Precision Castparts is to acquire PB Fasteners, a California-based maker of fasteners with clients in the commercial, defense and space industries. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. PB Fasteners also makes a sleeve bolt system that is used to mitigate the effect of lightning strikes on the Boeing 787 aircraft. Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.
The tortured attempts to revive Mexicana de Aviacion could cease at the end of June if the remaining bidders prove as feckless as the last two prospective buyers.
Embraer believes the Legacy 650 business jet will be a tough competitor by offering the least expensive aircraft in its class—$30 million—capable of flying more passengers than its competitors because of its longer cabin and ability to fly longer routes. The aircraft can fly in markets such as London-New York, Sao Paulo-Miami or Singapore-Sydney. It is typically outfitted for 13 passengers, or up to six in fully flat berths for overnight flights.
A notice on Aviacsa’s website warning that it has been forced to delay resumption of service may be permanent, according to numerous reports from Mexico. The carrier was to restart service after almost two years, but regulators halted that when the airline failed to fulfill debt obligations with Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City (Aviation Daily, May 5).
Air Works India Managing Director Vivek Gour has set his sights on acquiring a medium-sized MRO. Gour joined the company in 2010, about two years after it started going after commercial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work with the support of private equity and a few months after it made its first big acquisition: U.K. aircraft paint services provider Air Livery.
Mercury Aviation Services tapped Donald Basso, formerly a principal cargo security analyst with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, to become its VP-operations and sales.
International Airline Group (IAG)–made up of British Airways and Iberia—believes it can reach “significant growth” in operating profit this year despite the negative effects of the crisis in Japan and North Africa, as well as rising fuel costs.
A better antenna is the only obstacle left to clear before GOL Linhas AereasInteligentes will be ready to launch its wireless-delivered inflight entertainment, which it now expects to do before the end of June, Planning Officer Rodrigo de Macedo Alves says. GOL worries the delivery stream will slow down too much with too many simultaneous users and is working on a better antenna, he says. The system will use onboard Wi-Fi to distribute inflight entertainment for free to passengers with laptops, smart phones or other enabled devices.
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SkyWest is “very optimistic” about its investment in Brazilian operator TRIP Linhas Aereas, and the U.S. regional expects “a productive relationship going forward” as Brazil’s largest operator TAM gets closer to finalizing the purchase of a 31% stake in its smaller competitor. SkyWest’s other major foreign investment, Vietnamese startup Air Mekong, accounted for a $2 million loss in the U.S. operator’s first-quarter results and is expected to account for a deficit of $6 million for the entire year, although SkyWest says this was budgeted.
Copa Holdings is close to deciding if it should adopt the power-by-the-hour fixed-cost system used to maintain engines on its 47 Boeing 737s for its fleet of 26 Embraer 190s. Cost control significantly contributed to the company’s nearly 24% operating margin for the first three months of the year, and the carrier is continuing efforts to keep unit costs at 6.6 cents for the full year.
Air India pilots Friday night called off their 10-day-old strike after authorities agreed to look into their pay parity demands. The pilots of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) called off their action as of 10 p.m. local time. “All pilots who have been dismissed and suspended are being reinstated and the union’s recognition has been restored,” said A. S. Bhinder, president of the ICPA, after negotiations with the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Republic Airways’ Frontier Airlines division, which produced significant losses in the first quarter, plans capacity cuts of 15-20% at its Milwaukee hub to address "a challenging" environment. These cuts come as Frontier drops to the third-largest operator at its Denver hub as Southwest Airlines continues to gain market share. Southwest has yet to announce plans for the Milwaukee operations of AirTran Airways, which last week was formally acquired by the low-cost giant.
As expected, Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines' Executive VP-strategy and planning, has assumed the role of president of AirTran Airways following the May 2 closing of Southwest's acquisition of the smaller carrier. Bob Fornaro, who had been chairman, president and CEO of AirTran, will serve as a full-time consultant on the integration of the two carriers.
India’s aviation sector is looking at an investment of $30 billion in the next 15 years to meet growing passenger and cargo traffic. “In India, 12 greenfield airports are currently being developed, as the country’s unique geographical position offers an opportunity to become a global hub for airlines. A total of 142 million passengers checked in and out of airports across the country during 2010-11, marking a growth of 15% over the previous year,” says Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi.
Garuda Indonesia posted a net loss of 183.4 billion rupiah ($21.4 million) in the three months ending March 31, compared to a 16.8 billion rupiah profit in the same period last year, Garuda told the Jakarta stock exchange. Garuda posted the loss even though revenues increased 50% to 5.19 billion rupiah from 3.47 billion rupiah. The carrier attributes the loss to higher fuel prices, as well as the fall-out from the March 11 tsunami in Japan, which hurt demand on Garuda’s services to that country.
In spite of the much improved global economy, Lufthansa’s passenger airline group (comprising Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, BMI and Germanwings) saw its operating loss widen by 4.8% to €391 million ($568 million) in the first quarter. Lufthansa and Austrian narrowed their losses, but only slightly, while Swiss made a small operating profit. Germanwings and particularly BMI plunged into much deeper red ink.
