All Nippon Airways filed an application Wednesday with the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism for antitrust immunity to launch a joint venture with Lufthansa on routes between Japan and Europe.
A Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-800 en route from Ft. Lauderdale to Minneapolis made an emergency landing Sunday following the contained failure of one its CFM56-7B engines during initial climb. There were no injuries among the 125 passengers and crew and no damage to the aircraft reported, though Broward County (Fla.) police said they found "small pieces" from the engine near FLL. DL said the damaged engine would be examined to determine the cause of the failure.
Air New Zealand will run a special Boeing 747 flight on Wednesday from Auckland to Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand, which was devastated by an earthquake Tuesday. The airline is charging just NZ$50 ($35) a seat and said that fare also applies to any service to and from Christchurch from any point in New Zealand to enable support staff and relatives to get in and people to be evacuated.
Travelport and Air Astana announced the signing of a long-term content agreement under which Galileo and Worldspan-connected users will gain access to all of Air Astana's fares and inventory "with immediate effect." Air Astana said that as a result of the agreement, Air Astana has designated Travelport as a "Competitive Booking Source," whereby agents using the Travelport GDS platforms can earn their commissions in full "without being subject to the Commission Booking Deductible for domestic bookings made in Kazakhstan."
The European Low Fares Airline Assn. said its nine member airlines reported a 6.1% year-over-year increase in passenger numbers for 2010 to 172.4 million and a 0.3% increase in average seat load factor to 82.3%.
Qantas reported a statutory net profit for the fiscal first half ended Dec. 31, 2010 of A$239 million ($241.7 million), dramatically improved over earnings of A$60 million in the year-ago period.
EgyptAir reportedly has sent aircraft leasing proposals to Aviation Capital Group, GECAS and fellow members of the Star Alliance as it attempts to cope with severe drops in inbound passenger demand following the recent civil protests that led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.
The Chinese government on Saturday responded to escalating oil prices by raising domestic jet fuel prices 5.8% to CNY6,340 ($963.56) per ton, putting added cost pressure on the country's airlines.
Asiana Airlines posted 2010 net income of KRW236 billion ($211.3 million), reversed from a net loss of KRW266.3 billion in 2009, as annual revenue surged 30.5% to a record KRW5.07 trillion.
Is the current distribution war finally cooling down, or have the opponents gone back to their foxholes to regroup? American Airlines reversed its plan to charge travel agents outside the U.S. and the Caribbean a “booking source premium” for booking the carrier through Travelport GDSs. In turn, Travelport dropped the increases in segment fees it imposed on American as part of its response to the carrier’s tussle with Orbitz, Travelport’s largest customer for GDS services.
News from Travel Technology Update: Is the current distribution war finally cooling down, or have the opponents gone back to their foxholes to regroup? American Airlines reversed its plan to charge travel agents outside the U.S. and the Caribbean a “booking source premium” for booking the carrier through Travelport GDSs. In turn, Travelport dropped the increases in segment fees it imposed on American as part of its response to the carrier’s tussle with Orbitz, Travelport’s largest customer for GDS services.
Ferrovial last week successfully completed the previously announced sale of aviation ground handling firm Swissport International to private equity firm PAI Partners for €695 million ($943.7 million). Swissport, which will continue to be led by President and CEO Per Utnegaard, said it "will now continue to pursue its growth strategy."
Hainan Airlines on Friday signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Telecom Co. to develop inflight mobile phone and Internet service aboard the carrier's aircraft, pending CAAC approval. If approved, HNA would become the first Chinese carrier to offer inflight voice and Internet services. Shenzhen Airlines tried to get approval for a similar agreement with Swiss OnAir Co. in September 2007 but CAAC rejected the deal.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings is "in a transformative phase" in which it is solidifying profitability and is poised to escalate earnings further when new Boeing 747-8Fs begin delivering, President and CEO William Flynn told investors last week. Speaking to the Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Transportation and Logistics Conference, available via webcast, he noted the company's record annual net profit of $143 million for 2010 reported last week, representing an 86% improvement over 2009 net income of $76.2 million.
The US's eight largest airline companies (counting United Airlines and Continental Airlines as one) earned collective 2010 net income of $2.32 billion with all but American Airlines profitable for the full year, ATW calculated.
The Dublin Airport Authority on Thursday said that negotiations with Ryanair ended after the carrier rejected DAA’s offer of more than €60 million ($81.1 million) worth of discounts on airport charges to stimulate increased traffic into its three Irish airports. Instead, DAA said, Ryanair insisted it be paid more than €100 million in discounts, with no guarantee of any additional traffic.
Kenya Airways confirmed it intends to raise additional capital “to finance its strategic future growth and expansion plans” and retained CFC Stanbic Bank as its financial adviser. KQ did not say how much it would raise or how. “At the moment we are unable to provide any additional information but the appropriate regulatory and shareholder approvals will be requested once decisions on the way forward are made,” said KQ Group MD and CEO Titus Naikuni.
In what it called the largest fine "ever assessed against an airline … in a non-safety-related case," US Dept. of Transportation on Thursday assessed a $2 million civil penalty against Delta Air Lines for alleged violations of rules protecting air travelers with disabilities.
Pinnacle Airlines Corp., the Memphis-based parent of regionals Pinnacle Airlines, Colgan Air and Mesaba Aviation, reported net income of $12.8 million in 2010, down 69.5% from a $41.9 million profit in 2009. A $4.3 million loss in the December 2010 quarter driven by severe winter weather, reversed from a $5.6 million profit in the 2009 fourth quarter, closed out a busy year in which the company expanded through acquisition.
United Continental Holdings ended speculation regarding whether United Airlines would retain its Economy Plus section following its merger with Continental Airlines last year, announcing Thursday that it intends to introduce the product into Continental aircraft beginning next year.
Qantas said it will acquire 28 aircraft and extend leases on others as it looks to boost its domestic, resources, charter and international fleets. It will also consider the Boeing 777 as a long-term option.
Malev Hungarian Airlines announced it will begin offering customers in Amsterdam the option of online check-in for departures. Beginning Feb. 25, passengers will be able to input reservation and ticket info on the carrier’s website up to 36 hours before departure and select a preferred seat. Online check-in is now available at 25 airports in Malev’s network, it said.
United Airlines temporarily grounded its fleet of 96 Boeing 757s on Tuesday for emergency checks on air data computer systems, but said the fleet was nearly back to normal by Wednesday afternoon. The carrier said 15 flights were canceled on Tuesday owing to the checks but none on Wednesday.
