The INITIAL phase of the RJ revolution is over. Since the first CRJ200 was handed over to Lufthansa CityLine in 1992, Embraer and Bombardier have combined to deliver more than 1,700 jets in the 37/55-seat class.
Think weight and balance and "safety" is the word that naturally springs to mind. But how about "revenue"? Using an array of new tools and techniques, Regional carriers are trying to boost both through faster and more precise calculations of the critical equation.
When Southwest Airlines decided to retrofit Blended Winglets on its 170 737-700s two years ago, managers had the advantage of a clear, concise cost-benefit tradeoff: The $750,000 drag-reducing devices would save the discount carrier an average of 92,000 gal. of jet fuel per aircraft per year and boost payload by about 6,000 lb., paying for themselves long before the aircraft would have to be retired.
It was pointed out at the recent Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva that ICAO has been active on all environmental fronts, its Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection progressing through a series of standards-setting meetings with more to come, the roadmap of future progress clearly delineated. It was just three months ago that ICAO adopted NOx standards taking effect in 2008 that are 12% more stringent than levels set in 1999.
One does not have to go all the way back to the postwar era captured in Carol Reed's film noir masterpiece "The Third Man" to recall a time when Vienna was a popular conduit between East and West for the movement of people and goods. Until the end of the Cold War, Austria's status as a member of the nonaligned community of nations and its geographic location astride the Iron Curtain enabled flag carrier Austrian Airlines to develop an effective route network into the East Bloc and USSR, while Vienna Airport itself became the preferred gateway for such journeys.
Not for nothing is the training branch of Airbus designated the Airbus Training & Flight Operations Support and Services Division. This reflects the recognition that a holistic approach to training and day-to-day operations is critical to the safe and efficient operation of the fleet. Training in new technologies and procedures for the A380 has served as a catalyst for revision of the Airbus training methodology and, where appropriate, is already being integrated into training programmes for the rest of the Airbus fleet.
Six former executives of Volare Airlines have been arrested and accused of diverting funds to set up a new carrier, Reuters reported. "The diversion of funds was aimed at creating the necessary capital for the new airline, which not by coincidence used people, means and structures from the Volare Group," financial police investigating the demise of the Italian carrier said in a statement. The statement did not name the new airline.
Boeing yesterday said it delivered the final 757 to Shanghai Airlines. The aircraft, actually rolled off the production line in Renton on Oct. 28 ( ATWOnline, Nov. 1, 2004) but Shanghai had requested an April 2005 delivery so Boeing kept the airplane in storage for six months, a spokesperson told this website.
BMED, formerly British Mediterranean Airways, placed a firm order with Airbus for seven A321s with first delivery scheduled for January 2006. The order is the first the airline has placed directly with Airbus. The BA franchise partner currently operates three A320s and three A321s with a further A320 to be delivered in May. Based at London Heathrow, it serves 15 destinations across the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa that include some of the longest A321 sectors in the world.
United Airlines' settlement with the US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. that permits the bankrupt carrier to terminate its defined benefit pension plans ( ATWOnline, April 26) also requires it to transfer to PBGC securities having a face value of $1.5 billion. These include $500 million in principal amount of 25-year 6% senior subordinated unsecured notes, 5 million shares of 2% convertible preferred stock with a liquidation value of $100 per share and $500 million in principal amount of 8% contingent senior subordinated unsecured notes.
Although high fuel prices resulted in $37.3 million in added expenses during the quarter, LAN Airlines' net income for the three months ended March 31 fell just 3.7% to $46.3 million from $48.1 million in the year-ago period.
Austrian Airlines Group's first-quarter loss widened to €80.8 million ($104.3 million) from €47.9 million a year ago. The 2005 period was marked by load factor weakness, overcapacity and extremely high fuel costs, while "December's disastrous tsunami. . .proved to be a terrible continuation of the series of external shocks to which the Austrian Airlines Group has been repeatedly exposed in recent years," the carrier explained.
United Airlines and Jet Airways of India reached a new codeshare agreement under which United will place its code on Jet Airways-operated London-Mumbai flights, which will begin May 23, and on flights from Mumbai to other cities in India. Additionally, Jet will codeshare on United services from London to the US. The agreement is subject to US and Indian government approvals and would be the first international codeshare offered by a privately owned Indian airline, United said.
Continental Airlines applied to the US Dept. of Transportation to operate daily nonstop flights from Houston to Buenos Aires. If approved, the carrier said it would launch the flights in November using a 767-200 in a two-class configuration.
WestJet, impacted by high fuel prices and very low yields as well as low fares driven by "irrational" pricing by certain competitors, reported a C$9.6 million ($7.7 million) net loss for the first quarter ended March 31, a complete reversal compared to net income of C$512,000 in 2004 and also its second consecutive quarterly loss after a streak of 31 profitable quarters. Total revenue rose 35.9% to C$294.6 million on a 27.3% increase in passenger revenue and a 75.9% jump in charter revenue, a result of the company's focus on boosting charter flying during weaker travel periods.
World Air Holdings, parent of World Airways, on Wednesday announced it had acquired North American Airlines, a small privately held New York-based carrier, for $35 million in cash. The airlines will be managed and operated independently of one another, said World Holdings CEO Randy Martinez. World operates 16 MD-11s and DC-10s in civil and military passenger and cargo charter services, while NAA operates three leased 767-300ERs and five leased 757-200ERs in civil and military charter services. It also has limited scheduled flights to the Caribbean and Hawaii. It employs 600.
Strong performance of its international operations, including the first annual profit since it began operating international services in 1986, propelled ANA Group to a consolidated net profit of ¥26.9 billion ($254.2 million) for the 2004 fiscal year ended March 31. This represents the second-highest result in the company's history and a 25% increase over a net profit of ¥24.7 billion in the year-ago period. Operating profit more than doubled to ¥77.7 billion from ¥34.3 billion in the previous financial year.
Citing sharp sales growth and increasing customer preference for its products, Emirates Group reported a record net profit of Dhs2.6 billion ($707.9 million) for the 2004-05 fiscal year ended March 31, a 49% jump over a net profit of Dhs1.75 billion in FY04. Total revenue rose 36.2% to Dhs19.09 billion while total costs climbed 34.9% to Dhs16.4 billion, producing an operating profit of Dhs2.81 billion, up 47.1% over operating profit of Dhs1.91 billion in the prior financial year.
Emirates Airline continues to push Airbus to launch the stretch version of the A380, the proposed dash 900, President Tim Clark told ATWOnline in Dubai.
Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines released traffic results for March that show continued robust growth. The number of international passengers carried rose 13.4% to 10.7 million while RPKs increased 11.3% to 43.77 billion on a capacity hike of 7.5% to 60.1 billion ASKs. Load factor gained 2.5 points to 72.8%. International FTKs grew 3.5% to 43.7 billion in March but capacity was up 8.4%, resulting in a decline of 3.2 points to 67.5% in load factor.
An A380 powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines and carrying the registration F-WWOW took off from Blagnac International Airport in Toulouse at 10:29 a.m. local time yesterday and flew for 3 hr. 54 min. before landing back at Blagnac at 2:23 p.m.
Independence Air began offering the digEplayer personal inflight media player to customers on all flights from its hub at Washington Dulles to Las Vegas and San Diego. The players also will be available on the airline's new flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Jose that begin May 1. The carrier said it will charge $10 for the players.
