Emirates yesterday unveiled plans to launch its first service to South America this year as part of a forceful strategy to expand its network around the world.
Royal Jordanian and the Aqaba Development Corp. yesterday signed an agreement that will lead to the start of two daily domestic flights between Aqaba and Amman. The agreement stipulates that chartered tourist flights to Aqaba King Hussein Airport will receive a 50% discount on ground-handling fees. Regular flights will get a 10%-%25% discount on the fees, based on the number of weekly flights. "This step is a translation of our commitment to serve Jordan and its citizens, tourists and visitors to Aqaba," said CEO Samer Majali.
Northwest yesterday unveiled plans to boost capacity between Detroit and Frankfurt this summer, in part to stay competitive with Lufthansa, which is also adding a flight.
British Airways plans to cancel almost half of its flights -- including all Heathrow departures -- on Tuesday and Wednesday after negotiations failed to remove a strike threat by its cabin crews. BA will cancel 1,300 flights of more than 2,500 operated by BA mainline, BA Connect and franchise partner carriers. If just mainline flights are counted, the ratio of canceled flights would be far higher because the strike will not affect BA Connect and franchise flights.
Airbus yesterday announced another launch customer for its A330 Freighter program. Turkish carrier MNG signed a memorandum of understanding to order two A330-200Fs with an option for one more. MNG already operates 10 A300 freighters. The airline wants to expand outside of Europe to Chinese and U.S. cities. It already carries more than 85% of Turkish cargo capacity. The industrial launch of the A330-200F program occurred on Jan. 17. -AS
Continental has seen the largest increase in share value of any major U.S. airline since the industry began to return to profitability in the third quarter of 2005, but prospects for future growth are waning, says JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker. JP Morgan downgraded its investment advice on Continental, predicting industry-high ex-fuel costs and lagging operating margins for 2007. Cooling enthusiasm for industry consolidation also makes a merger involving Continental even less likely, Baker says. -AS
Aeromexico will go back on the sales block in the next six months and surely before 2007 ends, Aeromexico CEO Andres Conesa told an aviation sector meeting this week in Mexico City. To set the sale in motion, the government of Mexico must hold a public auction or arrange to trade shares of the airline, which counts several government agencies among its owners, on the Mexican Stock Exchange through an initial public offering. The final decision would be up to current public sector equity stockholders, who have yet to make up their minds.
Mesa has certain revenue guarantees built into its joint-venture agreement with Shenzhen Airlines that give the deal luster, CEO Jonathan Ornstein told analysts yesterday. The carrier struck an accord with Shenzhen in December to create a Chinese regional airline that would launch in time for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Mesa is turning over the marketing to Shenzhen, "given our lack of knowledge of the market," Ornstein said, but he noted the Chinese airline gave some financial assurances that make the joint venture an attractive deal.
Airports Council International-Europe had high praise for the European Commission's package of airport measures, which ties in with the European Union's strategy to address the looming capacity crunch.
American named Denise Lynn VP-Global Human Resources Services, succeeding Debra Hunter Johnson, who left the company in December. Lynn's purview will be human resource support for managers in the U.S., Latin America and Mexico.
A shortage of reserve aircraft is hurting recovery efforts at Lloyd Aereo Boliviano, according to local reports. LAB, having survived a 10-month corporate crisis, is now generating $1 million in monthly revenues in what analysts call a "near miracle." But El Deber says the lack of reserve aircraft, coupled with the scarcity of jet fuel in Bolivia, has limited LAB's operations to five aircraft. The shortage is forcing the company to lease planes at the last moment from Aerolineas Argentinas and other carriers or fly with downgraded equipment.
Sydney Airport posted a 12.5% jump in earnings for the six months ended Dec. 31, the first half of its fiscal year, according parent Southern Cross Airports Corp. Holdings.
Turboprop-maker ATR is boosting production this year on the strength of continued solid orders and sees little sign of market demand subsiding. After delivering 24 aircraft last year and 15 the year before, the company expects output to reach 44 turboprops this year and 60 next. Along the way, revenue should top $1 billion this year and $1.2 billion in 2008, says Filippo Bagnato, CEO of the Toulouse-based, EADS-Finmeccanica joint venture.
Alaska Airlines parent Alaska Air Group yesterday narrowed its fourth-quarter net loss to $11.6 million and trimmed unit costs last year, leaving executives bullish about plans for 2007.
British Airways' cabin crew union yesterday backed away slightly from its strike brinkmanship, postponing its threatened walkout for a day to allow more time for negotiations with the airline.
Industry associations expressed disappointment with draft legislation on airport charges as well as a communication on airport capacity and a report on the ground-handling market that the European Commission unveiled yesterday; some say the so-called "airport package" doesn't go far enough to help airlines cope with rising charges and limited capacity.
Following through on plans to continue the building of its international network with a focus on the Caribbean and Latin America (DAILY, Jan. 24), Spirit plans to start flights to San Jose Costa Rica from Fort Lauderdale April 5. The airline also plans to start new service to St. Maarten, Port-au-Prince and Caracas in the same month. Costa Rica is the first country in Central America to receive Spirit service. The new flights are subject to U.S. government approval. -LR
AeroRepublica, Colombia's No. 2 carrier, now controlled by Panama's Copa Airlines, will renew its direct Cartagena-Panama route on March 30 as a result of Cartagena's growing importance as an international vacation spot. The carrier will operate the flights on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, using some of the nine 106-passenger Embraer 190 regional jets recently acquired for US$275 million. AeroRepublica also serves Panama from Bogota, Medellin and Cali. The company carried 2.5 million passengers last year for an increase of 7% from 2005. -LZ
US Airways' main goal in trying to take over Delta is to eliminate its "key competitor," but if successful it will have created the weakest of an eventual three consolidated network carriers, Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein told the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday.
Malev Hungarian Airlines' loss widened in 2006, said CEO Janos Gonci, a decline he attributed to higher fuel costs, airport fees and the weakening of the Hungarian forint. Malev is being sold to FlyLAL and Airbridge, an investment arm for KrasAir owner Boris Abramovich. The sale of the government-owned airline is to be completed by monthend.
Bolivia for the next three months will import some 2,000 cubic meters of jet fuel per month from Argentina at a cost of US$1 million, reports Los Tiempos. The move is intended to alleviate the fuel shortage that recently forced Lloyd Aereo Boliviano and AeroSur to raise international fares by 30% (DAILY, Jan. 10). -LZ
