TAP Portugal refuted recent press reports that the proposed LATAM Airlines Group initiated discussions to take a stake in the state-owned airline to form a powerful transatlantic-Latin American conglomerate.
Iberia, which merged with British Airways into International Airlines Group in January, said it reached agreement with Airbus to order eight A330-300s with options for eight more.
Iberia, which merged with British Airways into International Airlines Group in January, said it reached agreement with Airbus to order eight A330-300s with options for eight more.
United Continental Holdings said in an employee bulletin last week that US-based workers of subsidiaries United Airlines and Continental Airlines will be eligible for profit-sharing when the company earns more than $10 million in pre-tax profit during a full year.
Bombardier Aerospace said it signed an MOU with ICBC Financial Leasing Co. covering up to $8 billion in capital that the wholly owned subsidiary of Industrial Commercial Bank of China will make available to support "advance payment financing, delivery financing and leasing solutions"for Bombardier business and commercial aircraft including Q-Series, CRJ Series and CSeries transports. Financial support will be available for aircraft transactions inside and outside China.
Fast-growing Turkish Airlines last week launched new four-times-weekly Istanbul Ataturk-Los Angeles service and ordered three Airbus A330-200 freighters to bring its total order book for the type to five.
A number of Delta Air Lines flight attendants who previously worked for Northwest Airlines have sued DL in US federal court alleging "discrimination based solely on their status as former union members," said the Assn. of Flight Attendants, which is assisting in the lawsuit. DL's more than 19,000 cabin crew last year voted to reject unionization; the 7,500 who previously worked for NWA had been represented by AFA ( ATW Daily News, Nov. 4, 2010).
Ryanair on Thursday confirmed to ATW it may consider ordering United Aircraft Corp.’s single-aisle MS-21 or COMAC’s C919 aircraft to support fleet expansion. Negotiations with Boeing for additional 737s broke down in late 2009 ( ATW Daily News, Dec. 9, 2009).
Brussels Airlines took delivery of the first of two ex-Mexicana Airbus A319s it is slated to receive as part of the renewal of its short- and medium-haul fleet.
Delta Air Lines told employees it has reached an agreement to buy nine Japan Airlines MD-90s for delivery beginning in January 2012 to replace retiring DC-9s and 50-seat regional jets.
TAP Portugal said it achieved “the best result ever in the history of the company,” reporting a net profit of €62.3 million ($86 million) for 2010, up from income of €59 million reported in 2009.
Lufthansa Italia named Michael Kraus CEO from April 1. Kraus is currently CEO of LH subsidiary Air Dolomiti, a position he will continue to hold. Finnair Group announced Deputy CEO Lasse Heinonen will leave on May 15. Heinonen joined AY as CFO in 2004 and has served as deputy CEO and executive VP since 2009.
Wizz Air announced it will this year open its fourth Romanian base in Tirgu Mures. It will initially deploy one Airbus A320 at TGM to serve Barcelona, Rome Fiumicino, Paris Beauvais, Milan Bergamo, Madrid, Dortmund and Bologna Forli. It already operates to TGM from Budapest and London Luton. CEO Jozsef Varadi said,"This is another milestone in our Romanian operations that indicates our commitment to the Romanian passengers in offering truly affordable fares and a fast-growing network."
Japan Airlines officially unveiled the reintroduction its iconic crane livery on a Boeing 767-300ER at its maintenance center at Tokyo Haneda on Monday. The change in logo was announced Jan. 19 to emphasize JAL's “new philosophy and corporate policy underscoring a re-commitment to provide the highest levels of service to customers.”
Edelweiss Air COO Peter Spring told ATW in Zurich that the airline took delivery of a 332-seat Airbus A330-300 last week and is endeavoring to grow international flying.
Air France KLM flew 16.63 billion RPKs in January, up 4.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 3.3% to 21.00 billion ASKs and load factor jumped 1.1 points to 79.2%. Lufthansa Passenger Airlines operated 10.24 billion RPKs in January, a 10.8% increase year-over-year. Capacity jumped 12% to 13.99 billion ASKs as load factor fell 0.7 points to 73.2%.
Cyprus Airways and employees' trade unions called on parliamentarians to approve payment of €20 million ($27.3 million) to the company to help to stay in air, Famagusta Gazette reported this week.
Virgin Blue will drop the “Blue” from its brand name, opting instead for a streamlined brand more in line with its push to lure business customers. But the airline's boss, former Qantas Executive GM John Borghetti, has stopped short of dumping the Virgin brand completely as the airline tries to redefine its place in the local market.
