777-200LR still is on high priority lists at Qantas and Singapore Airlines, according to internal sources at both carriers. Qantas is impressed with the 747-8, but under its rules the aircraft may not be able to perform the Dallas-Sydney mission in all seasons. Boeing has been working with Qantas since mid-2005 to refine the 777-200LR to perform a variety of missions including London-Sydney nonstop and Sydney-Dallas. SIA has been looking to the type to replace its five A340-500s, with reports suggesting that its nonstops to New York and Los Angeles are not profitable.
Qantas revealed yesterday that its pre-tax profit for the fiscal year ending June 30 will be approximately A$670 million ($494.3 million), which falls at the bottom of the A$670-A$895 million range forecast by analysts.
Emirates remains totally committed to the A380, saying that fundamentally it promises to be a "superb aircraft." Speaking to ATWOnline in Sydney, Emirates President Tim Clark urged Airbus to instigate program management changes quickly and refocus its energies on getting the program back on track. He was bullish on Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert's efforts, saying, "Humbert is honest and is demanding accountability."
Northwest Airlines asked the US Bankruptcy Court for an extension of its period to exclusively file its reorganization plan to Jan. 15, 2007. The current period is set to expire July 13.
Driven by growing revenues on transpacific services, FedEx posted fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $568 million, a 26.8% increase over earnings of $448 million in the year-ago quarter. The FedEx Express airline segment produced operating income of $560 million for the period ended May 31, a 29.9% improvement over $431 million last year. Perhaps more importantly, Express achieved an operating margin of 10%, a figure that long has been a target of FedEx executives.
Swiss International Air Lines announced that it will expand its long-haul fleet with the lease of two Lufthansa A330-200s starting with the winter timetable. Configured with 229 seats, the aircraft will replace a leased A300-600R from Hapag Lloyd. Swiss will take delivery of the first A330 in mid-November and operate it to Malabo/Douala/Yaounde and Nairobi/Dar-es-Salaam. The second aircraft will arrive in December and add capacity on existing routes to the Americas, the Middle East and Africa from Zurich.
TransAsia Airways signed a contract for the purchase of two new ATR 72-500s plus one option. The deal, including the option, is valued at $53.7 million. The aircraft will be delivered in 2007 in a 72-seat configuration and will bring TransAsia's ATR fleet to 12.
Southwest Airlines, after 35 years of first-come, first-served seating, announced that it will look to trim boarding times by experimenting with assigned seating. Starting July 10 and running for "several weeks," it will assign seats on about 200 select departures from San Diego. It will not be evaluating assignment procedures or the accompanying information technology issues and instead will assign seats manually during the test.
Varig said yesterday that it is suspending some flights to the US, Europe and three cities in South America after being forced by a US Bankruptcy Court judge to ground leased aircraft. In a statement on its website, the airline said it will stop serving New York, Los Angeles (leaving Miami as its only US gateway), Mexico City, Montevideo, Asuncion, Bogota, Milan, Munich, Paris and Madrid. Operations are suspended until at least June 28, according to press reports. The carrier has grounded 20-35 aircraft, according to various sources.
Iberia pilots union SEPLA called a strike for July 10-16 to protest management's plans to launch a low-cost carrier based in Barcelona ( ATWOnline, April 28). Although Iberia is only one of five shareholders in the new venture, its pilots fear the LCC, dubbed Catair, will lead to job losses. Late last month, IB said it will cut loss-making routes from Barcelona ( ATWOnline, June 6).
National Transportation Safety Board hearings into the Southwest Airlines 737-700 that overran a runway at Chicago Midway last December concluded yesterday with attention focused on the pilots' calculation of stopping distance before landing and their decision to land in deteriorating winter conditions rather than divert to another airport, an option they discussed during flight. "There are certainly a lot of variables," Capt. Denny Mosseller, Southwest's senior director-pilot training and standards, testified regarding the decision to land.
European Regions Airline Assn. said it opposes a new regulation that calls for special training and licensing of cabin crews. Dubbed EU OPS, it would require EU member states to impose standards of training and safety that currently are voluntary under the JAA system. ERA argues that such a licensing system will not ensure minimum safety standards and may even decrease existing safety levels.
China Southern Airlines will expand its Guangzhou-Los Angeles service to daily from June 22. The route is operated with a 777. Separately, China Southern, KLM and Sichuan Airlines, in which China Southern holds a minority stake, announced an expanded codeshare agreement covering nine China Southern or Sichuan flights from Chengdu and Beijing, 10 KLM services from Amsterdam Schiphol and all flights between AMS and PEK. Agreement goes into full effect June 24.
Philippine Airlines selected the CFM56-5B to power nine A320s it ordered; it holds five options as well ( ATWOnline, Dec. 7, 2005). CFM International said the engine order is worth $110 million. Deliveries will begin later this year and continue through 2012 if all options are exercised.
Apparently satisfied that an investor group organized by Varig employees has its financial affairs in order, a Rio de Janeiro bankruptcy court judge approved a BRL1.01 billion ($449.7 million) bid for the ailing airline late Monday.
Iceland and India reached an air services agreement that will allow both countries to designate as many airlines as they wish and either country to limit, suspend or revoke service by a carrier designated by the other country under certain conditions, the Indian government announced last week. Designated airlines will be allowed to fly from any point in their own country to any two points in the other via any two intermediate points and to any two points beyond. The agreement will be signed formally upon approval by both governments.
In the first quarterly update since the March launch of its aviation blacklist ( ATWOnline, March 23), the European Commission added four carriers. Three airlines were added because of "national measures notified by the member states." Surinam-based Blue Wing, notified by France, and Sky Gate International, licensed in Kyrgyzstan and notified by the UK, are subject to a total ban. Air West, based in Sudan and notified by Germany, is subject to operating restrictions.
Luxair ordered three 70-seat Q400s from Bombardier, worth $75.5 million at list prices. It also took three options. The company said last month that streamlining its fleet with the introduction of 70/90-seat aircraft was part of its effort to return its airline unit to profitability ( ATWOnline, May 16). It will take delivery of the Q400s next year and use them mainly on routes to London, Paris, Frankfurt and Munich.
AirTran Airways said glitches following a planned Monday night upgrade to its internal reservations and check-in systems caused long lines and delays yesterday at airports, primarily Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta. The carrier said "most" of the issues were resolved late yesterday but that the systems still were "experiencing periodic outages" and passengers should allow more time for check-in.
Southwest Airlines 737 scheduled to land at Chicago Midway 9 min. prior to the 737-700 that overran the runway last December diverted after its crew determined that the wintry conditions were too unsafe for landing, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed yesterday. The NTSB started a two-day hearing on the Dec.
TAT Group will adopt Sabena Technics as the single brand for its civil and military aviation maintenance activities. TAT Group acquired Sabena Technics, a subsidiary of the former Belgian flag carrier, one year ago ( ATWOnline, June 20, 2005). The rebranding "underscores the group's strategic ambition to be one of Europe's leading independent operators of maintenance services," TAT Group said in a statement.
US Airways Group flew a combined 5.56 billion RPMs in May, a 7.7% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity declined 10.8% to 6.96 billion ASMs and load factor rose 2.7 points to 79.9%. US Airways mainline flew 3.24 billion RPMs, an 8.2% decrease, as capacity fell 12.9% to 4.05 billion ASMs. Load factor climbed 4 points to 79.9%. Austrian Airlines Group flew 1.9 billion RPKs in May, an increase of 3.9% over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 4.3% to 2.7 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 0.3 point to 69.4%.
Wizz Air will transfer its Dutch operation from Amsterdam Schiphol to Eindhoven from Sept. 19. The airline said EIN is "a smaller and more cost efficient airport" and "the savings will be passed directly on to the customers." Wizz serves Schiphol from Budapest. It also announced it will launch the following new services on Sept. 19: Thrice-weekly Katowice-Oslo Torp, thrice-weekly Budapest-Gothernburg and thrice-weekly Katowice-Doncaster Sheffield.
International Lease Finance Corp. signaled yesterday that it may cancel its order for 10 A380s and could do so without penalty because of the program's delays. Chairman and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy told Bloomberg News that ILFC "could cancel and are considering canceling" an order valued at $3 billion. "We are not happy and on safe ground to cancel the order," he said.
Finnair took delivery of a former Virgin Atlantic A340-300 last week that will be used on the Helsinki-Shanghai route. The second and third A340s will arrive over the next two years. It ordered nine A350s and three A340s in December ( ATWOnline, Dec. 8, 2005). The current MD-11 fleet will be phased out by 2012. Separately, Finnair placed a second ATR 72 with Bravo Aviation in a transaction arranged by Skyways Aviation.
