Volito Aviation Group purchased an A319-112 from Sachsen Landesbank. Aircraft is on lease to TAP Portugal through March 2012. PK AirFinance provided financing.
Frontier Airlines yesterday finalized its February deal with Airbus for six new A320s and the conversion of eight existing A319 orders into four A318s and four A320s ( ATWOnline, Feb. 24). The carrier also will acquire three additional A319s from leasing companies, Airbus announced.
Northwest Airlines pilots are set to finish voting at 10 a.m. today on the labor agreement reached in early March ( ATWOnline, March 6). Voting by Air Line Pilots Assn. members on the five-year deal began April 6.
Goodrich entered into an agreement to sell its Turbomachinery Products business to Turbo Machinery Products, a new company formed by California investment firm Admiralty Partners, for $83 million.
Southwest Airlines flew 5.73 billion RPMs in April, a 19.3% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 7.3% to 7.47 billion ASMs, raising load factor 7.6 points to 76.7%. AirTran Airways flew 1.2 billion RPMs in April, a 32.9% rise over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 22.5% to 1.53 billion ASMs and load factor rose 6.2 points to 78.8%. All are April records.
Stork Aerospace of the Netherlands and its Fokker Elmo subsidiary reached an agreement with Boeing for the manufacture and supply of a second work package of electrical wiring for the 737NG. Deliveries are scheduled through 2011.
Singapore Airlines will launch thrice-weekly services to both Barcelona and Milan Malpensa from July 19 aboard 777-200ERs. Separately, SIA increased its fuel surcharge per sector to $20 from $15 on flights to select cities in Southeast Asia and to $60 from $50 per sector on all other flights effective May 15.
Falling passenger revenues and the mitigating effect of rising fuel prices on its cost control efforts proved to be a drag on AeroMexico's bottom line as parent company Consorcio Aeromexico, which also operates Regional carrier Aeroliteral, reported a first-quarter net loss of MXN270 million ($24.4 million), widened from what is assumed to be a MXN175 million deficit in the three months ended March 31, 2005.
US FAA's recent proposal to require airframe manufacturers to place life limits on their transport aircraft has sparked little industry response to date, although it marks a sea change in the way aircraft are regulated.
An impressive fourth fiscal quarter ended March 31 allowed Jet Airways to recover from a slower first nine months and report a 15% increase in its full-year profit to INR4.5 billion ($100.1 million). After three quarters, Jet's net earnings lagged 13.2% behind the same nine months in 2004, but a 71% surge in fourth-quarter profit to INR2.3 billion accounted for "strong" full-year results. "We remain the market leader and the most profitable airline in India but we operate in a challenging environment," Chairman Naresh Goyal said.
Air Berlin increased its April traffic 24.8% year-over-year to 971,480 passengers as load factor grew 8.8 points to 83%. Mountain Air Cargo transported 9.4 million lb. of freight in April.
Etihad Airways will launch six-times-weekly Abu Dhabi-Paris flights using an A330-200. Separately, Etihad Crystal Cargo, the carrier's cargo division, appointed GSA Cargo Ltd. to provide cargo sales and customer service in Bangladesh for four weekly Abu Dhabi-Dhaka flights scheduled to begin May 4 aboard A330-200s.
News from Travel Technology Update: Sabre Travel Network president John Stow spelled out some of the key elements of his company's new deals at the recent TravelCom conference in New York: full content; parity with other vendors; the flexibility for agents to select their product platform; the ability to use agency incentives when and where they are appropriate, and protection from certain airline service fees.
Emirates will launch flights between Hamburg and New York JFK this summer when it adds a third Dubai-JFK frequency that will connect through the German city. Emirates President Tim Clark told ATWOnline in Dubai that loads on the Dubai-Hamburg sector have been so high that the carrier decided to use fifth freedom rights to operate from Hamburg to JFK. Separately, Emirates SkyCargo announced the appointment of Scand Air Cargo as its cargo sales agent in Sao Paulo.
Ethiopian Airlines completed an agreement to buy five 787s with purchase rights for five more. The carrier also will wet-lease two Air Atlanta Icelandic 747-400s later this year for flights from Addis Ababa to the US and Asia, CEO Girma Wake told ATWOnline.
Turkish Airlines leased two A319-100s formerly operated by defunct Independence Air. The carrier also signed a codeshare agreement with Croatia Airlines for flights between Istanbul and Zagreb.
SAS has begun to introduce new sleeper seats on its intercontinental A340s and A330s. The seats, developed with Contour Premium Aircraft Seating, recline 170 deg., provide 61 in. of pitch and are 20 in. wide between the armrests and slightly wider when folded down into a bed. SAS Business Flat Beds now are available daily on A340 flights from Copenhagen to Seattle and Chicago O'Hare. During the fourth quarter, the seats will be added to A330s, becoming available on all flights to the US.
Hainan Airlines reported an 11.7% decline in first-quarter profits to CNY12.1 million ($1.5 million) from CNY13.7 million earned in the year-ago quarter, according to a company statement cited by Reuters. Its full-year 2005 result was worse as the carrier lost CNY215.8 million one year after earning a profit of CNY90.7 million. Hainan will change its name to Grand China Air following its acquisition of three smaller carriers ( ATWOnline, Oct.
Air New Zealand passengers will be allowed to compose e-mail messages and use other functions on cellphones and portable electronic devices inflight but will not be allowed to send or receive messages or calls under the terms of an electronic device exemption granted by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority.
LTU German Airlines unveiled a new strategy focused on long-haul routes and business travelers. The carrier will concentrate on its Munich and Dusseldorf hubs, where partner DBA will provide feeder services for domestic routes. DBA acquired a 60% share of LTU in February ( ATWOnline, Feb. 20). According to the new plan, which LTU hopes to begin implementing late this year, it will add one A330-200 to its fleet per year. It currently operates seven A330-200s, four A330-300s and 15 A320s/A321s.
Airbus and China Aviation Suppliers Import and Export Corp. extended the cooperation agreement covering their joint-venture training and support center in Beijing for 20 more years. The facility has been in operation for a decade and features both flight simulators and spare parts servicing.
Delta Air Lines filed a motion last week with the US Bankruptcy Court to reject a number of leases and agreements for facilities at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The carrier said it remains committed to serving the airport but needs to use airport facilities "in the most efficient and cost effective way possible" in order to emerge from bankruptcy protection. Separately, Delta plans to launch a daily peak-season flight between Atlanta and Puerto Plata on Dec. 15 using 737-800s.
