Ethiopian Airlines said it moved to the Sabre Passenger Services Management IT system. It also launched a thrice-weekly Addis Ababa-Juba service aboard 737-200s.
Australia's Virgin Blue reported an 80.9% year-over-year increase in net earnings to A$124.3 million ($97.8 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31 on a 16.7% lift in revenue to A$1.12 billion, results that have it primed for expansion including considering an order for 777-300ERs to be deployed on planned long-haul operations ( ATWOnline, Feb. 13).
Indian government is getting tough on English standards following a series of recent near mishaps, sending home at least 20 foreign pilots (mainly from Asia and central Europe) because of their poor command of the language. Indian Director General of Civil Aviation Kanu Gohain told reporters that "the pilots posed a safety risk."
JetBlue Airways released earnings guidance yesterday in the wake of last week's much-publicized disruptions at New York JFK ( ATWOnline, Feb. 21), projecting a difficult first quarter and lower full-year results. For the three months ending Mar. 31, the LCC expects to report an operating margin of between -4% and -2%. Its pre-tax margin for the quarter is expected to be between -10% and -8%.
Continental Airlines yesterday became the eighth carrier to have its cargo booking system go live on the Unisys-operated Cargo Portal Services, a Web-based booking tool used by more than 2,500 freight forwarders. "Our customers want choice and convenience. CPS fills this need because of its rapid adoption by forwarders, its multicarrier model and its capability to handle virtually all types of cargo products," CO VP-Cargo Jack Boisen said. CO joins American Airlines, Air Canada, Air France-KLM, Austrian Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines and United Airlines on CPS.
Airline Partners Australia's pending $11.1 billion ($8.73 billion) buyout of Qantas is facing a chilling political wind, with a number of industry analysts and observers suggesting the deal will not fly. Sustained and vocal opposition from Prime Ministor John Howard's Liberal party has become almost a daily occurrence ( ATWOnline, Feb. 19), with former Transport Minister John Anderson telling ABC Radio he did not think the deal was in the national interest.
Air France KLM Group will increase summer schedule capacity 5.4% year-over-year, including a 5.6% hike on the long-haul network and 4.3% on medium-haul. Long-haul increase will include 11.4% growth to Latin America, 7.3% to Asia and 10.1% to North America owing mainly to the launch of new daily Paris Charles de Gaulle-Seattle service on June 11 aboard an A330-200. AF's domestic network will see only a 0.2% ASK increase. Both airlines are pursuing fleet modernization programs. By June, the entire AF long-haul fleet will be equipped with new interiors.
AirTran Airways' bid to acquire Midwest Airlines was dealt a slight setback this week when the New York Supreme Court ruled the carrier was not entitled to a list of Midwest shareholders ( ATWOnline, Feb. 2). AirTran, which sought to take its $345 million tender offer directly to shareholders, said it will appeal the ruling and continue to provide information about its merger proposal to Midwest shareholders.
British Airways yesterday took a first step toward renewal of its long-haul fleet with an order for four 777-200ERs plus four options and also placed an order for four A320s. The Boeing order, while not unexpected, was a blow to Airbus, which was pitching the A330 and saw a potential deal as an opening for the A350 XWB. BA issued an RFP for long-haul aircraft to both manufacturers in the fall ( ATWOnline, Oct. 18, 2006).
Jettainer signed a five-year deal with XL Airways of the UK to provide outsourced ULD management services. As part of the agreement, Jettainer purchased XL's fleet of ULDs, which previously was owned and managed by Air Atlanta Icelandic.
ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection last week released proposed guidance to the organization's 189 member states for incorporating aviation emissions into national emission trading schemes. The ICAO Council will review the proposal "in the coming weeks," but IATA was quick to voice its approval, saying the "outcome clearly demonstrates that global solutions are possible" and that "the only way forward is with a harmonized approach."
Cockpit voice recorder transcript from the ExcelAire Legacy 600 that collided with a Gol 737-800 in midair and resulted in the deaths of all 154 aboard the airliner ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23), was published yesterday by Folha de S. Paulo, Brazil's largest newspaper. It indicated that the Legacy pilots had difficulty communicating with ATC throughout the flight. "I've got a problem with the radio here," one said, according to the Associated Press.
Boeing announced 787 deals with both Air New Zealand and LOT Polish Airlines. ANZ finalized its order for four additional 787-9s ( ATWOnline, Dec. 20, 2006), which brings its commitment to the type to eight firm plus 12 price rights. Delivery of the new orders, valued at $700 million at list price, is scheduled for 2011-13. Meanwhile, LOT raised its 787 commitment to eight with an order for one additional aircraft ( ATWOnline, Sept.
Eurocontrol registered a 5.6% year-over-year growth in flights last month to 741,432, eclipsing its forecast of 4% annual growth over the next 15 years. Air traffic flow management delay soared 49.9% to 1.7 min. per flight, which Eurocontrol attributed to "adverse weather." Airport delay time rose 74.9% to 1.2 min. Alaska Airlines flew 1.28 billion RPMs in January, a 0.8% fall from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.8% to 1.93 billion ASMs and load factor was down 2.5 points to 66.5%.
Omani government is planning to increase its holding in Oman Air from 33.4% to more than 80% through an injection that would lift the airline's capital to OMR50 million ($129.5 million) from OMR13.3 million. The recap would support plans to buy widebodied aircraft as it looks to launch several long-haul routes ( ATWOnline, Dec. 12, 2006).
EADS postponed yesterday's planned disclosure to Airbus employees of details of the Power8 restructuring program as French and German officials argued over the distribution of job cuts and facility closures, but EADS co-CEO and Airbus CEO Louis Gallois warned that the manufacturer "cannot delay any longer" implementing reforms.
JetBlue Airways, heavily criticized in the wake of incidents last week when passengers were forced to stay on parked aircraft at New York JFK for up to 10 hr., responded yesterday by unveiling a Customer Bill of Rights that includes free tickets for those forced to wait on delayed aircraft.
Lufthansa Group unveiled preliminary full-year financial results Monday and said it expects full-year earnings attributable to shareholders to soar nearly 77% to €800 million ($1.05 billion) from the €453 million net profit posted in 2005. Revenues are expected to rise 9.4% to €19.8 billion and operating profit will increase 46.4% to €845 million from the €577 million earned in 2005, well above the €750 million forecast last fall ( ATWOnline, Oct. 27, 2006).
Aer Arann released a summer schedule that will include four new services beginning May 14: Six-times-weekly Waterford-Birmingham and four-times-weekly Galway-Newcastle, Galway-Bristol and Sligo-Manchester. It also will operate seven routes to France: To Lorient from Waterford, Galway, Cork and Kerry and to Nantes from Cork, Bristol and Cardiff. Alaska Airlines will launch daily flights from Portland, Ore., to Boston and Orlando International beginning Sept. 9 aboard 124-seat 737-700s. New routes will be airline's first nonstop transcontinental service from Portland.
Russian Transport Ministry announced that nine airlines have been banned from operating charter and ad hoc flights to the EU. It said it barred the carriers following notification by the European Commission's Transport Directorate about the lack of control of maintenance and operational procedures. The airlines are Aero Rent, Tatarstan Airlines, Atlant-Soyuz, Aviacon Zitotrans, Center Avia, Gazpromavia, Lukoil, Russkoe Nebo (Russian Sky) and UTair.
