Iridium Communications announced that it received "in excess of $1.8 billion of commitments from a syndicate of preeminent international banks" in connection with the credit facility that will be used to finance the construction of the company’s next-generation satellite constellation, Iridium Next. Thales Alenia Space is the prime contractor for the project, which consists of 81 low-earth orbiting communications satellites with first launch in early 2015. Iridium expects to sign the credit facility in September and close shortly thereafter.
Flybe concluded an agreement with Finnair to “cooperate on the delivery of regional services in the Scandinavian and Baltic Sea area.” Initially, the UK carrier will wet-lease three Q400s to Finnair, which will operate services from Helsinki to Tampere, Turku and Tallinn as of Oct. 31. The service provision is expected to grow “beyond” three aircraft in the summer of 2011, Flybe said, but the carrier declined to tell ATW how many aircraft or routes it could cover and if the cooperation could evolve into a codeshare or franchise agreement.
Following Air Berlin’s announcement last week that it intends to join oneworld, Austrian LCC Fly Niki President Niki Lauda told ATW the airline has started talks with AA and AY to pursue codeshare agreements. Lauda said Niki is eyeing "big passenger potential in the worldwide market" as it carries passengers to eastern and southeastern Europe via its hub in Vienna ( ATW Daily News, July 27).
Malev Hungarian Airlines CCO and Deputy CEO Karim Makhlouf resigned from the carrier last week. Makhlouf, who joined Hungary's state-owned national carrier in January 2009, said it had been a “great experience to restructure this airline until this stage.”Before joining Malev, he was CCO of SkyEurope and director of Network Management at Hapag-Lloyd Express. He also was member of the founding
Japan Airlines, in the midst of a bankruptcy restructuring, announced it will sell its 79.6% stake in JAL Hotels and additionally will merge four sales subsidiaries into one unit.
Tiger Airways Holdings reported net income of S$1.9 million ($1.4 million) for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, much improved over a loss of S$6 million for the year-ago period.
Operating lessor AerCap Holdings reported net income of $48.9 million for the second quarter ended June 30, down 13.6% compared to income of $56.6 million in the year-ago period. Excluding the impact of mark-to-market interest rate caps and share-based compensation, however, net income jumped 52.4% to $59.6 million from $39.1 million last year.
China Southern Airlines announced plans to add 800-900 flights for the upcoming Asian Games, hoping to boost its financial performance in the second half of the year. General Manager Tan Wangeng said CZ would introduce more than 10 aircraft in the next three months to operate its Asian routes. “We estimate the Asian Games [scheduled to be held in November in CZ base city Guangzhou] would attract more than 50,000 people," he said.
Mexicana Airlines suspended all ticket sales late Wednesday but insisted it would continue to operate flights "as scheduled" to carry passengers that have already booked tickets, and Air Canada confirmed it seized two of four aircraft that it leases to MX.
WestJet reported C$21 million ($20.6 million) in second quarter net income, more than double the C$9.2 million profit in the year-ago period, citing improved demand and higher commissions from its WestJet Vacations business.
Etihad Airways will reconfigure several of its A320s to an all-economy class cabin fitted with 162 seats, with the first two aircraft set to re-enter service in October.
Air Canada reported a second-quarter net loss of C$203 million ($198.7 million), reversed from a C$155 million profit in the year-ago period, despite being profitable on an operating level.
Continental Airlines and Brussels Airlines announced plans to start codesharing on Continental’s transatlantic services between Newark and Brussels, as well as on selected beyond hub flights operated by each carrier.
SkyWest Inc., parent of SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, yesterday reported second-quarter net income of $18.7 million, down 28.6% from a $26.2 million profit in the year-ago period, in an earnings release overshadowed by its announcement that it will acquire ExpressJet Holdings for $133 million.
SkyWest Inc. reached an agreement to acquire ExpressJet Holdings for $6.75 per share in cash or approximately $133 million and plans to merge the Houston-based regional with its Atlanta-based subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines.
Cathay Pacific Airways posted net income of HK$6.84 billion ($881 million) in the 2010 first half, a more than eightfold increase over a HK$812 million profit in the year-ago period, an earnings jump that was helped by a 33.7% hike in revenue to HK$41.33 billion.
Mexicana Airlines filed for protection from creditors in Mexico and the US late Monday, conceding in a statement that its "financial and labor situation is no longer sustainable."
Continental Airlines said it plans to offer $750 million of senior secured notes due in 2015. The notes will be guaranteed by its Air Micronesia and Continental Micronesia subsidiaries and secured by certain routes, airport slots and gate leaseholds utilized in connection with the routes. Approximately $350 million of the proposed offering will be used to retire an existing secured loan facility that is due in June 2011 with the remainder dedicated to general corporate purposes.
Aer Linguscabin crew, represented by the Impact union, last week announced it would ballot for strike action as part of an ongoing dispute over proposed cost-cutting measures. This would be the third ballot, following an initial 64% vote against the changes that encompass pay cuts, redundancies and productivity increases, and a subsequent 93% vote supporting the restructuring measures ( ATW Daily News, March 29).
Air China subsidiary Shenzhen Airlines has decided to purchase 10 A320s, worth $814 million at list prices, to boost its capacity in the southeast and southern parts of China. CA revealed the transaction in a stock filing released by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Shenzhen will take delivery of the aircraft in 2012 and 2013. Shenzhen operates a fleet of 134 aircraft, which includes 32 A320 family aircraft.
