Seven cargo airlines working in conjunction with IATA and freight forwarders initiated e-freight pilot programs on a number of selected trade routes yesterday. The airlines are Air Canada, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, KLM, Martinair, SAS and Singapore Airlines. Cargo on key trade routes connecting the countries represented by the carriers will be processed electronically. "The paper-free era for airfreight begins today," IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said.
American Airlines flew 11.53 billion system RPMs in October, up 3.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 0.2% to 14.31 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 3 points to 80.6%. Continental Airlines flew 7.69 billion system RPMs in October, a 6% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 5.7% to 9.68 billion ASMs and load factor improved 0.2 point to 79.5%. Consolidated unit revenue was up an estimated 6%-7% year-over-year.
Owens Group International of Atlanta will provide its NetTracer Web-based baggage tracing and claims management system to AirTran Airways under a deal announced yesterday. AirTran said the application is the "industry's first. . .built from the ground up using Web-based technologies" and employs a search mechanism similar to that found on Google or Yahoo.
Australia's Rex said it is suspending its recently announced Brisbane-Maryborough service because of its ongoing pilot shortage. "This suspension is the result of a network review to identify the routes that have the lowest load factors so as to inconvenience the least number of regional travelers and follows similar initiatives that we have undertaken on the Cooma and Wagga Wagga services in New South Wales," MD Geoff Breust said.
LAN Airlines finalized its July order for 32 787s, with 26 purchased directly from Boeing and an additional six leased from ILFC ( ATWOnline, July 16). Boeing said the Chilean company also has committed to acquiring four 777 freighters, two from the manufacturer and two from GECAS. The purchased 787s are a mix of -8s and -9s and are valued at around $4.5 billion at list prices, while those leased from ILFC will be -9s. The 777Fs are valued at approximately $250 million apiece.
China Eastern Airlines suspended trading in its stock yesterday, saying its deal to sell a 24% stake to Singapore Airlines is pending ( ATWOnline, Oct. 12). CEA said its stock will not resume trading until the SIA deal is sealed. In September, SIA and parent Temasek agreed to purchase stakes of 15.7% and 8.3% respectively, giving them a combined 24% holding valued at HK$7.15 billion ($921.8 million).
Singapore-based Tiger Airways and Incheon city authorities inked a deal to establish a new Korean low-fare airline called Incheon Tiger Airways with an initial fleet of five A320s based at Incheon International. The carrier will serve the China and Japan markets. No launch date was provided.
Emirates appears to be evaluating an IPO on the Dubai bourse, according to comments from Chairman Ahmed Bin Said al-Maktoum and CEO Tim Clark. According to London's The Times, al-Maktoum suggested that an IPO is in EK's immediate future and that 25% of the carrier initially will be offered to the market, reducing its dependence on the country's oil income. He said the airline has no interest in using the proceeds to fund a merger and instead will be focused on its own growth.
British Airways reported net income of £487 million ($1.01 billion) in the six months ended Sept. 30, up 21.1% from the £402 million it earned in the year-ago period, but it revised downward its forecast for both revenue and expenses for the full year ending March 30 due to the weak US dollar.
AirAsia intends to exercise at least 25 of its 50 A320 options and add 25 more options, CEO Tony Fernandes told reporters last week in Singapore. The carrier placed an order for 50 firm and 50 options in January ( ATWOnline, Jan. 9).
Claiming that it is "very much on the right path with [its] restructuring measures," Austrian Airlines Group reported a €29.2 million ($42.2 million) profit in the third quarter, reversed from a €17 million loss in the year-ago period.
IATA said September traffic "remains strong despite the financial instability seen in recent months" as member carriers reported 8.2% year-over-year growth in RPKs during the month. Capacity rose 7.5% and load factor improved to 77.4%. However, DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani warned, "It is still early days. Corporations, particularly the financial service sector, adjusting travel budgets could impact premium traffic. And fuel prices rising to new record levels will add more pressure on efficiency.
Asiana Airlines reported a KRW36.9 billion ($40.7 million) profit in the third quarter, down 15.4% from the KRW43.6 billion earned in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing cited by Bloomberg News. Operating profit rose 75% to KRW80.1 billion and revenue was up 4.8% to KRW967 billion as passenger numbers climbed.
Air Transport Assn. said the composite Airline Cost Index through the second quarter rose to 185.7, up 5.6% year-over-year. In comparison, the Consumer Price Index climbed 2.4% year-over-year. Fuel accounted for 25.4% as average cost rose 2.2% to $2.02 per gal. while labor accounted for 23.6% even as the average cost of a full-time equivalent employee dropped 2%. Overall unit operating cost per ASM declined 1.1% to 12.46 cents. "Soaring fuel prices, among other pressures, leave little room for error in maintaining today's modest profit margins," ATA Chief Economist John Heimlich said.
Having rejected a takeover offer from Astar Air Cargo just a little more than three months ago, Ohio-based ABX Air yesterday became the acquirer, reaching a deal to purchase Cargo Holdings International of Orlando in a transaction valued at approximately $350 million.
JetWorks Leasing on behalf of a group of institutional investors arranged the sale of a 767-300 to Ryan 767, a company affiliated with Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace has begun work on the first A320 C check on behalf of ANA at its China Eastern Airlines joint venture facility, Shanghai Technologies Aerospace Co. Work on the aircraft, the first of 30 ANA A320s to undergo C checks and modifications at STARCO under an LOI with the airline, began after the Hongqiao-based facility gained certification from the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau. Aircraft will be redelivered this month.
Frontier Airlines will build a new heavy maintenance base at Colorado Springs and plans to launch the $25 million construction project in late spring 2008. When completed in 12-18 months, the facility will employ around 225 and feature approximately 30,000 sq. ft. of hangar space, 45,000 sq. ft. of offices and support shops and 25,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and tool room space. Frontier, which currently leases space at Denver International, said it spent more than a year researching the site and that Colorado Springs "has proven. .
Lufthansa on Friday said that Russian authorities had reconsidered their decision to suspend Lufthansa Cargo's overflight rights immediately and opted to reinstate them until Nov. 15. The reason for Russia's decision appears to be a dispute over the location of LHC's cargo hub, currently in Astana ( ATWOnline, Nov. 1). LH said it needs "long-term and sustained permission" to overfly Russia after Nov. 15 but that "the granting of overflight rights cannot be tied to demands that its cargo hub be relocated."
Air China will issue up to 400 million new A shares to finance the acquisition of 54 aircraft and provide a CNY1.5 billion ($200.8 million) supplement to its working capital, according to widespread press reports from China. The carrier has 15 787s, 24 A320 family aircraft and 15 737s on order. The plan is subject to regulatory approval. Shares, which will not be available to most foreign investors, will amount to 5.1% of CA's existing A-share capital, Reuters reported.
Air New Zealand launched thrice-weekly Auckland-Vancouver service on Nov. 2 aboard a 777-200ER. Originally scheduled to be a seasonal route, the flight will be operated year-round due to strong customer response, Manager-International Airline Ed Sims told ATWOnline. EasyJet launched four-times-weekly Liverpool-Lisbon flights. Spirit Airlines will launch thrice-weekly Fort Lauderdale-Panama City flights on Jan. 31.
Jeppesen named Senior VP-Training and Alteon COO Brad Thomann senior VP and COO, effective Jan. 1, and Senior VP-Rail, Logistics and Terminals Greg Bowlin senior VP-business and general aviation, effective immediately.
IER said EDS Switzerland selected IER's new Self-Service Check-In Application for its Zurich operations. EDS now will be able to offer a complete check-in solution consisting of the EDS Departure Control System and the IER Common Use Self-Service Application and IER check-in kiosks.
