World Airways and North American Airlines parent World Air Holdings reported earnings results for the first quarter revealing net income of $518,000 for the three months ended March 31, an 85.4% drop from net income of $3.5 million in the 2006 first quarter. World said reporting was in accordance with its legal requirements under the terms of its merger agreement with ATA Airlines parent Global Aero Logistics.
Aer Lingus will establish its first base outside the Republic of Ireland in December when it will base three A320s at Belfast International Airport and launch the first three of eight new routes. Among the new services will be 21-times-weekly flights to London Heathrow beginning Jan. 14, which will mark the end of EI's service to the UK capital from Shannon.
EasyJet said it is "on track" to post full-fiscal-year pre-tax profit growth of 40%-50% as it unveiled certain third-quarter numbers yesterday. The LCC reported a 5.7% year-over-year increase in revenue to £486.5 million ($990.9 million) as passenger numbers rose 13% to 9.9 million. CEO Andy Harrison said the results "provide further support to our maintained profit guidance for the full year." In the year ended Sept. 30, 2006, easyJet posted net earnings of £94.1 million and a pre-tax profit of £129.2 million.
Northwest Airlines' Air Line Pilots Assn. MEC ratified the new work rules agreement reached with management last week as part of the carrier's effort to reduce high levels of flight cancellations it has attributed in part to "pilot absenteeism" ( ATWOnline, Aug. 3). NWA said the agreement is "economically neutral," with the premium pay it has agreed to reinstate for pilots flying more than 80 hr. per month "offset by the value of work rule changes and grievance settlement."
Chinese airlines are expected to expand their collective fleet by 12% annually and reach 1,550 aircraft by 2010, a CAAC source revealed. China's registered fleet numbered 1,039 at the end of 2006, up 15.6% from the year before. As competition increases in the domestic market, Chinese airlines typically are looking to solidify or enhance their competitive positions through aircraft purchases ( ATWOnline, July 13).
US Federal Labor Relations Authority dismissed the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn.'s charges of unfair labor practices related to FAA's implementation of a new contract last year. The agency imposed the contract after negotiations failed to produce an agreement, leading the union to claim it was unlawful and to file complaints with FLRA. "This decision validates our new contract, which is saving taxpayers $1.9 billion over five years and providing the resources we need to invest in 21st-century air traffic systems," Administrator Marion Blakey said.
US Dept. of Transportation said that the 20 reporting US carriers posted a combined June ontime arrival rate of 68.1%, down from the year-ago month's 72.8%. Cancellations climbed to 2.7% of scheduled flights from 1.7%. Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines predictably were the most punctual, with SkyWest Airlines coming in third at 77.9%. Atlantic Southeast Airlines' 56% was the worst among the 20, followed by American Airlines' 57.9%. Mesa Airlines' 6.4% cancellation rate was the worst, with Hawaiian (0.2%) and Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines (0.4%) the best.
Cathay Pacific Airways exercised options on five GE90-115B-powered 777-300ERs, increasing its commitment to the model to 23 aircraft. The conversion is part of CX's December 2005 order for 16 (with 12 directly purchased from Boeing and four leased from ILFC) plus 20 options. Last year it exercised rights for two more aircraft ( ATWOnline, June 2, 2006). Its first -300ER will be delivered next month and it will have five by year end. They will be introduced on the Hong Kong-New York JFK route from Nov.
Air Berlin announced the conclusion of its first labor agreements with pilots and cabin staff. The deals, covering members of both the Vereinigung Cockpit and ver.di unions, are effective from Aug. 1 and were agreed to "on the basis of the present actual working conditions at Air Berlin," the airline said. The agreement covering compensation runs until Dec. 31, 2008, with the accord on work rules expiring one year later.
Allegiant Travel Co., parent of Allegiant Air, reported second-quarter net income of $10 million, more than double the $4.7 million earned in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was up 49.1% to $88.9 million while expenses increased 36.5% to $74.8 million. Operating income soared to $14.2 million from $4.9 million.
Air Astana, Kazakhstan's flag airline, carried 970,000 passengers in the first half of 2007, up 42% over the year-ago semester. It expects to carry more than 2 million passengers for the full year. First-half capacity increased 44% to 3.1 billion ASKs as the fleet grew to 18 aircraft with the delivery of two 767-300ERs, two A320s and two A321s. The carrier said its fleet will number 34 by 2014. Air France KLM flew 19.75 billion RPKs in July, up 6.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity increased 5.6% to 22.92 billion ASKs and load factor was ahead 1 point to 86.2%.
MITIE secured a three-year contract with the Airline Operators Committee at Bristol, making the company the sole supplier for hold baggage screening there.
Qatar Airways said it will launch twice-weekly Doha-Nagpur flights from Sept. 23 and daily Doha-Ahmedabad service from Dec. 12 aboard dual-class A320s seating 144 passengers. The new flights will boost QR's India operations to 51 weekly flights to eight cities, making India the nation with the most destinations in the airline's network. It said it will be the only full-service international carrier offering scheduled service to Nagpur, which has a population of more than 2 million. It currently operates daily service to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Trivandrum, and Hyderabad.
European low-cost carrier seat capacity grew by 21% or 34 million seats in 2006 compared to 2005 and the sector accounted for around 30% of all intra-European seat capacity last year and 22% of departures, according to rdc's Low Cost Monitor 2007, a copy of which was provided to ATWOnline.
Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim announced yesterday that Jose Carlos Pereira, head of national airport authority Infraero, will be replaced by Space Agency President Sergio Mauricio Brito Gaudenzi effective immediately as the shakeup of the nation's aviation leadership continued in the aftermath of last month's TAM A320 crash.
ABX Air yesterday agreed to purchase a 767-200ER from Air China and convert it to a freighter for long-haul international operations. The Wilmington, Ohio-based cargo carrier projected the total cost to purchase, modify and put the aircraft into revenue service at approximately $23 million. ABX primarily operates as a DHL subservice carrier in the US but is eager to grow non-DHL operations outside North America.
The New York legislature passed and Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed into law last week a "passenger bill of rights" outlining requirements for airlines during extended ground delays, making the state that is home to busy New York JFK and LaGuardia the first in the US to act on passenger complaints of poor customer service.
ARINC signed a marketing and reseller agreement with Abanco LLC to introduce an airborne data and payment system to enable passengers to use credit cards for onboard purchases. Under the agreement, ARINC will license Abanco's MDT In-Flight productivity application, "which is currently in use by many US carriers." The companies said they "plan to market a range of streamlined payment and inventory control solutions for onboard sales by airlines."
Japan Airlines parent JAL Group's strategy of focusing on high-yield business traffic appears to be paying dividends, evidenced by a narrowed fiscal first-quarter net loss of ¥4.2 billion ($36.8 million) for the three months ended June 30, a strong improvement over a ¥26.6 billion net loss in the year-ago quarter. The result was achieved on revenue of ¥520.6 billion, a 0.3% decline attributed to the removal of trading company JALUX from the group's figures. Airline operations produced revenue growth of 3% to ¥422 billion despite cutbacks in routes.
Northwest Airlines told travel agents that it will suspend its Detroit-Brussels service in mid-month, citing "operational challenges" with the cockpit crew of the 757-200s that operate the route. NWA launched the service in early May. It previously said it would drop its second Detroit-Frankfurt frequency in order to free up 757 pilots ( ATWOnline, July 2).
KLM became the first airline to offer self-service check-in to passengers at Kuala Lumpur International, using the SITA-installed CUSS kiosks now in operation there. Together with Malaysia Airports, SITA installed 12 CUSS kiosks with 24 more to follow over the next few months. SITA said CUSS check-in applications for both Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific will be placed on the kiosks before year end and the option also will be available to some 40 other carriers using KLIA.
Owing to a $300 million fine it agreed last week to pay to the US Dept. of Justice for antitrust violations regarding fares and surcharges, Korean Air reported a second-quarter net loss of KRW214 billion ($229 million), a significant decline from a net profit of KRW14.9 billion in the year-ago quarter.
STG Aerospace's Wireless Emergency Primary Power System received an FAA STC for the 737NG family, the first in a prioritized "rollout" program of certification aimed at the entire commercial aircraft market.
