Combined traffic for sister carriers SkyWest and ASA was up 7.6% on 8.4% more capacity in February, resulting in a minor 0.6 percentage point dip in loads to 75%. The airlines generated 1.33 billion revenue passenger miles and grew available seat miles to 1.77 billion. Together, the airlines operated 4.2% more departures and carried 5.9% more passengers than in February 2007.
Continental CEO Larry Kellner tells airline employees that recent ticket price increases have not been matched by low-cost carriers, so price hikes have resulted in “very little” revenue gains. While Continental “doesn’t want to overreact to current conditions,” it appears unlikely that high fuel prices are going to abate in the near future, Kellner says. He also notes that talk of industry consolidation is “dwindling,” as the merger talks between Delta and Northwest have cooled off.
Fees paid by airlines to airports in Brazil for aircraft landings, takeoffs and parking may have to be adjusted upward, said Sebastiao Martins-Ferreira, CFO for airport regulator Infraero.
GOL yesterday announced changes to the domestic network of its VRG subsidiary. VRG is creating a hub operation at Brasilia with an increase in flights at this airport. More flights are also being added at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas Airport following the recent lifting of flight restrictions there. The network changes are designed to “broaden [VRG’s] presence in high-traffic business markets.”
The building of profitable, long-term customer relationships are the measure of success for a frequent flyer program, and while this goal is judged as being very important by 85% of airlines worldwide, only 15% agree that it has been fully achieved, says a new report.
Starting April 12, All Nippon Airways Business Jet service between Tokyo and Mumbai will increase to a daily service in response to strong demand. Currently, one Boeing 737-700ER aircraft, specially fitted with extra fuel tanks, allows ANA to make the 6,700 km journey. A second aircraft pulled from ANA’s Nagoya-Guangzhou route will be refitted with auxiliary tanks to increase the service to a daily frequency, up from the original six weekly flights. ANA does not fit the jets with extra fuel tanks on any other sector.
Japan Airlines will add its code to six more routes operated by China Eastern between China and Japan from March 30. The additional code shares will give the two carriers joint services to 13 Chinese cities on 36 routes. Of the total of 318 flights per week, Japan Airlines will operate around 180, to 10 Chinese airports. The two have been code-share partners since September 2002 and since Feb. 1 they have also agreed on a reciprocal frequent flyer program, whereby passengers can accumulate mileage points traveling on either airline.
After waiting for weeks for Air Transport Superintendent Wilson Villarroel to confirm renewal of its operating license (DAILY, March 19), Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) again ran into a stalemate. According to Los Tiempos, Villarroel now demands a thorough technical, operational and financial inspection of the long-suffering carrier to start on April 2 at its Cochabamba headquarters to confirm all documentation submitted to airline regulator DGAC in support of renewing its license.
American is predicting that it will see solid unit revenue gains in the first quarter, but analysts are generally anticipating a net loss in the first quarter and a tough second quarter as well. Mainline unit revenues will increase by 6.9%, with consolidated unit revenue up 7.9%, the airline reported in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The cargo and other revenue categories will “increase modestly.” The mainline unit revenue gain was greater than the 4.5% increase recorded for the same period last year.
The OpenTravel Alliance, the industry-wide group setting distribution standards, will hold its 2008 Advisory Forum April 14-16 in Atlanta. Henry Harteveldt, VP and principal analyst at Forrester Research, will be the keynote speaker. The meeting will take place at the Westin Buckhead Atlanta, and Harteveldt will speak on April 15. Topics include the global travel ecosystem, multi-lingual Web sites, OpenTravel updates and future schema development, and the effect of PCI compliance. For more information, go to www.opentravel.org.
30 Years March 27, 1978 – Fuel suppliers and fixed-base operators told an Energy Dept. panel last week that bountiful supplies and pure competition will do more to keep aviation gas prices within reach than would government restrictions. 20 Years
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) APRIL 15-17 — MRO/MRO Military/AVIATION WEEK’s Interiors, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. SEPT. 23 — Green Aviation, Madrid, Spain SEPT. 24-25 — MRO Europe, Madrid Spain OCT. 15-16 — MRO Asia, Singapore NOV. 18-19 — Aerospace & Defense Finance, New York, N.Y.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) MARCH 26–27 — Air Cargo Conference, Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach, Los Angeles, Calif., 310-318-8888, http://www.aci-na.org MARCH 26-28 — 17th Annual Phoenix Sky Harbor International Aviation Symposium, Phoenician Resort, Phoenix, http:// phoenix.gov/skyharborairport/ about/symposium.html
SAS is seeing significant savings from the use of 4-D trajectories (4DT) at Stockholm Airport, which allow a very precise arrival at airport thresholds using continuous descent approaches. SAS 737NGs are crossing thresholds within seven seconds of expected arrival, beginning from 45 to 60 minutes out. The airline is saving about US$6.5 million a year by eliminating 100 kilograms of fuel burned on every 4DT approach and those figures may double with additional refinement. Another benefit is more efficient gate management, as turn times are more predictable.
U.S. airline revenue growth slowed more sharply than usual in February, which could be a trend to watch in regard to demand, according to one analyst. Mainline revenue for seven major carriers dropped 7.1% from January to February, according to Air Transport Association data quoted by JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker. While a drop between these two months is expected, Baker believes this year’s drop was much larger than in recent years — particularly when adjusting for the extra day in February 2008 due to the leap year.
Major network airlines, such as American, are not as much at risk of a Chapter 11 filing as some in financial markets assume, say airline executives and leading analysts. Recent market chatter has implied a high risk of bankruptcies for major network carriers in the next few years. However, JP Morgan analysts doubt that bankruptcies are forthcoming among the majors. “With little to be gained by filing for bankruptcy for the majors, we don’t expect a rush to the courthouse but rather a rush to cut capacity,” said a recent JP Morgan report.
Yapta, Inc., an online shopping service that tracks airline ticket prices for leisure and business travelers, named former Galileo Americas President David Falter to its board.
The New Zealand Air Line Pilots Association is warning that Air Nelson pilots will hold a half-day strike March 25, with other labor actions to follow.
Brazilian carrier GOL wants to expand to longer-haul routes and integrate its fleet with affiliate Varig’s through a combination of operational and financial leasing of aircraft. Low-cost carrier GOL is upgrading its offerings, such as mobile phone check-in and a “Fly Easier” program that allows passengers to pay in installments, while VRG Linhas Aereas, which supports the Varig brand, just signed up for the SabreSonic Solution to improve revenues and enhance the customer experience.
Flight Options selected Tony Ferrante to become VP-sales-East, Rusty Hood to become VP and general counsel and Ralph Knull to be VP-human resources and labor relations.
