After reporting a net earnings decline in its second fiscal quarter, British Airways rebounded in the third quarter ended Dec. 31 thanks to increased premium traffic and a reduction in unit costs, posting a profit after tax of £123 million ($218.4 million), a 4.2% gain over the £118 million earned in the year-ago quarter.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes may not surpass the 1,002 jets sold in 2005, but it already is off to a fast start compared to last year. According to the Boeing website, the company received gross orders for 39 aircraft from seven customers in January, all of which were for 737s. By comparison, it booked orders for 20 aircraft--also all 737s--in the first month of 2005.
MTU Aero Engines said MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg received EASA and FAA approval to maintain GE CF34-8 engines powering 70-90 Embraer and Bombardier regional jets and larger business jets. MTU already maintains the CF34-3.
EasyJet introduced "all night check-in" on flights from London Gatwick. Passengers with scheduled departure times prior to 8:30 a.m. can check both themselves and their luggage from 10 p.m. the previous evening using the normal easyJet check-in areas in the South Terminal's zone A.
American Airlines unveiled new first class and business class menus on all transcontinental flights and select flights from Brazil. It is AA's first menu revamp since 1999 and is designed to give it "a competitive advantage" over LCCs and help it "compete effectively" with international carriers. Separately, AA signed a deal with Lenovo to provide Admirals Club members access to Lenovo personal computers. IBM will provide deployment services.
The US Dept. of Transportation said in its "Air Travel Consumer Report" that domestic airline operational performance as measured by delays, mishandled baggage and customer complaints worsened in 2005. The 20 reporting US carriers posted an ontime arrival rate of 77.4% last year, down from 78.1% in 2004. Reports of mishandled baggage rose to 6.04 per 1,000 passengers compared to 4.91 in the previous year. Consumer complaints rose 17.2% to 8,735.
Bulgaria's government again approved a plan to privatize flag carrier Bulgaria Air ahead of opening its skies to EU airlines later this year. According to Reuters, the country will offer up to 99.99% of the carrier. The privatization has had a number of false starts. Reuters reported that SAS, Austrian Airlines and Air One expressed interest. However, Austrian CEO Vagn Soerensen previously told ATWOnline that his interest in Bulgaria Air is sinking because talks have gone on for too long and the valuation is too high.
Styrian Spirit will codeshare with Air Berlin on the Graz-Berlin route. "We also plan a new, much simpler fare structure," CEO Andreas Roesslhuber told ATWOnline. Codeshare flights may follow on the Graz-Stuttgart route. Styrian also plans to introduce daily Graz-Paris services. Additionally, the Austrian Regional is looking at renewing its fleet. It currently operates three CRJ200s and one CRJ700 and is looking for a fleet mix of three Q400s and two CRJ700s. It takes delivery of a new CRJ900 in May.
Japan Air Commuter converted an option for a Q400 turboprop to a firm order, bringing the total to 10 firm orders by JAC, the largest Regional airline in the Japan Airlines Group. Also, JAL signed a deal to acquire a CRJ200 to be operated by its wholly owned subsidiary J-AIR, which flies eight of the 50-seat aircraft.
US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced the nomination of William Voss for the position of secretary general of ICAO. Voss, formerly head of the terminal business service of FAA's Air Traffic Organization, currently serves as director of ICAO's Air Navigation Bureau. The current secretary general, Taieb Cherif from Algeria, is expected to seek a second term as well. The election is expected to take place next month, with the winner beginning his three-year term the following August.
Gol unveiled Brazil's first pre-paid cargo transport service Friday. Gollog Prepaid is accessible online and allows customers to transport shipments weighing up to 1 kg. to any domestic destination at a single price.
Sterling, Europe's fourth-largest LCC, transported 2.7 million passengers in 2005 at a load factor of 77.3%. The carrier's September merger with Maersk Air renders year-over-year comparisons less meaningful. "Sterling's goal for 2006 is to consolidate the route network to strengthen its position. Sterling is also expected to show a profit in 2006 and that will be achieved by the turnaround we are undergoing now in connection with our corporate integration," Communications Manager Niels Brix said.
Lufthansa is strengthening its position in Asia. Starting with the summer schedule, it will add three frequencies from Frankfurt to Shanghai, two flights from Munich to Hong Kong and four weekly flights between Munich and Beijing. In total, LH will offer 35 weekly nonstop flights to China. It also will add four weekly services on the Frankfurt-Hyderabad route. Doha will be added to the network with three weekly A340 frequencies from Frankfurt. In total, LH will boost its system capacity this summer by 1.3% compared to the summer 2004 schedule.
Qantas opened a new MRO facility at Los Angeles International Airport. The Australian carrier is the largest international operator at LAX. Qantas, which expects to begin the first A380 flights to the US in 2007, will use the facility as a base for full-service maintenance and engineering, including A checks on 747s. It will employ in excess of 80 service technicians.
Boeing said yesterday that its 777-200LR received FAA and EASA certification. First delivery is to Pakistan International Airlines later this month. Two 777-200LR test airplanes completed 886 flight hr. on 328 flights. With a maximum range of 9,420 nm. (17,446 km.), the Worldliner, as Boeing has dubbed it, has taken the title of the world's longest-range commercial airplane away from the A340-500. To emphasize the jet's long legs, Boeing flew a test aircraft to a new world record last November, traveling from Hong Kong to London on an eastbound routing. The 11,664-nm.
Engine Lease Finance Corp. and Frankfurt-based DVD Bank agreed to co-invest in a package of 13 commercial aircraft engines acquired from the ELF portfolio through a new venture, Deucalion Engine Leasing (Ireland) Ltd. The portfolio, valued at $50 million, comprises three CF6-80s, three CFM56s, three V2500s, one AE3007, two JT8D-20s and one PW4000. Engines are leased out to 10 different airlines with lease termination dates ranging from 2006 to 2013.
Emirates launched four-times-weekly service to Abidjan via Accra aboard three-class A330-200s. Swiss said it will end codeshare operations with CSA Czech Airlines and Qantas from March 26, as it is set to join the Star Alliance. Frequencies to Cairo will be increased to six times per week, London City will see seven daily services from Zurich, while Athens and Budapest will be linked three times per day. Nok Air will launch a daily Bangkok-Trang service from Feb. 1 using 737-400s.
The ongoing US-EU trade dispute over aircraft subsidies ratcheted up a notch in intensity as Trade Representative Rob Portman announced that the US is filing an additional consultation request under its WTO case against what it claims is illegal launch aid for the A350.
Rockwell Collins was selected by British Airways to upgrade the carrier's long-haul Total Entertainment System with on-demand audio and video, digital news and an audio jukebox feature by December 2007. Enhancements will occur on 57 747s, 25 777s and 14 767s.
SITA's efforts to reach small and mid-sized airports around the world took off yesterday when it concluded an agreement with Turkish aviation operations and airport construction company TAV certifying it as the exclusive Turkish reseller of SITA's AirportConnect CUTE, AirportConnect Kiosk, BagManager and BagMessage products. The deal marked the launch of SITA's new strategy to establish a "global network of partners" to provide the company's IT solutions to airports handling 5 million passengers or fewer per year.
Lufthansa Systems announced that Italian charter airline Eurofly opted for Lido RouteManual electronically generated navigation charts. In addition, it will rely on the Lido Operations Center for route planning and the FMS Flight Management Navigation Database Service LHS.
ANA and Interjet, a Mexican startup, each concluded CFM56-5B deals yesterday. ANA selected the engine to power five A320-200s in an order valued at $60 million. The aircraft, three of which were ordered last year and two of which will be leased ( ATWOnline, Jan. 30) are scheduled for delivery beginning in 2007. ANA already operates 28 CFM-powered A320-200s. Interjet's engine deal for its order of 10 A320s ( ATWOnline, Nov. 8, 2005) is valued at $120 million at list prices. The carrier also holds 10 A320 options.
Air New Zealand is poised to launch an aggressive growth phase as it nears completion of the makeover of its international product. According to CEO Rob Fyfe, the airline's eight 747-400s will be re-configured by June when ANZ will ramp up promotion of its new interior, which will offer 34-in. seat pitch in economy and 39-in. pitch in Premium Economy, along with the industry's longest (6 ft., 7.5 in.) flat bed in Business Premier. A major plank of the growth strategy is the 777-200ER. ANZ has three in service with a further five to be delivered this year.
