Bombardier Aerospace announced that Pluna Lineas Aereas Uruguayas signed a follow-on firm order for three CRJ900 NextGen regional jets and has taken options on an additional six. The Montevideo-based airline already operates seven of the type from an order announced in July 2007. Based on the list price for the aircraft, Bombardier valued the order at approximately $120 million, rising to $370 million should all six options be exercised.
An AeroUnion A300B4-200 freighter crashed on approach to Monterrey at around 11 p.m. local time Tuesday, hitting a roadway leading to the airport and striking a car, killing all five crew and a motorist on the ground. Flight 302 operated by the Mexico City-based cargo carrier was en route to Los Angeles via MTY after originating at MEX. According to the Aviation Safety Network, it had been cleared to land but came down about 2 km. short of the runway threshold and "burst into flames."
Korean Air reported 2010 first-quarter net income before taxes of KRW226.9 billion ($202.3 million), its fourth consecutive quarterly profit and a major reversal from a deficit of KRW673.9 billion in the year-ago period, citing "surging growth" in its international passenger business and "rising demand" for premium services for the strong result.
Bmibaby appointed Julian Carr MD succeeding Crawford Rix. Carr joined the airline in May 2008 as commercial director, responsible for revenue management, network planning, marketing, PR, customer relations and e-commerce.
Baltia Air Lines signed a lease agreement for office space at St. Petersburg Pulkovo. "The signing of the lease agreement in addition to our recently signed fuel and cargo agreements in St. Petersburg were made in preparation for the start of scheduled service," the New York-based startup said. It commenced the FAA Air Carrier Certification process last February ( ATWOnline, Feb. 10, 2009).
Merpati Nusantara Airlines 737-300 crashed yesterday while attempting to land at Rendani in Manokwari in the remote Indonesian province of West Papua. The accident occurred at approximately 9:36 a.m. local time, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The runway was described as being wet owing to drizzle. There were no fatalities but the number of injured was put at between 20 and 78 by various press reports. The flight, carrying 109 passengers and crew, originated in Sorong, also in West Papua.
Virgin Blue Group canceled two 777-300ERs on firm order for its V Australia subsidiary scheduled for delivery next year, converting the order to two options for 2012 delivery. The company said the move is designed to allow new CEO John Borghetti an opportunity to review fleet strategy. One option under consideration is to take a few "early 787s that have become available," sources tell ATWOnline. Last month, Virgin Blue ordered up to 100 737s for its domestic, New Zealand and regional international flights.
China Southern Airlines reported a 2009 net profit of CNY358 million ($52.5 million), reversed from a net loss of CNY4.83 billion in 2008. The Guangzhou-based carrier said its improved performance was driven by a "domestic market rebound stimulated by economic recovery in the second half of 2009." Industry analysts pointed out that a CNY3 billion "subsidy" from Beijing last year also helped CZ return to the black.
Republic Airways Holdings yesterday unveiled its decision to unite Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines and Denver-based Frontier Airlines under the Frontier brand, a process it said should be completed by October 2011. Republic CEO Bryan Bedford said the decision was "an emotional one for everyone involved" that followed months of "exhaustive research." Both brands had strong loyalty but Frontier had a stronger identity and brand preference, he explained.
American Airlines flew 10.58 billion system RPMs in March, a 2.5% rise from the year-ago month, while capacity dipped 0.7% to 12.95 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 2.6 points to 81.7%. American Eagle Airlines flew 664.4 million RPMs, up 3.3%, against a 3.4% rise in capacity to 924.4 million ASMs. Load factor matched the year-ago month at 71.9%.
Air New Zealand and Continental Airlines last week began a reciprocal codeshare agreement under which ANZ will place its code on more than 540 weekly flights to and from CO's Houston, Newark and Cleveland hubs. Passengers will be able to connect to the codeshare flights from ANZ services from Auckland to Los Angeles and San Francisco. CO in turn will place its code on ANZ's LAX-AKL and SFO-AKL flights and onward flights from AKL to Rarotonga, Apia and Tonga as well as all transtasman services, ANZ domestic services and AKL-Hong Kong flights.
China Southern Airlines CEO Si Xianmin said his carrier is seeking to cooperate with other Chinese airlines as well as carriers from abroad to enhance its position in the domestic air cargo market. Si noted the cooperation could include launching a joint venture cargo airline. The Guangzhou-based company had planned to launch a cargo JV with Air France KLM but the plan has been postponed owing to the sharp drop in international cargo demand that started in late 2008. "Air France KLM is not our only choice," he revealed. "We are also negotiating with other carriers as well."
AirBaltic announced an insurance agreement with ERGO/ERV to offer passengers traveling on the airline "improved travel insurance," including coverage for sports injuries and sports equipment. ERGO Baltic States Management Board Chairman Kestutis Bagdonavicius said the "main advantage" of the "completely new travel insurance product" is that "winter sport and snorkeling [are] included into insurance coverage without any extra insurance payment."
Air Astana temporarily suspended four-times-weekly service between Almaty and Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek "due to the political unrest in Kyrgyzstan," where President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted last week following violent protests that led to his political opponents attempting to form a new government. Air Astana said it hoped to resume the flights on April 19 "subject to security improvements." It said it would offer passengers with tickets on the route full refunds.
Qantas wrote to its frequent flyers to both defend its reputation and express its regret over disrupted travel plans owing to recent failures in its fleet, including a dual tire blowout on an A380 landing at Sydney ( ATWOnline, April 5). The letter also was prompted by increasing speculation in the Australian media about the airline's safety standards, fueled in part by claims from elements of QF's unions that safety is being compromised.
GECAS and Celestial Aviation Trading last week rejected Paramount Airways' offer in a Delhi court to pay $1 million daily over 10 days to clear a reported $10 million in overdue fees, casting doubt on the airline's immediate future.
Hainan Airlines subsidiary Deer Jet Co. said it plans to grow its business aircraft fleet from 23 to 35 by year end to take advantage of China's fast-growing commercial business aviation market.
Air Berlin said it transported 2.4 million passengers in March, up 4.8%, and load factor fell 1.7 points to 72.3%. Air France KLM flew 16.78 billion RPKs in March, a 4.7% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity was down 1.9% to 20.83 billion ASKs and load factor lifted 5 points to 80.5%. Aer Lingus flew 1.09 billion RPKs in March, down 11.1% year-over-year, against an 11.3% cut in capacity to 1.44 billion ASKs. Load factor dipped 0.3 point to 75.9%
Lufthansa pilots represented by the Vereinigung Cockpit union agreed to drop their call for a four-day strike starting April 13 and enter mediated talks with LH management instead. An LH spokesperson told this website in Frankfurt that the two parties had agreed on key points for mediated discussons. A date for the talks was not set.
United Airlines passenger who caused a panic that sent two USAF F-16s scrambling to intercept UA Flight 663 and escort it to Denver International was a Qatari diplomat traveling to Denver on "official embassy business. . .and was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity," according to a statement from Qatar Ambassador to the US Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri posted on the embassy's website.
ARC reported that the recovery in US air travel sales that began last November accelerated in March as ticket sales through participating travel agencies surged 29.2% compared to March 2009 to $7.60 billion while credit card sales soared 30.5% to $6.83 billion, the highest figure for March since 2001.
AirAsia and VietJet Aviation yesterday signed an agreement that they said reinforces their "strategic partnership" and builds on their commitment to launch a Vietnam-based LCC tentatively named VietJet AirAsia. The accord includes an engineering support services pact. The signing took place during the 16th ASEAN Conference in Nha Trang. "The governments of Vietnam and Malaysia have been fully supportive of the launch of VietJet AirAsia, which will be offering low fares to grow travel and tourism in Vietnam and in the rest of the ASEAN region," AirAsia said in a statement.
British Airways and Iberia formally signed a definitive merger agreement yesterday, creating a third mega-airline grouping in Europe if all the necessary approvals are granted.
Lufthansa Technik gave its A380 maintenance facility in Frankfurt a trial run Wednesday and Thursday with a test aircraft flown in from Toulouse. "After seven years of preparation to maintain the A380 in the future, this is a very important day for us," LHT Director-New Aircraft Readiness and Aircraft Maintenance Dean Raineri told ATWOnline at the FRA hangar. "Having the A380 here in Frankfurt is the last opportunity to re-check all our devices before scheduled operations start."
WestJet flew 1.37 billion RPMs in March, up 10% year-over-year, on a 7.4% lift in capacity to 1.63 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.9 points to 83.8% Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz flew a combined 4.23 billion RPMs in March, up 9.6% year-over-year, on a 7.7% lift in capacity to 5.16 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.4 points to 82.1%. Ryanair transported 5.3 million passengers in March, a 13% increase year-over-year. Load factor rose 2 points to 79%.
