UPS noted the U.S. economy is slowing more quickly than it expected, although the company still managed to record first-quarter net profit growth. Total consolidated volume of 968 million packages was essentially unchanged from the same period a year ago. Net profit rose to $906 million, compared with $843 million a year earlier. Operating profit was $1.5 billion, up from $1.4 billion.
Northwest calculates that its DC-9s are 17% less fuel-efficient than its Airbus A319s, which have almost the same number of seats. Northwest plans to park 10 more DC-9s by the end of this year, leaving it with a fleet of 61 by yearend. The DC-9s burn about 6.93 gallons per seat per hour, versus 5.73 for the A319. According to Oliver Wyman analysis, United’s 737-500s burn 6.6 gallons per seat hour, compared to 5.39 gallons for its A320s. Delta’s MD-80s burn use 6.25 gallons versus 5.25 for its 737-800s.
FAA is exceeding its performance target for the most serious categories of controller errors for the fiscal year-to-date. Agency data show there have been 206 category A and B operational errors from Oct. 1 to April 24, compared with the performance limit of 179. The agency is still below its runway incursion performance limit, however.
The number of Customs and Border Protection agents at U.S. international airports will rise just in time for the busy summer travel season. The agents were included by Congress in the Dept. of Homeland Security’s FY2008 appropriation.
The U.S. Air Transport Association has a renewed commitment to furthering research in alternative aviation fuels. The guidelines spelled out in "Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels: The ATA Commitment" aim to promote the economic feasibility of alternative fuels while spurring potential suppliers to continue research in that field.
Almost half the membership revenues for the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) have gone away with the resignation of Air Canada, Air Transat, WestJet, and Jazz from the organization, effective immediately. The 75-year-old association has more than 200 members that represent companies involved in air transportation.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is talking with Boeing about ways to partner to offer flight training in China. The college has been looking into relationships with several universities in China to offer both its academic program and its flight training. China has special needs because of pilot shortages and airspace restrictions, and Embry-Riddle is looking to partner with both companies and universities.
UPS intends to use the new authority it won from talks between the U.S. and Japan last year to start service to Nagoya. The international shipper would launch the flights on May 18. It would operate from Anchorage to Nagoya, and beyond Nagoya to Shanghai, with its MD-11 freighters.
Pinnacle generated some 405 million RPMs and 517.41 million ASMs in March 2008, up 4.7% and 1.8%, respectively, from March 2007. Load factor improved 2.2 percentage points to 78.3%. Colgan posted a 74.9% improvement in traffic and a 41.2% gain in capacity to 42.14 million RPMs and 74.83 million ASMs, respectively, in March. Load factor jumped 10.6 points to 56.3%.
ExpressJet Holdings rejected a SkyWest offer to acquire the carrier for $3.50 a share, the regional carrier disclosed Friday, but ExpressJet also said it plans to talk to SkyWest and “any other interested parties” about making a higher bid.
Mexico’s air transport officials and antitrust regulators are rethinking their policies on consolidation and mergers, said Transport Secretary Luis Tellez. Tellez told local press that regulators are beginning to see consolidation as a possible means to offset skyrocketing fuel prices and other critical problems. “While regulators cannot tell airline A to merge with Z, consolidation among carriers is growing worldwide and Mexico should not dismiss this trend as one of several options out of the present crisis,” he noted.
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives send out a worldwide warning to its members Thursday to limit proprietary information and personal data on laptop computers, citing a U.S. federal appeals court decision April 21 that gives U.S. customs officers the authority to examine, copy and seize travelers’ laptops “without reasonable suspicion.”
IATA and the Board of Airline Representatives in the U.K. (BAR UK) is calling on the U.K. Treasury to rescind a proposed aviation duty, designed to replace the air passenger duty (APD) in November 2009. The chancellor has released a request for comment over its proposal.
GE Aviation’s engine parts scrap reclamation program has several new commercial and military customers, including Atlantic Southeast Airlines and China Airlines, and “we have had success in working to increase the number of parts that we will recycle,” says Larry Dening, GE Aviation Reclamation and Recycling Program leader. “My goal right now is to recycle at least 60%-70% of the engine, and I think by the end of the year, we should make that target.”
Volaris’ prospects took a 180 degree turn last week — after recently announcing a long-haul route spanning Mexico from north to south (DAILY, April 21), record-breaking fuel costs, the subprime crisis and potential U.S. recession and its effect on world economy forced the carrier to review traffic forecasts and consider ways the carrier can save money.
Qantas is reaffirming its forecast of 40% growth in pre-tax profit for its 2008 fiscal year — compared with an A$1 billion (US$932 million) profit in 2006/2007 — although it admits domestic market conditions are getting tougher. Domestic yields are under pressure from heightened sale activity, which results from increased capacity.
The Aloha pilots union voted last week to authorize a strike against the bankrupt airline’s ongoing cargo service “if and when it becomes absolutely necessary.” The union contends Aloha is not complying with the contract’s seniority and benefit provisions (DAILY, April 22). The union said it would “exhaust every opportunity — negotiating with management, using federal mediators, going through bankruptcy court facilitation — to avoid calling a strike.”
The first low-fare carrier in Ukraine, Wizz Air Ukraine, said it plans to start service on July 11. The startup will begin operations with a network of seven domestic routes and use Kiev’s Boryspil Airport as its base. The carrier will fly Airbus A320s in a 180-seat configuration. The highest frequency will be on the Kiev-Simferopol route, with 10 flights per week. It connects the capital with the popular Crimean tourist town. That route is followed by seven flights per week on the Kiev-Odessa connection.
The Italian government’s decision to extend a EUR300 million (US$480 million) loan to Alitalia is raising the ire of other European airlines, from network to low-fare carriers. “The loan is yet another link in a chain of subsidies that has been going on for years whereby the Italian government, against the [European Union’s] explicit forbiddance, pumps money in to an ailing national airline,” Finnair President and CEO Jukka Hienonen said late last week.
