Consortium of Chinese airlines is negotiating an approximately $5 billion purchase of at least 70 new A320s. The deal includes Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines and is expected to be signed during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to France this week, Reuters reported. The Chinese government ordered 70 737s on behalf of its airlines during meetings with US government officials last week ( ATWOnline, Nov. 22).
The Russian Assn. of Air Transport Operators, supported by Aeroflot, asked the government to eliminate the heavy duties imposed on the importation of Western-built aircraft by Russian airlines. According to the organization, the tariffs "have not proved their effectiveness but instead acted as a brake on development of the entire air transport industry."
Kingfisher Airlines bid to take over 100% of Sahara Airways, parent company UB Group head Vijay Mallya revealed, according to media reports. Mallya said the offer was lower than the $750 million-$1 billion Ernst and Young said Sahara was worth. In addition, he told reporters that UB Group plans to raise $400 million, half of which will come through an IPO for Kingfisher.
Australian Airlines, Qantas's international low-fare airline unit, will introduce a Premium Economy cabin in mid-2006 featuring more spacious seating, priority boarding and priority food service. The current all-economy, 271-seat cabins of its 767s will be reconfigured to feature 28 premium and 238 economy seats. Separately, the carrier said it will begin twice-daily service between Cairns and Tokyo next year, replacing Qantas. Weekly capacity on the route will increase by 500 seats.
THY Turkish Airlines CEO Temel Kotil told ATWOnline he is confident the carrier will maintain the profitability reached in the first nine months of the current fiscal year ( ATWOnline, Nov. 29), which included a net margin of 5% and an EDITBAR margin of 19%, despite a plan to increase seat capacity 30% by 2008.
Northwest Airlines was given permission to reject leases on 15 CRJ200s operated by Pinnacle Airlines by a US bankruptcy judge, who ruled in favor of the bankrupt carrier yesterday in a dispute with lessor Wells Fargo. The judge also permitted NWA to sell assets worth no more than $7 million without approval, the Associated Press reported.
TNT will launch passenger flights from Liege beginning in April, TNT Airways MD Niky Terzakis told La Libre Belgique. The integrator already offers passenger service from Brussels with 737-300s in QC configuration. Terzakis said TNT has contracts with several major tour operators including Thomas Cook, Club Med and Interconfort for its Brussels service. It has transported about 160,000 passengers from BRU this year. Liege destinations will include Barcelona, Ajaccio, Monastir, Palma and Ibiza.
ICAO will host a worldwide safety conference for directors general of civil aviation at the organization's headquarters in Montreal March 20-22. Main issues will include transparency and sharing of information.
JetBlue Airways signed a 30-year lease for the new 635,000-sq.-ft., 26-gate Terminal 5 under construction at New York JFK. In a Form 8-K filed last week with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the carrier said it will pay a minimum of $110 million in rent through 2010 and $1.23 billion thereafter. JetBlue will be responsible for construction of the terminal, set for completion in early 2009, as well as a parking garage, roadways and a light rail connector.
Spanish government will comply with demands from the European Commission and give up its "golden share" in Iberia, Expansion reported. The government retained the right to veto strategic decisions and attempts by third parties to buy into the carrier despite no longer holding a controlling stake.
Finnair launched thrice-weekly direct service between Helsinki and Delhi aboard MD-11s. The carrier said a quarter of its scheduled service revenue comes from its Asian routes. Estonian Air will start twice-weekly service between Talinn and Dubrovnik in April.
El Al Israel Airlines earned $52.2 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 10.1% over $47.4 million netted in the year-ago period. Revenues rose 17% to $485.2 million. The strong quarterly performance pushed nine-month earnings to approximately $63 million, the carrier said, the highest total for El Al in any nine-month period over the past decade.
Aircraft Leasing & Management has been mandated by FlyBE to remarket seven BAe 146s for sale/leaseback or outright sale. Eventual disposal of the aircraft is part of the LCC's effort to replace its entire BAe 146 fleet with Embraer 195s. ALM will advise the airline on its 195 acquisitions.
Cathay Pacific Airways Chairman David Turnbull, also chairman of John Swire & Sons (HK) and Cathay's largest shareholder Swire Pacific, announced he will depart the Swire Group effective at the end of January after three decades, including 20 months as chairman of the airline. He will continue as nonexecutive chairman of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. He will be replaced by Christopher Pratt, head of the Swire Pacific Trading & Industrial Division and chairman of Swire Pacific Offshore.
Copa Airlines parent Copa Holdings SA filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission covering a proposed offering of 14 million Class A nonvoting shares by two of its shareholders, Continental Airlines and Compania de Inversiones Aereas S.A. The international offering will be led jointly by Morgan Stanley and Goldman, Sachs & Co. Copa estimated the offering will be priced in the range of $15-$17 per share, raising up to $238 million in gross proceeds for the sellers.
Czech Airlines said that an overhaul of its purchasing processes has saved more than CZK140 million ($5.64 million) and should result in further savings of up to CZK300 million next year. Central to the improved performance has been creation of a Central Procurement Dept. and adoption of new purchasing rules, the "unambiguous definition of tender subjects, aggressive price negotiations, and the application of modern purchasing methods, for example electronic auctions." Additionally, the number of CSA suppliers is being cut from 6,500 to some 2,000.
EasyJet intends to cut 10% of its approximately 500-member management and administrative staff. The layoffs were announced in an internal memo circulated by departing CEO Ray Webster and confirmed by an easyJet spokesperson, according to the London Times. Members of the airline's sales and marketing staff, IT and call center employees will be affected. The move came days after the carrier announced a half-year profit of £64.9 million ($111.2 million) ( ATWOnline, Nov. 23).
News from Travel Technology Update: Sabre lost a bid to end the U.S. Transportation Department's authority to regulate independent GDS companies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that in a 1952 law that gave the department the authority to regulate ticket agents, Congress' definition of "ticket agent" was "sufficiently broad" to include GDSs.
DBA and Air Berlin announced yesterday that they are exploring an alliance and/or marketing cooperation that may include linking to each other's websites. "Both networks combine perfectly. Ours is based on the domestic point-to-point traffic. Air Berlin's focus is on European routes," DBA owner Hans Rudolf Woehrl said in a statement. DBA pilots already operate some Air Berlin aircraft.
Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holding is preparing to sell a share of its Regional subsidiary Jazz through an initial public offering of units of Jazz Air Income Fund, which will hold a minority interest in the carrier with ACE retaining majority control. CIBC World Markets and RBC Capital Markets are acting as joint bookrunners for the IPO, which follows a favorable ruling by the Ottawa government with regard to tax treatment of income trusts.
Japan Airlines chose the GEnx to power up to 50 787-3s and dash 8s, comprising 30 firm and 20 option aircraft. JAL receives its first Dreamliner in 2008. GE valued the firm engine order at more than $700 million. Separately, JAL said it will "temporarily resume" normal flight operations between Japan and Indonesia over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. It reduced flight frequency and changed routings on its Japan-Indonesia flights at the end of October owing to a significant decrease in passenger demand following the Oct. 1 Bali terrorist attack.
