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.
German leisure and holiday airline LTU will enter the already crowded market for low-cost carriers in November. "We have to look for new business opportunities in Europe," a spokesperson explained to ATWOnline. Operating under the brand name City Quickies, LTU will offer services from Dusseldorf to Vienna, Lisbon, Rome and Madrid with fares starting at €29 ($36). In addition, it plans to offer six weekly nonstop flights from Dusseldorf to New York, also this winter, with fares starting at €149. A new weekly service to Dubai will be established as well.
Qantas fired a second baggage handler at Sydney Airport and announced a series of security enhancements as the furor escalated over alleged drug smuggling and crime links in the ranks of the airline's employees. CEO Geoff Dixon said the decision to sack the handler followed further investigation into claims that an international cocaine importing ring was operating at the airport. He said surveillance was maintained over a "small number" of handlers after the initial swoop by police that led to 14 arrests last month.
Southwest Airlines flew 5.24 billion RPMs in May, up 12% over the year-ago period. Capacity rose 14.3% to 7.24 billion ASMs and load factor declined 1.5 points to 72.4%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 10% to 23.29 billion, ASMs grew 11.6% to 34.44 billion and load factor dropped 1 point to 67.6%.
The European Commission yesterday gave its conditional approval to Alitalia's restructuring plan, which includes a €1.2 billion ($1.47 billion) recapitalization of new airline entity AZ Fly and the partial sale of services entity AZ Services to state holding company Fintecna, saying that it does not include any state aid. "On the basis of a thorough and detailed analysis, the Commission has concluded that these recapitalizations do not involve any state aid," VP with responsibility for transport Jacques Barrot said.
American Airlines flew 11.81 billion RPMs in May, up 10% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 3% to 15.11 billion ASMs and load factor increased 5 points to 78.1%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs rose 6.9% to 55.36 billion, ASMs inched up 1.2% to 72.46 billion and load factor gained 4.1 points to 76.4%.
JetBlue Airways officially opened JetBlue University's new support campus at Orlando International Airport, which will offer recurrent training for its pilots, flight attendants, technical operations and customer service crewmembers. The facility covers some 107,000 sq. ft. and includes an auditorium, classrooms, briefing rooms, offices and an outdoor training pool. Additionally, it currently holds four A320 full flight simulators and one Embraer 190 simulator. A second 190 simulator will be installed in August and future growth could provide for up to 16 full flight simulators.
America West and US Airways pilot leaders met Monday to discuss "issues of mutual concern" relating to the proposed merger of the airlines ( ATWOnline, May 20). Pilots at both carriers are represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. and at some point the two groups will be combined, traditionally among the most difficult challenges in any airline merger. "The importance of the discussion was to look at alternatives to secure our future," America West union chairman J.R. Baker said.
MidAtlantic Airways said a fleet service worker was killed in a ramp accident at Reagan Washington National Airport yesterday after the belt loader the employee was driving collided with a parked US Airways Express regional jet. MidAtlantic is a Regional airline unit of US Airways.
Malev Hungarian Airlines, which recently signed an MOU to join oneworld, expects to post an operating loss this year on flat revenues but anticipates an operating profit in 2006. "In the last three months we saw financial stablizisation," CEO Janos Goenci told ATWOnline during the IATA AGM in Tokyo last week. One of Malev's highest priorities is reducing the number of aircraft types in its fleet from four to three, possibly by phasing out four CRJs and replacing them with F70s/F100s.
The world's scheduled airlines in aggregate posted an operating profit last year of $3.5 billion on revenues of $374 billion, according to preliminary estimates from ICAO, which said the positive operating results--after three consecutive years of operating losses--were owing mainly to a 13% growth in traffic combined with a lesser 10% increase in capacity.
Delta Air Lines flew 10.53 billion RPMs in May, up 9.4% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 4.2% to 10.65 billion ASMs and load factor rose 2.5 points to 76.3%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 10.3% to 48.72 billion, ASMs jumped 5.6% to 64.79 billion and load factor was up 3.2 points to 75.2%.
United Airlines launched daily nonstop 767 service between Chicago O'Hare and Munich yesterday. UA's Star Alliance partner Lufthansa already serves the route. Both also operate to Munich from Washington Dulles.
Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein warned Congress yesterday that without fast federal action on their pension liabilities, "airlines will almost certainly be forced into bankruptcy and have to transfer additional pension liabilities to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation." Grinstein and NWA President and CEO Doug Steenland were in Washington to testify in support of S.861, the "Employee Pension Preservation Act of 2005," which would give companies more time to make overdue payments to their pension plans while requiring them to cap existing liabilities at their current level of
Continental Airlines moved yesterday to dampen speculation about an improving outlook after it reported stronger than anticipated unit revenue growth in May that caused some analysts to raise their outlook for the carrier this year. In an investor update, the company said that "while revenue trends have been improving, with current high fuel prices and refining margins, [it] continues to expect a significant loss for the year."
EasyJet said it flew 2.6 million earned seats in May, up 21.9% from the year-ago period. Load factor gained 3 points to 81.1%. For the rolling 12 months ended May 31, the LCC flew 28 million earned seats, a 24.8% increase on the prior-year period, and revenue was up 22.1% to £1.24 billion ($2.27 billion). Load factor improved 1.2 points to an average of 85.1%.
Northwest Airlines flew 6.57 billion RPMs in May, up 6.3% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 2.5% to 7.86 billion ASMs and load factor gained 2.9 points to 83.6%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 8.1% to 31.08 billion, ASMs rose 4.4% to 38.43 billion and load factor was up 2.8 points to 80.9%.
