Airlines & Lessors

Kurt Hofmann
Sweden’s Skyways Express (JZ) and subsidiary City Airline (CF) have stopped all flights and will file for bankruptcy, according to a statement on their website. CF was acquired by JZ last November.

Cuckoo Paul
Indian flag-carrier Air India’s (AI) long-haul flights on international routes continued to be crippled as the pilot strike enters the 15th day, overshadowing the carrier’s Boeing 787 delivery later this month.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Edvaldo Pereira Lima
Bogota-based AviancaTaca Holding (AV), parent of Avianca, TACA, Aerogal and Tampa Cargo, reported a first-quarter net profit of $34.9 million, up 47.3% compared to the year-ago quarter.

SR Technics named Andy Best head of Line Maintenance International, taking over from Antoine Gervais who becomes head of Operations Development. Line Maintenance International will now become an independent business unit. Vueling promoted director-quality and safety inflight Fernando Val to COO and director-revenue Julio Rodriquez to director-network planning, revenue management and distribution.

Edvaldo Pereira Lima
Interjet, the launch airline of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 in Latin America, said it will continue with plans to incorporate the aircraft into its fleet, with first deliveries to begin by the end of the year.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Michael Mackey
Qantas (QF) will consolidate heavy maintenance work into Brisbane (BNE) and Avalon (AVV), the Australian carrier said in a statement.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Alan Dron
Irish-based low-cost carrier Ryanair (FR) has announced a 25% leap in annual post-tax profits to a record €503 million ($641 million), compared to €401 million in the year-ago period.

By Polina Montag-Girmes
Russia’s Aeroflot (SU) has reported a 2011 profit of $491 million, up 94% from a $253 million profit in the year-ago period.

Edvaldo Pereira Lima
Mexicana Airlines (MX), which suspended operations under severe financial distress in August 2010, may relaunch operations June 9 after Spanish hotel and air transport group Med Atlantica acquired 95% of the bankrupt carrier’s shares

Katie Cantle
Air China (CA) has launched Beijing Airlines after a one-year trial operation to enhance its position in the fast-growing domestic business aviation market

By Linda Blachly
US carriers’ on-time performance (OTP) in March improved over the same period a year ago, but was worse than February’s report.

By Alan Dron
Virgin Atlantic (VS) will cease service to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi from Sept. 23.
Airports & Networks

Christine Boynton
Delta Air Lines (DL) said will cut capacity by 5% on transatlantic routes in the fourth quarter as a “proactive measure” against high fuel costs and a weakening euro. It will also reduce Pacific capacity by 1%-2%.

Christine Boynton
Leaders of the 12,000 ALPA-represented pilots at United Continental Holdings (UCH) have called for a strike vote after failing to reach a contract agreement through two years of post-merger negotiations.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Anne Paylor
The West African state of Ivory Coast will again have its own airline this summer, when Air Cote D’Ivoire launches regional services in July.

Aaron Karp
A US bankruptcy court approved Delta Air Lines’ (DL) $74.3 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing for Pinnacle Airlines Corp., a significant provider of regional service for DL.

MTU Aero Engines Holding AG has named Melanie Wolf as head of press and PR, succeeding Odilo Mühling, who retires May 31. Wolf joins MTU from Eurocopter where she served as spokesperson. PASSUR Aerospace promoted Tom White to EVP-ops, and Renee Alter to VP-airports. It also hired Bill Leber as VP-air traffic innovations.

By Linda Blachly
Chile-based LAN Airlines said its first Boeing 787 entered final body join Tuesday at Boeing’s final assembly factory in Everett, Washington state.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Christine Boynton
Fiji’s national carrier Air Pacific (FJ) has announced it will rebrand as part of its restructuring efforts, returning to the name Fiji Airways, under which it operated from 1958-1970.

Kurt Hofmann
Oneworld member Air Berlin (AB), Germany’s second largest carrier, reported a first-quarter net loss of €102.9 million ($132.4 million), narrowed from a loss of €120.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Katie Cantle
Chinese carriers earned a collective profit of CNY1.84 billion ($290.5 million) in April, down 46%, from a net income of CNY3.4 billion in the year-ago month.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Christine Boynton
Southwest Airlines (SWA) has deferred deliveries of 30 Boeing 737-800s from 2013-2014 to 2017-2018, as it focuses on hitting its profit target, the carrier confirmed to ATW.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Ethiopian Airlines (ET) took delivery of its second Boeing 737-800NG, featuring the sky interior product. ET ordered 10 737-800s in December 2009.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

Michael Mackey
Air New Zealand (ANZ) will increase capacity on the Auckland (AKL)-Perth (PER) route by more than 20%, the company said in a statement.
Airports & Networks

Kurt Hofmann
Lufthansa Technik Switzerland (LTSW) will undergo extensive restructuring and reduce its workforce from 304 to 82, LHT in Hamburg said.
Safety, Ops & Regulation