Southwest Airlines reported in July that unit revenue grew by a percentage point more than it had previously guided, beating expectations on both growing load factors and traffic. The carrier said its passenger revenue per available seat-mile (PRASM) grew by 4% in July, up from the 3% growth-guidance which the carrier reported last month. Traffic rose 6.6% on capacity that was up 2.6%, while July load factor was almost 87%, compared with 83.5% in July of last year. Average stage length also rose 0.8%.
South African Airways needs around $4.6 billion in private funding to restructure and renew its inefficient long-haul fleet, but cannot count on direct government money as part of the rescue plan.
The agreement that will see Etihad Airways take a 49% shareholding in Alitalia will lead to a change at the top of the financially struggling Italian airline, including its CEO and chairman, and more than 2,000 jobs will be cut. Etihad is not losing any time with Alitalia’s restructuring and wants an accord by Sept. 10 delineating how many employees will take up the offer to accept the voluntary-redundancy package. Five days later, on Sept. 15, the letters of dismissal will be sent out.
You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact: Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) Sept. 23-24—Brazing Symposium, Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Arizona Oct. 7-9—MRO Europe, Madrid Spain Nov. 4-6—MRO Asia, Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre, Singapore
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] . (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Aug. 12-14, 2014 – 11th Annual Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, Sao Paulo, Brazil, www.abag.org.br/labace2014/eng/labace2014.htm l Sept. 7-10—2014 ACI-NA Annual Conference & Exhibition, Atlanta, Georgia, http://annual.aci-na.org/
Troubled Japanese domestic carrier Skymark Airlines is preparing to cut its remaining flights from Tokyo’s Narita Airport, as it looks for ways to reduce costs.
Brussels Airlines has closed its crew base in Monrovia, Liberia on Friday but it is maintaining its flight schedule to West African countries affected by the Ebola epidemic. The carrier, which is 45% owned by Lufthansa, said it decided to move the crew base to Dakar, Ivory Coast in response to concerns of its flight crew to overnight in a hotel in Monrovia. “Our pilots and flight attendants were increasingly uncomfortable with staying in a hotel in Liberia, hence this preventive measure,” a spokeswoman said.
FAA has scaled back its latest revamp of the repair station regulations, eliminating a proposed new ratings system and several other significant changes that drew fire from industry following the draft rule’s release.
SYDNEY—Australian officials are continuing to push for greater air services liberalization in key markets in Asia and Europe, but in many cases are being rebuffed in their efforts to reopen talks. Increased freedom in the Australia-China market is a major objective of the government, Australian Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development Secretary Mike Mrdak said at the CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney. The government’s long-standing policy is to pursue the end objective of full open skies with China, he says.
Copa Airlines repatriated $43 million of the $528 million it has trapped in Venezuela in June, but the carrier plans to reduce its exposure to the bolivar further by reducing capacity to the country by another 10%.
Shrinking yields and traffic that out-paces capacity growth aren’t necessarily positive trends for airlines, but at Air Canada, they are indications that the company’s drive to sustained profitability is progressing.
Etihad Airways has secured another foothold in Europe and signed the long-awaited deal that will see it take a 49% shareholding in Alitalia, acquire the struggling Italian carrier’s London Heathrow slots and purchase a stake of the Alitalia loyalty program. As such, the deal mirrors the format that Etihad applied with other equity partners, such as Jet Airways and Air Berlin.
Singapore-based low-cost carrier Scoot expects to soon receive regulatory approval for a closer partnership with Tigerair, and for a joint-venture airline it is setting up in Thailand with Nok Air. Thai authorities are close to giving the green light for the NokScoot long-haul LCC joint venture, says Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson at the annual CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney. The two certificates needed are either in hand or imminent, he says.
