ACE Aviation Holdings, parent of Air Canada, agreed to sell a 70% interest in its wholly owned maintenance, repair and overhaul subsidiary ACTS to an investment consortium that includes Sageview Capital and KKR Private Equity Investors in a transaction valuing ACTS at approximately C$975 million ($912.2 million).
Lufthansa will launch five-times-weekly Frankfurt-Buenos Aires service Oct. 28 aboard a three-class, 330-seat 747-400. Skyservice Airlines launched weekly Zagreb-Toronto service. Norwegian will commence a thrice-weekly Oslo Gardermoen-Moscow Domodedovo service on Aug. 16. Route will go five-times-weekly from Sept. 3.
Copa Airlines took delivery Friday of its seventh 94-seat E-190, bringing its total fleet to 31 aircraft including 24 737NGs. It plans to take five additional CF34-E5-powered E-190s this year.
VLM Airlines denied rumors that it is in takeover talks with Air France KLM. De Telegraaf reported last week that the regional carrier, the largest operator at London City, was negotiating a possible sale to AF KLM.
Martinair will initiate a restructuring program that includes ending European short-haul passenger operations and the start of negotiations to bring the company under a single shareholding, preferably KLM. Martinair reported a €7 million ($9.4 million) loss in 2006, reversed from a profit of €14 million the prior year.
Finnair took delivery of its second A340-300 last weekend. Both new A340s will be operating flights to Tokyo Narita, Nagoya Chubu and Shanghai beginning next month.
Seventeen months after taking over Swiss International Air Lines as part of the AirTrust joint venture, Lufthansa last week announced it will acquire all remaining shares in the carrier effective July 1.
Claiming that it "is very much back in the market," Airbus concluded last week's Paris Air Show with 425 firm orders from 19 customers and an additional 303 commitments, a tally that was boosted Friday by the firming of Singapore Airlines' order for 20 A350-900 XWBs.
American Airlines said it expects second-quarter mainline passenger RASM to increase 3%-4% over the 10.58 cents posted in the year-ago quarter. That figure marked an 11.7% year-over-year improvement. Consolidated passenger unit revenue is expected to climb 2.2%-3.2% year-over-year. Mainline unit cost is expected to be 11.14 cents for the quarter and the full year. AA reported CASM of 10.85 cents in the 2006 second quarter. Nonfuel CASM is expected to come in at 7.64 cents for the quarter and 7.67 cents for the full year.
KLM appointed Paul Elich executive VP-ground services effective July 1. He will succeed Frank de Reij, who will become project leader-procurement for Air France KLM. Marjan Rintel will succeed Elich as VP-hub operations.
Air Canada cited record load factors for its decision to stop flying pets beginning July 15. The current policy allows pets to be boarded in the cargo hold, but with the increasing number of passengers and their luggage it has become more difficult to accommodate pets, an AC spokesperson told ATWOnline. The airline stopped transporting pets, save for service animals, in the cabin in September 2006 after it found it increasingly difficult to balance pet owners' interests with those who were unwilling or unable to sit near an animal.
Canada's Porter Airlines, whose launch from Toronto City Centre Airport last October caused some consternation at Air Canada Jazz, this week won official clearance from the US Dept. of Transportation to expand its regional service south of the border.
Enviro.aero is the name of a new industry-supported website that launched two weeks ago under the umbrella of the Air Transport Action Group. The site, which has received financial support from IATA, ACI, air navigation service providers and airframe and engine OEMs contains information about industry efforts to reduce emissions and airlines' overall impact on the environment.
Germanwings will open its fifth base on June 22 in Dortmund with a single A319 that will serve Vienna, Istanbul Ataturk, Palma, Ibiza and Faro. A second A319 will be transferred to the airport for the coming winter schedule. CEO Thomas Winkelmann told ATWOnline that the carrier is growing "organically" and is on its way to becoming an important player in Europe's crowded LCC market. A sixth German base is expected to come on line next year. Germanwings currently operates 27 A319s/A320s.
Italian government extended the bid deadline for its stake in Alitalia to July 12 from July 2 following this week's decision to allow US equity firm MatlinPatterson back into the auction ( ATWOnline, June 20). Meanwhile, Air One partner Intesa Sanpaolo said it was open to accepting new partners into the consortium, Reuters reported. It was unclear whether MatlinPatterson was in line to join the Air One group or would bid independently.
Hainan Airlines will launch Beijing-St. Petersburg service on July 8 aboard a 767-300. Wizz Air will launch twice-weekly Sofia-Dortmund service from Oct. 29. It will be the LCC's third route from the Bulgarian capital. Midwest Airlines is expanding its existing codeshare with Mesa Air Group subsidiary Air Midwest. Midwest Airlines passengers in Kansas City now will be able to connect to Columbia/Jefferson City, Joplin and Kirksville, Mo., and Grand Island, McCook and Omaha, Neb.
Gol, which operates the LCC of the same name as well as the recently acquired Varig, issued updated second-quarter and full-year guidance this week that reflects the difficulty of integrating the floundering flag carrier.
Shandong Airlines recently took delivery of a 179-seat 737-800 for use on its newly opened routes from Jinan to Beijing and Mudanjiang. Shandong President Feng Gang noted that the company plans to take delivery of eight aircraft this year and increase capacity by 30%. Its third 737-800 will arrive at the end of this month, he added. It currently operates 40 aircraft.
SkyEurope Airlines confirmed yesterday that it will turn Vienna into its principal base beginning Oct. 28. The LCC launched service from the airport in March and said it was prepared to challenge Austrian Airlines ( ATWOnline, May 2). SkyEurope will increase its VIE fleet from two 737-700s to four and add flights to 12 destinations while boosting frequencies on existing routes like Amsterdam and Sofia.
Sibiu Airport in Romania will install Siemens Industrial Solutions & Services' new modular, pre-installed Sibag Smart baggage handling system. The system is scheduled to come online in October.
As one of the few profitable Chinese LCCs, Spring Airlines maintained impressive growth during the first half its fiscal year, posting an 85% rise in net profit for the six months ended April 30 and a 27% year-over-year increase in operating revenue to CNY430 million ($56.4 million). The profit figure has not been released. As the only Chinese airline that opts to sell tickets directly from its own website rather than through the Chinese Travelsky GDS and ticket agents, Spring enjoyed a 235% lift in direct sales revenue during the fiscal semester to CNY230 million.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace announced that subsidiary Panama Aerospace Engineering commenced operations. First aircraft to enter the facility constructed at a former US military base was a Copa Airlines 737-700 in for a 4C check and additional modifications.
