AirAsia reported MYR5.7 million ($1.6 million) in net income for its fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30, reduced from an MYR8.7 million profit in the year-ago quarter, a 34.5% drop the airline attributed to more than MYR5 million in deferred taxation that negatively impacted otherwise strong results.
Ethiopian Airlines signed an agreement with ILFC to lease a 220-seat, two-class 767-300ER for five years effective Dec. 8. The carrier recently extended its network from Addis Ababa and now offers twice-daily services to Dubai, 11 weekly flights to Lagos, eight weekly flights to Accra, a daily service to Khartoum and Johannesburg, six-times-weekly flights to Dakar, five to N'djamena and four to Lome.
Airlines of Latin America and the Caribbean region are enjoying strong traffic demand and face a bright future, Merrill Lynch airline analyst Michael Linenberg told attendees at the third annual Latin American Airlines Leaders Forum sponsored by ALTA (Asociacion Latinoamericana de Transporte Aereo) yesterday in Cancun.
TAM has changed its approach to ticketing, launching a new "fare profiles" system yesterday that will allow passengers to purchase tickets based on specific needs. For flights to Brazilian destinations, passengers "will be able to choose promotional prices or other benefits pertaining to a given profile," the carrier said in a statement. Each of the five profiles (Promo, Light, Flex, Max and Top) presents "clear characteristics and rules" from which customers can choose.
British Airways said yesterday that one of the three 767s removed from service following the discovery of traces of a radioactive substance during the UK government's investigation of the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko ( ATWOnline, Nov. 30) has been cleared to resume flying. BA said it hopes to have the second aircraft back by this weekend, while the third will fly from Moscow to London Heathrow today to undergo testing.
Qantas said late yesterday in a stock exchange filing that it expects its pre-tax profit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, to be 25%-30% higher than the A$480 million ($377.3 million) earned in the 12 months ended June 30, 2006. The increase comes "as a result of strong trading conditions and subject to fuel prices remaining around current levels," the carrier said.
Iberia appears to be more eager to participate in European airline consolidation than oneworld partner and shareholder British Airways, although the Spanish carrier dismissed reports that it is dissatisfied with its UK partner.
US Airways presented its case for a takeover of Delta Air Lines yesterday to DL management and representatives of its creditors' committee ( ATWOnline, Nov. 29). US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said, "We reviewed our offer and had a chance to engage in discussions on the many facets of this proposal. While we recognize the steps that Delta management has taken, we are confident that our proposal for a 'New' Delta will create more value than a standalone plan."
Switzerland officially joined EASA yesterday, becoming the fourth non-EU country to adopt EU aviation safety legislation. Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are the others.
Hawaiian Airlines signed a letter of intent to purchase three of seven 767-300ERs currently leased from an affiliate of AWAS Aviation Services. The carrier also amended the leases for the remaining four AWAS aircraft. The purchases are expected to be finalized next month, subject to financing. One of the changes to the AWAS agreement was to remove a provision that would have allowed the lessor to exercise early termination options by the first of the year.
Frontier Airlines said that its flight attendants voted against representation by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Of 887 eligible flight attendants, 334 voted in favor of the IBT and two voted for alternative representation, the airline said. The vote follows four previous rejections of representation by the Assn. of Flight Attendants.
KLM UK Engineering opened an expanded maintenance hangar at Norwich International Airport. KLM invested £1 million in the facility that now will be able to perform work on larger aircraft like 737NGs, and will add approximately 50 new jobs.
Some 200 Austrian Airlines Group pilots will leave the company voluntarily and take advantage of its Golden Hand Shake offer, which expired last weekend. Austrian newspaper Wiener Zeitung reported that some pilots will get up to €650,000 ($854,400) for taking the offer. According to reports, 400-600 flight attendants also face reduction and will receive up to 11 months salary if they leave voluntarily.
Ryanair increased its stake in Aer Lingus to 25.2% from 19.2%, which brings the LCC's holding in the recently privatized national carrier on a par with the 25.4% held by the Irish government.
Comair received US FAA certification to perform repair station MRO on third-party 50- and 70-seat CRJs. It will do the work at its Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky facility. It plans to achieve certification for its Orlando facility "in the coming months."
A380 successfully completed crosswind tests at Keflavik this month, carrying out five takeoffs and six landings in crosswinds measuring 40-56 kt. Type certification requires a minimum 23 kt.
Singapore Airlines took delivery of the first two of 19 777-300ERs and has not ruled out orders for the 777-200LR and possibly the 747-8. The airline accepted the aircraft, which feature a radical cabin upgrade, yesterday in Seattle and will take delivery of another four by Dec. 31.
British Airways said yesterday that three 767s used on short-haul routes have been removed from service indefinitely after the UK government informed the carrier Tuesday night that the aircraft were to be examined as part of the investigation into the highly publicized poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. BA said initial forensic testing confirmed that low traces of a "radioactive substance" were discovered aboard two of the aircraft.
Wizz Air completed a sale/leaseback transaction with GECAS for four new A320s, which will be delivered in the first half of 2008. They will be leased on an 11-year term. Wizz has 32 A320s on order plus 12 options and expects to operate 53 by 2012.
Horizon Air will replace 37-seat Q200 turboprops with 74-seat Q400s on flights from Seattle to various destinations in Washington and British Columbia from Jan. 28. Separately, Horizon and partner Alaska Airlines have introduced a Spanish language website. By early next year the carriers plan to offer Spanish at check-in kiosks and add Spanish-speaking reservations agents at call centers, among other initiatives.
Airbus reportedly intends to outsource 50% of A350 XWB production even as parent EADS' board debates whether to green-light the program and its funding ( ATWOnline, Nov. 29). One way to keep costs down is to outsource much of the aircraft's production, Airbus CEO Louis Gallois told Reuters. "On the A350, our plan is to outsource 50% of the airframe production, which would allow us to hand over [a portion of labor and costs] to partners participating in the development," he said.
Iberia said e-tickets accounted for 95% of all tickets sold in October. For domestic flights the proportion was 97.5% and international was 92%. Only Naples and Pisa, served by franchise partners Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum, still require traditional tickets.
Middle East Airlines is finalizing an agreement to acquire four A330-200s and four A319s. According to the Arab Air Carriers Organization, two aircraft would arrive in 2008 and the other six in 2009. MEA would use the additional aircraft to increase frequencies on popular routes and is considering new destinations in Qatar, Iraq and Russia.
Finnair confirmed four E-190 options yesterday, signing an order for the 100-seat aircraft worth more than €100 million ($131.4 million). The jets will be delivered in 2008-09. The carrier currently operates 10 76-seat E-170s and now has 10 E-190s on order, the first of which will be delivered next month.
