American Airlines' mechanics rejected a tentative agreement on a new labor contract in voting Tuesday, setting up a potentially disruptive standoff between airline management and the workers.
Australia's Regional Express reported record net income of A$24.6 million ($21.8 million) for its fiscal year ended June 30, up 7.2% over a A$23 million profit in the previous year and surpassing the A$23.6 million earned in FY2007-08.
Iberia operated 4.98 billion RPKs in July, a 5.3% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity grew 1.9% to 5.69 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.8 points to 87.6%. Air New Zealand flew 2.48 billion RPKs in July, up 6.8% on the year-ago month, as capacity rose 1.7% to 2.95 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 4 points to 84.1%.
Alaska Air Group has made the decision to eliminate subsidiary Horizon Air's independent, or branded flying, in favor of moving to a 100% capacity purchase agreement with its major affiliate Alaska Airlines. The information was contained in an internal employee communication from new Horizon Air President Glenn Johnson to the airline's employees. Johnson raised the possibility of the action in AAG's second-quarter conference call with analysts, at which time he also raised questions about the future of the Horizon Air brand.
An Agni Air Dornier 228 was destroyed when it crashed near Shikharpur in Nepal yesterday, killing all 11 passengers and three crew. According to press reports, the turboprop was en route from Lukla to Kathmandu but the pilots decided to attempt to return to the departure airport and crashed in heavy rain. Nepal Newssaid the Nepal Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation will launch an investigation. According to the Kathmandu-based carrier’s website, it operates three Dornier 228s and two Jetstream 41s with a commitment to take a third.
Aer Lingus Group reported pre-tax net income of €15.4 million ($19.5 million) for the second quarter, reversed from a €13.8 million pre-tax loss in the year-ago period, and maintained that it will do "no worse" than break even on an operating basis for the full year.
China Southern Airlines inked an agreement with the Hainan provincial government to base 28 additional aircraft in Hainan and add 93 new routes from the airport by 2015.
A Henan Airlines Embraer 190 crashed on landing at Yichun City Tuesday night, reportedly killing 43 of the 96 people on board. Flight VD8387 en route from Harbin was carrying 91 passengers and five crewmembers. A number of the survivors sustained injuries, some of which were believed to be life-threatening.
FedEx's board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.12 per share on FedEx Corp. common stock. The dividend is payable Oct. 1 to stockholders of record at the close of business Sept. 10.
Star Alliance partners Continental Airlines and Aegean Airlines announced plans to start codesharing on CO's flights between its Newark hub and Athens. CO will also place its code on selected flights operated by Aegean in Europe. Effective immediately, Aegean will place its A3 code on CO flights between EWR and ATH. Pending government approval, Aegean also will codeshare on CO flights from EWR to/from Paris Charles de Gaulle and Rome Fiumicino.
Saudi Arabia-based LCC Sama Airlines announced Monday it is “temporarily discontinuing” all flight operations effective Tuesday. CEO Bruce Ashby said in a statement that stopping flights "is the only option remaining to us" following "many months" of unsuccessfully attempting to find financial relief. He said the airline incurred "heavy losses" during the Oct. 2009-March 2010 winter season and has been unable to recover despite a "sharply" improved revenue performance in the summer season.
Philippine Airlines reported net income minus equity changes of $31.6 million for its fiscal first-quarter ended June 30, down 11% from a $35.5 million profit on the same basis in the prior-year period.
Turkish Airlines reported 2010 first-half net income of €134 million ($170.4 million), significantly widened over a €48 million profit in the first six months of 2009, and predicted the air transport industry's recovery "is expected to continue" absent "another unexpected economic stagnation."
Qantas has grounded five of its Q400s, citing problems with the landing gear. The airline inspected its 21 Q400s after Flybe raised concerns about undercarriage fittings on its fleet of Q400s, a Qantas spokesperson said.
A Mexican consortium called Tenedora K announced it has acquired 95% of troubled Mexicana Airlines' holding company and will take over the airline as well as subsidiaries MexicanaClick and MexicanaLink.
Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson told employees in a message Friday that the carrier will begin rehiring furloughed flight attendants in January with the aim of putting them into service by mid-2011, Bloomberg reported. He did not say how many flight attendants are needed but noted that the focus will be on staffing international flights. "We need lots of folks with language skills given the extensive nature of our international network and the need to be able to communicate with passengers in their own language,” he said.
Japan Airlines on Friday formally unveiled a winter schedule that reflects the dramatic route restructuring announced in April through which the bankrupt carrier will drop 45 routes in addition to previous cuts ( ATW Daily News, April 29). Among the destinations it is in the process of eliminating are Amsterdam, Milan, Rome, Sao Paolo, Brisbane, Denpasar and Kona.
Malaysia Airlines last week reported a second-quarter net loss of MYR533.6 million ($170.4 million), reversed from a MYR875.7 million profit in the year-ago quarter, blaming the result on a spike in fuel costs.
Air China plans to launch a new Beijing-based business jet company in conjunction with the Beijing municipal government to compete with Hainan Airlines’ subsidiary Capital Airlines, according to an industry insider.
ANA on Friday announced a significant upgrade to its services and network from Tokyo Haneda, the city's close-in airport that opens to international flights from Oct. 31 following the activation of its fourth runway Oct. 21.
"Mismanagement and a lack of risk awareness" drove Japan Airlines into a bankruptcy filing in January under Japan's Corporate Rehabilitation Law, according to a Kyodo summary of a forthcoming report from a panel investigating the carrier's financial troubles.
