Strong yield growth helped offset cost increases for Cathay last year, and the increase was instrumental in boosting 2007 profits by 72%. Premium passenger demand was strong throughout 2007, and yields were up 11.1%, Cathay said. The annual profit rose to a record HK$7 billion (US$898 million), compared to HK$4.1 billion in 2006. Group executives noted the group is beginning to see the benefits of the addition of Dragonair.
The European Union remains firm in its position that all 27 member states should be included in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, the Council of the EU said yesterday. Furthermore, the EU reiterated its belief that any negotiations on visa policy should be conducted at the EU level. Member states should not negotiate with the U.S. on a bilateral basis.
Southwest Airlines is in discussions with Boeing to build a 737-700 “plus” as the manufacturer develops the next generation of aircraft to replace the 737, CEO Gary Kelly told The DAILY.
While Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) agrees with FAA that additional capacity will be needed to meet future traffic demand, the agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking does not adequately identify the specific benefits of Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)/Out technology.
Bolivia’s privately owned startup Aerolineas Sudamaricanas (AS) last week launched domestic services in Bolivia after obtaining its long-awaited operating license. Unfortunately, Los Tiempos reported a fissure on a cabin window on an inaugural flight by its only aircraft, leading to the cancellation of two Santa Cruz-La Paz flights while it was repaired. The airline was later slapped on the wrist for this incident by Transport Superintendent Abdon Porcel, who urged the fledgling carrier to watch passenger safety.
FAA yesterday said it will attempt to collect a $10.2 million fine from Southwest for failing to inspect 46 737s for fuselage cracks, and the airline is also being slammed on this issue by prominent lawmakers.
ATA yesterday said it will drop its remaining Chicago Midway scheduled service, which also means the airline will lose its two Mexican routes. The Midway operation “just wasn’t feasible anymore,” an ATA spokesman told The DAILY. ATA’s Midway operation was down to just one gate and the equivalent of two aircraft and five daily departures, after the carrier dropped East Coast routes last year and at the start of this year. The bulk of ATA’s scheduled flying is devoted to its West Coast-Hawaii flights.
A coalition of 35 transportation and business organizations is pressing the U.S. Senate to make reauthorization of the FAA a legislative priority this session. Congress has been continuing FAA reauthorization through a series of extensions, the latest passed in mid-February, since the agency’s authorization ran out last year. Congress has until June 30 to adopt a long-term reauthorization bill.
KLM has become the newest member of the airline carbon offset club, offering the new CO2ZERO program. The Dutch carrier used the recent international Dialogue Event to unveil the program, in which passengers can make up for their flight-related carbon dioxide emissions. KLM is integrating the program into its booking and online check-in process
The cost of airline insurance per passenger has been dropping steadily since reaching a record level after spiking in 2001 due to the attacks of 9/11, and it is expected to continue its slow erosion this year if current trends continue.
Sun Country Airlines yesterday named Stan Gadek as its new CEO and president, effective March 10. Gadek was formerly the CFO and senior VP of finance at AirTran. He announced in February that he was leaving that company, but originally planned to stay on until April 30. Because of this offer, he and AirTran agreed to speed up his departure.
Germany’s Fraport AG saw profits in 2007 drop 6% year over year to EUR213.7 million (US$325.2 million), but is predicting growth for 2008. Frankfurt Airport hit record traffic in 2007, up 2.6% to 54 million passengers, while air freight tonnage was up almost 2% to 2.1 million metric tons. Board Chairman Wilhelm Bender said that Frankfurt’s continued growth shows the need for a fourth runway and praised the Hesse government for giving zoning approval for the project in December (DAILY, Dec. 19).
Atlanta’s city council has unanimously approved a bill establishing a construction budget for the new Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. International Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
The Southeast Asia aviation market is holding up despite a U.S. economic slowdown, says asset manager Werner Aero Services, which is planning expansion from its Singapore location. “The market has gone soft in North America in the past two months,” says CEO Mike Cazaz. “I don’t see the same response from the rest of the world, although Europe is kind of flat. But places like Southeast Asia and South America are still doing fairly well.” That’s handy because Asia is a region where the company, based in New York, is keen to expand.
The Regional Airline Association named Liam Connolly manager-industry and regulatory affairs. “RAA’s longstanding team of Scott Foose, Faye Malarkey, Dave Lotterer and Scott Gordon has done an amazing job covering the whole court, and we’re appreciative our board has provided the resources, so we can add the “sixth man” to even better serve our members,” RAA President Roger Cohen said. Connolly was most recently national accounts manager for Blackboard Inc. His area of responsibility at RAA will include security and environmental issues as well as communications.
As part of a broader study on “green taxes,” the U.K. Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) March 5 called for higher aviation taxes. The EAC praised Parliament for changing the Air Passenger Duty from a per-passenger to a per-flight tax. But it called for establishing a separate tax on “very-long haul destinations.” Details on the proposed new tax were not available at press time.
Air New Zealand says increases in domestic and international capacity during the second half of 2007 were a major factor in boosting revenue nearly 10% over that period. The carrier saw its operating revenue rise to NZ$2.3 billion (US$1.8 billion) for the six months through Dec. 31. This helped increase net profit by 58% to NZ$115 million. As well as high fuel prices, Air NZ has had to contend with the rapid escalation of the value of the New Zealand dollar to 23-year highs, which is making it harder to attract overseas visitors.
Delta executives studying a merger with Northwest are laying the issue to rest — for now. The labor issues proved to be too laborious to tackle quickly. Delta hinted as much recently in an internal memo, saying it would not rush in until all criteria are met. An airline source says that merger work has now halted, and Delta is disappointed because of the money it was expecting to make by linking up with Northwest’s Pacific Network.
The European Parliament yesterday put its weight behind adding aviation to the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) by proposing that airlines be required to buy emissions credit at auction.
With Adam Aircraft Industries assets set for auction April 4, manufacturers of very light jets (VLJs) — including Eclipse and Embraer — will likely be vying for the company’s VLJ order backlog. Englewood, Colo.-based Adam Aircraft, which entered Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in February, designed and manufactured carbon-composite, high performance general aviation aircraft, the twin-piston A500 and the A700 very light jet.
United distributed $110 million to its employees yesterday as part of their profit-sharing plan. The airline made $170 million in payments in 2007 tied to performance. The payments of $1,200 before withholding for every $30,000 of eligible earnings, will be paid to most U.S.-based employees, and union-represented employees will also receive their success-sharing payout. The flight attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants elected to receive theirs in the form of a company contribution to their 401K, to the extent possible.
The Philippines March 5 created a new aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), partially in response to international concerns over the safety of the country’s airports and carriers.
International Air Transport Association head Giovanni Bisignani this week warned the air cargo industry about its slipping competitive position, and he said the entire supply chain needs to take action to reverse this trend.
