Discover the World Marketing said US Airways expanded its agreement to cover the carrier in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines and Taiwan. Discover already represented US in Argentina, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Uruguay.
EasyJet yesterday released abbreviated operating results for its third fiscal quarter ended June 30 and said it expects full-year unit revenue and unit costs to be "slightly higher" than originally forecast as capacity now is expected to rise approximately 13% over the previous fiscal year. Pre-tax profit still is expected to grow 40%-50% over the £59 million ($112.5 million) earned for the year ended Sept. 30, 2005 ( ATWOnline, July 10).
ATR signed a $97 million contract with Tanzanian carrier Precision Air for three ATR 42-500s and three 72-500s. Deliveries will begin in 2008. Precision Air currently operates a fleet of six ATRs. ATR said it has sold more than 50 turboprops this year, including some yet-to-be-announced transactions.
Turkish Airlines CEO Candan Karlitekin and GM Temel Kotil said at a Friday news conference that THY has chosen to join Star Alliance and will begin negotiations with the group within days. The carrier also was considering SkyTeam. The officials cited the scope of Star's global network and its "efficiency" in certain markets for the decision, according to press reports.
EasyJet said Friday it was contacted by Saudi Arabian startup National Air Services and Abraaj Capital of Dubai about using the easyJet brand for the private domestic and regional airline that the Middle Eastern companies are looking to establish, according to press reports. The UK carrier said it would not invest any equity or cash in the new carrier and it likely will not make a decision about franchising its brand before next year.
Varig intends to add five aircraft this week and operate a fleet of 45 by year end, up from the current 12, according to an official of parent Volo do Brasil cited by Reuters. The carrier employs 3,985 people following last week's layoffs ( ATWOnline, Aug. 1) and intends to raise that to 5,400 by year end. Marco Antonio Audi told Reuters Varig is looking at leasing Airbus and Embraer jets--it has operated an all-Boeing fleet--and that it now will begin purchasing aircraft at the end of their leases.
TAM reported second-quarter net income of BRL97.1 million ($44.4 million), a strong improvement over a net loss of BRL24.7 million in the year-ago quarter, on a 38.9% increase in revenues to BRL1.73 billion. The carrier said its leading domestic market share averaged 45.9% in the quarter, including 47.6% in June, as it continued to boost operational performance. Fleet utilization rose to 12 block hr. per day, up from 10.7 hr. in the year-ago quarter.
British Airways continued its resurgence through the first quarter of its fiscal year as record load factors and a "better cabin mix" helped boost its profit for the three months ended June 30 to £154 million ($289.5 million), a 71.1% increase over net earnings of £90 million in the year-ago quarter. Turnover rose 12.5% to £2.32 billion and operating expenses climbed 11.8% to £2.11 billion, lifting operating profit 19.9% to £211 million from £176 million in the June 2005 quarter. Fuel costs surged 44.2% to £512 million.
Delta Air Lines on Friday filed for final US Bankruptcy Court clearance to terminate its pilots' pension plan effective Sept. 2. The move, which the pilots union has agreed not to oppose, would affect 13,000 active and retired workers and is part of the carrier's effort to cut costs in order to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Defined retirement programs for 91,000 active and retired flight attendants and ground employees will not be terminated, the airline said.
US Dept. of Transportation said the 20 US carriers reporting ontime performance posted a 72.8% ontime arrival rate in June, down 2.4 points from the year-ago month. They canceled 1.7% of scheduled domestic flights, up 0.1 point. The mishandled baggage rate of 6.28 reports per 1,000 passengers fell from 6.32 in June 2005. Hawaiian Airlines posted the best ontime arrival rate of 94.6% while Atlantic Southeast Airlines' 63.5% was the worst. Mesa Airlines canceled 5% of its flights and JetBlue Airways and Frontier Airlines canceled just 0.1% each.
Slovak Airlines ownership faces an uncertain future. Austrian Airlines Group, which holds 62% of the Slovakian carrier, is evaluating its relationship with the subsidiary, which it took over in 2005. "We rescued Slovak Airlines and in doing so, we did the government a favor. But with that deal, there were commitments from the government, which so far have not been met," Austrian CEO Alfred Oetsch told ATWOnline. The deal included a commitment from the Ministry of Transport, which promised to assume debts when Austrian bought in.
Hainan Airlines parent HNA Group took a 45% stake in Hong Kong Express Airways following receipt of approval from the Hong Kong Economic Development and Labour Bureau. The expected move ( ATWOnline, Aug. 4) will see the balance of the airline remain with the original shareholders.
Air Canada Jazz launched daily CRJ service from Edmonton to Victoria, Calgary to Comox and Winnipeg to London, Ont., and twice-daily Edmonton-Kelowna flights. Mesa Airlines will begin 11-times-weekly Dallas/Fort Worth-Joplin service from Oct. 5. Flights will be operated by Air Midwest.
Gol flew 1.46 billion RPKs in July, a 52.3% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 44.8% to 1.74 billion ASKs and load factor went up 4.2 points to 84.1%. Kenya Airways flew 1.65 billion RPKs during the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, a 19% rise over the year-ago quarter. Capacity grew 20% to 2.34 billion ASKs and load factor fell 0.4 point to 70.4%.
European Commission is formally investigating the restrictions placed on flights between Sardinia and mainland Italy by the Italian Transport Ministry and Civil Aviation Authority, which have designated the routes PSO protected and therefore unavailable to non-Italian carriers. Airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet have complained about the restrictions ( ATWOnline, May 15), which they claim violate EU rules that grant EU-based carriers liberal route access.
Air Traset An-28 crashed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Thursday, killing all 14 passengers and three crew, according to press reports. The aircraft was attempting to land in Bukavu when it clipped a mountain and went down in a forest 9 mi. short of the runway. DRC was one of five countries subjected to a total ban on the most recent EU airline safety blacklist ( ATWOnline, June 21).
Bombardier launched a new CRJ200PF (package freighter) conversion program that could extend the life of the 50-seaters as their appeal dims in favor of larger RJs. Sweden's West Air Europe is the launch customer and will acquire two previously owned CRJ200s for conversion to an all-cargo configuration. It now operates scheduled and charter package service with a fleet of 17 turboprops. "The CRJ200PF allows direct flights on longer, thin routes that are currently flown by larger aircraft," said Bombardier Regional Aircraft VP-Asset Management Rod Sheridan.
Embraer announced Friday that Frederico Fleury Curado has been appointed by the company's board to succeed retiring President and CEO Mauricio Botelho when he retires in April. Curado, a 45-year-old aeronautical engineer, has been with Embraer since 1984 serving in a variety of positions. For the past eight years he has been executive VP-airline marketing. After he retires, Botelho will continue to serve as chairman. The manufacturer said it made the succession announcement nine months in advance to ensure a "smooth and harmonious transition process."
Boeing Business Jets ordered two 787s for delivery to corporate customers. The order that was posted on Boeing's website last week is in addition to three 787s ordered by an unidentified customer. They bring the number of net Dreamliner orders this year to 77 and the number of commercial aircraft orders to 518.
The US Senate passed legislation late Thursday that significantly reforms US pension law and gives struggling airlines needed extra time to fund defined retirement programs. The bill, identical to one passed by the House in late July, moves to the desk of President Bush, who is expected to sign it into law. Bankrupt Northwest Airlines, a major beneficiary of the legislation, said the new law "will save the pension benefits of 73,000 current and former Northwest employees."
US Cargo Sales Joint Venture, which handles US cargo sales and marketing for SkyTeam Cargo carriers Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air, yesterday named Chang-Hoon Kang as its new CEO. Kang, previously managing VP-cargo network and revenue management for Korean Air Cargo, replaces J.D. Cha, who was reassigned to Korean Air Cargo's Seoul headquarters.
Korean Air has entered the 747 cargo conversion market starting with one of its own 747-400 passenger aircraft. It will launch the program today at its Aerospace Division. It plans to convert 10 passenger jets through 2009. The program will lift its freighter fleet to 30 by 2010.
SAS Group announced that Gunnar Reitan assumed the post of acting president and CEO on Aug. 1. He fills the position vacated by Jorgen Lindegaard, who resigned in May ( ATWOnline, May 17). The company said Reitan has been a member of SAS Group management since 2001, responsible for the Subsidiary & Affiliated Airlines and Hotels and the Alliances & Partnerships divisions. He joined SAS in 1988 as director-station services in Oslo.
Saudi Arabian Airlines finalized a privatization program for five of its units--catering, cargo, ground handling, pilot training and technical services--and is preparing to submit its plan to national authorities for certification. According to the Arab Air Carriers Organization, the airline said the new units will be financially and managerially independent and sold through a public offering.
Etihad Airways introduced e-ticketing on flights from Abu Dhabi to Brussels, Toronto, Bangkok, Mumbai and New Delhi and will launch it across its network by year end. Separately, the carrier is set to ramp up services to India with additional frequencies and cities. Currently it flies daily to Mumbai and thrice-weekly to Delhi. Its radar includes Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore, although no selection has been made.
