Hainan Airlines posted an CNY8.7 million ($1.1 million) profit in the second quarter, a reversal from a CNY3.4 million loss in the year-ago period, the carrier said in a filing with the Shanghai stock exchange cited by press reports. Revenues climbed 26% to CNY2.95 billion. Six-month profits doubled to CNY20.8 million on a 16% increase in passenger volume and 20% growth in freight. Turnover was up 26% to CNY5.75 billion against a 29% surge in costs to CNY4.61 billion.
News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus went to court to seek injunctive relief from American Airlines and Northwest Airlines, saying the two carriers will breach the non-discrimination provisions of their Participating Carrier Agreements if they go ahead with their "preferred channel" programs on Sept. 1.
Avion Group said it formed a joint venture with Australasian airline group Advent Air Ltd. calling for Avion subsidiaries Star Airlines of France and Star Europe of Germany to provide up to four A320s to Advent Air subsidiary Skywest, a Perth-based Regional. Skywest will operate the aircraft from November to April, which is its peak season and Avion's low season.
Centavia of Serbia took delivery of a second 98-seat BAe 146-200. The startup LCC currently is operating charter flights only but is planning to launch European scheduled service in the fall.
Virgin America, the proposed LCC startup that is 25% owned by Virgin Group, is being held up by objections over its US citizenship from legacy carriers urging the US Dept. of Transportation to reject its application for an operating certificate.
Monarch Airlines placed an order for six 787-8s with purchase rights on an additional four. The order is worth $916 million at list prices. The UK airline said the Dreamliners will form the core of its future long-haul fleet, which currently comprises A330s, A300s and 767s. The 787s are scheduled for delivery from the end of 2010 though 2013. "Operating successfully in the leisure market requires flexible and innovative products. With the 787's longer-range capabilities, we will be opening up new destinations in the Americas, Asia and Africa," CEO Peter Brown said.
Correction: Icelandair announced changes to some of its Reykjavik-US service for the winter season. Flights from Baltimore/Washington International will be suspended on Jan. 9 and resume March 8 with four-times-weekly service. Minneapolis-St. Paul service will shut down Jan. 10 and resume March 15 with four-times-weekly flights. Five-times-weekly service from New York JFK will run through Jan. 4, at which time it will be reduced to four-times-weekly. Boston will remain a daily service. An earlier item in ATWOnline contained incorrect information that subsequently was corrected.
Lufthansa Systems signed a contract with Virgin Atlantic Airways to provide the UK carrier with its ProfitLine/Price IT pricing solution. Separately, Lufthansa said it has developed a new "corporate sound" that will be played for customers holding on the phone and on radio and TV ads, as well as when passengers board aircraft.
Ryanair revealed its intention to take on both "terrorists and extremists" and the UK government in a single press release Friday. Its battle against evil will be waged with the week-long sale of 1 million seats across more than 100 routes for £25 ($47.40) one way including taxes and fees. "Ryanair is releasing these cheap seats to get Britain flying again, which is the best way to defeat terrorists and extremists," the combative airline said.
London Stansted airlines and passengers face yet another wave of disruptions following a vote by the airport's baggage handlers and check-in staff to strike during the August Bank Holiday weekend in a dispute over pay. Some 500 employees of Swissport International represented by GMB and TGWU will conduct separate day-long strikes Aug. 26-27 and again Aug. 28-29, disrupting the Bank Holiday weekend.
MAIR Holdings, parent of Mesaba Airlines, filed claims totaling $281 million in bankruptcy court last week charging partner Northwest Airlines with breach of contract and fraud. Mesaba followed NWA into bankruptcy last October. According to an Aug.
LTU German Airlines MD Juergen Marbach said the leisure airline's cooperation with dba will continue after the latter is acquired by Air Berlin in deal announced last week. LTU will maintain its program of network expansion, focusing on the long-haul side. Marbach said that in the past six month all synergies with dba have been realized with savings expected to reach double-digit million euros.
EasyJet issued a statement encouraging travelers to limit themselves to one piece of checked luggage in order to "speed up the handling of baggage at airports and minimize inconvenience to passengers." A second piece of checked luggage will cost £5 ($9.50) online and £10 at the airport effective with bookings made from Sept. 1. Total weight must not exceed 20 kg. Passengers will continue to be charged £5 per kg. above the limit.
Qantas nearly doubled its fuel surcharge on flights to the UK to A$185 ($141.70) effective Aug. 31. The surcharge on flights to the US jumps from A$98 to A$145, while short-haul sectors lift to A$65 from A$56. It will eliminate its per-sector charge and introduce a new four-tier system based on distance traveled.
Japan Airlines is revising some routes and frequencies from Oct. 29. Subject to regulatory approval, Nagoya-Guangzhou flights will increase from thrice-weekly to daily, Tokyo Narita-Bangkok from 14- to 21-times-weekly and Narita-New Delhi from three to four weekly. It will reduce from 14 to 7 its weekly Narita-Chicago O'Hare flights and suspend its four-times-weekly Nagoya-Manila service.
ICAO Council in a special meeting Friday called on the organization's Aviation Security Panel to give "highest priority" to dealing with the threat raised by the recently thwarted terrorist plot in the UK when it meets next month. "In a unanimous decision, the Council agreed that the Panel should fully assess the danger associated with liquid explosives and report as quickly as possible on practical and sustainable recommendations to further improve the security of civil aviation," Council President Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez said.
Aircastle Investment Holdings said Friday that one of its subsidiaries agreed to acquire six 737-700s leased to Danish LCC Sterling Airlines from affiliates of AP Moeller-Maersk Group for an estimated $165 million. Four of the acquisitions were completed Aug. 17 and Aircastle expects to finalize the remaining two by Aug. 31.
Delta Air Lines said Friday that new security regulations have resulted in an approximately 20% increase in checked baggage on the mainline and a "negligible increase" aboard Delta Shuttle. The carrier has increased staffing to handle the additional workload and said that baggage operations "have returned to normal."
Austrian Airlines Group flew 2.46 billion RPKs in July, a 4.9% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity declined 2.5% to 3.08 billion ASKs and load factor fell 2 points to 79.9%.
Aer Lingus will provide passengers on flights originating in the US with a free 0.5-liter bottle of water. The move is in response to new US security requirements prohibiting passengers from carrying liquids onto flights.
US President George Bush, as expected, signed comprehensive pension reform legislation into law yesterday, completing a system overhaul that is expected to save the defined retirement programs of airlines and other companies ( ATWOnline, Aug. 7). The new law gives US carriers that have frozen their plans, such as Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, 17 years from 2008 to fund their plans fully. Others get 10 years.
Air Berlin, Germany's second-biggest carrier after Lufthansa, said yesterday that it will take over 100% of dba, the country's No. 3 airline. The contract was signed late Wednesday in Munich by dba owner Hans Rudolf Woehrl and Air Berlin CEO Joachim Hunold after several weeks of secret negotiations and is subject to approval from competition authorities. Dba acquired LTU German Airlines just two months ago ( ATWOnline, June 12) and that carrier is expected to follow its new parent under the AB umbrella.
Boeing pulled the plug on its Connexion by Boeing onboard Internet venture yesterday, bringing an end to a program that was hyped heavily when it was launched in 2000 but never generated much interest from airlines or passengers.
Qantas Group blamed an additional A$818 million ($626.2 million) in fuel costs net of hedging benefits for a 30.4% drop in net profit to A$480 million for the fiscal year ended June 30 despite an 8.6% increase in sales to A$13.64 billion. The fuel hike sent the company's costs up 11.9% to A$12.92 billion. The result was impacted further by one-off restructuring costs of A$182 million under the carrier's Sustainable Future Program and recognition of A$104 million in damages paid by Airbus related to delayed deliveries of A380s.
Emirates is set to increase services to the Asia/Pacific region from Sept. 1. Perth flights will rise from 10-times-weekly to twice-daily, Hong Kong to 17-times-weekly from twice-daily and Kuala Lumpur to nine-times-weekly from eight. The carrier said it intends to raise capacity to Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta and Manila by year end. JetBlue Airways yesterday launched six-times-daily (five on Sunday) New York JFK-Washington Dulles service aboard Embraer 190s.
