Boeing announced the conclusion of its deal with TAM for four 777-300ERs plus four purchase rights ( ATWOnline, Nov. 2, 2006). The carrier already has taken delivery this month of two of three leased MD-11s that it will use on transatlantic operations until the GE90-115B-powered -300ERs arrive next year.
Air Berlin reported a 2006 net profit of €50.1 million ($65.9 million) yesterday, a dramatic reversal from the €115.9 million loss in 2005 ( ATWOnline, April 12, 2006). "Despite the costs of going public and the integration of dba. . .our net profit even exceeded the expectations of most analysts," AB CEO Joachim Hunold said. Sales rose 28.6% to €1.57 billion and operating income was €64.1 million compared to a €5.5 million loss in the prior year.
Malev Hungarian Airlines sale to AirBridge, a consortium led by KrasAir CEO Boris Abramovich, concluded Friday ( ATWOnline, Feb. 9). The purchase price was a little more than $1 million, according to press reports. The consortium, which also includes two Hungarian investors, committed to capital investment of $66 million and the repayment of $68 million in debt by year end, according to UPI, while the BBC reported that Abramovich said Malev will return to profitability within two years.
Bombardier delivered 326 aircraft in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, down from 337 deliveries in the previous year. Company officials said the 3% drop was related to reduced regional jet deliveries in the US and fewer deliveries of Learjets because of a three-week work stoppage in October. But deliveries of Q Series aircraft increased to 48 from 28. Of those, 31 were 70-seat Q400s.
Jordanian government plans to retain a 26% stake in Royal Jordanian when it proceeds with the carrier's privatization later this year but may eventually sell, RJ President and CEO Samer Majali said. "I'm not sure that the Jordanian government intends to remain a shareholder over the long term," he said last week at ATW's Winning Airline Strategies conference in Washington, where he accepted the magazine's Phoenix Award.
Spain's Vueling Airlines posted a net loss of €10.8 million ($14.2 million) last year, a slight widening of the €10.6 million loss suffered in 2005 and worse than its own forecast of a €7.1 million deficit. Results were affected by new international accounting regulations, higher-than-expected publicity expenses and costs related to its IPO. Revenues more than doubled to €235.6 million as it launched service to 18 new destinations and carried 3.5 million passengers with a load factor greater than 70%.
Malaysia Airlines yesterday reported a net loss of MYR136 million ($39 million) for full-year 2006, improved over a loss of MYR1.7 billion the prior year.
Aviation Partners Boeing said Caribbean Airlines, formerly BWIA, ordered six blended winglet retrofits for 737-800s. AVP said that when installation is complete by October, the airline can expect to save 660,000 gal. of fuel annually.
Norwegian will launch service from Oslo Gardermoen to Antalya (weekly from May 5) and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (twice-weekly from June 2). Separately, AWAS announced the delivery of a second 737-300 to Norwegian in the past six months. Both are powered by CFM56-3s. It now operates 22 -300s. EasyJet will launch daily Bristol-Milan Malpensa service on April 23 and double its daily BRS-Paris Charles de Gaulle service in October.
Japan Airlines on March 25 will redeem ¥79.7 billion of convertible bonds due to mature in 2011, the company said in a stock exchange filing cited by Bloomberg News, which said investors had until Feb. 23 to convert the ¥100 billion of bonds into stock but that shares in JAL closed 32% lower than the bonds' conversion price. JAL said it is seeking a ¥60 billion credit line to help repay the bonds, according to Bloomberg.
News from Travel Technology Update: The European Commission asked for public comment on whether the Code of Conduct for Computerized Reservation Systems, first established in 1989, should be revised or abolished. The EC noted that since the last change to the Code of Conduct, most airlines have divested their holdings in GDSs. Of the four major GDS companies, only Amadeus still has some airline ownership: Air France/KLM owns 23.2%, and Lufthansa and Iberia each own 11.6%.
Austrian Airlines Group last week took another step in its Focus East strategy when it formally switched its Moscow operation to Domodedovo after 47 years at Sheremetyevo. "It was not an easy decision for us," Austrian CCO Josef Burger told ATWOnline in Russia. "With our new partner AiRUnion, we have access to 41 destinations from DME."
FL Group of Iceland raised its stake in American Airlines parent AMR Corp. to 8.63%. The company purchased a 5.98% share in December ( ATWOnline, Jan. 3) and now with the additional investment "appears" to be AMR's largest single shareholder, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported. "We have been following the airline industry in the US and we believe AMR Corp. presents strong prospects for 2007," FL CEO Hannes Smarason said.
Open skies talks between the US and EU are set to resume today in Brussels with experts warning that the lack of an accord--or at least an initial agreement--could postpone a potential transatlantic air pact indefinitely and create increased tension for US-EU flight operations. "The US cannot surrender its role of leadership in the international aviation community," attorney Allan Mendelsohn, former assistant secretary for transportation affairs at the US State Dept., said last week in Washington at ATW's Winning Airline Strategies conference.
Virgin Atlantic Airways reached agreement with Airbus to reschedule delivery of the remaining six A340-600s it has on order, the carrier confirmed to ATWOnline. In August 2004 it placed an order for an additional 13 -600s with options for a further 13. "We were due to take delivery of another six A340-600s over the next two years, but we have stretched this out over the next four years," Communications Director Paul Charles said.
AiRUnion President Alexsandr Abramovich is expecting approval soon from the Russian government to complete the merger of the alliance's five constituent airlines. "We are in the final phase. The application is at the table of the president of Russia," Abramovich told ATWOnline last week in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. The tie-up would be the largest of its kind in Russia.
Air Transport Assn. board of directors, apparently hoping to forestall a push by consumer groups and politicians for so-called "passenger bill of rights" legislation, took the initiative at a meeting last week in Washington and said it is working to develop procedures for handling delays caused by extreme weather.
Porter Airlines increased its Toronto City Centre-Montreal service to nine roundtrips each weekday from four. Weekend service features two frequencies on Saturdays and four on Sundays. Porter recently took delivery of a fourth 70-seat Q400. It also announced the installation of a C$1.85 million ($1.59 million) instrument landing system at YTZ that will allow a straight-in approach over the water.
Qatar Airways installed an instant loyalty program enrollment kiosk in its business class lounge at Doha. The kiosk dispenses membership cards "within seconds" of the new member's registration.
Brian Rowe, a giant in the history of jet engines and a man closely associated with the rise of General Electric into the leadership position it currently enjoys in the jet engine business, died Feb. 22 following surgery. He was 75. Rowe led GE-Aviation from 1979 to 1993, serving as the division's president and CEO as well as a corporate senior VP.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac jointly backed Airbus's Power8 restructuring plan Friday as a revised proposal put forward by EADS co-CEO and Airbus CEO Louis Gallois appeared to ease German opposition to the cost-cutting program, details of which could be revealed as soon as this week and likely no later than next week.
UPS and Airbus signed an agreement last week that delays delivery dates for 10 A380Fs the cargo carrier has on order and gives both companies the option of terminating the order later this year. UPS is the last remaining customer for the freighter version of the aircraft. The original delivery schedule ran from 2009 through 2012 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 22).
EasyJet will launch service from Dortmund to Edinburgh (four-times-weekly from May 30) and Thessaloniki (thrice-weekly from May 31). The former will receive support from the Scottish Executive's route development fund. Emirates will launch thrice-weekly Dubai-Houston service on Dec. 3, becoming daily in February 2008. The 777-200LR flight will be EK's second US service.
