Northwest plans to reduce its cargo capacity by three Boeing 747 freighters, bringing it to 11 aircraft. Long term, the carrier plans to analyze any freighter re-fleeting decisions, said CFO David Davis.
Brazilian Defense Minister and civil aviation head Nelson Jobim, in São Paulo last week to meet with business leaders of Brazil’s booming megalopolis, exhorted them to invest in turning Viracopos Airport into the mammoth project recently outlined by airport regulator Infraero (DAILY, March 17).
Italian tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, who is running for premiership in Italy’s upcoming general elections, said he would veto Air France-KLM’s takeover of Alitalia after his victory.
Aloha Airgroup Inc. is moving quickly to secure a financing deal to keep Aloha Airlines operating after filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection petition as it blamed Mesa Air Group for predatory pricing.
U.S. airlines flying to Europe will see their peak summer fares rise by 10% from last summer, and will top $1,200 as the average roundtrip ticket price in June and July, according to a Farecast.com’s summer forecast. The April-May and September-October shoulder seasons should see fares drop to about $800 on average.
A next-generation air traffic control system will do a lot of good for managing congestion and delays, but a change in how the system is used will be key to making it work to its fullest, said JetBlue President and COO Russ Chew.
Worldspan is slowly winning back some of the Expedia business it lost when the two had a falling-out before Worldspan was bought by Travelport. Expedia’s pullout caused Worldspan’s adjusted net revenue to drop 12% in the fourth quarter to $148 million. At the same time, Galileo, also owned by Travelport, saw revenues rise 1% to $350 million. In January, Expedia bookings using Worldspan began flowing in from Germany and Italy, and Travelport expects other markets to come on-line throughout the year.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport has begun moving airlines into its new Terminal 2 in a two-phase process to prepare for the facility’s opening, scheduled March 26. In Phase 1, 15 airlines – including five members of the oneworld alliance – will move on March 26. Phase 2 will have 18 airlines – including eight members of the Star alliance – moving on April 29.
Lower RASM reported by airlines in February is a warning sign that momentum will continue to fall by quarter, warned Morgan Stanley analyst William Greene. Having Easter in March should boost RASM, a poor March report would suggest a sharper and more concerning slowdown. “But with slowing U.S. GDP growth already evident in many industries, we’re highly skeptical that airlines can sustain recent RASM growth. As such, we believe airlines will feel a much sharper slowdown in RASM trends beginning post-1Q08,” he wrote.
The National Mediation Board has authorized an election for possible representation of Delta’s flight attendants by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
FAA believes it will be able to attract more military veterans to become air-traffic controllers due to new G.I. Bill qualification rules. Beginning this spring, veterans and their dependents training to be controllers can qualify for educational funding through the G.I. Bill. The agency says it took nearly two years to gain approval from the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
Frontier has reached an agreement to sell two A319s and two A318s to VTB leasing, which will place them with Rossiya Airlines. Frontier had already announced in January that it would be selling four of its aircraft to adjust to a new capacity growth plan. Frontier still plans to take delivery of larger Airbus A320s, meaning its capacity will grow 3%-5% in its 2009 fiscal year. The sale to VTB shows Frontier is “on track to achieve those revised growth numbers,” the airline said. After the sale, Frontier will have 47 A319s and nine A318s.
The flight caps set to take effect at New York Kennedy Airport this week will go a long way toward reducing the delays and congestion that plagued the airport last summer, but they can only be a temporary solution, JetBlue believes.
Boeing has confirmed comments by International Lease Finance Corp. Chairman and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy that the 787’s composite center wing box needs redesign, but it is not addressing his larger concern about whether the changes will further delay the program or greatly complicate the chance of producing a larger version to counteract the Airbus A350XWB.
Merrill Lynch, in a new report, has changed its 2008 industry forecast for the eight largest airlines from a net profit of $1.7 billion to a loss of $1.5 billion because of the $100-plus price tag for a barrel of oil. Analyst Michael Linenberg revised his Fiscal Year 2008 jet fuel price forecast to $2.97 a gallon versus the prior $2.56 a gallon. “We are also raising our 2009 and 2010 WTI oil price assumptions from $80 a barrel to $90 a barrel,” he wrote.
Pratt & Whitney is detailing for the first time a multi-phase technology maturation plan that is aimed at keeping the geared turbofan (GTF) competitive with prospective “open rotor” concepts being studied by GE, Snecma and Rolls-Royce.
Even perennially profitable companies like FedEx are not immune to the weakening economy, with the express carrier reporting a diminished profit for the quarter ending Feb. 29. FedEx CEO Fred Smith said the company is “managing costs” while positioning its operations to increase profits again “once conditions improve.” FedEx is concerned about the same economic conditions as the passenger carriers — oil prices, sluggish U.S. growth and the fallout from the credit crisis.
