Malaysia Airlines, hot on the heels of the Ryanair order (see above), is expected to order up to 60 737-800s with the first to be delivered later this year. Insiders told ATWOnline that the purchase should be announced shortly. If confirmed, it would be a stunning reversal for Airbus, which had been tipped to pick up the order.
Tianjin-based Okay Airlines, the first private Chinese carrier, is expected to receive its operating certificate shortly. The airline is expected to launch operations in March, and according to the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, it will be followed by several others, including Spring International Airlines (Shanghai), Eagle Airlines (Chengdu) and Huaxia Airlines (Gansu Province).
Frontier Airlines took delivery of its 35th and 36th 132-seat A319s, which are on lease from GECAS. Its fleet now totals 47, comprising four 737-300s, 36 A319s and seven A318s.
As it looks to maintain its impressive growth rate, Ryanair yesterday announced that it placed an order for up to 140 new CFM56-7B-powered 737-800s, comprising 70 firm orders and 70 options. Deliveries of these aircraft will begin in 2008 and continue through 2012. Ryanair said the firm order portion of the deal is valued at $4 billion. Separately, CFM International valued the firm engines at $900 million.
US FAA yesterday proposed new rules requiring "significant upgrades" to cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders at an estimated cost to the industry of $256 million. Under an NPRM, CVRs must record the last 2 hr. of cockpit audio instead of the currently required 15-30 min. Also, a 10-min. independent backup power source for CVRs and FDRs will be required. Voice recorders would have to use technology other than magnetic tape, which is vulnerable to damage and decreased reliability.
Emirates will launch daily nonstop service from Dubai to Beijing on Feb. 1, 2006, using an A340-300. The airline said the new route is part of its strategic growth plans for its China operations.
Air New Zealand, which received ATW's Phoenix Award in Washington Tuesday evening, posted a net profit after tax of NZ$102 million ($73.6 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31, a 2.9% decrease compared to a net profit of NZ$105 million in the year-ago period. ANZ Chairman John Palmer described the result as "solid" given the tough environment the carrier faces. "The financial turnaround of ANZ has been faster than anticipated, especially in an industry that remains threatened by overcapacity and price wars," he said.
Air Transport Assn. member airlines flew 51.41 billion RPMs in Jan., up 9.3% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 3.3% to 70.8 billion ASMs and load factor gained 3.9 points to 72.6%.
UPS announced yesterday that in 2006 it will close its package sorting hub at Dayton International Airport, its only sorting hub for heavy airfreight, which will result in 1,400 job losses. According to the Associated Press, a new hub for heavy freight will be constructed at another UPS facility with a goal of improving efficiency. UPS acquired the Dayton facility last Dec. from Menlo Worldwide Forwarding for $150 million.
Boullioun Aviation Services delivered a 737-800 to Air-India on medium-term lease. The aircraft will be used by Air-India Express, the low-fare unit set to debut in mid-March. During the first phase, it will operate 6-7 daily flights to and from Kerala, the Gulf region and Southeast Asia.
Flynordic, the low-cost subsidiary of Finnair in Sweden, and Sterling, a low-cost carrier in Denmark, have signed a codeshare agreement. Under the deal, the two will share 11 destinations operating mainly from Stockholm and Copenhagen. Sterling, owned by Norwegian firms Bonheur and Ganger Rolf, has a similar deal in place with budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle.
Lufthansa was forced to cancel 77 flights yesterday morning at Frankfurt affecting thousands of passengers amid heightened security owing to US President George W. Bush's visit to Germany. Bush landed at Frankfurt at roughly 8:45 a.m. local time on his way to talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on the second leg of a three-nation tour of Europe. During his arrival, the airport was closed for about 40 min. "We could rescue all intercontinental flights, but we had to cancel 77 domestic and European flights, affecting 5,000 passengers," a spokesperson told ATWOnline.
Goodrich Corp. was selected by Air China to supply the main deck and lower lobe cargo handling system for its two new 747-400Fs, which will be delivered in Nov. 2005 and March 2006. The Goodrich cargo system includes the mechanical system, power drive units, electrical control system and floor panels.
India's Kingfisher Airlines continued to expand its fleet by signing a contract with Airbus to purchase three V2500-powered A319s. The aircraft will be configured with 144 seats in a one-class layout and deliveries will begin in Dec. The carrier late last year placed a firm order for 10 A320s with 20 options, and also inked a deal to lease four A320s from debis AirFinance that it will use to launch operations in May ( ATWOnline, Dec. 21). Kingfisher, which is backed by United Breweries, plans to have a fleet of eight A320s by year end, building to 16 in 2006.
Air France-KLM Group Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta urged US and EU negotiators to accept "a certain degree of realism" and not get diverted by "tricky" issues such as cabotage in pursuing a proposed transatlantic Open Aviation Area.
Despite efforts by AirAsia to persuade the government to build a new low-cost hub at Malasyia's former main airport Subang, authorities instead have decided to construct a new terminal for LCCs at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said he believes a new terminal at Subang would provide his airline with "the competitive edge against growing competition in the region," but government officials said building the terminal at KLIA will help the carrier.
Australia could have a fourth domestic airline by the middle of the year, with upstart OzJet planning an assault on the premium market controlled by Qantas with a business-only operation. Formula One team boss Paul Stoddart Tuesday announced the proposed A$70 million ($55.1 million) launch of OzJet, which will use a fleet of four 737-200s and six BAe 146s that are fully owned by his European aviation company. Stoddart said he originally intended OzJet to be a low-cost operation but this was frustrated by the launch of Qantas budget subsidiary Jetstar in May 2004.
United Airlines will launch daily service between Taipei and Nagoya April 29 using a 777 in a three-class configuration. In addition, the airline is advancing its scheduled increase in flights on its existing daily service between Chicago O'Hare and Hong Kong to May 6 from the original date of June 7. The service increase will add three more flights per week between the cities for a total of 10. United also said it will upgrade from a 777 to 747 on its Chicago-Beijing service from June 6 to Oct. 29 owing to increased demand.
Pratt & Whitney is developing an all-digital wireless broadband inflight entertainment solution that will offer video-on-demand, live television and broadband Internet connectivity to airline passengers.
AirAsia posted a net profit of 44.4 million ringgit ($11.7 million) for the fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31, according to a filing with Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange). Revenue for the period totaled 178.6 million ringgit, while cost of sales was 114.4 million ringgit. As a result, gross profit from operations amounted to 64.2 million ringgit. For the six months ended Dec. 31, the company reported a net profit of 54.8 million ringgit. Revenue was 302.8 million ringgit and cost of sales reached 206.5 million ringgit.
JetBlue Airways will launch new daily nonstop service to Portland, Ore., from New York JFK May 17 and add a second daily nonstop flight between Seattle and JFK June 17.
Former Boeing CFO Mike Sears was sentenced to four months in prison and fined $250,000 for his role in Boeing's controversial $21 billion proposal to lease 767 tanker aircraft to the US military. Sears was fired in Nov. 2003 for violating company policies by communicating about future employment for Darleen Druyun at Boeing while she was involved in the tanker deal at the US Air Force and subsequently trying to conceal their misconduct. Druyun, who also was fired after the scandal, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in April 2004 ( ATWOnline, April 21).
ATA Holdings Corp. yesterday promoted Co-Chief Restructuring Officer John Denison to CEO of ATA Airlines. Denison, who joined the bankrupt company in Jan., will report directly to ATA Holdings Corp. Chairman and CEO George Mikelsons. He previously served in several senior management positions with Southwest Airlines, including executive VP-corporate services and CFO. Southwest and ATA recently began codesharing on a number of flights. "John has proven himself to be a valuable member of our senior management team in the short time he has been with ATA," Mikelsons said.
US Airways reached agreement with Eastshore Aviation, an investment entity owned by Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. and shareholders, on a $125 million financing commitment to provide a "substantial portion" of the equity funding for US Airways' plan of reorganization. "This agreement with Eastshore Aviation provides the cornerstone from which we can obtain additional financing and construct a plan of reorganization. While we have more work to do, this is another positive signal to the marketplace," President and CEO Bruce Lakefield said.
Pinnacle Airlines Corp. reported net income of $10.3 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, up 5.3% over net income of $9.8 million in the prior-year period. The company said fourth-quarter results were impacted negatively by severe weather, particularly in the final week of Dec. Total operating revenues for the period rose 42.7% to $181.3 million while operating expenses climbed 49.5% to $163.8 million, producing an operating income of $17.5 million, down 0.2% from operating income of $17.6 million in the year-ago period.
