World Air Holdings, parent of World Airways and North American Airlines, said it expects its first-quarter revenue to be in the range of $220-$225 million, 2%-4% higher than the year-ago quarter and 10%-12% higher than 2006 fourth-quarter revenue of $201.3 million ( ATWOnline, July 6).
Air France and Aeroports de Paris have begun the progressive opening of AF's new boarding facility at Charles de Gaulle, which is scheduled to be fully operational by year end with annual capacity of 8.5 million passengers. Planned for next year is the April reopening of CDG's Terminal 2E and the fall inauguration of a regional terminal. A second boarding facility is slated to be built by 2012. Separately, AF unveiled its new Tokyo Narita lounge, which is 400 sq. m. and has seating capacity for 140 passengers.
Continental Airlines said it contributed an additional $75 million in cash to its defined benefit pension plans, bringing its year-to-date contribution to $211 million. It expects to put in $328 million this year.
Looking to reinforce their positions in an increasingly crowded domestic marketplace, Hainan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Spring Airlines and China United Airlines, among others, are planning aircraft buys this year.
NAV Canada said it will reduce customer service charges by 4% effective Aug. 1. The cut comprises a previously announced 3% reduction originally scheduled for Sept. 1 and an additional 1% cut good through Aug. 31, 2008. President and CEO John Crichton said customers will save a combined C$50 million ($47.3 million) in FY08 as a result. The 1% temporary reduction is worth C$13 million. NAV Canada also said that due to the introduction of VLJs, daily and movement-based charges will be extended to jet aircraft weighing 3 tonnes or less effective March 1, 2008.
Airbus yesterday delivered an A300 freighter to FedEx, the final A300/A310 that the manufacturer will produce. Over the life of the program, which was launched in 1969 with the first aircraft delivered to Air France in 1974, Airbus sold a total of 821 A300s/A310s. About 630 are still in service with approximately 80 operators.
Iberia's board yesterday said it would agree to "make the delivery of all the information requested" by the consortium led by US investment group TPG Capital and British Airways available, as long as a "formal and binding offer" resulted.
United Airlines flew 10.73 billion system RPMs in June, a 0.3% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 1.2% to 12.03 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.8 point to 89.1%. Iberia flew 4.69 billion RPKs in June, up 4.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed just 0.6% to 5.59 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.8 points to 83.8%. China Southern Airlines flew 6.19 billion RPKs in June, up 14.5% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 11.3% to 8.66 billion ASKs and load factor increased 2 points to 71.5%.
Moscow Domodedovo Director Sergey Rudakov said the airport landscape in the Russian capital, which features three international gateways, is on the verge of significant change.
Royal Brunei Airlines will lease four 787-8s for delivery beginning in late 2009, according to Rolls-Royce, which announced that it reached agreement with the carrier to provide Trent 1000 engines and a long-term TotalCare service accord. Aircraft lessor was not identified.
Macquarie AirFinance leased a new IAE V2500-powered A320 to TAM. Macquarie said it recently completed acquisition of all third-party interests in 25 aircraft owned by five joint venture companies originally established by GATX Corp. In January it acquired third-party interests in another former GATX JV owning four aircraft. The aircraft involved in the recent transaction include 19 737-800s, five A320-200s and one 757.
Vietnam Airlines reported a pre-tax profit of $13.3 million for the first half of 2007, down from approximately $19 million in the year-ago period, AFX News reported from Hanoi. The earnings for the recently completed semester constituted 56.4% of its full-year target, VN said. Revenue rose 11.9% year-over-year to around $580 million while six-month passenger numbers climbed 16.5% to 3.8 million, AFX said.
Malev Hungarian Airlines announced that CEO Janos Gonci has left the post "by mutual agreement" and will be replaced by former British Airways executive and Air Astana CEO Lloyd Paxton. Gonci remains a member of the Malev board, the airline said. Paxton joined BA in 1960 and held a wide variety of positions over 35 years at the airline before moving to Kazakhstan. Malev credited Gonci with facilitating its recent privatization and oneworld membership and "maintaining the corporation's liquidity."
Qatar Airways will operate its first daily Doha-Washington Dulles flight on July 19 aboard a three-class A340. IAD will be QR's 78th international destination. The carrier said it will be the first Middle Eastern airline to operate a daily nonstop to the US capital. Aer Lingus said it will launch four-times-daily Dublin-London Gatwick service "from the end of October." It already serves Heathrow.
US FAA Administrator Marion Blakey reminded lawmakers in Washington yesterday that the FAA reauthorization deadline is looming and warned that the current ATC system is in dire need of modernization.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew 6.67 billion RPKs in June, up 1.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 1.5% to 8.23 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 0.1 point to 81%. TAM flew 1.79 billion domestic RPKs in June, up 15.2% from the year-ago month. Domestic capacity rose 24.4% to 2.47 billion ASKs and load factor fell 5.8 points to 72.6%. International RPKs grew 66.5% to 905 million against an 80.3% climb in ASKs to 1.3 billion, dropping load factor 5.8 points to 69.4%.
European Parliament yesterday backed a European Commission proposal requiring that carriers operating within the EU advertise fares with all taxes, nonavoidable charges, surcharges and fees known at the time of publication included ( ATWOnline, July 19, 2006).
EasyJet will launch service from Birmingham International with a daily flight to Geneva beginning Dec. 14 and a twice-weekly Grenoble service from Dec. 22. BHX is the 13th UK airport added to the LCC's operation and takes the total number of airports on its European network to 79. EasyJet also will launch a winter service from Bournemouth to Grenoble on Dec. 13.
Virgin America yesterday received approval from the US Dept. of Transportation to begin selling tickets in advance of its launch, which is planned for next month. The San Francisco-based startup said it is fully staffed, has taken delivery of 10 new A319s/A320s and is "ready to advertise, sell tickets and operate the airline." It did not disclose a specific launch date. After a lengthy and somewhat controversial application process, it received DOT approval in May ( ATWOnline, May 21).
Pemco Aviation Group entered into a definitive agreement to sell its commercial MRO and modification subsidiary, Pemco World Air Services, to private investment firm Sun Capital Partners for $43 million. PAG Chairman Michael Tennenbaum said the transaction "permits [PAG] to pay off all of its bank debt, fund pension plan liabilities and still have a cash balance of approximately $10 million." The transaction is subject to the approval of PAG stockholders.
Air China will take delivery of 23 A320s that were part of the government's purchase of 150 aircraft concluded last fall ( ATWOnline, Oct. 27, 2006), according to widespread press reports from China. CA will take the aircraft, worth approximately $1.41 billion at list price, between January 2009 and December 2012, according to a company statement. Its capacity will rise 5.9% with the new aircraft.
Aeroflot announced a deal with Rosneft, a Russian oil company, under which the carrier will purchase "petroleum derivatives and oil chemistry products," transport Rosneft employees and exchange infrastructural assets, technical expertise and marketing, among other elements. The parties also will cooperate on establishing storage and fueling facilities at domestic airports. Rosneft posted a $3.5 billion profit in 2006, according to SU. Separately, SU said it appointed Natalya Goncharova to direct the company's "interaction with the investment community."
Kazakhstan is making a strong effort to develop its major airports in Almaty and Astana into strategic hubs for traffic between Europe and the Far East. "Our country is currently at an important stage for developing [aviation hubs], especially because leading carriers like Lufthansa, KLM and Air France are already here," Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kairat Abdrakhmanov told ATWOnline in Vienna. "We will and we have to compete with the other [hubs], so we must provide good service.
