Lufthansa announced the payment of an approximately CHF269 million ($267.5 million) out-performance option to the former majority shareholders of Swiss International Air Lines. Combined with the fee LH paid for approximately 15% of Swiss's equity in 2005, the price for the complete acquisition now stands at some CHF339 million. LH said the out-performance option payout level depended on the performance of LH shares compared to those of British Airways, Air France KLM and Iberia.
Singapore Airlines will reduce the weight limit for each piece of luggage on its US services to 50 lb. from 70 lb. effective April 1. Each passenger will be entitled to check two bags.
Frontier Airlines reached agreement to sell two of its 49 A319s and two of its 11 A318s to VTB Leasing, which in turn will lease them to St. Petersburg-based Rossiya Airlines. SkyWorks Leasing arranged the sale. Financial terms were not disclosed. The move is part of the Denver-based carrier's effort to modernize its fleet in the face of high energy costs. President and CEO Sean Menke characterized its recent financial losses as "clearly not acceptable" and vowed to make necessary changes ( ATWOnline, Jan. 28).
Oneworld airlines serving Shanghai Pudong will begin collocating in Terminal 2 starting this week when British Airways and Qantas transfer to the new facility Wednesday. Finnair, Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair will follow on April 29 and American Airlines will move at an unspecified date. It currently operates out of T1, where Japan Airlines will remain.
Frontier Airlines flew 744.8 million RPMs in February, up 18.1% from the year-ago month, against a 7.5% rise in capacity to 957.6 million ASMs. Load factor rose 7 points to 77.8%. Passenger yield was down 3.9% to 9.95 cents while unit revenue rose 5.6% to 7.74 cents. Mesa Air Group flew 447.9 million RPMs in February, an 11.6% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 8.1% to 627.8 million ASMs, dropping load factor 2.8 points to 71.4%.
Kale Consultants was contracted by Finnair Cargo to provide airmail cargo revenue accounting services including scans, document processing and invoice production. Work will take place at Kale's MPS center in Mumbai.
Bombardier announced the sale of six CRJ700 NextGens to an unidentified carrier. The deal includes 10 options. Firm orders are worth $207 million at list prices and the contract value will increase to around $562 million if all options are exercised.
SAS Group airlines flew 2.34 billion RPKs in February, a 14.4% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 13.5% to 3.5 billion ASKs and load factor lifted 0.5 point to 66.8%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 2.03 billion RPKs, up 13.6%, against a 12.2% increase in ASKs to 2.95 billion that boosted load factor 0.9 point to 68.9%. WestJet flew 1.06 billion RPMs in February, up 19% on the year-ago month, against an 18.2% increase in capacity to 1.28 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 0.5 point to 82.8%.
Emirates said that the "first authorized mobile phone call made from a commercial flight" occurred yesterday aboard one of its A340-300s flying at 30,000 ft. en route from Dubai to Casablanca, marking the launch of its $27 million program to equip its fleet with the AeroMobile system that will allow passengers to use their own cell phones in flight.
US Dept. of Transportation and European Commission announced a "joint research project" to determine the impact of airline alliances on competition and the potential impact of transatlantic open skies. The bodies will interview airlines, travel agents, analysts and consumer groups in addition to performing data analysis. A report will be published in mid-2009.
Cirrus Airlines Dornier 328 overran the runway at Mannheim City Airport and crashed into an earthen barrier, causing significant damage to the left wing and engine. None of the 24 passengers or three crew was injured. Flight was en route from Berlin Tempelhof.
Air France KLM confirmed that its restructuring of Alitalia will include approximately 1,600 job cuts, fleet downsizing and the transfer of some 2,800 AZ Servizi employees to AZ Fly with the remaining AZS staff retained for up to two consecutive periods of four years. State severance schemes will be implemented for the employees who lose their jobs.
Pratt & Whitney said this week that it has installed the flight inlet and nacelle system on its Geared Turbofan demonstrator engine and is ready to begin the second phase of ground testing next month. GTF demonstrator program partner Goodrich provided the system and installation took place during a fit check that precedes connection of final test sensors.
Qantas plans to allow domestic customers to use e-mail and SMS functions on their mobile phones and PDAs beginning later this year. The decision follows a trial onboard a 767-300 that ran from April 2007 to January ( ATWOnline, Aug. 29, 2007). The tecnology will be installed on "a number" of domestic 767-300s and A330-200s. "The evaluation of this new technology was a great success," Executive GM John Borghetti said. Qantas worked with AeroMobile on the project.
Air Greenland reported pre-tax earnings of DKK73.2 million ($15.4 million) in 2007, a result it said was "considerably better than anticipated" but that represented a 2.4% decrease from the DKK75 million profit earned in 2006. It cited a "high level" of charter activity and an increase in domestic passengers as plusses but said it suffered low load factors on routes to and from Copenhagen and Baltimore.
BOC Aviation announced a sale/leaseback deal with Air Canada covering two new 777-300ERs scheduled for delivery this month and next. Lease deals are for 12 years each. BOCA also announced the delivery of the first of seven new 737-800s to Jet Airways. A second will arrive at the end of this month with the remaining five scheduled for delivery in 2010 and 2011.
Private Kuwaiti carrier Jazeera Airways reported a KWD2.3 million ($8.6 million) profit in 2007, level with the $8.7 million profit earned in 2006, its first full operational year ( ATWOnline, April 17, 2007). Revenue climbed 61.2% to KWD34.7 million, but the carrier did not report costs or cite a specific reason that the increased turnover did not boost the bottom line. Jazeera launched a second hub in Dubai last year and transported 1.2 million passengers during the 12-month period, doubling 2006 totals.
Boeing admitted yesterday that it has "found the need for some improvements" on the 787, specifically in the center wing box, and that the fixes are underway for those aircraft undergoing assembly. The company did not confirm whether the extra work would result in another delay. "It is a normal part of the development of a new airplane to discover need for improvements, and that is what we are experiencing on the 787," a Boeing spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.
FedEx posted a 6% drop in net income for its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 29 to $393 million compared to $420 million in the year-ago period and warned that rising fuel prices and "a weak US economy" likely portend "limited earnings growth" for the current three-month period and its next fiscal year starting June 1.
United Airlines reported in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing yesterday that first-quarter mainline PRASM is expected to increase 9%-10% year-over-year while consolidated unit revenues will rise 8.5%-9.5%. In addition, "solid" PRASM performance is expected in the second quarter. First-quarter mainline traffic is expected to drop 2.5%-3% from the year-ago quarter against unchanged capacity while consolidated RPMs will decline 2.8%-3.3% on a 0.1% drop in capacity. Mainline CASM is expected to increase 15.2%-15.5% year-over-year, or 3%-3.5% excluding fuel and special items.
Alenia Aeronautica said yesterday that it "successfully completed" ultimate load testing of the 787's horizontal stabilizer. During the test, the stabilizer is subjected to aerodynamic loads that could be experienced by the aircraft during flight in the most severe circumstances. The Boeing supplier said the tests were a "key" hurdle cleared in the effort to get the Dreamliner ready for first flight and certification.
Air France KLM said it has secured the approval of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance for its bid for Alitalia, but the road ahead may be difficult as a majority of trade unions, and the future government, still must sign off on the deal, AF KLM chief Jean-Cyril Spinetta said yesterday in Rome ( ATWOnline, March18). "The deal is at risk. But I still have hope," he said, according to widespread press reports.
Delta Air Lines pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. rejected arbitration as a way to break the impasse with Northwest Airlines pilots over the integration of their respective seniority lists, the Associated Press reported ( ATWOnline, March 19). Union leaders at NWA reportedly suggested the option to members.
