Evergreen International Airlines, the Oregon-based 747 freighter operator, faces a challenge on the labor front following its pilots' rejection of a tentative collective bargaining agreement. The Air Line Pilots Assn., which represents EIA's 217 flight crew, said in a statement that 92% of cockpit crew voted against accepting the agreement. "The crewmembers could not get past the fact that they are working under 1999 wages and work rules and would have continued to do so for another two years under the rejected tentative agreement," the union said.
With Delta Air Lines leading the way with a $467 million second quarter profit, the nine largest US passenger airlines posted cumulative net income of $1.45 billion for the three months ended June 30, turned around from a net loss of $556 million in the year-ago period, ATW calculated.
China Southern Airlines reported net income of CNY207.6 million ($30.5 million) for the 2010 first half, a considerable expansion over a CNY38 million profit in the year-ago period and said the increase is owing to robust domestic market growth and the sale of its 50% stake in MTU Maintenance Zhuhai to parent company China Southern Group for CNY1.1 billion.
Air Berlin transported 3.7 million passengers in July, up 6.4% from the year-ago month. Load factor fell 2.1 points to 81.2%. Air France KLM flew 19.7 billion RPKs in July, up 1.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity stayed flat at 22.86 billion ASKs while load factor climbed 1.1 points to 86.2%.
The Vereinigung Cockpit union announced Monday that 99% of Air Berlin pilots voted to strike during the high-traffic holiday month of August if the airline does not meet their demands in an ongoing dispute over wages and benefits. Pilot complaints include daily changes to schedules and failing to provide a third pilot on long-haul flights, a standard practice for other airlines, according to Cockpit.Further negotiations between the two parties are planned for Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in the second week of September.
The Virgin Blue Group has announced a major revamp of its network including withdrawing from New Zealand domestic flying to cut losses. It will increase services to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands using 737s and its long-haul focus will be on the US and South Africa, which it plans to serve with 777-300ERs. It will additionally increase Australian domestic capacity by 490,000 seats.
AirBaltic is confident it will post a net profit this year despite the volcanic ash-related airspace closures in April and an uncertain economic climate, President and CEO Bertolt Flick told ATW.
The prospective LAN Airlines/TAM merger, if it is cleared by both companys' shareholders and relevant regulators, will create a new airline company that aims to be the dominant operator in Latin America and a formidable presence on the world stage, with a major battle over alliance membership likely on tap.
TAM and LAN Airlines entered into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to merge under a single parent company called LATAM Airlines Group that the carriers said would be "the clear number one player in South America."
Lufthansa's second A380 underwent an inflight engine shutdown Aug. 6, 1 hr. before landing in Frankfurt en route from Tokyo Narita, it was learned last week. The Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered aircraft was delivered on July 19. LH said the engine shutdown decision was made after "confusing numbers" related to oil pressure appeared on a cockpit indicator. LH replaced the engine with a new one and the aircraft returned to service the next day.
Defunct Lithuanian scheduled services airline flyLAL's assets continue to be operated by flyLAL Charters, but the company has decided to rebrand as Small Planet Airlines. It said in conjunction with the new name, it is embarking on a product upgrade to enable it to add more services. It plans to install ergonomic seats from Acro Aircraft Seating on new 737NGs arriving that are replacing its 737 Classics.
Delta Air Lines last week launched the industry's first Facebook-integrated "Ticket Window" to allow bookings directly from its Facebook page. DL has over 35,000 followers on its company Facebook page. "Our customers are spending more time online and are looking for new ways to connect with us," said VP-eCommerce Bob Kupbens. "We're now delivering technology where our customers are—from our own website to our Facebook page to Internet news sites and beyond. We already know Facebook is the most used website by inflight WiFi users on more than 2,000 Delta flights every day."
Emirates announced it is doubling services to Los Angeles and Houston Intercontinental from Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 respectively to twice daily aboard a 777.
Chinese carriers earned collective net income of CNY5.52 billion ($815 million) for the month of July owing to robust domestic demand growth, according to CAAC.
Korean Air posted a second quarter net loss of KRW233.1 billion ($197 million), reversed from a KRW78.5 billion profit in the year-ago period, blaming the negative swing in part on a 30% year-over-year surge in fuel costs and the falling value of the won.
Air New Zealand has achieved 0.1 RNP for operations into Queenstown, giving it the ability to operate down to a cloud deck of 600 ft., 423 ft. lower than the previous 0.3 RNP, with the 737-300. The ceiling for the A320 in RNP 0.1 is even lower at just 400 ft.
Qantas has warned that it will be seeking new hubs in Europe and thus new travel destinations because of the UK’s recent decision to halt further runway development at London Heathrow and Gatwick on environmental grounds.
An Azerbaijan Airlines A319 (msn 2588, built 2005) sustained substantial damage at Istanbul Ataturk International Airport yesterday after it veered off the runway on landing and its nose undercarriage collapsed, according to Ascend. No injuries were reported among the 128 passengers and crew, who safely evacuated the aircraft. The accident happened at 11 a.m. local time Ascend reported. Flight AHY075 was arriving from Baku, Azerbaijan.
Responding to an upswing in demand, Cathay Pacific Airways plans to increase its flights in November to Australia and New Zealand, along with additional flights to Canada, France and Japan. Beginning Nov. 15, the airline will expand its Sydney service from 24 times a week to four times daily; Perth will move from daily to 10 weekly. Brisbane and Cairns will get another weekly linked flight beginning Nov. 21. Cathay will add two more flights to Auckland, making a total of 12 flights per week starting Nov. 27.
AirAsia claims to have set a new world record of selling over 538,000 seats in one day with its “Mind Blowing Fare” campaign, which offers fares from just MYR1 ($0.31) for both domestic and international flights. The airline’s previous best record was 390,000 seats sold in a day, achieved when it ran its “Free Seats” campaign across the entire AirAsia Group of AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia and Thai AirAsia last November.
Air Astana said it enjoyed record first-half pre-tax earnings of $33.5 million, a jump of 34% over the year-ago period. Revenue rose 24% to $245 million.
Copa Holdings, parent of Copa Airlines and Aero Republica, reported net income of $18.6 million in the second quarter ended June 30, down 66.3% compared to earnings of $55.2 million in the year-ago period.
