Supervisory board named Matthias Zieschang to succeed Stefan Schulte as CFO. Schulte was previously appointed vice chairman, a promotion that becomes effective April 1.
Alaska Airlines took another step in its cargo improvement plan by adding two more 737-400 Combi aircraft to its fleet, with another two to follow by yearend. The carrier intends to spend $100 million to upgrade its cargo infrastructure and fleet. The four combis -- together with another freighter of the same type added last year -- will give Alaska 20% more capacity than the 737-200 combis they are replacing.
ANA Group this week reported its net profit fell by 8.5% to $80 million in the December quarter, although profit for the nine months through December soared by 42.5% to $367 million. The net profit for the first three quarters of ANA's fiscal year was the highest ever recorded for this period. The airline attributes this growth to strong demand -- especially in business travel -- helped by the continuing recovery of the Japanese economy. Frequency growth helped ANA capture this rising demand, the airline said.
Low-cost transatlantic carrier Silverjet has no plans to start a frequent flyer program, opting instead to keep costs in check as it gets operations off the ground. The airline launched flights last week from Newark to London Luton (DAILY, Oct. 16, 2006), using Boeing 767s with 100 seats featuring full flat beds for less than $2,000 per roundtrip.
Germany's Airbus workers are concerned that up to 8,000 jobs could be lost as part of the company's "Power 8" restructuring plan.The IG Metall union said that if secondary plants in Germany were closed and A350 and A380 work packages were withdrawn, the worst-case scenario could become reality. Airbus workers are planning a one-day rally on Feb. 2 to protest planned cuts. The company plans to announce the details of Power 8 on Feb. 20.
The European Union will prod the U.S. to reduce the amount of passenger name record (PNR) data it requires as negotiations on a permanent agreement continue, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini told the European Parliament this week.
More than 9 billion passengers a year will use the world's airports by 2025, up from 4.2 billion in 2005, according to a new forecast from Airports Council International. "If the development of essential infrastructure does not keep pace, customer comfort will suffer -- a vital message that must be understood by our industry partners, regulators and governments," said Director General Robert Aaronson in ACI's "CI Global Traffic Forecast 2006-2025."
Air Canada yesterday revealed plans to dramatically increase its China service with more flights on its Beijing and Shanghai routes. The airline will add a second daily Vancouver-Beijing service to operate between July 1 and Sept. 30. The Toronto-Shanghai route will have three daily flights starting April 6, which will be boosted to daily service from June 30 through the summer. The extra summer frequencies will add 50% to Air Canada's China flights. It will have five daily nonstops between Canada and China during the heart of the summer. -AS
United CEO Glenn Tilton yesterday fired a broadside at critics of transatlantic open skies and domestic airline mergers, saying they are helping to keep U.S. airlines from competing with their foreign competitors.
Pinnacle could order larger turboprops within a few weeks to bolster the fleet of new subsidiary Colgan Airlines. The Memphis-based regional closed on the sale of Colgan last month after agreeing to pay $10 million in cash, with the remaining $10 million being funded by a one-year note secured by Colgan stock. Manassas, Va.-based Colgan flies 39 34-seat Saab 340s and 11 19-seat Beech 1900Ds for three airline partners -- Continental, United and US Airways.
Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris will observe its first anniversary this month with an aggressive expansion backed by investments of some $560 million that the carrier hopes will position it as the No. 2 carrier in terms of domestic market share by the end of 2008, said Chairman Pedro Aspe.
The Macau Civil Aviation Authority rejected an application from Philippines-based carrier Asian Spirit to fly to the gambling destination. Asian Spirit wanted to operate three weekly flights each from Clark Disdado Macapagal Airport and Davao, the Philippines, to Macau.
Canadian air traffic is continuing to see healthy increases, compared with prior-year levels, according to Nav Canada. Traffic -- as measured by charging units -- climbed 5.3% in November and 4.6% in December. For the first four months of the fiscal year, traffic was up 4.6%.
The Winnipeg Airports Authority posted a C$28.3 million (US$23.9 million) profit in 2006, up C$2.2 million (US$1.8 million) from 2005. The authority operates Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson Airport. Revenue in the fourth quarter reached C$15.1 million (US$12.7 million), up 8.5% from 2005. For the year, revenues totaled C$60.4 million (US$51 million) up 6.4%, due primarily to hikes in passenger volumes and scheduled flights.
American is targeting $175 million in third-party MRO revenue at its three maintenance bases this year, almost double the $95 million in third-party work completed in 2006. This goal, set jointly with the Transport Workers Union, does not include work done through the American-Rolls-Royce engine overhaul joint venture. In December, the Tulsa facility achieved its goal of $500 million in combined revenue improvement and cost reduction.
Continental will launch its Newark-Athens service on June 7, not on May 3 as The DAILY reported this week (DAILY, Jan. 29). The May date was the startup date the carrier proposed in its original filing with the U.S. Transportation Dept [OST-2007-26949].
The U.S. Transportation Dept., on the recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board, proposed a rule aimed at providing more transparency for customers who contract with on-demand air taxi operators.
Former Swiss CEO Andre Dose will run Gulf Air as CEO, starting April 1. Dose, 49, will replace James Hogan, who left the airline to head Etihad Airways late last year (DAILY, Oct. 10, 2006). Dose was forced to step down at Swiss in early 2004 after he lost the support of the administrative board. Afterwards, he worked as an airline consultant and wrote a controversial book on his reign at Swiss.
