Airlines & Lessors

India’s foreign investment regulator on Monday approved Etihad Airways’ plan to buy a 24% stake in Jet Airways.

Boeing has issued photographs of the first 787-9 Dreamliner in the new Boeing Commercial Airplanes livery.

Republic Airways Holdings—parent of Chautauqua Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America—has reported second-quarter net income of $70.3 million, a 7.8% increase from $65.2 million in the year-ago quarter.

Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace division recorded a 6% increase in revenue to £3.2 billion ($4.9 billion) for the first half compared to the same period in 2012.

Gulf Air said it has narrowed its first-half losses by more than 50% over the year-ago period and that its major restructuring program remains on track.

New Kuala Lumpur-based Malindo Air will begin international services next month when it launches a daily nonstop flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Kenya Airways, a SkyTeam global alliance member, is on an expansion plan and preparing for its first Boeing 787 to be delivered next year. ATW European bureau chief Victoria Moores spoke with CEO Titus Naikuni in Nairobi.

Like any airline, Oman Air has its problems. Most airline CEOs in the US and Europe would love to have Oman Air’s.

New Kuala Lumpur-based Malindo Air will begin international services next month when it launches a daily non-stop flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh.

GOL and Alitalia have requested approval by their governments to begin codesharing on connections between Brazil and Europe for both companies.

Briefs from the July 29, 2013 issue of ATW's Skypaths

Air France-KLM Group reported a first-half net loss of €793 million ($1.05 billion) narrowed from a deficit of €1.27 billion for the same period last year.

Embraer posted a second-quarter net loss of $3.8 million, “primarily as a result of deferred income taxes generated by the appreciation of the US dollar [against the Brazilian real] during the period, which negatively impacted 2Q13 net income,” Embraer said in a statement.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airlines does not see a need for very large aircraft (VLA), such as the Airbus A380 or Boeing 747-8I.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is planning to adopt a policy of encouraging domestic low-cost carrier (LCC) growth to fend off increased competition from the high-speed rail and foreign LCCs that are flooding the Chinese market.

Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, reported second-quarter net income of $105 million, down 5.4% compared to $111 million year-over-year.

Ukraine International Airlines has taken delivery of its first of four CFM56-7BE-powered Boeing 737-900s, which are configured with 20 business- and 159 economy-class seats.

Lufthansa Cargo is expecting to take delivery of the first of five Boeing 777Fs in mid- to late October, followed by a second delivery in November, a spokesperson of Lufthansa Cargo confirmed to ATW.

Airberlin is planning to merge two of its service operations and is preparing the new unit for sale.

UK leisure carrier Jet2 recorded a pre-tax profit of £29.3 million ($45 million) for the year ended March 31, compared to £21.7 million for the previous period.

Jet Fuel Price US Gulf Coast $/gallon $/gallon Price for Price for July 16, 2013 July 16, 2012 $2.92 $2.93

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has reported a second-quarter net income of $224 million, down 1.8% from a net income of $228 million in the year-ago quarter.

United Airlines parent United Continental Holdings (UCH) earned net income of $469 million in the second quarter, up 38.3% over a net profit of $339 million in the prior-year period.

Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) posted a net profit of S$121 million ($95.6 million) for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, up 56.2% over net income of S$78 million in the prior-year quarter.

EasyGroup Holdings, the private investment vehicle of EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has elected to take newly issued Fastjet shares in lieu of all royalty and consultancy payments due to EasyGroup up to Dec. 31.