LTU German Airlines said it is expecting its annual loss to be €25 million ($31.3 million) in 2006, higher than the €10-€15 million forecast by majority owner Hans Rudolf Woehrl this summer ( ATWOnline, Aug. 23) but still an improvement over the €40 million lost in 2005.
Airbus's management changes and restructuring program are expected to be a prime topic at today's Franco-German summit in Paris, with French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and their economic advisers discussing what role the respective governments should play in monitoring the aircraft manufacturer's Power8 cost-cutting plan. Both governments have signaled that job cuts and facility closures will be scrutinized carefully. France owns a 15% stake in Airbus parent EADS, while German company DaimlerChrysler controls 22.5%.
Triumph Group said its Triumph Composite Systems subsidiary located in Spokane was awarded a $49 million contract to provide the composite floor panel system for the 787.
Northwest Airlines will revamp 10 757-200s for an expansion of its transatlantic network announced yesterday. The routes include two new destinations from NWA's Detroit hub and the first nonstop transatlantic service from Hartford's Bradley International Airport. "The combination of our customer-focused WorldGateway at the Detroit hub, competitive costs and the Boeing 757 aircraft, which allows us to match capacity with economically viable demand, has made this major expansion possible," President and CEO Doug Steenland said.
London City Airport has been acquired by a consortium comprising AIG Financial Products, a subsidiary of American International Group, and Global Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture between Credit Suisse and GE Infrastructure. Dermot Desmond, the Irish billionaire who bought the loss-making airport in the London Docklands for £14.5 million ($27 million) in 1995, announced his intention to sell the airport earlier this year. Last month he said he would sell LCY, which handled 2 million passengers in 2005, to "whoever provides the most money."
International Air Carrier Assn. is calling on the European Commission to adopt "a more business-oriented approach" when regulating the air transport industry. "IACA carriers are seeking guarantees from DG Enterprise and Industry that the impact of all legislation, in particular competition between EU and non-EU airlines, will be thoroughly assessed.
Aer Lingus pilots, under the name Irish Airline Pilots Pensions, have accumulated a 2.12% stake in EI as part of an effort by employees of the recently privatized Irish carrier to block a takeover by Ryanair ( ATWOnline, Oct. 10). According to a submission to the Irish Stock Exchange yesterday, the pilots bought 9.8 million shares at €3.04 ($3.82) each. Ryanair made a cash bid of €2.80 per share last week. Its offer is conditional on securing at least 50.1% of the carrier.
Continental Airlines said in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it will report a third-quarter profit and had accrued an employee profit-sharing pool of more than $100 million through Sept. 30. "The actual amount of profit-sharing that the company will be able to distribute to employees on Feb. 14, 2007, depends on the company's full-year financial results," CO said. The third quarter will be its second straight three-month period in the black.
Caribbean Star Airlines and LIAT said this week that they plan to "commence formal negotiations toward the merger of the two carriers" following a decision by the LIAT board. Caribbean Star Chairman R.
Boeing and Singapore Airlines yesterday finalized SIA's order for 20 787-9s with purchase rights for 20 more. The order is valued at more than $4.5 billion. SIA first announced its intent to purchase the Dreamliners in June ( ATWOnline, June 15). Boeing said yesterday that the aircraft will be delivered from 2011 through 2013. "The carrier intends to use the new airplanes on routes to North Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East," the manufacturer said.
Frontier Airlines said its fiscal second quarter earnings will be lower than forecast as a result of the August terrorist threat. The company earned $4 million in the quarter ended June 30 ( ATWOnline, July 31).
Flight Safety Foundation President and CEO Bill Voss said yesterday that he is concerned about the increasing "criminalization" of aircraft accident investigations, warning that politics can interfere with finding the true causes of crashes.
CFM International signed a deal with Willis Lease Finance Corp. of California for the purchase of up to 45 CFM56-7B and CFM56-5B spare engines plus 30 options. Deliveries will begin next year and run through 2011. The order is worth about $540 million if all options are exercised, CFMI said.
Southwest Airlines promoted Senior VP-Enterprise Spend Management Bob Jordan to executive VP-strategy, procurement and technology and named Senior Management Committee and Executive Planning Committee member Ron Ricks as the new executive VP-law, airports and public affairs. Both will report to CEO Gary Kelly. It also promoted Chief Development Officer Jan Marshall to VP-technology and Chief Information Officer and Director of Application Architecture Kerry Schwab to VP and chief technology officer. It named Lori Rainwater the new VP-internal audit.
Continental Airlines said it is contributing an additional $70 million to its pension plans, bringing its 2006 contributions to $246 million, a total it said exceeded the minimum funding requirement. "I'm pleased that we have achieved a solid record for making our required contributions, plus some," Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner said. Air Line Pilots Assn. President Duane Woerth requested that the National Mediation Board send the stalemate between pilots at Atlantic Southeast Airlines and parent SkyWest Holdings to arbitration.
ACE Aviation Holdings, parent of Air Canada, said its shareholders overwhelmingly approved a statutory arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act giving ACE's board the authority to make "one or more special distributions to shareholders" of up to C$2 billion in capital, including units of its Aeroplan Income Fund subsidiary. It is expected to be completed by year end. The measure passed with 95.5% approval and was approved by Quebec Superior Court. The Air Canada Pilots Assn.
Alaska Air Group said yesterday in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it expects a 38% year-over-year jump in third-quarter unit costs at Alaska Airlines and a 21% increase in CASM at Horizon Air due to rising fuel costs and special items.
Ryanair will base three new 737-800s at Madrid Barajas and open 14 routes from the airport beginning Nov. 22, making it its second Spanish and 18th European base. The LCC will fly daily to Dublin, Eindhoven, Faro, Porto, Marseille and Paris Beauvais. It will fly thrice-weekly to Bournemouth, Gothenburg, Malmo and Shannon and four-times-weekly to Billund, Brussels Charleroi, Nottingham East Midlands and Oslo Sandefjord. Approximately 1 million passengers will travel each year on the new routes, Ryanair said.
Delta Air Lines will launch service from Trenton to Boston (thrice-daily) and Atlanta (daily) on Dec. 18. Both routes will be operated by Comair aboard 50-seat CRJs. Delta also will start thrice-weekly flights from Mexico City to Orlando and Salt Lake City on Dec. 1 and a twice-weekly Atlanta-Pointe a Pietre service on Dec. 13, all aboard 737-800s. It will begin flights from Los Angeles to Managua (twice-weekly from Dec. 16) and Puerto Vallarta (daily from Dec. 15) and increase LAX-Guatemala City service to four-times-weekly from weekly on Dec. 17.
Transaero will introduce SITA's PassengerWeb Check-in application next month. Initial deployment will be available from the airline's home base at Moscow Domodedovo, first within Russia and then abroad. From Russian and English, the service gradually will be made available in Chinese, French and Spanish. Transaero also intends to work with SITA on introduction of check-in kiosks in the near future.
Atlantic Airways BAe 146-200 skidded, overran the runway and caught fire at Stord Airport in southwestern Norway yesterday morning, killing three of 12 passengers and one of four crewmembers, the Faroe Islands carrier said. The flight was a charter operation contracted by Norway's Aker Kvaerner engineering company. It originated in Stavanger and was stopping at Stord to pick up passengers on its way to Molde. The accident was under investigation yesterday. The runway reportedly was wet from rain although landing conditions were otherwise normal.
Greece's Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board said yesterday that the August 2005 Helios Airlines 737-300 crash was caused primarily by the pilots' "nonrecognition" that the cabin pressurization mode selector was switched to "manual" and their subsequent misreading of warning signs.
ACI Europe and the Assn. of European Airlines created the European Strategic Partnership for Aviation Security to address shortcomings in the current system. Through the ESPAS platform, airports and airlines will seek to establish a common industry security policy and act jointly with European rulemakers "to provide coherent, workable security measures that benefit both industry and the traveling public alike," the two industry bodies said in a joint statement.
Italian Premier Romano Prodi yesterday told union leaders that the situation at Alitalia is "completely out of control" and that the government will come up with a plan by Jan. 31 to save the ailing flag carrier, likely through some sort of international alliance or merger, according to press reports.
