Gol ended a third quarter touched by tragedy BRL190 million ($88.6 million) in the black, a 37.5% increase over a profit of BRL138.2 million in the year-ago quarter. The carrier took delivery of four aircraft during the quarter--including the first 737-800 designed specifically for operation on shorter runways ( ATWOnline, July 28)--added three destinations and 78 frequencies and opened its new MRO center at Confins International Airport in Belo Horizonte.
Boeing said yesterday that it has settled on the firm configuration of the 747-8 freighter and is aiming to deliver the first of the type to Cargolux in the second half of 2009. The 747-8F will be longer than the dash 400F by 5.6 m. (18.3 ft.) with a maximum structural payload capability of 140 metric tonnes (154 tons) and a range of 8,288 km. (4,475 nm.).
Air Canada last week introduced a new pricing system, available on its website, that offers "a la carte options" that allow passengers to pay for specific services or to save money by choosing not to use certain services. The carrier is offering four fare types (Tango, Tango Plus, Latitude and Executive) and gives passengers the option to add or subtract items based on individual preferences.
Gol exercised 20 737-800 options, bringing its firm orders for the type to 87, the Brazilian LCC announced yesterday. It also added 20 options, bringing the total back to 34. It took delivery of the first aircraft under the order on July 30. By year end it will operate 14 737-300s, 30 dash 700s and 21 dash 800s. At year end 2012 it will have 10 dash 700s and 91 dash 800s in its fleet.
Jat Airways will cooperate with Emirates on service to New York JFK beginning Nov. 23. Jat will fly passengers to Hamburg thrice-weekly from Belgrade. They will board a bus there that will transport them directly to Emirates' gate. EK will employ Serbian-speaking flight attendants on the Hamburg-JFK route. Jat also will introduce weekly service to Basel as part of its winter timetable.
TAP Portugal hopes to conclude today, or by the end of this week at the latest, the purchase of PGA Portugalia Airlines that has been six years in the making, CEO Fernando Pinto told the European Aviation Club in Brussels. TAP intends to buy nearly all the shares in the Regional airline. Presently, Grupo Espirito Santo owns 84.34% of PGA, which employs 745. Pinto did not disclose the purchase price but told ATWOnline it is "well below the $150 million I read in the press." He added that TAP is buying the carrier without its debt.
Mesaba Aviation, which narrowly averted a strike last week ( ATWOnline, Oct. 25), reached tentative labor agreements with its pilot and flight attendant unions. Negotiations continue with mechanics represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. "All along we have believed that consensual agreements are in the best interest of all involved in the company, its employees, and our passengers," Mesaba President and CEO John Spanjers said.
Qantas gave Airbus a lift with an order for an additional eight A380s, taking its firm commitments to 20 of the aircraft. It also ordered four more A330-200s to be delivered between December 2007 and September 2008 to help with the shortfall in capacity resulting from the A380 delay. In addition, it committed to five more 737-800s, which will take its fleet of that type to 38.
Northwest Airlines today will complete the retirement of the DC-10 from its transatlantic network, leaving its Minneapolis-Honolulu service as the only route operated with the aircraft ( ATWOnline, June 29). It will begin using an A330 on that route on Jan. 7. It earlier deployed an A330-300 on its daily Memphis-Amsterdam service, replacing the DC-10-30 used on the route. From Nov. 26 the route will be operated with a 243-seat A330-200.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines said last week that it intends to sell its 75% holding in its Rezidor SAS Hospitality Group hotels unit via an IPO set to occur by year end. No new Rezidor shares will be issued via the IPO. Carlson Hotels Worldwide, which currently owns 25%, will increase its stake to 35% through the purchase of shares from SAS. In anticipation of the spinoff, the company's name is being changed to Rezidor Hotel Group. SAS said in June that it would float the unit. Rezidor operates 272 hotels.
WestJet announced the finalization of a short-term lease with Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise for four 737-700s and one dash 800 for delivery in 2009. The deal includes an option for three additional dash 700s and one dash 800, plus the ability to convert dash 700s to dash 800s, and remains "subject to a number of conditions," the carrier said. "One of our continued strategic drivers is ASM growth through fleet expansion," President Sean Durfy said.
Boeing is facing intense pressure to offer two versions of its 747-8 Intercontinental to satisfy Emirates, which is considering a commitment of up to 30 aircraft. Last month this website revealed that the manufacturer increased the length of the 747-8I to that of the freighter ( ATWOnline, Sept. 26) to satisfy demands for greater capacity from airlines such as Korean Air, China Airlines and British Airways. Originally the passenger variant had a 3.6-m.
US National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a team of investigators to Nigeria to assist in determining the cause of Sunday's ADC Airlines 737-200 crash in Abuja that reportedly killed 98 of 106 on board and one farmer on the ground. Abuja's Daily Trust reported yesterday that the aircraft's pilots were told not to take off because of poor weather but insisted on doing so.
Emirates President Tim Clark reinforced the push for a major revision of the A350 XWB first revealed by ATWOnline last week ( ATWOnline, Oct. 25), telling media that "Airbus would have to go beyond the current design of the A350 if it wants to win [EK's] order," Reuters reported.
SkyWest Inc., parent of SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, reported net earnings of $40.7 million in the third quarter, up 35.3% from the $30.1 million earned in the three months ended Sept. 30, 2005. The year-over-year improvement is due in large part to SkyWest's acquisition of ASA during the year-ago quarter. Revenues increased 59.2% to $791.8 million and expenses rose 59.5% to $704.1 million. Operating income surged 56.8% to $87.8 million. The company flew 4.16 billion RPMs during the quarter, a year-over-year increase of 69.1%.
News from Travel Technology Update: JetBlue Airways is returning to all four GDSs with a new five-year, full-content agreement with Worldspan and participation in Amadeus in the works. Worldspan said its agreement with JetBlue will provide access to the carrier by "business travelers who book trips online using Worldspan Trip Manager XE, as well as travel buyers who purchase opaque flights or travel packages at designated Worldspan-connected travel Web sites," in addition to travel agencies.
Air France Industries announced that Virgin Atlantic Airways chose it to provide total flight hour component support including access to a spares pool for eight A340s until 2016.
Emirates appears to have confirmed speculation that it will cancel its order for 10 A340-600s plus 10 options ( ATWOnline, June 22). President Tim Clark told reporters at London Heathrow that EK is unhappy with the aircraft and that the order has been taken up by a third party, according to AFP, while AFX News quoted an EK spokesperson as saying the A340-600 "didn't deliver what it set out to deliver in the blueprint.
Air China said it posted a CNY3.3 billion ($417.5 million) profit in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. The carrier did not provide a comparison to the year-ago quarter but said its "stable growth was attributable to the favorable turnaround in the industry that was driven by the drop in international oil prices, an upward adjustment of fuel surcharges and the continued appreciation of the [yuan]."
Midwest Air Group reported net income of $1.7 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, reversing a loss of $26.9 million in the year-ago period. Revenues increased 23.4% to $168.6 million, reflecting a 16.8% growth in passenger traffic, and operating income improved to $400,000 from a $27.1 million loss. Expenses were up 2.7% to $168 million. Improvement was attributed to "broad marketing initiatives" that boosted passenger traffic in addition to more competitive fares. For the nine-month period, net income lifted to $1.8 million from a $51 million loss.
LAN Airlines more than doubled its third-quarter net income to $51.5 million from $23.8 million in the year-ago period as revenues grew 22.6% to $762.3 million, boosting operating margin 7.6 points to 9.3%.
AirTran Holdings, parent of the airline, sank to a third-quarter loss of $4.3 million despite record passenger numbers and revenue. The carrier earned $964,000 in the year-ago quarter, but expenses that grew slightly faster than revenue resulted in the current-period deficit. Chairman and CEO Joe Leonard said demand slowed in August due to security issues but booking levels have been "more normal" for November. The LCC's average fare did rise 11% to $90.94, helping to offset some of the sluggish demand and a 23% year-over-year increase in fuel costs.
Lufthansa selected the Trent 700 to power the five A330s it ordered last month ( ATWOnline, Sept. 21). The $300 million deal includes a TotalCare long-term services agreement. Deliveries begin in the first quarter of 2008.
Aviapartner will invest in excess of €2 million ($2.5 million) to expand its warehouse capacity at Frankfurt International Airport's South cargo terminal with a new 3,000-sq.-m. facility that will increase capacity by some 30,000 tonnes per year. The building is planned to be operational May 1, 2007.
