Tassili Airlines of Algeria placed a firm order for four 35-seat Q200s worth $74 million at list prices, Bombardier announced. Tassili mainly transports workers affiliated with Algeria's oil industry but intends to launch domestic and international scheduled services "within the next few years," the manufacturer said. It ordered four Q400s last year ( ATWOnline, Aug. 1, 2006).
Dragonair unveiled a revamped website that offers online booking for flights departing from Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen. It marks the first time passengers have been able to buy tickets through Dragonair's site.
Emirates will increase Dubai-Beijing frequencies to 12-times-weekly from daily on May 1 and to twice-daily from July 1. Flights are aboard A340-300s. Germanwings will start twice-weekly Cologne-Sarmellek/FlyBalaton service on June 18. Kingfisher Airlines launched Kochi-Agatti service.
Norwegian flew 374 million RPKs in March, up 41% from the year-ago month, against a 42% increase in ASKs to 481 million that left load factor static at 78%. SkyEurope Airlines transported 264,621 passengers in March, a 48.5% increase from the year-ago month. Load factor rose 14 points to 88.4%.
Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James May reiterated ( ATWOnline, April 12) last week in testimony before the US House of Representatives aviation subcommittee that passenger rights legislation mandating the terms of airline operations during ground delays will "likely aggravate. . .severe weather events" and lead to a far larger number of cancellations. "No passenger likes a delayed flight, but what they like even less is not being able to get to their destinations at all," May said.
Aviation Capital Group yesterday announced orders for 20 A320 family aircraft, five 787s and 15 737NGs. The Boeing aircraft previously had been listed as unidentified on the manufacturer's orders and deliveries website. The order is worth approximately $1.6 billion at list prices and represents the lessor's first commitment to the 787. It currently owns a combined 138 737 Classics, 737NGs, 757s and 767s and has an additional 52 Boeing aircraft on order. The Airbus order comprises four A319s, 14 A320s and two A321s.
In a desperate bid to gets its A$11.1 billion ($9.29 billion) buyout of Qantas off the ground, Airline Partners Australia announced over the weekend that the May 4 deadline will not be extended while repeating its warning that share prices will fall if its bid fails.
Amadeus completed implementation of SITA's automated rules system, which allows fare information sent by SITA to be uploaded automatically into the Amadeus system.
Air Cargo Management Group released its latest 20-year freighter aircraft forecast last week, projecting that the global fleet will more than double in size from 1,801 units currently to 3,883 by 2026. "In addition to freighter fleet expansion. . .more than 1,100 existing freighters will be retired over the next 20 years," ACMG Project Director Robert Dahl said.
Air New Zealand said March load factor rose 7 points to 79.5% on a 8.3% gain in traffic and a 1.3% fall in capacity. ANZ also said it will add a 15th leased 737 this year, a 16th in the first half of 2008, a 15th Q300 this month and a further five by December, replacing Saab 340As. Separately, it will add a fourth and fifth weekly Auckland-Adelaide flight beginning Oct. 29 aboard A320s.
Jet Airways completed its INR14.5 billion ($344 million) acquisition of Air Sahara ( ATWOnline, April 17) Friday with a INR4 billion payment for the remaining shares. Jet appointed a management team led by Garry Kingshott to manage Sahara's transition to a wholly owned subsidiary called JetLite.
Regional airline traffic in the US rose by just 3.1% to 155.5 million passengers in 2006, the slowest rate of growth in seven years, according to new data produced by Velocity Group.
Qantas informed the Australian Stock Exchange in a Friday filing that shareholder acceptances to Airline Partners Australia's offer declined to 27.48% from 28.86% as institutional investors sold off shares held in an Institutional Acceptance Facility. The 28.86% figure represented a midweek decrease from 30.06%. Separately, Qantas said it will operate three additional Sydney-Perth-Johannesburg services in both December and January.
A three-day US-India "aviation partnership summit" that kicks off today in New Delhi will focus on how FAA can help India cope with explosive air transport growth, as well as relations between the countries and future infrastructure development, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said.
China Eastern Airlines reported a 2006 net loss of CNY2.78 billion ($359.8 million), reversed from a net profit of CNY60 million in the prior year, on a 39% drop in operating revenue to CNY36.8 billion. The carrier attributed the result mainly to "sale of old aircraft. . .In 2006 we sold some old aircraft whose actual sale price was far lower than their book value, which resulted in a loss of CNY2 billion last year," according to Luo Zhuping, secretary to CEA's board. The company also cited rising oil prices.
The disruptions bedeviling the Brazilian air transport market proved to be too much for Gol during the first quarter, with the LCC reporting a BRL116.6 million ($57.3 million) profit that represented a 35.2% fall from earnings of BRL179.8 million in the first three months of 2006.
Aer Lingus flew 1.12 billion RPKs in March, a 9.5% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 12.9% to 1.48 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 2.3 points to 75.5%. Air Berlin transported 1.7 million passengers in March, up 13.6% from the year-ago month. Load factor rose 2.3 points to 74%.
European Commission announced Friday the postponement of its rule on limiting the size of carry-on baggage to May 2008, "as more time is needed to reassess the advantages and disadvantages [the rules] entail, notably regarding air security and passengers' comfort." Last fall it passed a series of security measures, one of which would limit the size of cabin baggage to 56x45x25 cm. ( ATWOnline, Sept. 29, 2006).
Gol yesterday detailed its fleet plan for Varig in conjunction with its first-quarter earnings release (see story above). It said the Varig fleet, which will continue to operate independently of the new parent company, will comprise 14 737-300s and two 767-300ERs at the end of the current quarter. By year end Varig will operate nine 737-300s, five 737-800s and eight 767-300ERs. The 737-300s will be phased out by 2009, when Varig is scheduled to fly eight 737-700s, nine 737-800s and 16 767-300ERs. By 2012 it will operate 14, 15 and 22 of the respective types.
Northwest Airlines announced that Chairman Gary Wilson will step down from the board when the company emerges from bankruptcy later this spring, ending an 18-year association with the airline that began when Wilson and former Co-chairman Al Checchi led an investment group that carried out a leveraged buyout of NWA in 1989. Wilson had served as sole chairman since 1997. He will be succeeded by Roy Bostock, a board member since 2005.
WestJet pushed back its negotiating deadline with Travelport by two months to July 31 to agree to new contract terms on the delayed installation of the aiRES system that the carrier had planned to use to facilitate interlining with other airlines ( ATWOnline, Jan. 12). The Canadian LCC said in statement that it has "made progress" with Travelport as it "works toward an amended contract."
Aeroflot transported 604,500 passengers in March, up 23.4% from the year-ago month. Traffic grew 20.5% to 1.86 billion RPKs and load factor was 67.2%. Alitalia flew 3.04 billion RPKs in March, up 6.5% from the year-ago month. Capacity was static at 4.36 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 4.5 points to 69.8%. Mesa Air Group airlines flew 630.2 million RPMs in March, up 3.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.3% to 801.3 million ASMs and load factor climbed 0.9 point to 78.7%.
Japan Transocean Air, part of JAL Group, ordered 10 firm CFM56-3 Advanced Upgrade kits valued at approximately $15 million, plus 20 options. JTA currently operates five engines equipped with the Advanced Upgrade. CFM said the new order with the options, which began delivery in the first quarter, will enable the airline to upgrade the majority of its CFM56-3s by 2010.
Aloha Airlines is disputing Mesa Air Group Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein's claim that the 10%-11% increase in go! traffic has come at Aloha's expense. "We didn't lose 10 points," Senior VP-Sales and Marketing Thom Nulty told ATWOnline. "He was certainly misinformed." Ornstein made the statement last week at an analyst conference in Mexico ( ATWOnline, April 17). Aloha and Hawaiian Airlines each are engaged in ongoing legal battles with Mesa.
