Continental yesterday said it received $172 million from the sale of shares in COPA Holdings, the parent of COPA Airlines, and will contribute $50 million of the proceeds to its pension plan. Continental sold 9 million shares during the public stock offering. It still holds about 12 million shares in COPA. The latest pension contribution will bring 2005 contributions to $354 million, and CEO Larry Kellner noted the airline "remains committed to meeting our pension obligations." -AS
FedEx yesterday reported that its net profit for the quarter through Nov. 30 rose 33% to $471 million, driven by 3% growth in both ground and air volume. Overall revenue increased 10% to $8.09 billion, and operating profit grew 32% to $790 million. FedEx exceeded its profit forecast for the quarter and also raised its earnings-per-share guidance for the full year. The better-than-expected result was due to strong operational performance and the deferral of some advertising and promotional expenses to the second half of the fiscal year, FedEx said.
Varig's major creditors this week rejected Docas Investimentos's bid to acquire a majority equity stake in the Ruben Berta Foundation (DAILY, Dec. 20), whose FRB-PAR holds the majority of the airline, but they approved a financial reorganization plan.
United parent UAL Corp. yesterday reported a deep $187 million net loss in November, including one-time reorganization costs, but the carrier managed to trim unit costs despite higher fuel expenses.
The Philippines Supreme Court ordered its government to pay PHP3 billion (US$56 million) to the Philippines International Air Terminal Co. (PIATCO) for the consortium's investment in the construction of Terminal 3 at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Congress when it reconvenes in January will continue pushing to remove cumbersome regulations that restrict general aviation traffic at Washington National Airport.
AITAL, the Latin American Airline Association, wants to raise safety standards in the region by requiring all members to commit to an IATA Operational Safety Audit by the end of 2006 and finish the audit by the end of 2007.
The Australian High Court last week said it would not interfere with the U.S. Export-Import Bank's repossession of the sole commercial jet aircraft operated by Air Nauru.
Chalk's Ocean Airways yesterday said it will voluntarily stop operating pending inspections of its remaining fleet of four Turbine Mallard aircraft. One of the carrier's Mallards crashed Monday off Miami Beach.
AirTran yesterday aborted plans to launch four daily flights from Washington Dulles to Boston next year, and will instead use aircraft assigned to the route to boost its Chicago Midway network.
Emirates plans to launch service to its sixth Indian destination with the February start of flights to Thiruvananthapuram on Feb. 1. On the same day, the airline will also boost services to two other major Indian cities -- Cochin and Chennai. Emirates will fly eight times a week to Thiruvananthapuram, the second city in the state of Kerala after Cochin. The carrier will use an Airbus A330-200 in a three-class configuration, as well as a Boeing 777-200 in a two-class configuration.
Delta and Continental argue that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation should reject Lan Ecuador's application for charter exemptions that would give the carrier fifth-freedom traffic rights (DAILY, Dec. 15) because of the lack of reciprocity U.S. carriers have encountered in seeking similar permissions. Both carriers cited the difficulty of gaining Ecuador's permission for code shares that would serve third-country points -- Delta repeatedly has asked for permission to serve Ecuador by code sharing with Avianca via Colombia.
Alitalia this week repaid a EUR400 million (US$473.5 million) emergency loan guaranteed by the Italian government to German bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
Delta in February plans to launch new service from New York LaGuardia to Miami and New Orleans as part of its plan to boost capacity from the New York airports. Starting Feb. 16, the carrier will start two daily mainline flights from LGA to Miami with MD-88s. With the addition of Miami, Delta will offer daily service from LGA to seven Florida cities. The carrier also announced plans to offer one daily flight from LGA to New Orleans, flown by Comair. When the two new routes launch, Delta will offer flights to 28 nonstop destinations from LaGuardia. -SL
Airbus says it now has 166 firm orders and commitments for its A350 program after Brazilian carrier TAM signed a firm order for 10 A350s and five options. Airbus executives earlier predicted they would achieve at least 200 A350 orders and commitments by the end of the year, and they have not backed down from that forecast.
The Malaysia Department of Civil Aviation on Tuesday closed Sultan Abdul Halim Airport in the northern state capital of Kedah due to rising floods that have forced thousands of people from their homes. Malaysia Airlines has canceled the three daily flights to the airport through Wednesday but a lot depends on how quickly the water recede. Local reports said water covered parts of the airport's runway. -SL
Timco this week named Ron Utecht president and chief operating officer. Utecht, who has served as a consultant to the company since 2003, was with United for 39 years, holding various positions, including senior VP-maintenance and engineering.
Scottish carrier Flyglobespan today launches daily flights from London Stansted to Geneva with Boeing 737-600s. CEO Tom Dalrymple said bookings for the route were encouraging, and said the airline was eyeing a number of European markets to serve from London during the next few years. -LR
Former LAN Chairman and conservative presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera will face off against Social Party candidate Michelle Bachelet in a runoff election on Jan. 16. Pinera, a senator and major investor in LAN, took 26% of the votes in last Sunday's presidential elections in Chile, versus Bachelet's 46%. If elected president, he vowed to keep his campaign promises, among them divesting his financial interests in LAN and other private companies. -LZ
Star Alliance partners United and Air Canada simultaneously yesterday unveiled plans to launch new transborder service from Denver to Toronto and Montreal in June.
