Oman Air appointed Wayne Pearce as its new CEO, succeeding Peter Hill who retired at year end. PAS Technologies has elected Tom Hutton as CEO. Hutton most recently served as VP-Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners. Cargolux Italia has selected Pierandrea Galli as CEO and accountable manager. Galli brings over 23 years of experience with Alitalia S.p.A. and Skylink Inc.
With an eye toward the Asia/Pacific region's growing importance for the commercial aircraft leasing business, International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) said it will establish offices in Beijing and Singapore this year. It also named head of transactions David Nixon to the newly created post of senior VP and head of Asia/Pacific.
Iberia (IB) pilots represented by the SEPLA union plan to take strike action Jan. 25, Jan. 27 and Jan. 30 to protest company plans to create a lower-cost carrier, Iberia Express, for its loss-making medium-haul network.
Turkish Airlines (TK) has equipped its first Boeing 777-300ER with Wi-Fi Internet connectivity in all cabins and plans to expand the service to 11 777-300ERs and 10 Airbus A330-300 aircraft in its fleet “as quickly as possible.” The Istanbul-based carrier added high-speed Wi-Fi broadband Internet access to its existing live inflight television service using Panasonic Avionics Corp.’s IFE platform, Planet. TK launched live television with a variety of programming on its 777-300ER transatlantic flights in September.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has expanded its fleet with a Boeing 737-300, which offers 136 business- and economy-class cabin seats. This is the carrier’s 20 th 737, it said in a statement. According to UIA, its fleet expansion program became more urgent after adopting the new strategic model of a network carrier based at Kiev Boryspil. The airline’s fleet includes a mix of 20 737-300/400/500/800s, one Fokker 50 and two Antonov An-148 aircraft.
Russian UTair airline (UT) has signed a leasing agreement with Sberbank Leasing Co., for two Boeing 737-800s and five 737-500s for five years, in a deal estimated to be worth $100 million. According to a UT statement, the aircraft were delivered at the end of 2011. Sberbank Leasing said one of its main company strategies is to strengthen positions in the aviation market. After the first nine months of 2011, the company had a backlog worth more than RUB202 billion ($6.5 billion).
New York-based Bernstein Research has cautioned that the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 face challenges and that doubts continue on delivery schedules and weight.
All Nippon Airlines (ANA), launch customer for the Boeing 787, operated the first scheduled Boeing 787 long-haul service Jan. 21 from Tokyo Haneda (HND) to Frankfurt (FRA).
Southwest Airlines (SWA) said it will continue to operate to 22 airports now served by AirTran Airways, over time converting flights to/from those destinations to the SWA brand.
Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia X has announced it will fly to Sydney Australia from April 1. Sydney is AirAsia X’s fourth Australian destination after Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth.
Fast-growing LCC Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras will operate 300 extra flights Feb. 20-27, the peak period of the carnival season in Brazil. From its main hubs at Campinas Viracopos (VCP) and Belo Horizonte Confins (CNF), the airline is expected to increase frequencies to its top 10 carnival-related destinations, including Rio de Janeiro, Porto Seguro, Salvador, Ilhéus, Maceió, Natal, Fortaleza, Recife, Florianópolis and Navegantes. The carrier is awaiting approval from ANAC, the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency.
US carriers’ on-time arrival performance in November improved by more than two percentage points over the same period a year ago. According to the US Dept. of Transportation’s (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the 16 carriers reporting on-time performance data recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 85.3% in November, up from the 83.2% on-time rate of November 2010 and almost on a par with October 2011’s 85.5% rate ( ATW Daily News, Jan. 4).
Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) has ordered six more AirbusA350-900s for delivery between 2016 and 2017. The order builds on the airline’s original commitment to the A350-900 for 30 aircraft placed in September 2010 ( ATW Daily News, Sept. 17, 2010). CX announced an additional order for two A350-900s in August last year. The A350s will replace the airline’s A340s and eventually its A330 fleet.
Spirit Airlines (NK), which launched an IPO last year ( ATW, Oct. 1), priced a secondary offering of 11 million shares of common stock at $14.50 per share. The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based low-cost carrier said Friday the shares are being sold by existing stockholders including affiliates of Oaktree Capital Management, its largest shareholder, and Indigo Partners and "certain members of the company's executive team."
Vueling Airlines (VY) will add five Airbus A320s and one A319 this year to support its organic growth as it launches 44 new routes and at least three new bases, CEO Alex Cruz said.
Air China (CA) will debut its Boeing 777-300ER Feb. 1, on the Los Angeles (LAX)-Beijing (PEK) night flight, replacing a 747-400. CA, which is the only carrier to provide nonstop service between the two cities, doubled the daily service in September. It will go one step further to enhance the route in June when it plans to upgrade the 747-400 day flight between LAX and PEK to the 777-300ER.
Japan Airlines (JAL) has outlined its plans for routes, fleet and flight frequency for the first half of fiscal year 2012 year ending March 31, 2013, as the Boeing 787 is introduced into service ( ATW Daily News, Dec. 15, 2011). According to JAL, it will launch the first 4X-weekly 787 nonstop service between Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Boston April 22, increasing to daily from June 1.
The Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC) reported a net profit of CNY12.2 billion ($1.94 billion) in 2011, up 18.8% over a net income of CNY10.3 billion in 2010.
Star Alliance’s Greek member Aegean Airlines (A3) reported a 4% growth in passengers carried last year to 6.5 million, owing to strong growth on its international network.
PrivatAir, a Geneva-based VIP airline that operates all-business-class flights for airlines including Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines and KLM, placed a firm order for five Bombardier CSeries 100 aircraft, with five options.
Grupo Aeromexico has posted a record increase of 20% passenger boardings in 2011, up to 14.3 million. The international market grew 42% while domestic traffic increased 14%. The consolidated results of the two group airlines, Aeromexico and Aeromexico Connect, also show a 21% increase in RPKs, of which 31% is international boardings and 9% on the domestic side.
Vladivostok Avia (XF) on Feb. 1 will transfer all Moscow flights from Vnukovo (VKO) airport to Sheremetyevo (SVO) Terminal B as a part of its integration strategy with Aeroflot (SU).
