Airlines & Lessors

Air Berlin (AB) is starting a new cost-cutting program called Turbine 2013, but details have not been released.

Norway’s new Kristiansand-based airline, Flynonstop, has acquired an Embraer E-190 to support the airline’s launch in April 2013, Embraer said in a statement.

US carriers reported an on-time performance (OTP) arrival rate of 79.1% in August, fractionally down from 79.3% in the year-ago month, but up from July’s 76%.

Chinese carriers reported a collective net profit of CNY2.3 billion ($365.4 million) in September, down 29% compared to a net income of CNY3.24 year-over-year.

LATAM Airline Group, a merger of Chile’s LAN Airlines and Brazil’s TAM Airlines, reported an 8.9% increase in systemwide RPKs for September against a 2% increase in ASKs.

Russia’s Transaero Airline (UN) will add 37 new routes in its winter schedule, increasing its routes to 137, up 21 routes from the year-ago period.

Qatar Airways (QR) will continue its aggressive expansion over the next three years, growing from 119 to more than 170 destinations, according to CEO Akbar Al Baker.

Southwest Airlines (SWA) reported a third-quarter net profit of $16 million, reversed from a $140 million net loss in the prior-year period.

Hawaiian Holdings, parent of Hawaiian Airlines (HA), has purchased its first ATR 42 turboprop and will acquire another of the type next month.

American Airlines (AA) plans to hire more than 1,500 new flight attendants over the next year.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK) may announce a new cost-cutting package, several Scandinavian media outlets have reported.

Turkish Airlines (TK) needs to double in size by 2020, CEO Temel Kotil told ATW.

American Airlines (AA) parent AMR Corp. incurred a third-quarter net loss of $238 million, widened 46.8% from a $162 million net deficit in the year-ago period.

EasyJet (U2) CEO Carolyn McCall is “very open” to pursuing further self-connecting initiatives, building on two existing ventures with Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) and Emirates Airline (EK).

Lufthansa (LH) is seeking to unify standards for engines and cockpits across its group of five airlines to boost purchasing power, staff magazine Lufthanseat reported.

Airline partnerships and stretching the network are keys to moving forward, Etihad Airways (EY) president and CEO James Hogan said Tuesday.

Bahrain Air (BN) and Saudi Arabia’s Nas Air (XY) have reached a codeshare agreement.

Kenya Airways (KQ) believes new African rival FastJet will “get it right,” as it presses ahead with plans for its own Jambo Jet low-cost venture.

Hainan Airlines (HU) plans to invest more than CNY1 billion ($159 million) in its new subsidiary, Fuzhou Airlines, to be launched in conjunction with the Fuzhou provincial government.

Southwest Airlines (SWA) has named former US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) administrator Randy Babbitt to SVP-labor relations.

Pinnacle Airlines, the wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp., has reached a tentative agreement with its flight attendants—represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA)—on concessions to emerge from Chapter 11 proceedings with a competitive cost structure.

AirAsia (AK) has confirmed it has pulled out of a possible Batavia Air (Y6) acquisition to focus management time on organic growth.

Air France (AF) has rolled out a new management structure as part of its Transform 2015 plan to achieve 20% efficiencies and restore profitability.

Austrian-based low-cost carrier FlyNiki (HG), an Air Berlin (AB) partner, may see its branding disappear as the integration process with the German carrier moves forward.

The Bahraini government has approved a BD185million ($494 million) cash injection for flag carrier Gulf Air (GF)—but the deal may include a radical restructuring.