Air Arabia's 10-day IPO closed with approximately 40,000 subscribers buying up 2.57 billion shares representing 55% of the company's share capital ( ATWOnline, March 19). It said the AED2.57 billion ($698.8 million) offering was 150% oversubscribed and that share allocation will occur April 8, with refunds distributed April 11 and 14. Shares will be listed on the Dubai Financial Market.
Oman Air signed a letter of intent to purchase five A330-200s with deliveries starting in 2009, CEO Ziad Karim Al Haremi told reporters in Muscat, according to the Oman News Agency. The order follows the Omani government's February OMR37 million ($95.9 million) capital injection ( ATWOnline, Feb. 21).
CAE said yesterday that it sold two 7000 Series 787 full-flight simulators to Japan Airlines valued at C$36 million ($31.2 million). The first will be delivered to JAL's Tokyo Haneda training center in 2008.
American Airlines flew 11.93 billion system RPMs in March, down 1.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 2.9% to 14.48 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1.3 points to 82.4% United Airlines flew 10.32 billion system RPMs in March, up 1.6% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.5% to 12.14 billion ASMs and load factor improved 1 point to 85%.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, reached a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding accusations of inaccurate financial reporting from 2000 to 2002, agreeing to make no future misleading financial statements while paying no penalty for alleged transgressions that took place under previous management. SEC said AAWW failed to "report accurately its financial results, maintain requisite accounting records and implement adequate internal accounting controls" in fiscal years 2000, 2001 and the first half of FY02.
Gulf Air said former Crossair and Swiss International Air Lines CEO Andre Dose officially took over as CEO this week ( ATWOnline, Feb. 2). It added that Dose will be "unveiling a new long-term business plan" in a few weeks after spending time studying the airline and its operations.
Japan Airlines ordered five additional 787-8s, bringing its total to 35 and pushing Boeing's total Dreamliner sales to more than 500 if new orders from unidentified customers are included. JAL placed an order for 30 787s in December 2004, nine months after Boeing launched the program. The manufacturer said yesterday that it has sold 514 Dreamliners to 43 customers, meaning 23 new orders from four customers including JAL have been received since the end of last week.
Iberia will launch five-times-weekly flights from Madrid to Boston (from May 6) and Washington Dulles (from June 2) aboard A340s. EasyJet will commence six-times-weekly flights between Basel-Mulhouse and Olbia on June 29. SAS Braathens will launch twice-daily Oslo Gardermoen-London City service on Aug. 28, supplementing its five-times-daily flights to Heathrow.
ATR delivered six new aircraft in the first quarter comprising two 72-500s to Finncomm Airlines, two 72-500s to CCM, one 72-500 to Kingfisher Airlines and one 42-500 to Pakistan International Airlines. It expects to deliver 44 aircraft in 2007.
ANA applied for permission to wet-lease two 767-200SFs from ABX Air, each with a 40-tonne payload, for use on an expanded summer freighter schedule. It plans to increase flights to China from Osaka Kansai by 90% and ATKs by 72% compared to summer 2006. New services will include a four-times-weekly KIX-Beijing flight. Separately, ANA signed a general terms agreement with Thai Airways under which Thai will perform heavy MRO on 11 ANA 747-400s at its new maintenance center at Suvarnabhumi. Work will be completed by next year.
Skybus Airlines, which aims to start domestic low-fare A319 service out of Columbus this spring, late Monday announced the completion of a second round of financing worth $72.2 million, bringing the amount raised by the company to $160 million. "The confidence shown in Skybus by the business community in Columbus and major financial institutions in New York and Boston is a terrific endorsement of our business model, which uniquely focuses on delivering great destinations at extremely affordable prices with brand new aircraft and nonstop flights," CEO Bill Diffenderffer said.
Etihad Airways will add three A330-200s and two A340-600s to its fleet through the summer and increase its flying program 18%. New services are from Abu Dhabi to Sydney (now thrice-weekly aboard A340-500s, becoming daily June 29), Dublin (four-times-weekly from Aug. 3) and Milan Malpensa (thrice-weekly from Sept. 1), while 40 weekly flights will be added to existing routes on its network. An increase in its London Heathrow service to twice-daily has resulted in suspension of its Gatwick operation.
Japan Airlines completed oneworld's spring expansion Sunday, joining Malev Hungarian Airlines and Royal Jordanian as members of the alliance ( ATWOnline, March 30). JAL subsidiaries JALways, Japan Asia Airways, JAL Express, J-AIR and Japan Transocean Air are new oneworld affiliate members. JAL was the largest airline in the world outside one of the three major alliances, oneworld said. It adds nearly 50 airports to the grouping's network and one new country, Guam.
SkyWest Airlines launched its Midwest Connect service Sunday, offering four-times-daily Milwaukee-Columbus service and twice-daily flights from MKE to Minneapolis-St. Paul and Philadelphia. The five-year agreement calls for SkyWest to operate 15-25 CRJ200s, all of which will be in service by October ( ATWOnline, Dec. 22, 2006). Next month it will start thrice-daily MKE-Pittsburgh flights and service from Kansas City to Columbus, Pittsburgh and San Antonio.
Aer Lingus will charge passengers who wish to pre-book a specific seat on short-haul flights starting April 4. Customers will pay €3 ($4) to choose their seat online. From the end of May, passengers also will have the option to reserve a seat in the first five rows for €10 and in an exit row for €15. Seat selection at check-in will remain free of charge.
ExpressJet Airlines launched operations yesterday under its own name in eight markets--Ontario (Calif.), Austin, Boise, Kansas City, Omaha, San Antonio, Spokane and Tucson--aboard 50-seat ERJ-145s. The airline, which announced details of its independent operation two months ago ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5), also unveiled its JetSet loyalty program.
Virgin Blue converted options for three E-170s to firm orders and took purchase rights on three additional E-190s, Embraer announced yesterday. The transaction adds to last fall's order for 14 aircraft ( ATWOnline, Nov. 3, 2006). "This added flexibility initially provides a range of new operating opportunities in Australia and, potentially, for short-haul routes to New Zealand and the South Pacific islands," Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey said.
British Airways selected Trent 800s to power the four 777-200ERs ordered last week ( ATWOnline, March 28) for delivery in 2009. It also signed a long-term maintenance agreement. Of BA's 43 777s, 15 are Trent-powered -200ERs with the remainder outfitted with the GE90.
Brazil's air traffic control system will transfer from military to civilian control following a one-day walkout late last week by top-level ATC officials that forced the temporary closure of airports throughout the country and again highlighted the nation's ongoing ATC woes, which Brazilian airlines claim have cost them more than $48 million since September.
Alitalia has attracted the interest of SkyTeam partner Aeroflot, Italy's Ministry of Economy and Finance confirmed yesterday. The Russian carrier will team up with Italian bank UniCredit, which will control 5% of the bidding group, although UniCredit and Aeroflot reportedly are open to another airline joining the consortium. The Moscow Times reported that SU's bid is worth up to €700 million ($934.5 million).
Lufthansa Systems signed a five-year deal with China Southern Airlines to provide its NetLine network management tool. Implementation is scheduled for late this year.
Already a significant presence in Italy, Air One is committed to enhancing its international profile and expanding its European network. "Our growth in the next three years will be mainly in Europe," VP-Network and Marketing Giorgio De Roni told ATWOnline. Last year the carrier captured a 30% share of the domestic market, carrying 6.3 million passengers on more than 1,900 weekly flights to 23 Italian and 13 European destinations. By the end of next year it plans to serve 20 European cities and expects a 10% increase in total passenger numbers.
United Airlines signed a contract with the US Postal Service to carry domestic mail from April 28 through Sept. 30, 2011. The deal is worth up to $400 million, UA said.
