JAT is expected to decide by the end of this month that it will restart transatlantic service to New York and Toronto. It plans to use two 767-200ERs on the routes. It is also in the final phase of negotiations for the purchase of two Embraer 170s, sources close to the airline told ATWOnline. It will operate two 737-400s, five 737-300s and four ATR-72s on 177 weekly flights to 36 international and three domestic destinations during its summer schedule.
Virgin Atlantic opened a new £11 million ($19.2 million), 8,000-sq.-ft. club lounge at London Heathrow on Monday that features a spa pool, cinema, salon, rooftop garden, game room and other facilities and amenities. Architect was Softroom of London.
KLM named Senior VP-Operations Control & Fleet Services Michel Coumans MD of KLM cityhopper and CEO of KLM cityhopper UK effective April 1. He succeeds Elfrieke van Galen, who will take a new position within KLM Group. Amadeus named Mary Keagul North America VP-product strategy and operations responsible for the company's portfolio of e-commerce solutions.
Grupo Ferrovial of Spain, along with Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and an investment company managed by GIC Special Investments, announced that Macquarie Bank will join Citigroup Global Markets as an adviser in the consortium's effort to acquire UK airports operator BAA. Ferrovial's initial all-cash buyout offer was rejected two weeks ago ( ATWOnline, March 20).
Hooters Air is going bust after chipping steadily away at its flight schedule over the past three months. It will end scheduled service by April 17, according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News. The airline is owned by Robert Brooks, chairman of Atlanta-based restaurant chain Hooters of America. He launched Hooters Air in 2002 after acquiring Pace Airlines, a North Carolina-based charter carrier. Based at Myrtle Beach International Airport, Hooters was designed for leisure travelers. It eventually extended service to 15 destinations and operated up to seven aircraft.
Cathay Pacific Airways will launch a twice-weekly Hong Kong-Mumbai-Chennai-Hong Kong freighter service aboard a 747-200F. It features Cathay's first direct cargo flight from India to Hong Kong. The airline said it plans to add more freighter flights to India later this year. Swiss International Air Lines has taken over Styrian Spirit flights on the Zurich-Graz and Zurich-Krakow routes through April, using Embraer 145s. Styrian operated the flights under a codeshare agreement with Swiss until ceasing operations last week ( ATWOnline, March 27).
Chile is the first nation to make the IATA Operational Safety Audit a condition of its airline certification process, IATA said yesterday. At present, 150 airlines representing 70% of scheduled international traffic have completed or are scheduled to complete the IOSA process. All IATA carriers must be IOSA-certified by the end of 2007. "The decision of the government of Chile is a model for how industry can work with governments at the national level by using IOSA as a requirement for airline operators," IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said.
ANA Group, on the back of higher traffic and strong long-haul premium class business to the US and Europe, raised its net profit forecast to ¥23 billion ($196.8 million) for the fiscal year ending March 31. The final quarter will be its 11th consecutive profitable quarter. On Jan. 31, ANA said it expected a consolidated operating profit of ¥78.5 billion on revenues of ¥1.35 trillion but it now expects an operating profit of ¥86 billion on revenues of ¥1.37 trillion.
As Boeing trumpets the early success of its Dreamliner program, the pressure on Airbus to counter its rival's offering continues to grow. ILFC Chairman and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy, whose company ordered 12 A350s in November, surprised an audience at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading conference in Orlando yesterday by calling on Airbus to abandon its current A350 design plans, which are based partially on the A330, and build an all-new aircraft with a new fuselage and new wing that can compete with the technologically advanced 787.
Bombardier Aerospace reported earnings before interest and taxes of $107 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, up 25.9% from $85 million in the year-ago quarter.
Qantas said yesterday it plans to raise $400 million of unsecured debt through a Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of 6.05% 10-year notes due in 2016. The offering is priced at 133 basis points over the 10-year US benchmark treasury bond. "The notes were rated Baa1 by Moody's Investor Services and BBB+ by Standard & Poor's and were well received by investors," Qantas CFO Peter Gregg said.
US FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency certified Sunday's A380 evacuation trial in Hamburg during which 853 passengers and 20 crew exited the aircraft in 78 sec. with one serious injury, a broken leg ( ATWOnline, March 27). "We have passed a major milestone on the road to certification," Airbus COO and A380 program head Charles Champion said.
GE Commercial Aviation Services and Boeing announced an order yesterday for 30 firm and 30 option 737NGs, a deal worth approximately $4 billion at list prices.
AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, reported in an SEC filing that it expects first-quarter consolidated unit revenue to increase 9.9%-10.9% over the year-ago quarter. Unit costs were 11.83 cents in February, or 8.57 cents excluding fuel. Quarterly CASM is expected to be 11.36 cents, or 8.13 cents excluding fuel. AA has hedged 32% of its first-quarter fuel consumption at $63 per barrel. Separately, AMR announced the return of Thomas Horton, who will become CFO and executive VP-finance and planning. Horton left AMR in June 2002 to join AT&T.
Royal Jordanian signed a three-year, $3.2 million agreement with SITA for a "complete solution for its IT business," enabling interoperability with its future oneworld partners. Approximately 600 RJ employees will require on-the-job training to operate the new applications. RJ also signed an agreement with Hitit Computer Services to use its Crane frequent-flier solution starting in June. Continental Airlines signed a seven-year contract renewal for air/ground data link services with ARINC. The deal includes GLOBALink VHF, HFDL and satellite.
Lufthansa Technik Group, which saw its operating profit climb 26% to €258 million in 2005 ( ATWOnline, March 24), said growth should slow in 2006 as the competitive environment heats up. LHT Executive Board Member August Wilhelm Henningsen said at a press briefing that he expects 4%-5% growth in business this year, all of which should come from outside Lufthansa Group. Last year, 58% of LHT's work came from third-party clients as it increased its total global customer base by 4%. To compensate for the decline, it will continue to target cost savings.
Etihad Airways' owner, the government of the United Arab Emirates, expects a return on its investment by 2009, VP-Commercial Geert Boven told ATWonline. The government invested AED500 million ($136 million) to have its own national carrier, yet "we have to run the airline as a commercial enterprise. The government expects return on investment within the four or five years after its launch in 2003," according to Boven, who admitted the government is seeking recognition as an important player on the international business stage as well as financial return.
Delta Air Lines and its pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., were told last week by a three-man arbitration panel to continue negotiating ahead of an April 15 deadline and to submit confidential progress reports on April 3 and 7, according to press reports. Arbitrator Richard Bloch said a ruling by the panel would constitute "an abandonment of responsibility that will and should haunt all of you." Meantime, ALPA's Strike Preparedness Committee will conduct a practice strike tomorrow.
US FAA officials arrived in Caracas last weekend to inspect Venezuela's aviation safety standards and discuss the proposed reduction of US services to the South American country. According to press reports, Infrastructure Minister Ramon Carrizalez, told reporters that "the government has shown willingness to temporarily suspend the measure, depending on the atmosphere during the talks. We are here to discuss this and the aviation authorities are going to verify we are in compliance."
Delta Air Lines announced yesterday that it will make a significant investment in improving passenger service at its Atlanta hub, adding 50% more lobby space, 24 self-service kiosks with international check-in capability, 14 lower-level check-in positions, redesigned gate seating and a new Crown Room Club on Concourse C. It has added 24 international routes from Atlanta since September and launched or expanded service in more than 30 domestic markets. Most changes will be completed next month.
Emirates will add a second daily Dubai-Zurich flight from Oct. 29. This week it launched six-times-weekly service to Kolkata and thrice-weekly flights to Addis Ababa, becoming daily from Dec. 1, all aboard A330-200s. It will operate eight-times-weekly service to Bangalore from Oct. 29. AirBaltic introduced a summer schedule, valid through Oct. 28, featuring nine new destinations available from its Riga and Vilnius bases. From Riga it launched six-times-weekly flights to Warsaw and thrice-weekly service to Bergen on March 26.
Boeing is predicting "another phenomenal year" for the 787 in 2006, with Mike Bair, VP and GM of the Dreamliner program, telling ATWOnline that there are another 30 offers out to airlines for 500 787s on top of the 28 customers who have committed to 386 aircraft.
Gol signed a contract with STG Aerospace to retrofit its 24 737s with the SafTGlo photoluminescent floorpath marking system by the end of the month. It will be installed on future deliveries as well.
Malaysia Airlines delivered the news its employees feared ( ATWOnline, March 24), announcing it will abandon all but 19 domestic routes to AirAsia, take 19 aircraft out of service and lay off approximately 6,500 employees, or about 28% of its workforce.
