Santiago-based LATAM Airlines Group has reported a 2013 net loss of $281.1 million, a $242 million improvement over 2012’s net loss of $523.1 million. LATAM’s 2013 revenue rose 0.3% to $13.3 billion as expenses fell 3.9% to $12.6 billion, producing an operating profit for the year of $643.9 million, more than seven times the operating profit of $91.4 million LATAM reported for 2012.
The hunt for Malaysia Airlines missing flight MH370 intensified in the southern Indian Ocean Thursday after Australian satellite images showed debris southwest of Perth that may “possibly be related to the search,” Malaysia’s top transportation minister confirmed.
UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne has announced plans to reform the country’s controversially high air passenger duty (APD) in his 2014 Budget.
Unable to secure preferred slots at London Gatwick Airport, Garuda Indonesia has postponed the relaunch of services between Jakarta and London until September, and will then operate the London sector as extension to its Amsterdam service.
South African carrier Comair has placed a firm order for eight Boeing 737 MAX 8s, valued at $830 million at list prices. The order, which was placed in December 2013 and logged to an unidentified customer, marks the first MAXs to be ordered by an African airline. Johannesburg-based Comair said the aircraft will be used for fleet renewal and expansion. Today it operates a fleet of 25 737s on flights for budget brand kulula and its British Airways franchise.
European airlines reacted with a combination of dismay and exasperation Wednesday following a European Parliament committee vote to ditch a compromise on the contentious Emissions Trading System (ETS).
US lessor CIT Group is pushing Airbus to make a decision “in the next six months” on whether to re-engine the A330 for a potential 2017 entry-into-service. During a briefing at the ISTAT 2014 Americas conference in San Diego, CIT Transportation and International Finance president Jeff Knittel said the A330 has “historically been the star of our fleet” but is now “at a crossroads … Airbus will need to make some decisions on where they take that aircraft.”
Japan Airlines (JAL) and Russia’s S7 Airlines have agreed to a codeshare that will see JAL add its code to S7 flights on 12 new destinations in Russia from March 19.
Mesa Air Group announced it will re-deploy its Hawaii-based aircraft and cease operations of its low-cost regional airline go! as of April 1. Go! has operated in Hawaii since June 2006.
South African carrier Comair has placed a firm order for eight Boeing 737 MAX 8s, valued at $830 million at list prices. The order, which was placed in December 2013 and logged to an unidentified customer, marks the first MAXs to be ordered by an African airline.
Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling is looking to develop a second hub at Rome Fiumicino Airport later this year, CEO Alex Cruz told ATW on the sidelines of the ITB tourism fair in Berlin.
The US Dept. of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported that 743.1 million passengers were transported by US airlines in 2013, the highest annual total since 2008’s 743.3 million passengers.
Dubai-based budget carrier flydubai will launch Dubai-Moscow service in September. It will become ninth airline`s destination in Russia. The airport in Moscow has not been specified yet, but the carrier will do that soon because ticket sales start in April.
Chinese carriers earned a collective net profit of CNY1.5 billion ($242 million) in February, up 32% over February 2013’s net income of CNY1.14 billion.
Even with 200 firm orders already in place for the E-Jet E2, Embraer expects a number of additional orders for the next-generation aircraft program to roll in this year, particularly from emerging markets.
Indonesia-based Lion Group has signed a training services agreement with Airbus that will see the manufacturer develop training programs that help move the groups’ airlines towards EASA regulatory compliance.
Russia’s and Tunisia’s aviation authorities have agreed to sign a new air service agreement, but it will not change the current situation regarding flights from Moscow and Saint-Petersburg.
It is rare for Airbus and Boeing to speak in unison, but during a panel discussion at the ISTAT 2014 Americas conference in San Diego, Airbus SVP-leasing markets Andrew Shankland and Boeing VP-marketing Randy Tinseth both identified improvements in 2014 in world GDP, passenger traffic, cargo traffic and airline profitability as main drivers for a boom market for new aircraft deliveries.
SAS Group has reported a net loss of SEK112 million ($17.5 million) for the quarter November 2013 to January 2014, marking a significant improvement from the SEK588 million net loss recorded for the same period in the previous year.
