LTU German Airlines MD Juergen Marbach announced yesterday that after talks between LTU, investors and Spanish authorities, LTU will not establish a new company to take over some South American routes from collapsed Air Madrid ( ATWOnline, Jan. 11). Marbach said there was not enough time to put together a plan "on a solid economic basis" and that LTU's offer to absorb the routes was void.
Southwest Airlines was profitable for the 34th consecutive year in 2006, but posted just a 3.1% year-over-year increase in full-year net income to $499 million from 2005's $484 million as higher fuel prices and lingering security issues slowed its inexorable growth. SWA posted a $57 million profit in the fourth quarter that represented an 18.6% decline from the $70 million earned in the year-ago period.
Japan Airlines Group is responding to strong passenger demand by increasing frequencies on seven international routes and putting its 2007 inflight product through a major revamp. From March 25 it will up its New York JFK frequencies from 10 to 13 per week and from June 1 Paris Charles de Gaulle will be served twice-daily, up from the current 10 weekly flights. JAL also will add a frequency on routes from Tokyo Narita to New Delhi and Moscow Sheremetyevo and from Osaka Kansai to Hanoi, Dalian, Hangzhou and Qinqdao.
Etihad Airways launched a six-times-weekly Abu Dhabi-Kuala Lumpur service Tuesday using its sole A340-300. Qatar Airways, which launched four-times-weekly Doha-Dar Es Salaam service last week, said it will add flights this year to Denpasar, New York JFK, Lagos, Ho Chi Minh City, Chennai, Ahmedabad and two yet-to-be-announced cities in northern and/or eastern Europe. Air Canada Jazz launched a seasonal daily Calgary-Palm Springs flight aboard a CRJ705. Service will operate until April 10.
Air France KLM Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta yesterday resigned from the Alitalia board, fueling speculation that the group might submit a bid for a controlling stake in Italy's struggling national carrier. "Since the Italian government has launched a bid to acquire stakes in the capital of Alitalia and as Air France KLM is a partner of Alitalia, the Air France KLM Chairman can no longer sit on the board of directors," AF KLM said in a brief statement.
ARINC signed a contract with Cathay Pacific Airways to provide an Iridium-based voice telephone solution for seven CX 747-200 freighters. CX is the Iridium service's first commercial airline customer.
Following five years of steep losses, American Airlines parent AMR Corp. posted 2006 net income of $231 million, a reversal from a net loss of $857 million in 2005 and its first profitable year since 2000. The company earned profits in each of the year's final three quarters, including a $17 million net gain in the fourth quarter that compared to a $600 million net loss in the fourth quarter of 2005.
European Commission allowed Malta to offer startup aid totaling MTL25 million ($75.1 million) for new air routes from Malta International Airport until September 2011. The EC stipulated that aid will be limited to five years for each new service and to 40% of startup costs.
The Chinese government is considering an injection of up to $2 billion into the country's three major airlines to address balance sheet debt problems brought on by high fuel prices. Sources in the government confirmed to ATWOnline the existence of a financial injection plan, first revealed in the Asian Wall Street Journal.
Alaska Airlines and regional affiliate Horizon Air will spend $18 million to bring the Airport of the Future check-in concept to Seattle-Tacoma International by the end of 2007. The company, which introduced the concept in 2004, said it will eliminate traditional ticket counters at the airport and replace them with "customer-friendly islands of check-in kiosks and bag-check stations." The design will allow passengers "to get from curbside to planeside in record time," Alaska VP-Real Estate Ed White said.
Airbus said it reached agreements this week to sell 26 A330-200 freighters, with 20 going to US lessor Intrepid Leasing and six to India's Flyington Freighters, marking the first sales of an aircraft type launched last summer.
China Southern Airlines said it carried 49.21 million passengers last year, up 11.5% over 44.12 million carried in 2005. In addition, China's largest airline added 64 new aircraft in 2006, bringing its total fleet to 298 planes. SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express, which will merge into Brussels Airlines on March 25, carried a combined 5.94 million passengers in 2006, up 8% over the combined total in 2005.
AirAsia could be the next major takeover target in Asia, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. "The Asian market is a fertile breeding ground for investor opportunities, with equal doses of liberalization and new travelers opening up massive traffic expansion opportunities," CAPA Executive Chairman Peter Harbison said. "AirAsia has the attractions of a large and expanding market share, the lowest airline costs in the world, a brand name to die for, and unquestionable recent profitability."
Former Swissair executives and board members went on trial yesterday for their alleged roles in the historic 2001 collapse of the airline, the largest bankruptcy in Switzerland's history. Nineteen executives, including former CEOs Philippe Bruggisser and Mario Corti, will mount their defense in a Swiss court near Zurich, responding to a 100-page charge sheet submitted by prosecutors that includes accusations of false accounting and unlawful management.
News from Travel Technology Update: Expedia said it ceased the processing of certain American Airlines bookings using the Worldspan GDS. The decision, implemented on Jan. 8, applies to domestic business and first class fares and international fares purchased on the U.S. Expedia.com site. American's economy seats are still available on the site. The move does not affect American's bookings through Expedia Corporate Travel, which are processed through Sabre, or through international points of sale.
Embraer said yesterday that it delivered 25 commercial aircraft in the fourth quarter, bringing its total to 98 for full-year 2006 led by 40 E-190s. The Brazilian manufacturer took 67 firm orders for its commercial segment during the quarter, increasing its firm order backlog 11.3% over the previous quarter to $14.8 billion. It also raised its delivery guidance to 165-170 in 2007 including executive and defense/government aircraft. Its total deliveries for 2006 were 130. It did not break down projected 2007 deliveries by segment.
Iberia launched twice-weekly Madrid Barajas-Algiers flights from Jan. 7 and will start twice-weekly MAD-Bucharest flights from March 3 aboard A319s and A320s. Royal Jordanian will resume operating twice-weekly Amman-Montreal flights from May 25 aboard an A340. Air Baltic will launch thrice-weekly Riga-Gomel service from March 25 using F50s. Frontier Airlines will begin daily Denver-Hartford service from March 2 aboard an A319. AirTran Airways launched twice-daily Atlanta-Phoenix flights Monday aboard 737-700s.
GE said it will acquire Smiths Aerospace for $4.8 billion in cash, combining its aircraft engine business with Smiths' broad array of avionics equipment and components, under terms of a blockbuster agreement announced by the companies Monday. "The acquisition will broaden GE's offerings for aviation customers by adding Smiths' innovative flight management systems, electrical power management, mechanical actuation systems and airborne platform computing systems to GE Aviation's commercial and military aircraft engines and related services," GE said in a statement.
British Airways is holding critical talks with representatives of the Transport & General Workers Union following Monday's vote by the union's cabin staff in favor of industrial action that could begin as early Jan. 31. T&G, which represents more than 20,000 BA employees, including 11,000 flight attendants, said that more than 8,000 cabin crew, or 96%, voted in favor of a series of three-day walkouts to protest sick leave policies, pay grading and onboard staffing levels.
VEM Maintenance and Engineering aims to become a major player in the repair and maintenance of Airbus aircraft in South America, according to Filipe Morais de Almeida, who joined the company as CEO last October from Bombardier Portugal, where he served as chairman and CEO. VEM, the former Varig Engineering & Maintenance, was acquired by TAP Portugal in early 2006 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 16, 2006).
Aeroflot announced that it increased its share in its OJSC Aeroflot-Don subsidiary from 51% to 100%. Aeroflot-Don, based in Rostov-on-Don, carried 600,000 passengers in 2006 and has a fleet of 15 aircraft including 737-500s and Tu-154s.
Claiming that US Airways' bid for Delta Air Lines "represents a clear and present danger to the careers of all Delta employees," MEC Chairman Lee Moak told Air Line Pilots Assn. members in a letter last week that the MEC pledged to spend $15 million in an effort to derail the takeover, which he said "simply ignores the implications of our contract."
