Alaska Airlines flew 1.72 billion RPMs in June, a 4.9% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 5.2% to 2.12 billion ASMs and load factor down 0.2 point to 81.3%. SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew a combined 1.63 billion RPMs in June, up 14.5% on the year-ago month, against a 15.9% climb in ASMs to 1.99 billion. Load factor slipped 1 point to 81.7%.
With French President Nicolas Sarkozy declaring yesterday in Toulouse that the management structure of Airbus and its parent EADS "can't go on" in its current form, a sweeping Franco-German compromise was announced in which EADS abandoned its seven-year-old dual-nationality/co-CEO setup and a new Airbus CEO--the fourth in less than 13 months--was installed.
Air France KLM confirmed yesterday that it is looking at Iberia as a possible merger target as it revealed its aspiration to participate in Europe's continuing airline consolidation.
Pakistan International Airlines reported a PKR3.95 billion ($65.4 million) loss in the first quarter, widened from a PKR3.08 billion loss in the first three months of 2006. Revenue climbed 5% to PKR17.68 billion against a 6.5% increase in costs to PKR20.18 billion.
Embraer reported that its firm order backlog, including commercial, business and government aircraft, increased by 4% during the second quarter to $15.6 billion as Lufthansa and Japan Airlines placed significant E-Jet orders at the Paris Air Show ( ATWOnline, June 19). The backlog was valued at $10.2 billion at the close of the 2006 second quarter. As of June 30 the Brazilian manufacturer had backlogged orders for 53 ERJ-145s, 22 E-170s, 69 E-175s, 283 E-190s and 26 E-195s for a total of 452.
SITA signed an agreement with the Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation to automate passenger and baggage processing for foreign airlines' departing passengers at Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Medina airports. SITA valued the five-year program, including installation of departure control, passenger check-in and baggage management systems, at $16.8 million.
Skyways Aviation, working on behalf of Sky Wings Airlines of Greece, placed an MD-82 on ACMI lease with Air Moldova. Aircraft was delivered May 15 and is operating on a five-month contract.
HMSHost Corp. said it acquired "substantially all of the assets" of FoodBrand LLC from Mills Enterprises and Panda Express for approximately $13.3 million including liabilities. FoodBrand provides food and beverage concessions at shopping malls and airports including Washington Dulles and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International.
Calling it "the largest investment in the company's history," LAN Airlines last week announced that the board of directors decided to purchase 26 787s and acquire an additional six on lease. The commitment, which also includes 10 options, will require an investment of $3.2 billion and would make the carrier Latin America's largest Dreamliner operator. LAN said it will take delivery between 2011 and 2016 and that the options will be available in 2017 and 2018. Type and engine were not announced.
The EU on Friday released a copy of the draft agreement with the US covering the transfer of passenger name record data that was reached late last month. The accord, which has yet to be signed and which replaces a temporary deal set to expire July 31, calls for the US Dept. of Homeland Security to transition to a "push system," through which airlines operating flights from the EU will provide 19 types of PNR data from their reservations systems, no later than Jan. 1, 2008.
Air Madagascar is expecting a year-over-year passenger increase of least 10% in 2007, CEO Ulrich Link told ATWOnline. "About one-third of our total of 600,000 passengers comes from international routes," Link said, adding that the carrier achieves load factors of up to 95% on some international services. For example, he said it enjoyed a "perfect" start on its new weekly Antananarivo-Marseille service. MD is looking to expand on that success with increased strategic cooperations and is contemplating joining SkyTeam as an affiliate.
British Airways flew 10.08 billion RPKs in June, down 1.4% from the year-ago month, as capacity rose 0.4% to 12.51 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 1.4 points to 80.5%. Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect flew a combined 447.4 million RPMs in June, up 18.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 15.4% to 518.3 million ASMs and load factor was up 2.2 points to 86.3%. Yield fell an estimated 5.4% year-over-year to 14.2 cents and unit revenues dropped an estimated 2.9% to 12.2 cents.
Ryanair has been told by Italian authorities that it must transfer its Rome operation to Fiumicino from Ciampino, Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi told Thomson Financial. Regional authorities reportedly decided to reduce daily operations at CIA to 100 flights from 138 effective with the next winter schedule. Biancho told TF that CIA's annual passenger throughput has risen to 5 million from 800,000 in the past five years and that neighboring airports at Latina, Viterbo and Frosinone are being studied as possible alternatives.
KLM last week signed an agreement with Wereld Natuur Fonds (the Dutch branch of the World Wildlife Fund) to "achieve CO2-neutral growth in comparison with 2007" by offsetting approximately 4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the next four years through "emission reduction and compensation."
Republic Airways Holdings increased its commitment to the E-175 by 13 firm aircraft, Embraer announced Friday. The order, worth $403 million at list prices and destined for RAH subsidiary Republic Airlines, comprises eight aircraft previously listed as "unidentified" by the Brazilian manufacturer and five converted options. The airline currently flies 76 E-170s and 11 175s, with a backlog of 32 aircraft. The parent company, which also owns Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America, operates 182 Embraer aircraft and is the world's largest E-jet operator.
Condor Airlines will become the first carrier to start jet service to Gan International Airport in Maldives when it launches weekly 757-200 flights from Frankfurt via Sharjah on Nov. 6. Lufthansa will start five-times-weekly Munich-Sibiu service on Sept 1 using Dash 8-300s. KD avia launched thrice-weekly Kaliningrad-London Gatwick service aboard 737-300s.
Iberia said it signed a labor agreement covering approximately 18,000 ground staff represented by the CC.OO, UGT and ASETMA unions. The deal is valid for 2007 and stipulates a 2% wage increase, with an additional increase if needed to offset real inflation. It also calls for changes in 1,177 contracts, including new permanent status for 745 employees, and new productivity standards in IB's Maintenance and Engineering Division.
VT Airside Solutions is taking delivery of 70 Terberg tow tractors for the British Airways ground fleet services operation at London Heathrow's new Terminal 5. The tractors, an enhanced version of the Terberg YT182 model, will be used to tow airfreight loads from BA's World Cargo Centre to T5, which opens next year.
France's Conseil d'Etat last week ruled that easyJet and Ryanair each must apply French labor laws for staff operating in the country. Both LCCs had appealed against last year's decree that obliged foreign airlines to apply domestic labor laws to aircraft crews based in France. Ryanair argued that the decree contravened European laws on free movement of labor and services, freedom of establishment and the liberalized air transport market.
Eurocontrol appointed David McMillan as its next DG. Currently DG of civil aviation at the UK Dept. for Transport, McMillan will succeed Victor Aguado, whose seven-year term ends Jan. 1.
Shanghai SR Aircraft Technics, the joint venture between SR Technics and Shanghai Foreign Aviation Service Corp., signed a contract to provide line maintenance services for Singapore Airlines 777s and 747s during their transit stops at Shanghai Pudong. Services commenced on July 1. Additionally, it will provide line maintenance services for SIA's 747F cargo operations at the airport.
US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a runway incursion involving United Airlines and Delta Air Lines jets that took place July 11 in Fort Lauderdale in which the aircraft came within less than 100 ft. vertically of each other. According to NTSB, the event occurred at about 2:30 p.m. The crew of UA Flight 1544, an A320, received taxi clearance from the terminal to Runway 9L via Taxiway T7.
