European Commission accepted measures taken by France to end the differentiation in passenger charges between domestic flights and those from/to Schengen countries.
Continental Airlines reported a 2008 net loss of $585 million, reversed from a profit of $459 million in the year-ago period, citing a deteriorating demand environment, a severe and "unprecedented" December winter storm at its Houston Intercontinental hub and special charges related to fuel hedging contracts and pension settlements.
Delta Air Lines signed an MOU with the Air Line Pilots Assn. and US FAA "to reinstate the airline's Aviation Safety Action Program covering pre-merger Delta pilots. The revised program mirrors an existing Northwest Airlines pilot ASAP program." ASAPs encourage flight crews to submit reports identifying safety-related concerns and incidents without fear of punishment.
Fuel hedge losses, restructuring charges and special items sank Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air parent Alaska Air Group to a $135.9 million net loss in 2008, reversed from a $124.3 million profit in 2007.
Austrian Airlines Group CEO Alfred Oetsch resigned yesterday. He will leave the company on Jan. 31, which would make him the shortest-tenured CEO in the carrier's history. He took over in May 2006. COO Peter Malanik and CCO Andreas Bierwirth will fill in for Oetsch temporarily and Austrian media are speculating that Swiss International Air Lines Chief Network & Distribution Officer Harry Hohmeister could succeed Oetsch, 55, who said the company's takeover by Lufthansa necessitated a new start on the personnel side. Swiss and AAG both are Lufthansa subsidiaries.
Lufthansa supervisory board Chairman Juergen Weber told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that "if the conditions are right, SAS will become interesting for us" as an acquisition target.
Fraport plans to sell its 65% stake in loss-making subsidiary Frankfurt-Hahn next month, CEO Stefan Schulte said during a German Luftfahrt Presse Club event.
Russia's S7 Airlines has canceled its order for 15 787s, it confirmed yesterday, becoming the first carrier to terminate a major deal for Boeing's delayed next-generation widebody.
Sun Country Airlines reported a $21.4 million loss in 2008, narrowed from a $35 million deficit the year before. Chairman and CEO Stan Gadek called the result "a significant improvement based upon the successful turnaround" of the company. "Based on current booking and revenue trends, we expect to be profitable in first quarter and full-year 2009," he claimed. Fourth-quarter net profit of $955,000 compared to an $18 million loss in the year-ago period and was SY's first profitable fourth quarter in five years.
AirTran Airways reported a 2008 net loss of $273.8 million, reversed from a $52.7 million profit in 2007, citing "multiple financial challenges" and noting that the result included nonoperating losses of $150.8 million related to its "out-of-the-money" fuel hedge contracts.
SR Technics reached a three-year deal with Spanair to provide MRO on wheels, brakes and tires for 48 717s, A320s, A321s and MD-80s. Work will take place at SR Technics' shops in Palma de Mallorca and Madrid.
Lufthansa canceled 80 flights Wednesday owing to a 6-hr. strike by the UFO cabin crew union at Frankfurt, Berlin Tegel and Berlin Schoenefeld. UFO now has staged two strikes in four days and is pushing for a 15% wage increase for its 16,000 members. LH has lifted its offer to 10%.
Iberia will report net income of €32 million ($42.2 million) for 2008, a 90.3% plunge from the prior year, it announced at an investors conference yesterday. It will suffer a €79 million operating loss on a 1.3% decline in revenue to €5.45 billion. Passenger revenue fell 2.5% to €4.22 billion. Operating costs rose 5.5% to €5.53 billion on a 45.5% surge in fuel expenses to €1.67 billion. Capacity dropped 0.5% year-over-year and load factor was down 1.6 points to 80%. IB will release its complete full-year and fourth-quarter results on Feb. 27.
Alliant Techsystems yesterday announced it won a contract with Rolls-Royce to produce composite aft fan cases for the Trent XWB that will power the A350. Contract is valued at more than $200 million and includes integration of additional components to support Rolls' assembly. Fan case delivery is slated to begin later this year. Trent XWB ground testing is expected in 2010.
Air Jamaica released a 2009 business plan designed to "quickly stem the substantial cash losses at the company." It includes a reduction of its fleet to nine aircraft and the cancellation of flights to Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, Grand Cayman, Barbados and Grenada.
Ryanair yesterday announced the formal withdrawal of its €748 million ($987.4 million) cash offer for Aer Lingus, which followed the Irish government's refusal to sell its stake to the LCC. "Ryanair acknowledges that its offer cannot now be successful," it said. The carrier also announced the launch of a daily London Gatwick-Marseille service, its seventh route from LGW, on March 30.
Emirates will operate the A380 to Incheon beginning in November. It will be EK's fifth A380 market after London Heathrow, New York JFK and soon-to-be-launched Sydney and Auckland. It also said it will commence its deferred Dubai-Durban service on Oct. 1 and will resume its third daily DXB-Johannesburg flight on Feb. 1. Durban flights had been scheduled to launch Dec. 1 but were delayed due to aircraft deployment issues.
ANA and Japan Airlines yesterday each released plans for their fiscal years beginning April 1 that feature network cutbacks and a greater focus on operational efficiency. ANA said it intends to "minimize the risk of falling revenue" and is focusing on opportunities "afforded by the expansion" of Tokyo Haneda and Narita in 2010. International capacity is expected to fall 8% in the upcoming fiscal year while domestic ASKs decline 4.3%. It will suspend flights from Nagoya to Tainjin and Guangzhou from March 29 and temporarily suspend and/or decrease frequency on five other Asian routes.
Boeing's 2008 net profit plunged 34% to $2.7 billion from $4.1 billion in the prior year owing to the now-settled machinists' strike, lower aircraft deliveries and development delays in aircraft programs, leading the company to announce yesterday that it will cut 5,500 additional jobs this year. The manufacturer, which posted a rare quarterly net loss in the fourth quarter of $56 million compared to a $1.03 billion profit in the year-ago quarter, already had said it would cut 4,500 workers in 2009, bringing total planned cuts to 10,000.
Lufthansa Italia took to the skies yesterday with a panoramic flight over the Alps that followed a ceremony christening of its first two A319s. The aircraft were named "Milano" and "Varese," breaking with LH's tradition of naming planes after German cities and marking a new phase in its aggressive expansion strategy, which now includes the first establishment of a carrier outside its home market.
Frontier Airlines Holdings reported a $1.1 million net profit in the December quarter and an operating profit of $5.6 million. Excluding special items, it was $7.7 million in the black on a net basis. Special items included $8.7 million in mark-to-market fuel hedge losses and $2.7 million in gains on reorganization activities that included the sale of four A319s. Its December net profit was $18.7 million. Fourth-quarter mainline passenger unit revenue rose 7.2% year-over-year against a 4.2% fall in unit cost excluding fuel to 6.2 cents.
