Southwest, which has fuel-saving blended winglets on all 243 of its 737-700 aircraft and on all of its new deliveries, will install the winglets on nearly half of its 737-300s.
Lufthansa, backed by strong demand, significantly boosted its operating and net profit in the first half of the year despite rising fuel prices. The airline's operating profit improved from EUR253 million to EUR297 million (US$378 million) and its net result was EUR85 million (US$108 million), up from EUR200,000. Sales were up 14% at EUR9.6 billion (US$12 billion). The improvement was almost entirely due to strong yields and demand in the passenger business.
AirTran's ability to leverage a 14.4% fare increase year over year propelled the carrier's second-quarter profits 181% to $32 million from $11 million a year ago. Operating revenues jumped 44% from $366 million to $528 million, while unit revenues grew 16.8% to 10.75 cents from 9.20 cents. Average fares rose from $82.34 to $94.18. AirTran's 13.76 yields were the highest the airline has logged in a quarter since the second quarter of 2001, when its stage lengths were 542 miles, 16.9% less than today.
US Airways yesterday posted a strong $305 million second-quarter net income, and executives said the profit is not just a summer blip as they predicted the company will post profits in the third quarter and for the full year, thanks to strong traffic and revenue.
EADS is bracing for financial charges in the second half of this year due to aircraft program reviews -- particularly the Airbus A380 -- and anticipated cost growth from the relaunched A350.
Allegiant Air plans to double flights between Roanoke, Va., and Orlando Sanford in November with four weekly flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Lufthansa managed to significantly improve its profitability in the first half of 2006, recording a EUR297 million (US$377 million) operating profit, compared with EUR253 million a year ago.
British Airways yesterday sold its 14.6% stake in WNS Ltd., an India-based business services company, for $96 million. The amount will be listed as a gain on disposals in BA's second-quarter results and will be used to reduce debt.
House aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) introduced a bill late Tuesday that will prevent U.S. airports spending federal money to prepare for Airbus A380 operations. The bill, H.R.5876, would not allow federal dollars to be used for "any construction, alteration, or repair of a runway, taxiway, or any part of an airport building ... to accommodate an aircraft that has a maximum passenger capacity of at least 800 seats or a maximum take-off weight of [one million pounds] or greater." The bill would only apply to passenger aircraft.
A strong showing from Boeing's Commercial Airplanes (BCA) unit could not prevent the company from reporting a $160 million second quarter net loss, due to special charges related to a legal settlement with the U.S. government and an under-performing defense program.
Phil Boyer and the board of directors of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association have quietly agreed that he will continue to serve as president of the organization for at least another two and one-half years.
Great Lakes, effective Aug. 1, will receive $1,150,268 in annual subsidy for two years to operate essential air service at Alamosa, Colo., and $796,577 for EAS flying at Cortez, Colo. The Beech 1900D flights will operate to Denver, where Great Lakes has code-share deals with both United and Frontier [OST-1997-2960]. -ARS
ASA submitted to the U.S. Transportation Dept. a letter advancing the start date of four of eight Los Angeles-Mexico routes it won earlier this month "out of an abundance of caution" because of the ambiguity of the start date requirements on the awards. Los Angeles-Mazatlan, scheduled to launch on Feb. 1, will now start on Dec. 22. Los Angeles-Culiacan will start on Jan. 6 instead of March 15, while the flights to Zacatecas and Manzanillo will launch on Jan. 16 instead of March 13.
UPS reported weaker growth than analysts had forecast for the second quarter and also dropped its outlook slightly, leading to a significant stock price slide. Second quarter earnings per share were up 10.2% to 97 cents, which Merrill Lynch analyst Ken Hoexter noted was below consensus estimates "due to weak international volume." UPS' third quar- ter profit forecast was also lower than market expectations, and the express carrier warned that its full-year profit growth will likely be at the low end of its 11%-16% target.
FAA this week released the second version of its road map for performance-based navigation as the agency accelerates the rollout of RNAV and RNP procedures designed to streamline aircraft routing and save fuel.
The U.S. Justice Dept. appears to be sending mixed signals in Washington on its opinion of the Dallas Love Field compromise. In an advisory letter sent to Capitol Hill on Monday, the DOJ said the Love Field agreement violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. But in a Tuesday letter to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Assistant Attorney General William Moschella wrote that the Justice Dept. and the Bush administration have not taken a position on her bill that would approve the compromise agreement.
Eclipse Aviation today is expected to win FAA certification for the Eclipse 500 very light jet, a few weeks later than anticipated due to supplier delays. Maria Cino, acting U.S. Transportation Dept. secretary, will travel to Oshkosh, Wis., to make the announcement along with FAA Administrator Marion Blakey at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture show. The first 500 is ready for delivery, and nine additional aircraft are in various assembly positions on the production line, with two in final assembly.
