Qantas long-haul pilots have voted to approve a new contract that will help clear the way for the airline to convert its options for Boeing 787-9s. Airline executives have said a new contract deal was one condition for placing the 787 orders, as well as returning the international division to profitability and paying down debt. The profitability goal has already been achieved. Qantas has 50 options and purchase rights for 787-9s, with the first delivery slots in 2017. The carrier would have to exercise options for these first slots later this year.
The discovery, not yet officially linked to Flight MH370, was made more than 16 months after the March 8, 2014, disappearance of 9M-MRO, the 777 that operated as MH370 between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing with 239 people on board.
Lufthansa saw pressure on yields in its passenger airline division and a drastic decline in profitability of Lufthansa Cargo in the second quarter, company executives revealed July 30.
Garuda Indonesia rebounded to profitability in the first half of 2015, as it appears to have successfully stimulated demand with its capacity expansion.
Embraer reported second-quarter net income of $131.1 million, down 10.6% from a net profit of $146.7 million in the 2014 June quarter, on a 14.2% year-over-year drop in revenue to $1.51 billion.
Rockwell Collins is beginning to consider the strategies, partners and acquisitions required to make the avionics and information services provider a dominant player in the coming “era of applications and services” for airliners.
British aero-engineering firm GKN is increasing its involvement in Airbus and Boeing commercial programs with the takeover of Dutch aerospace firm Fokker Technologies.
All Nippon Airways is maintaining demand levels in its domestic network despite new challenges from the latest expansion of Japan’s high-speed rail services.
Mexican ultra-LCC Volaris continues expanding flights outside its home country to connect passengers visiting their families and friends, boosting international capacity by about 35% in the second quarter.
Hawaiian Airlines predicts that an improving operating environment in the second half of the year will more than outweigh headaches caused by foreign currency weakness and shrinking fuel surcharges in some countries.
Central European LCC Wizz Air is seeing diverging trends for ancillary revenues and yields: Passengers are paying more for extras while overall fares are declining rapidly.
Aer Lingus is confident it can grow its operating margin either as an independent company or as part of International Airlines Group (IAG), its CEO said.
Virgin Australia has narrowed its loss considerably in its fiscal year through June 30 and dragged its Tigerair Australia subsidiary closer to breakeven.
A long run of monthly enplanement growth, continued boosts in demand and an uptick in non-aeronautical revenues has earned Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) upgraded ratings on its general airport revenue bonds (Garbs) from Fitch Ratings.
Sichuan Airlines will set up a branch company at Harbin in far northeastern China with the aim of building a hub connecting the Russian Far East with northeast Asia.
Delta’s $450 million investment in China Eastern Airlines could strengthen SkyTeam’s presence in China and position the alliance to better capture growing business-travel spending in that county.
