JAL Group reported a better-than-fivefold increase in net income for the first half of its fiscal year ended Sept. 30 to ¥7.3 billion ($63.7 million) compared to ¥1.5 billion a year earlier, crediting "cost reforms" such as aircraft downsizing, reduced spending on personnel and the elimination of money-losing routes for the improvement.
Northwest Airlines flew 6.47 billion consolidated RPMs in October, down 0.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 1.3% to 7.73 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1 point to 83.8%. Air Canada and Jazz flew 4.06 billion RPMs in October, a 2.7% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.4% to 5.16 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.2 point to 78.6%. JetBlue Airways flew 1.99 billion RPMs in October, up 7% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 11.1% to 2.52 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 2.9 points to 75.9%.
Boeing did not bend to heavy lobbying from Emirates for a shorter stretch with greater range and said yesterday that it completed "firm configuration" of the 747-8 Intercontinental. The airframe will be stretched 5.6 m. (18.3 ft.) with a range of approximately 8,000 nm. (14,815 km.). Emirates had sought a 3.6-m. stretch with a range of 8,300-8,400 nm. ( ATWOnline, Nov. 6).
Airports Council International elected Aeroports de Montreal President and CEO James Cherry chairman for a two-year term. He replaces Ghanem Al Hajri, who held the role on an interim basis following the August retirement of Niels Boserup.
Lufthansa, which is set to take delivery this week of the first of 60 A320 family aircraft to be used on European flights, will feature a new cabin design with increased "usable. . .width which will especially benefit passengers in window seats, giving them more room at shoulder height," the airline said. Also included will be new window surrounds that "make the windows appear larger" and enlarged overhead bins, LH added.
Jordan Airline Training and Simulation signed an agreement with S7 Airlines under which the Russian carrier will send 20 pilots to train on JATS' two A320-200 full flight simulators with JATS instructors ( ATWOnline, Sept. 6). The pilots also will receive safety and emergency training, while one will take a simulator instructor course. S7 ordered 25 A320s at last summer's Paris Air Show ( ATWOnline, June 19).
With market reforms taking hold in China's commercial aviation industry, CAAC plans to relax its control over Chinese carriers' domestic route networks and allow them to launch new services freely by 2010, according to Minister Yang Yuanyuan. CAAC is committed to cutting the number of cities for which new flights still must be approved. "Our target is to reduce this number to zero by 2010, when all the domestic routes should be open to Chinese carriers without formal approval from CAAC," Yang said.
Citing "targeted management of sales and marketing," CSA Czech Airlines said yesterday that its ability to sell higher-priced tickets was the primary driver behind a profit of CZK563 million ($30.2 million) in the first nine months of 2007, reversed from a CZK323 million deficit in the year-ago period.
Big Sky Airlines parent MAIR Holdings reported a $2.5 million loss in the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, unchanged from the year-ago period. Revenue climbed 46.4% to $9.05 million while expenses rose 29.9% to $12.5 million, resulting in a flat operating loss of $3.4 million. Big Sky, which serves 26 cities with 13 Beech 1900Ds as a Delta Connection partner and in codeshare with Northwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air and US Air, flew 14.8 million RPMs during the quarter, up 63.5%. Capacity rose 28.8% to 28.5 million ASMs, lifting load factor 11 points to 52%.
Dnata, the Dubai-based airport services provider, said yesterday that it has acquired Jet Aviation Handling, the airport handling division of Switzerland-based Jet Aviation Group. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquired company will be Dnata's first airport handling business in Europe and is "consistent with its strategy of developing an international network," it said in a statement. With the buy, Dnata now has handling operations at 16 airports in seven countries: Australia, Singapore, China, Pakistan, the Philippines, Switzerland and the UAE.
Kenya Airways reported a KES1.97 billion ($29.5 million) profit in the six months ended Sept. 30, down 18.8% from the KES2.43 billion earned in the year-ago semester. Revenue rose 6.4% to KES30.3 billion while costs climbed 10.3% to KES26.88 billion. Operating profit fell 16.3% to KES3.42 billion from the KES4.09 billion reported in the six months ended Sept. 30, 2006.
The EU intends to launch a PNR system similar to the collection procedure applied by the US. Under the plan unveiled yesterday as part of a broader counterterrorism package, the 27 member states would be required to collect 19 fields of data from passengers flying to or from the EU. Data would include the e-mail address and phone number of the passenger, ticket and travel agent information and payment details and would be provided 24 hr. before departure.
Oman Air will launch five-times-weekly Muscat-Bangkok Suvarnabhumi service Nov. 28 aboard a 767. It also confirmed it will begin London Gatwick flights on Nov. 26. Angola Airlines will start twice-weekly Luanda-Beijing service on Nov. 23 using 777-200ERs. Nok Air launched a double-daily Bangkok Suvarnabhumi-Hanoi service using 737-800s.
News from Travel Technology Update: EasyJet will participate in Amadeus and Galileo, becoming the first major European low-fare carrier to sign deals with GDS companies. The carrier said the move is designed to tap into the $90 billion corporate travel market in Europe. EasyJet said it will add a point-of-sale fee to fares booked through the GDSs, ensuring that its Web site "remains our primary distribution channel and fares will always be cheapest when booking direct online."
Finnair Group ground handling subsidiary Northport Oy signed an agreement to sell the entire share capital of its Swedish and Norwegian subsidiaries, Finnhandling AB and Northport Norway AS, to Menzies Aviation. The sale will create a slightly more than €5 million one-time boost to Finnair's fourth-quarter results.
Air Arabia reported third-quarter net income of AED165 million ($44.9 million), more than triple the AED48 million earned in the year-ago period, as revenue rose 65% to AED369 million on a 49% increase in passengers to 729,745. The carrier operated nine A320s at the end of the quarter to 35 destinations, flying 1.3 billion RPKs against a capacity of 1.5 billion ASKs. Load factor was 92%.
Mesa Air Group appointed VP-Finance William Hoke as interim CFO. He replaces former CFO Peter Murnane, who was terminated after it was revealed that he deleted confidential records related to the carrier's recent legal problems with Hawaiian Airlines ( ATWOnline, Sept 28).
Chinese carriers responded to climbing oil prices by raising fuel surcharges on domestic services 20%-25% from yesterday. The levy on flights of fewer than 800 km. increased to CNY60 ($8.04) from CNY50 per ticket while the fee on flights of 800 km. or more went from CNY80 to CNY100. China raised the domestic price of jet fuel by CNY500 per ton starting Nov. 1, a move that industry insiders said was the catalyst for the surcharge hike. The fourth quarter is considered the domestic low season.
Boeing is revisiting the original 747-8 Intercontinental design in order to meet Emirates' demand for Dubai-US West Coast range capability. Speaking to ATWOnline in Australia, Emirates Vice Chairman Maurice Flanagan said that the "3.6-m. stretch is back on the table and we think other airlines are also interested."
Ryanair yesterday released yet another set of stunning results, with net income for the second fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30 rising 26% year-over-year to €268.7 million ($389.9 million) on a 25% increase in total revenue to €861.3 million. The LCC also raised its full-fiscal-year forecast. Its half-year profit climbed 24% to €407.6 million from €329 million earned in the year-ago period.
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.
