JetBlue Airways and Aer Lingus unveiled details of their strategic partnership Friday, nearly one year after the alliance initially was revealed ( ATWOnline, Feb. 7). The tie-up will take effect April 3 and will feature a booking engine on EI's website that will allow customers to purchase tickets on EI flights to the US and JetBlue services from New York JFK in one transaction.
AirAsia, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia launched service Friday on the previously protected Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route, propelling the region's commercial aviation industry into a new era of liberalization.
Air Astana said it enjoyed record growth in 2007 as revenue rose 48% year-over-year, passenger numbers increased 46% to 2.1 million and capacity climbed 42% to 6.5 billion ASKs. It took delivery of two 767-300ERs, two A320s and two A321s, lifting its fleet to 18 aircraft ( ATWOnline, June 1, 2007). Late last year the airline placed firm orders for three 787-8s and six A320s ( ATWOnline, Jan. 3).
Singapore Airlines reported net income of S$590 million ($416.1 million) for its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, essentially flat compared to S$589.2 million earned in the year-ago period, on a 13.2% boost in revenue to S$4.28 billion. SIA noted that the prior fiscal year's third-quarter profit benefited from a S$198 million one-time gain owing to its sale of a 35.5% stake in Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, adding that the recently ended quarter's income was a 50.7% increase if that gain is excluded.
Southwest Airlines will continue its efforts to tap into the business travel market following the introduction of its Business Select product, CEO Gary Kelly said at last week's Raymond James Growth Airline Conference in New York.
Austrian Airlines Group announced that Saudi investor Mohamed bin Iassa Al-Jaber is in talks with airline management about a plan to invest €150 million ($221.7 million) in the flag carrier, which is intent on protecting its independent status. Discussions regarding an investment are ongoing and there are no results to report, AAG said. Al-Jaber owns two luxury hotels in Vienna. According to financial sources, AAG's value on the stock exchange is nearly €450 million.
Qantas will increase Melbourne-Hong Kong service to 10-times-weekly from daily from April 1 aboard an A330-300. Twice-weekly Melbourne-Shanghai begins March 11. It will increase weekly Sydney-Canberra frequencies by 15 to 157 in March and Melbourne-Canberra by 11 in March and an additional four in June to 89. New frequencies will be operated by 737-400s. JetBlue Airways will start daily Fort Lauderdale-Aguadilla Feb. 15 aboard A320s. It launched daily flights to Fort Myers from Buffalo and White Plains scheduled to operate until April 30 aboard E-190s.
International passenger traffic (RPKs) increased 7.4% in 2007, up 1.5 points over 5.9% growth recorded in 2006, according to IATA, which announced full-year traffic figures yesterday. Average load factor was 77% last year, up 1 point from 2006 and an all-time record. "This trend will likely end in 2008 as demand growth is forecast to slow to 5% while capacity rises 5.2%," the organization said.
Virgin Group is in talks with a potential Russian partner about launching an airline in the market, Chairman Richard Branson said in Moscow yesterday. "Now is the time for Virgin to come to Russia," he said at a news conference during an investor conference he is attending. His remarks were reported widely. "We are in discussions with a Russian partner," he said. "We will announce in three months who that partner will be." Branson added that it would be better to do "something from scratch" rather than partner with an existing carrier.
Midwest Airlines parent Midwest Air Group said yesterday that the US Dept. of Justice has completed its investigation of the company's acquisition by TPG Capital and Northwest Airlines, clearing the way for the sale's closing as early as last night ( ATWOnline, Dec. 10, 2007). Trading of Midwest Air Group stock on the American Stock Exchange concluded as of the close of trading yesterday. "Shareholders of record. .
L'Avion celebrated its first anniversary this month and said it transported more than 34,000 passengers in its first year, with a 79% load factor achieved last month. It will introduce a second 757-200 configured with 90 business class seats on Jan. 20, when it will operate Paris Orly-Newark.
THROUGHOUT HISTORY, THE FORTUNES OF NATIONS have been linked to access to trade and control of trade routes, with prosperity not always going to the strongest but to the most flexible. In the 21st century with globalizationand open skiesin full swing, airlines in the Persian Gulf region are not only financially strong but flexible and because of their geographic location they can offer passengers and freight forwarders the fastest routings between Southeast Asian and European city-pairs.
Air New Zealand appointed Stephen Jones GM-Domestic Airline and Glen Sowry GM-Tasman Pacific Airline. Airports Council International tapped Jeff Letwin as chair of the legal committee. Air Transport Assn. elected Northwest Airlines President & CEO Douglas M. Steenland as chairman of its board of directors. Alaska Airlines named Gary Beck VP-flight operations and Elizabeth Ryan MD-labor relations. American Airlines selected Fred Cleveland as VP-base maintenance and Kurt Stache as VP & general sales mgr.
IT IS NOT WITHOUT A SENSE OF satisfaction that John Sullivan has watched the price of oil creep up to $100 a barrel. For the chairman and CEO of CommutAir, the continued escalation of fuel costs further validates his decision to remain a turboprop operator.
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, CHINA'S major carriers have undergone a transformation in their attitude toward foreign competitors. Their long-held pessimism and concern, perhaps best understood in the local saying "wolves are coming," has been replaced by a recognition that seeking cooperative partners among counterparts abroad is a way to boost competitiveness and create a win-win situation.
THE GLOBAL AIRLINE industry took notice in the last months of 2007 when President George W. Bush and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters suggested that the US government would impose "congestion pricing" at one of the world's most pivotal airports, New York JFK. President Bush's expression of support for a "market-driven" solution to excessive flight delays at JFK and his comparison of peak-hour airline traffic to rush-hour roadway congestion set off alarm bells in the offices of senior airline executives around the world.
Airservices Australia Australia's isolation, peculiar geography and demographywidely dispersed population centers along the coast separated by the vast outbackhave contributed to a culture of confident self-reliance and innovation. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of aviation, where the country is a net exporter of leadership and expertise. Part and parcel of this tradition is Airservices Australia, the government-owned corporation that provides air traffic management services.
WITH HIGHER FUEL PRICES and the prospect of an economic slowdown, it is no surprise that many airlines are looking for ways to cut costs and increase profitability. One area garnering a lot of attention is the opportunity for increased fuel efficiency, motivating many organizations to add winglets to their legacy fleets.
When Boeing purchased Dallas-based Aviall in September 2006, the acquisition sent a two-part message to the aviation community. Boeing had snagged a top player in the aftermarket community, and the news also seemed to indicate a change in its mindset that everything had to be controlled tightly in-house, even the sale of aftermarket parts. Acquiring Aviall showed that the once-resistant-to-change OEM was willing to delegate some of this segment of the business to another company and concentrate on what it does best: Building airplanes.
Air New Zealand A touch of class and a commitment by management and staff to invest in resources and service quality always have been the traits required to remain within the top ranks of the world's airlines. But today value and flexibility can be added to those requirements as an ever-more-informed public searches the Internet for the best travel experience at the least possible cost.
Singapore Airlines One good idea can propel a company to the top. Staying there, however, is another story. Companies that want to remain champions over the long term need to innovate and improve. They must constantly raise the bar, not only for their competitors but also for themselves. To stand still is to stagnate. That approach perfectly describes this year's Airline of the Year, Singapore Airlines.
Malaysia Airlines "Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully." Samuel Johnson's pithy observation resonates across time and distance as the recent history of our 2008 Phoenix Award winner, Malaysia Airlines, makes clear.
WHEN INDIAN LIQUOR BARON VIJAY MALLYA LAUNCHED KINGFISHER AIRLINES IN 2005, MOST PEOPLE IN THE AIRLINE BUSINESS SAID IT WAS JUST AN ATTEMPT TO GET PUBLICITY FOR HIS BEER OF THE SAME NAME IN A COUNTRY WHERE DIRECT ADVERTISING OF LIQUOR IS BANNED AND COMPANIES HAVE TO RESORT TO SURROGATE MEASURES TO BUILD BRAND RECOGNITION. ANOTHER REASON FOR SKEPTICISM WAS MALLYA'S LARGER-THAN-LIFE PERSONA THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH LUXURY YACHTS, SWIMSUIT CALENDARS AND THE GOOD LIFE.
Even people with creative jobs occasionally wonder what they might accomplish if work didn't get in the way. SITA, the airline-owned information technology company, is unleashing the power of "What if?" with SITA Lab, a new research and development facility based in Geneva, Switzerland, that is liberated from day-to-day product development. The company said the goal of the SITA Lab is "to drive innovation for the air transport industry working both independently and in partnership with others."
Firms that acquire, repair and resell used parts reduce the cost burdens of airlines in several ways. Parts move efficiently from where they are expensive excess to where they are affordable requirements. Lifetime value of old parts is exploited fully. Airlines need not stock inventories for exceptional events when parts can be obtained reliably. And the value of retired aircraft is maximized as all useful components are extracted.
