Cargo carrier Kitty Hawk saw its revenue nearly double for the fourth quarter of 2006, although a quarterly profit could not prevent a higher full-year loss. The fourth-quarter net profit of $8.3 million was a good turnaround from the $4.1 million loss a year earlier; however, the full-year net loss of $15.6 million was almost double the 2005 deficit of $8.8 million.
United reported a record 85% load factor for March, which was up from 84% the same month in 2006. Revenue passenger miles totaled 10.3 billion, a 1.6% increase. Latin America traffic during the month saw a 13.4% drop to 416 million RPMs as capacity in that market shrank by 14.4% available seat miles. United's best performer was the Atlantic, where traffic grew 9.5% to 1.3 billion RPMs based on an 8% increase in ASMs. -JLM
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over an investigation into its financial reporting practices.
Northwest subsidiary Compass Airlines won FAA certification, paving the way for the airline's May debut, almost a year after the initial target date. Compass's parent company bought the operating certificate of now-defunct FLYi last year for $2 million and was hoping to launch flights from Washington Dulles in June 2006 (DAILY, March 29, 2006). The June target date was eventually pushed to September.
American wants seven of the 21 new weekly U.S.-Argentina combination frequencies to boost its Buenos Aires offer with daily service from Chicago O'Hare it hopes to launch in October. A new deal will double the number of weekly passenger flights between the two countries from the current 56 to 112 by March 2009 (DAILY, March 30). The 21 frequencies will become available once the agreement is signed, which American expects to happen shortly.
Southwest Airlines President Colleen Barrett this week became the first female to receive the Tony Janus Award. Barrett joins past winners, including Southwest founder Herb Kelleher, Richard Branson, Joe Leonard, Charles Yeager, Donald Douglas Sr., Edward Rickenbacker and Col. Frank Borman. The award was established in 1964 by the Tampa and St. Petersburg Chambers of Commerce to honor the Smithsonian Institution's recognition of Tony Jannus as the founder of the world's first commercial airline in 1914. -LR
The joint venture between Hochtief and the Greek government that oversees Athens International Airport (AIA) recorded its first profits for 2006 under International Financial Reporting Standards. AIA operating revenues and Airport Development Fund payments in 2006 rose 7.8% to EUR357.5 million (US$477.9 million) year over year. Operating expenses in 2006 were up 3.3% to EUR124.8 million (US$166.8 million).
US Airways' chief executive doesn't believe it is necessary to change existing investment laws, arguing his carrier was able to raise the necessary funds to merge America West and the old US Airways and garner backing to attempt a merger with Delta Air Lines. Carrier CEO Doug Parker made those comments during a speech yesterday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He noted that if a good business model exists, capital can be raised.
Lan Peru yesterday started operating to La Paz, Bolivia, from Lima, according to local reports. Lan Peru has authority to operate seven weekly flights between Peru and Bolivia, plus other LAN frequencies served from Chile. The announcement coincided with a release from Taca Peru that it is increasing to 10 the number of weekly flights from Lima to Santa Cruz and La Paz. -LZ
The Ottawa International Airport Authority reported a narrower loss in 2006, to C$3.3 million, versus C$4.4 million a year earlier. But earnings before depreciation reached C$10.9 million, almost C$2 million better than 2005. Depreciation of the airport's the terminal building, parking garage, and other facilities totaled C$14.2 million in 2006 as compared to C$13.4 million in 2005.
Airlines operating at Chicago Midway Airport are reviewing the city's proposal to privatize the facility to see how their operations could be affected. Back in September, the Chicago Dept. of Aviation filed an application for the hub airport slot under FAA's Airport Privatization Pilot Program (DAILY, Sept. 19). FAA accepted the city's preliminary application in October (DAILY, Oct. 5).
Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company (GAMCO) inked a deal with Air Mauritius to supply heavy maintenance for two Airbus A319s. Work covered under the deal includes cabin refurbishment, completion of Airbus service bulletins and inspections required by the carrier's maintenance program. GAMCO has secured the nod from Mauritius regulators to perform the work. Air Mauritius is the flag carrier of the island of Mauritius, and flies five Airbus A340-300s, two A340-300Es and two ATR 72-500s. -LR
The Essential Air Service determinations for Pago Pago, American Samoa, will remain unchanged from those established in 1984, the U.S. Transportation Dept. decided after reviewing seven years of traffic stats and fare data that the island territory hoped would lead to increased frequencies on the Pago Pago-Honolulu route.
American Samoa cannot ban Hawaiian from operating flights to and from Pago Pago, the U.S. Transportation Dept. ruled this week. The decision resolves the question of whether powers given to the territory would cover the action. Hawaiian argued that such a move would be illegal, going against federal law that prohibits states and territories from taking action affecting the interstate airline operations (DAILY, Aug. 31, 2006).
The European Commission has notified member states and carriers based there that they have to implement passenger rights rules in the next six months. The regulations were first issued two years ago, but in a report published yesterday, the commission bemoaned progress. "Further important steps should be taken to ensure that airlines apply the rules more consistently and that these rules are better enforced by member states," the commission said.
House lawmakers are aiming to have their version of the FAA reauthorization bill introduced by May, to hit the House floor no later than June, according to senior Capitol Hill staffers speaking at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference. The Senate is trying to complete its own version before the August recess, allowing enough time to conference with their House counterparts. The staffers believe they can complete the reauthorization bill before the September deadline.
AirTran launched a second attempt to obtain a list of Midwest's shareholders earlier this week, claiming that Wisconsin law allows shareholders in a company to view a list of other shareholders. AirAirTran subsidiary Galena owns 100 shares of Midwest. Galena demanded to see the shareholders list as of April 9 - the record date for shareholder ahead of Midwest's May 23 annual meeting. AirTran subsidiary Galena owns 100 shares of Midwest.
The International Air Transport Association yesterday boosted its estimate for 2007 airline net profits from $2.5 billion to $3.8 billion, and predicted a further profit improvement in 2008. IATA says the increase in its 2007 global industry estimate is driven by better-than-expected traffic trends and tight capacity control. These factors emerged last year and are now carrying into the first quarter, and will offset rebounding oil prices and a U.S. economic slowdown. The last IATA profit forecast was in December.
EADS' main shareholders are in a deep dispute about how the company should be refinanced in the medium term. Private shareholders DaimlerChrysler and Lagardère filed an application for the annual shareholder meeting to approve of a convertible bond to be placed. The shareholder meeting will take place in early May. The French government, meanwhile, with a 15% stake in EADS, favors a capital increase.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways are offering e-tickets to passengers who travel on one airline and connect to the other. The airlines until now issued a paper ticket for the connecting portion of travel. JAL now has e-ticketing agreements with 35 airlines, and 70% of its international tickets are paperless.
Air Arabia's 10-day initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed by 150%. The carrier's AED2.5 billion (US$680 million) represented 55% of the company's share capital and attracted 40,000 subscribers. Share allocation takes place April 8, with refunds for subscribers in the UAE set for April 11 and those in the Gulf Cooperation Council should receive their refunds three days later. Air Arabia claimed its IPO was the largest in the UAE's history to date.
Transport Canada awarded C$33 million (US$28.5 million) to fund 28 new projects at the country's smaller airports under the 2007-08 Airports Capital Assistance Program.
