AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has taken delivery of the first of five Boeing 747-8 freighters, making the carrier the first customer of the type in Russia.
Republic Airways Holdings (RAH) has named airline executive David Siegel as CEO, president and interim COO of subsidiary Frontier Airlines (F9) to lead its restructuring program.
Etihad Airways (EY) will acquire a 40% stake in Air Seychelles (HM) for $20 million as part of a strategic partnership alliance initiative between the two airlines.
The ATW Joseph S. Murphy Industry Service award is bestowed on those who have demonstrated exceptional service in the airline industry while also bringing credit to the industry as a whole through outstanding public service.
Since its inception, Transaero Airlines has tenaciously dedicated itself to raising safety and service standards in its domestic Russian market. This privately owned airline has continuously achieved above-market growth rates while posting healthy profits since 2002 and establishing itself as Russia’s second largest carrier in terms of passenger numbers.
Any airline that builds a world-renown brand in a few short years is worthy of recognition. An airline that builds such a brand in a challenging and highly competitive environment where it must contend with larger and better-known neighbors deserves special recognition. Despite its young age, Etihad Airways has emerged as the personification of what it means to put the customer first.
The ATW Decade of Excellence Award is new this year and recognizes an individual who has made a long-term and significant commitment that has had a profound influence on the air transportation industry.
Great success stories in the airline industry are rare, even in good times. ATW’s 2012 Regional Airline of the Year is one of those and much more. The region in this case is wide and daunting, spanning the length and breadth of Australia and its hostile interior known with fondness to Aussies as the Outback.
This year, ATW has created the new Value Airline of the Year award to recognize outstanding achievements by those carriers whose business strategy provides exceptional value for the customer and the shareholder.
The journey Air New Zealand has taken over the past decade has been extraordinary. For many legacy and flagship carriers, adapting to the tumultuous global economic and market changes of the past 10 years has been a huge and difficult challenge.
Iberia (IB) and unions representing flight attendants reached an accord, averting a strike to protest the possible impact on their jobs due to Iberia Express. The 4,000 cabin crew had planned to walk out Feb. 3, 6, 10 and 13. However, the airline’s pilots are still moving ahead with their industrial action Friday and Monday ( ATW Daily News, Jan. 25).
Alaska Air Group (AAG), parent of Alaska Airlines (AS) and Horizon Air, reported 2011 net income of $244.5 million, up 2.6% from $225.1 million year-over-year, in its second consecutive year of record earnings. AAG Chairman and CEO Bill Ayer told investors and reporters that the improvement was the result of company initiatives, including “schedule optimization and network expansion, high load factors, lower non-fuel unit costs and operational performance.”
JetBlue Airways (B6) reported 2011 net income of $86 million, down 11.34% from a $97 million profit in the year-ago period because of a 49.2% year-over-year increase in fuel-related expenses, as well as debt payments and capital expenditures amounting to approximately $234 million in the fourth quarter. However, the carrier told reporters and analysts it recorded "the best fourth-quarter performance in our history," reporting a net income of $23 million, up 187.5% from the $8 million earned in the year-ago quarter.
The good news continued Thursday for the US airline industry as United Continental Holdings (UCH), parent of merger partners United Airlines (UA) and Continental Airlines (CO), reported 2011 net income of $840 million.
The management shakeup at Airbus and its parent EADS that was announced Thursday, which promotes Airbus CEO Tom Enders to chief executive at EADS, marks a follow-through on the Franco-German compromise hammered out in the 2007 summer.
Airbus chief Tom Enders will take the helm of EADS as its next CEO and Fabrice Brégier will replace Enders as Airbus CEO, the company announced Thursday.
German regional carrier Cirrus Airlines (C9) ceased operations Jan. 20, announcing insolvency at a court in Saarbrucken. German Aviation Authority Luftfahrt-Bundesamt said the financially troubled carrier was not permitted to transport passengers and freight on a regular air services basis. C9 said that all 300 employees are still working but it is unclear if and when the carrier will restart operations. One possible investor, Swiss regional SkyWork Airlines, recently ceased negotiations with C9, a source told ATW.
Krasnodar-based Kuban Airlines (GW) carried nearly 900,000 passengers in 2011, up 35% over the previous year. International traffic grew 82% to 239,000 passengers. On domestic routes, GW carried more than 660,000 passengers, up 23.5% year-over-year. Load factor grew 17.8 percentage points to 72%. In 2011, GW operated more than 5,500 flights, up 7.5% over 2010.
