Singapore Airlines Group reported a net profit of S$293.2 million ($186.7 million) for its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, down 14.6% from a S$343.2 million profit in the year-ago quarter, a decline the company attributed to "higher fuel cost." SIA said in a statement that demand "is expected to remain buoyant" but cautioned that "the price of jet fuel is still volatile and remains high."
Norwegian's third-quarter profit of NOK27.5 million ($4.2 million) represented a 37.2% drop from net earnings of NOK43.8 million in the year-ago quarter as expansion weighed on its bottom line. The fleet expanded to 19 aircraft from 13 and capacity rose 64% to 1.69 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 1 point to 85% as traffic increased 61% to 1.43 billion RPKs. Revenue grew 48.8% to NOK877.8 million, expenses climbed 57.4% to NOK777.7 million and operating profit fell 31.7% to NOK38.4 million.
Frontier Airlines reported net income of $509,000 for its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, narrowed from net income of $6.9 million in the year-ago quarter. President and CEO Jeff Potter expressed satisfaction that the carrier stayed in the black in spite of volatile fuel costs, tough competition and the negative impact of new security measures. Revenues increased 19.9% to $309.9 million while expenses climbed 25.3% to $306.8 million, producing operating income of $3.96 million including $868,000 in business interruption insurance proceeds.
Ryanair will operate a twice-weekly Shannon-Lodz service beginning Dec. 4. It is the LCC's third Polish destination from SNN. Etihad Airways last week launched daily Abu Dhabi- New York JFK service aboard a three-class A340-500. It is Etihad's first US destination.
Air Astana changed its flight code to KC from 4L, a shift it said was "the latest development in Air Astana's rapid growth road to becoming a world class airline." KC stands for Kazakhstan Carrier. Launched in 2002, the airline operates 15 aircraft to 24 domestic and 17 international destinations.
KLM Engineering & Maintenance and Honeywell signed an agreement to establish an APU MRO center at Amsterdam Schiphol. Under the terms of the 10-year contract, KLM E&M will be an authorized Honeywell MRO center for 737NG, 777, A330 and A340 APUs, with the potential to expand to other APUs, Honeywell Director-Marketing Sales and Service-Benelux & Scandinavia Gert Mejier told ATWOnline at MRO Europe in Amsterdam last week. The center will be set up at EPCOR, a fully owned subsidiary of KLM E&M, which expects to repair its first APU in the second quarter of 2007.
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines launched operations, albeit a day late, last Thursday. Its inaugural flight to London Gatwick, scheduled for the previous day, was canceled when Russian authorities temporarily denied overflight rights ( ATWOnline, Oct. 26).
Kenya Airways posted a net profit of KES2.43 billion ($33.6 million) in the first half of its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, an 8.9% increase over the KES2.23 billion earned in the corresponding six months last year. The carrier said it is committed to expanding despite concerns over fuel costs, security and increased competition. It will add a fourth 777-200ER in February and replace its two Saab 340s with regional jets. Revenues rose 12.3% to KES28.47 billion and expenses climbed 14.7% to KES24.38 billion. Operating profit was up 0.2% to KES4.09 billion.
ANA will exercise two of four 767-300BCF options with delivery by March 31, 2010, bringing the number of firm orders to five. The aircraft will be operated by ANA&JP Express on domestic services as well as short- and medium-haul Asian flights. ANA's order launched the dash 300BCF program last year ( ATWOnline, Nov. 1, 2005).
US Airways Group reported a third-quarter net loss of $78 million, narrowed from a $99 million net loss in the year-ago quarter by the then-America West Holdings, which was considered the acquiring company in last year's merger.
Airbus received much-needed boosts from opposite sides of the world yesterday as the Chinese government and an Ohio-based startup placed large aircraft orders.
China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines each reported profitable third quarters yesterday, according to statements cited in press reports from Beijing. China Southern posted a CNY1.29 billion ($163.1 million) profit, up 51.4% from the CNY852 million earned in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 21.8% to CNY13.89 billion and passenger numbers climbed 12.4% to 14.3 million.
Lufthansa Group released its expanded third-quarter and nine-month results yesterday, confirming Wednesday's announcement that it posted a €329 million ($413.7 million) third-quarter profit attributable to shareholders, down 20.9% from the €416 million earned in the year-ago quarter. LH said it was "well on course" despite the drop, citing an improved operating result, rising yields and an "ongoing upswing in demand." It forecast an operating profit of €750 million for the full year, a 30% increase over the €577 million earned in 2005.
Citing strict cost management and efficiencies gained from operating an all-737NG fleet, WestJet reported third-quarter net income of C$52.8 million ($46.9 million), a 74.3% increase from the C$30.3 million earned in the year-ago quarter and the highest quarterly profit in its history. "A significant accomplishment for this quarter was our ability to control costs," President Sean Durfy said. "CASM, excluding fuel, was down 1.1% this quarter. This was a result of prudent cost management in all areas of the organization."
Spairliners is among the companies facing a more difficult road as a result of the delays in the A380 program. "We feel confident to continue on the A380, but we have to figure out on how to keep control on our costs while we won't generate revenues for an additional 12 months," CEO Jean-Luc Fattelay told ATWOnline at MRO Europe in Amsterdam. "We were on the verge of signing up some other carriers [in addition to Air France and Lufthansa] when EADS confirmed the new delays.
JetBlue Airways yesterday unveiled its schedule from Chicago O'Hare, its 50th destination. Flights begin Jan. 4 with five daily weekday flights and four on Saturdays and Sundays to New York JFK and twice-daily flights (once on Saturdays) to Long Beach. It will use both A320s and Embraer 190s.
Virgin Atlantic Airways yesterday reached agreement with Airbus to defer delivery of its six A380s on firm order to 2013. The planes originally were scheduled to arrive in 2009, but Airbus production delays likely would have pushed back delivery. Terms of the deferral were not disclosed. Virgin said it extended leases on several 747-400s to compensate. Airbus said the A380 will have "proven" itself by the time Virgin takes delivery and noted that the deferral will help it "prioritize" deliveries for launch customers.
Republic Airways Holdings, parent of Republic Airlines, Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America, reported net income of $21.9 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, a 57% increase over the $14 million earned in the year-ago period. Operating revenues grew 33% to $306.1 million while expenses rose 29.4% to $249.6 million. Operating profit climbed 51.1% to $56.6 million. For the first nine months, the company posted net income of $59.1 million, a 40% rise over the $42.2 million earned in the year-ago period.
Ryanair yesterday again encouraged Aer Lingus employees to accept its €2.80 per share offer for the flag carrier ( ATWOnline, Oct. 24) as press reports surfaced that EI CEO Dermot Mannion told union representatives, "We have no option but to further reduce costs. Do you want us to do it or Michael O'Leary to do it?" Ryanair already has promised job cuts if its bid is successful, but it said that bid is worth an average payment of €60,000 per employee.
Finnair will take a €7 million ($8.8 million) direct hit as the result of last week's flight attendant strike ( ATWOnline, Oct. 23) in addition to a €3 million loss in future ticket reservations, the airline said yesterday. It now forecasts an operating profit "clearly below" last year's €81.9 million. "Our goal is to develop our Group structure towards profitability on the basis of the plans we have previously published.
Lufthansa Systems and WindJet announced a deal to provide the Italian LCC with integrated solutions from LHS's Airline Operations portfolio, including the Lido Route Manual charting solution, FMS services, Lido Operations Center route planning system and Runway Weight Charts. Implementation is scheduled to be completed this year.
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines was forced to postpone its inaugural 747-400 service to London Gatwick yesterday, saying the flight was delayed by Russian authorities "for as yet unexplained reasons" and adding, "We regret and apologize for the inconvenience caused to our passengers and are doing our utmost to resolve the issue directly with the Russian authorities." The flight was scheduled to depart at 1 p.m. local time and was canceled at 6:30 p.m., Reuters reported.
CSA Czech Airlines has started to contact potential investors in its cargo terminal and handling operation in Prague ( ATWOnline, Oct. 3). Prospective buyers should be shortlisted by the middle of December. CSA has started preparing to transform the terminal into a subsidiary, which should be established in January.
Air Transport Assn. formally announced the launch of a revamped website featuring an improved search engine, a new site map and topics list and printer-friendly pages among other enhancements.
