amended its STC approval for its Wireless Emergency Primary Power System to include 737-300, -400 and -500 aircraft in addition to 737NGs already certified.
Mexicana parent Grupo Mexicana will launch a Guadalajara-based regional airline designed to "complement the routes currently covered" by the mainline and its Mexicana Click LCC subsidiary. The unnamed carrier will operate 13 leased CRJ200s and fill the gap on routes that are not cost-effective for its partners or that were operated by competing LCCs that have failed or reduced capacity. Initial flights will be to Puerto Vallarta, Torreon, Veracruz, Monterrey, Chihuahua and Ciudad Juarez. A timetable was not announced.
Shanghai Airlines suspended trading in its shares yesterday as it anticipated a capital injection from the government. SAL noted in a statement that it is discussing with stakeholders an effort to reduce its debt ratio, which Board Secretary Xu Junming confirmed will occur through a capital injection. Its debt ratio was 91.4% on Sept. 31, 2008.
Copa Airlines CEO Pedro Heilbron said yesterday that Panama City's Tocumen International, home of the carrier's "hub of the Americas," has secured financing for a $50-$70 million expansion that will grow the airport's gates to 34 from 22. Speaking at the Raymond James Airline Growth Conference in New York, he said Copa will benefit long term from the expansion and will continue to grow its traffic in the short term despite the economic downturn, with a 13% capacity boost planned for 2009.
EasyJet announced the following new routes: Daily flights from London Gatwick to Munich, Zurich and Vienna (April 2); thrice-weekly LGW-Bodrum (April 23); four-times-weekly flights from Milan Malpensa to Heraklion (July 26) and Dubrovnik (Aug. 2) and thrice-weekly service to Rhodes (July 25) and Split (Aug. 1); thrice-weekly flights from Paris Orly to Faro (July 11) and Dubrovnik (July 12); twice-weekly Berlin Schoenefeld-Cagliari (April 1); twice-weekly Lyon-Pisa (July 11), and thrice-weekly Manchester-Dalaman (Aug.
Southwest Airlines flew 5.14 billion RPMs in January, down 6.4% year-over-year. Capacity fell 4.4% to 8.17 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 1.4 points to 62.8%. Ryanair transported 4.1 million passengers in January, up 11% from the year-ago month. Load factor held steady at 69%.
Ryanair announced a reduction of its Shannon base owing to a €10 ($12.94) "tourist tax" that the LCC claimed "is devastating forward bookings" at the Irish airport. From March 30 it will reduce its based aircraft to four from six, cut five routes (to 25), 20 weekly flights (to 116) and more than 100 employees (to fewer than 200). "Irish tourism can only succeed if Ireland is a low-cost destination," Ryanair said, adding that the cuts "would be immediately reversed" if the tax is repealed.
A J Walter Aviation said it selected DHL Express to manage its inbound and outbound delivery requirements. Valued at £1.2 million ($1.7 million) per year, the contract guarantees next-day delivery to the US and allows for discounted rate options.
US federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the US Transportation Security Administration overcharges airlines on screening fees and should reduce the amount of money it collects from carriers annually. While the court said TSA is correct in charging airlines to help cover costs of screening passengers, the agency has misinterpreted laws passed post-9/11 by also charging carriers for costs associated with screening nonpassengers. Twenty-two US airlines jointly filed suit alleging that they overpay TSA by about $100 million per year.
China Eastern Airlines is targeting a breakeven 2010 and a profitable 2011, newly appointed Chiarman Liu Shaoyong said this week, adding that the carrier is open to consolidation and a potential merger with Shanghai Airlines. Liu told reporters, "I don't think it's a bad thing that there is a wide expectation that CEA will merge with SAL," noting that the airlines' cooperation has not extended to negotiations regarding a stake sale or swap.
Qantas yesterday reported a A$216 million ($138 million) profit for the half-year ended Dec. 31, down 65% from the A$618 million earned in the year-ago semester, and announced a A$500 million share placement designed to "enhance financial flexibility."
Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan said the Abu Dhabi-based carrier is pressing ahead with its expansion plans and is on target to achieve "breakeven" financial results by 2010 despite the "rough ride" the global airline industry currently is enduring. Speaking yesterday at an International Aviation Club luncheon in Washington, Hogan said Etihad--launched in November 2003--benefits from having "no legacy [airline] costs. . .We had the ability to start with a clean piece of paper. . .and are still on the upward curve of our expansion."
Saab Aircraft Leasing completed 17 aircraft transactions in 2008, allocating its entire portfolio to customers. Company officials said business was limited only by the number of aircraft available. At year end, SAL's portfolio comprised 125 aircraft leased to 17 clients in 11 countries.
United Airlines pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. and Aer Lingus pilots represented by the Irish Air Line Pilots Assn. announced a protocol agreement designed to "protect the interests" of pilots from both carriers ahead of the transatlantic partnership scheduled to take effect in March 2010 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23). Pilots said the initial Washington Dulles-Madrid route will be operated under EI's certificate but will not be flown by either UA or EI crew. "This partnership. .
Air Canada will launch daily service from Calgary to San Diego (May 15, aboard a Jazz Air CRJ700), London, Ont. (June 1 aboard an E-190), Portland, Ore. (June 15 aboard a Jazz CRJ100/200 and Whitehorse (seasonal from June 1 aboard a Jazz CRJ700). Spanair will launch daily Barcelona-Almeria service on May 3. Air Southwest will launch four-times-weekly Plymouth-Guernsey service on April 8. The Plymouth-based regional also named former Caribbean Airlines CEO Peter Davies as MD.
United Airlines flew 8.58 billion consolidated RPMs in January, a 10.9% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 10.5% to 11.41 billion ASMs and load factor was down 0.3 point to 75.2%. US Airways said January consolidated passenger RASM fell 2%-4% year-over-year. Traffic was down 6.2% to 4.5 billion RPMs against a 6.8% decline in capacity to 6 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 0.5 point to 75%.
Royal Jordanian does not plan to ground aircraft or abandon routes owing to the economic meltdown, CEO Samer Majali told ATWOnline at oneworld's 10th anniversary event in Madrid. The carrier will take delivery of new A319s this month and next and will launch Brussels service in April as scheduled. "After several years of high double-digit growth in passengers and an even greater increase in revenue, we are planning for a very modest growth this year," he said. He conceded that "modest" could equte to "zero," which he said was a "positive" considering the market downturn.
