Alaska Airlines flew 1.39 billion RPMs in May, up 6% over the year-ago period. Capacity declined 3.3% to 1.81 billion ASMs and load factor gained 6.7 points to 76.8%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs rose 8.2% to 6.67 billion, ASMs increased 1.8% to 8.99 billion and load factor jumped 4.4 points to 74.2%.
Lufthansa carried 2.8% more traffic in May compared to the same month a year earlier, driven by an increase in long-haul routes. But load factor dipped 0.3 point to 73.2% mostly owing to tough competition in Europe, where passenger numbers fell 0.9%.
Air Canada was expected to finalize its recent widebody fleet replacement order with Boeing after it reached a tentative agreement with its pilots yesterday covering operation of the aircraft. AC said the accord covers "costs and other related issues relating to the introduction of the new Boeing widebody aircraft" into its fleet, but it did not elaborate. The deal is now subject to ratification by union members.
American Eagle launched several new services from Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, including three daily flights to Savannah, two daily flights to both Madison and Mobile and once-daily service to Evansville, Green Bay, Moline, Rochester (Minn.) and Toledo. It also began seasonal daily service between DFW and Traverse City, which will operate through Oct. 29; a second flight will be added on the route July 2-Aug. 22. All flights will use 44- or 50-seat Embraer regional jets.
GKN Aerospace said it received approval from Snecma Services covering restoration of the overall length and midspan shrouds on the fan blades of CFM56-5B engines. GKN noted that apart from Snecma Services it is the only approved repair source for this work.
Scandinavian Airlines appointed Hakan Ericson executive VP responsible for Airline Support and Airline Related Businesses. Ericson comes from DHL Freight Europe, where he was MD as well as head of European Networks, and assumes his position on Oct. 1. SAS said this appointment completes the group management team.
IATA yesterday expressed "extreme disappointment" that proposals that call for a tax on air transport to support third-world development were not abandoned at an ECOFIN meeting in Luxembourg this week. The proposals were developed in May after EU finance ministers reached an agreement in principle to impose a small levy on air travel to fund development aid that would be voluntary or obligatory depending on the country ( ATWOnline, May 17). DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said, "Development is a serious issue that needs a serious solution.
Air Berlin will increase its presence at its Spanish hub at Palma de Mallorca. By Nov. 1 it will boost frequencies to Lisbon, Porto, Seville and Madrid to double-daily. During the coming summer season, the carrier will operate 262 weekly flights from Palma to continental Europe, mainly to Germany, plus an additional 93 weekly flights to cities on the Spanish mainland and in Portugal.
Boeing upped its forecast for commercial aircraft for the next 20 years, projecting a need for approximately 25,700 new passenger and freighter aircraft during the period worth an estimated $2.1 trillion compared to last year's projection of 25,000 commercial aircraft worth $2 trillion.
Air France-KLM Group said it recorded a strong level of activity in May driven by buoyant traffic on both long-haul and European routes. Overall, traffic grew 6.9% to 15.24 billion RPKs on increases of 6.7% and 7.5% respectively on long-haul and European routes. Capacity climbed 4.9% to 19.6 billion ASKs and load factor was up 1.4 points to 77.7%. In May, Air France-KLM carried more than 5.9 million passengers, up 6.7%. Cargo traffic posted a 1.3% decrease while capacity was up 6.6%. As a result, cargo load factor fell 5.1 points to 63.8%.
World Airways reached agreement on a multiyear ACMI contract with Air Canada to operate an additional MD-11F for international cargo service. Under the accord, World will operate two MD-11Fs for AC through August 2007 between Toronto, China and other points in North America. The amended contract has a value of $101 million.
Germanwings will grow its schedule from its recently opened hub at Berlin Schoenefeld this winter. It plans to base a fifth A319/A320 there and will add flights to Prague and Warsaw. It also will increase service to Oslo, Stockholm and Zagreb.
Finnair flew 1.24 billion RPKs in May, up 10.5% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 7.5% to 1.83 billion ASKs and load factor gained 1.8 points to 68.1%. For the five months ended May 31, ASKs increased 6.1% to 9.61 billion, RPKs rose 7.3% to 6.85 billion and load factor inched up 0.8 point to 71.2%.
United Airlines this week introduced 70-seat CRJ700s and Embraer 170s, which are configured with United First and Economy Plus cabins, to eight of its United Express markets. The new fleet, which replaces 50-seat United Express aircraft, is a "direct response to customer demand," United said. From June 7, United Express began to operate the new RJs between Chicago O'Hare and White Plains, Columbia, Portland, Montreal and Ottawa. They also were introduced on flights between Washington Dulles and Portland, Rochester (N.Y.) and Montreal.
Southwest Airlines released results of a three-month study by consulting firm Campbell-Hill Aviation Group that says the gain to local economies should the Wright Amendment be repealed would be at least $4.2 billion annually.
Lufthansa Systems has inked deals with Fischer Air Polska, Pluna and TUI Airlines Belgium for its Flight Management System navigation database services.
AirTran Airways partnered with G2 SwitchWorks to distribute its ticket inventory to travel agencies and corporate clients. As part of the arrangement, AirTran agreed to pre-pay certain distribution fees in order to secure additional discounts on transaction costs and the opportunity to acquire a minority stake in G2. According to the airline, the deal offers more than 80% savings in distribution costs versus traditional GDS fees.
Officials of a startup airline that hopes to launch transatlantic service later this year yesterday said they had secured $185 million in financing to give lift to the project. The carrier, which will use the name Eos, will feature 757s with premium service for 48 business travelers. The New York-based startup has taken possession of its first three 757s and is proceeding with regulatory filings with FAA.
US Airways flew 3.53 billion RPMs in May, up 2% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 1.4% to 4.65 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.4 points to 75.9%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 3.7% to 16.65 billion, ASMs rose 2.2% to 22.41 billion and load factor was up 1.1 points to 74.3%.
EADS yesterday said it intends to proceed toward the full industrial launch of the A350 program with partner BAe Systems by the end of September. "Following the already public commitments towards the A350 by several airlines, and having reviewed the ones to be announced in the near future, the Board was confirmed in its conviction that this project very appropriately meets the airlines' expectations in the field of mid-size twin aircraft for the next generation," EADS said in a statement.
