AirTran believes that if its attempts to merge with Midwest are successful, the combined carriers can apply AirTran's model of developing underserved markets from Atlanta to routes from Milwaukee. Earlier this week, AirTran continued its campaign with a letter from CEO Joe Leonard to the Midwest board of directors stressing that AirTran's bid "outweighs anything that Midwest has announced or in the near term is capable of developing."
Morgan Stanley has initiated coverage of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (GBIA) with an Overweight rating and price target of RMB15 (US$1.93). "After three painful years following the completion of the new Baiyun Airport, [whose] net profit was down 0.4% from 2003-06, GBIA is entering an interval in major capacity expenditure that allows for steady traffic growth and margin improvement," wrote analyst Ernest Song.
Financially struggling Gulf Air will phase out its Boeing 767-300ERs and focus on an all-Airbus fleet, the carrier said yesterday. The airline is reducing the size of its total fleet from 34 to 28 aircraft as part of its restructuring effort. "Gulf Air is heavily losing money every day," CEO André Dosé said. Dosé, a former Swiss CEO, joined the airline at the beginning of the month. "Gulf Air's organization will be streamlined and simplified."
Popular consumer Web site TripAdvisor has signed a deal to buy Smarter Travel Media and Seat Guru for an undisclosed amount. SmarterTravel.com is a free consumer site that exists to help travelers save time and money by posting the best deals and running travel supplier promotions. It posts the latest fare sales and last-minute deals on air, car and hotel, as well as other services. It also offers strategies and has tools to help the small business traveler.
Former A380 Program Chief Charles Champion has resurfaced in a top executive role at Airbus, despite massive production problems in the A380 division. Champion -- who was ousted from his previous Airbus division -- was named executive VP-customer services. He takes the job previously held by Patrick Gavin, who was promoted to executive VP-engineering. Gavin replaces Alain Garcia, who will become technical adviser to the CEO before retiring at the end of June.
American and the Transport Workers Union launched a joint advertising campaign yesterday focusing on frontline maintenance employees to highlight the company's desire to bring in new aircraft maintenance business.
Spurred by its historic US$241 million net profit in 2006, Chile's LAN will invest some US$2.6 billion through the year 2011, which, coupled with a new increase in equity, will help the airline expand its fleet to 115 aircraft.
A disparate group of associations and individuals representing general aviation, as well as non-aviation-related local economic interests, have banded together to form the Alliance for Aviation Across America to fight user fees in the FAA reauthorization proposal.
Skybus says its current plan is to announce its routes and start selling tickets this month in anticipation of a debut in May. The carrier currently has two leased aircraft and will most likely add two more planes within a month of starting service.
The bankruptcy court overseeing Mesaba's Chapter 11 case approved the carrier's reorganization, which means the airline should emerge from its reorganization in late April. Under the plan, Mesaba becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwest set to fly Saab 340 turboprops and Bombardier CRJ-900s for its parent company.
Colombian airlines, propelled by new international trade treaties and the growth of business and vacation travel, plan to invest some US$3.5 billion in new aircraft over the next few years. Avianca ordered ten Boeing 787-8, with first deliveries in 2010 (DAILY, March 30) and El Tiempo reports the carrier also ordered 33 single-aisle Airbus A320s, some to be operational by the end of next year. The new Avianca fleet would be worth US$3 billion.
Venezuela's state-owned Conviasa last week signed a strategic code-sharing and marketing agreement with Syrian Arab Airlines. The strategic agreement provides that passengers on Conviasa originating in Venezuela and Latin America are eligible for lower fares from Caracas to Damascus (Syria) and Teheran (Iran), with reciprocal privileges for passengers on Conviasa boarding at these points. Once discounted, the roundtrip fare between these two Middle Eastern cities and Venezuela will cost US$900, taxes included.
Despite privacy concerns raised in Europe over the collection of passenger name record (PNR) data, the Dept. of Homeland security stressed the importance of these data in the fight against terrorism and said it is committed to finding a more permanent agreement with the European Union before the current deal expires in July.
Sardinia-based Meridiana and Milan-based Eurofly got the green light to code share on Eurofly's flights from New York to Bologna and Rome (DAILY, June 15, 2006). The U.S. Transportation Dept. granted the the needed authorization last week [OST-2006-25045].
Air Jamaica's new service to Barbados from New York, as well as its continuing service to St. Lucia and Grenada, is exceeding expectations and has prompted the airline to hint that more flights could be in the works in the coming months.
United next month will carry Air China's code on flights between San Francisco and Denver, as well as between Los Angeles and Denver. The carrier expects to implement the code share on or after May 6 [OST-2003-16213].
Mexican low-cost startup Interjet, a year and a half after taking off in Mexico, is planning its first routes to the U.S. and Latin America in the second half of this year. CEO Jose Luis Garza told reporters Interjet's objective "is to cover all of Mexico's trunk routes in five years, or some 40 domestic and three international destinations." Their final selection is now being made, with the added incentive of going international.
US Airways expects to report what President Scott Kirby described as a "slight profit" for the first quarter, excluding special items, despite operating problems from ice storms and a botched cutover of reservations systems. Reporting operating results for March, the carrier logged improvements in consolidated service, increasing traffic 0.2% on 0.9% less capacity for a load-factor gain of 1 percentage point, to 82%.
Lufthansa Technik won new maintenance business through a deal with Italian airline Mistral Air covering component support for the airline's Boeing 737 Quick Change aircraft. The agreement gives Mistral access to Lufthansa Technik's spare parts pool, while the MRO also plans to supply the airline homebase stock. Lufthansa Technik also plans to maintain engines and auxiliary power units on the aircraft, as well as thrust reverser maintenance performed by Lufthansa Technik's Airframe Related Component Services. -LR
Delta's creditors voted yesterday on whether or not to approve the airline's restructuring plan. A Delta spokesman said it would take some time to count the votes, which need approval from a two-thirds majority. The results will go to the bankruptcy judge, who is expected to begin deliberating on his rule on April 25. Delta still expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection the week of April 30.
Naples, Florida-based ExecAir will fly scheduled commuter services to three Florida destinations as part of a contract with Gator Air Travel. ExecAir would offer twice-daily service from Naples to Orlando, Key West and Tampa under the agreement with Gator Air Travel, which will pony up $193,700 per month for the flights. ExecAir also will fly four times weekly to Tallahassee, though those flights are not part of the Gator Air Travel deal.
Trans Executive Airlines of Hawaii is opposing American Samoan carrier Inter Island Air's application for commuter authority (DAILY, Jan. 9) because it operates charter services under a similar trade name, Interisland Airways. The airline said it is not commenting on the Pago Pago-based carrier's fitness but is concerned about potential consumer confusion -- Hawaii and American Samoa "are relatively close geographically," said Interisland Airways, adding that Inter Island Air is "located relatively close to our operations" [OST-2007-26807].
