Finnair Cargo said yesterday that it is reorganizing its operations by separating its cargo terminal and cargo company business functions from each other as part of an effort to increase capacity at Helsinki Vantaa. "We need a great deal more space for the needs of our growing Asian traffic," MD Antero Lahtinen said. "Cargo's local terminal operations and, on the other hand, the global airfreight operations and competition environment differ from each other greatly."
AirAsia signed an MOU with GSA Leisure Cargo for the management of cargo operations on regional routes originating in Kuala Lumpur. AirAsia projects the deal will generate MYR1 million ($292,575) in revenue per month.
Boeing revealed more details regarding last week's 73 unidentified orders ( ATWOnline, June 4). The 11 777s comprise at least two transactions, possibly three, for two -300ERs placed May 23 and eight -300ERs and one 777F placed May 29. Meantime, Air France converted one 777F to a 777-300ER. The 62 737s booked last week all are for one customer and are 737-900ERs. The order was placed May 25.
Oneworld's seven member carriers enjoyed a 10% increase in revenues from alliance fares and sales activities to $675 million last year, two-thirds of which was classified as money the airlines earned thanks to their membership, the alliance said. Revenue from corporate sales climbed nearly 66% while approximately 8 million passengers--one in every 30--transferred between member carrier flights. Revenue generated from those transfers rose 5% to around $2 billion, or 3.5% of members' total passenger turnover. Savings generated by joint procurement totaled nearly $300 million.
EasyJet said it expects unit revenue to decline 5%-10% in the second fiscal semester ending Sept. 30 as it continues "to offer low fares throughout the summer to ensure great deals for our customers and high load factors." It is forecasting a 5% decline in nonfuel CASK, allowing it to maintain its forecast of a 40%-50% year-over-year increase in pre-tax profit. It transported 3.3 million passengers in May, up 13.8% from the year-ago month, as load factor dipped 0.3 point to 83.6%.
GE Aviation announced that Air Pacific selected the GEnx to power its five firm and three option 787-9s ( ATWOnline, April 27, 2006). Engines will begin delivering in 2011 and are valued at more than $100 million at list prices.
FedEx signed a new 30-year lease agreement yesterday with the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority under which it will pay more than $240 million over the life of the contract to control a 30.5-million-sq.-ft. area at Memphis International. The agreement goes into effect Jan. 1 and replaces one that had been in place since 1979. FedEx will pay $7.9 million next year, with annual payments rising 13% every five years. The agreement includes options to extend it to 2058.
MAIR Holdings, parent of Big Sky Airlines, reported a net loss of $7.4 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, narrowed considerably from a net loss of $82.8 million a year ago. The results do not include any data from former subsidiary Mesaba Airlines, which was transferred to Northwest Airlines in April ( ATWOnline, April 25). Operating loss shrank to $14.6 million from $62.7 million. The fourth-quarter net loss of $1.2 million compared to the year-ago period's $54.1 million.
SITA was selected by TAM to provide a comprehensive IP-based telephony architecture and LAN environment across 92 global sites under a five-year, $6.6 million contract.
Philippine Airlines exercised purchase rights for two more 777-300ERs, bringing its firm orders for the type to six. It also will lease two 777-300ERs from GECAS ( ATWOnline, May 30). Value of the two new aircraft is $500 million at list prices.
Etihad Airways intends to add narrowbody aircraft to its fleet in order to cut down on the number of regional services it operates with widebodies. "We are currently sourcing for a minimum of six to nine A319/A320 aircraft for our regional routes," CEO James Hogan told ATWOnline at this week's IATA GM in Vancouver. Etihad plans to lease or buy the aircraft "depending what is available on the market and what's best for the carrier," he said. They are scheduled to enter service by year end on routes to destinations like Doha, Bahrain and Muscat among others.
TAP Portugal's acquisition of PGA Portugalia Airlines ( ATWOnline, Nov. 8, 2006) has been cleared by the country's competition authority, AdC, which last month imposed seven conditions on the merger, including a limitation of frequencies between Lisbon and Porto in order to open the route to competing carriers. TAP paid approximately €140 million for PGA following several years of on-again-off-again negotiations and said it aims to integrate the two airlines fully by the end of September.
Aeroflot CEO Valery Okulov stressed again this week that SU wants to win the Italian government's auction to buy Alitalia and that he has no plans to drop out of the bidding. "Of course we want to have AZ. But this is a very tough process," he said ( ATWOnline, June 4). He said Aeroflot has the experience necessary to rebuild Alitalia as a result of its own restructuring. He also said it is becoming more important for the Russian airline to invest in Europe.
Soaring on the wings of a MYR133 million ($39 million) first-quarter profit that exceeded the carrier's full-year earnings target of MYR50 million, Malaysia Airlines CEO Idris Jala said MAS will continue to focus on building both yield and network. "We are working on improving our customer value proposition, looking at every aspect of our work, at every touch point," Jala told media in Vancouver at this week's IATA AGM.
Airbus yesterday detailed a "new, simplified and streamlined" organizational structure that emphasizes transnational integration and attempts to minimize the national rivalries that executives believe helped fuel the manufacturer's current financial difficulties.
Inclusion of aviation into the EU emissions trading scheme as outlined in the European Commission's December proposal would reduce collective airline profits by €9.5-€40.5 billion ($12.83-$54.71 billion) during the 2011-22 period, according to a study by Ernst & Young and York Aviation conducted on behalf of a group of aviation organizations including the Assn. of European Airlines.
Spanair will take delivery of its seventh 120-seat 717 this week and its eighth later this month, which it said will enhance service on routes catering to business travelers. Aircraft are powered by Rolls-Royce BRR715A engines.
Aer Lingus Group placed an order for six A330-300Es and six A350 XWBs, with deliveries commencing in 2009 and running though 2014. The carrier also holds the option to purchase a further six A350s for delivery by 2018 as part of an order valued at $2.4 billion at catalog prices. It noted in a stock exchange filing that "substantial discounts off the catalog prices have been negotiated." The transaction is subject to shareholder approval.
Delta Air Lines flew 10.08 billion system RPMs in May, up 5.9% from the year-ago month, as domestic traffic rose 2.9% and international climbed 12.8%. Capacity was up 0.6% to 12.48 billion ASMs on a 4.8% domestic decline and a 13.1% international increase. Load factor grew 4.1 points to 80.8%, climbing 6.1 points to 81.9% domestically and dipping 0.2 point to 78.5% internationally.
British Airways flew 9.3 billion RPKs in May, a 2.1% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity dipped 0.1% to 12.7 billion ASKs and load factor fell 1.5 points to 73.3%. Southwest Airlines flew 6.27 billion RPMs in May, up 5.2% on the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 9.2% to 8.47 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 2.8 points to 74%.
Croatia Airlines ordered four 76-seat Q400s with options on two more, Bombardier announced. Firm orders are worth an estimated $105 million at list prices. The turboprops will replace three 48-seat ATR 42s in the airline's fleet, which also includes four A320s and four A319s.
Silverjet signed an LOI to acquire two 767-200ERs from Thomsonfly for delivery next March. Aircraft are powered by CF6-80C2B4Fs. The all-business-class carrier now has five of the type either in use or on the way. It currently operates one aircraft on a daily London Luton-Newark service but said it is considering an additional 30 routes. Its second aircraft is undergoing cabin reconfiguration. A second daily frequency will start in late July. Silverjet flew 3,628 revenue seats in May at 62.6% load factor.
