EgyptAir said it is making good progress with implementation of its strategy of network expansion and product enhancement and is on course to take delivery of its first new A330-300 next month and a further two 777-300s in November and December as scheduled.
Royal Air Maroc and TUI Travel signed a letter of intent stipulating that RAM will take a majority stake in Jet4You, TUI Travel's Moroccan low-cost/charter carrier. Jet4You operates 175-seat 737-400s and 189-seat -800s on a network spanning seven Moroccan airports and 12 European cities, mainly in France but also including Barcelona, Geneva and Brussels South Charleroi. It has been 100%-owned by TUI since 2008.
Air China is looking at combining Ameco Beijing, its successful MRO joint venture with Lufthansa, and its internal maintenance organization, Air China Engineering and Technics. According to an industry insider, CA is having internal discussions about how the companies might be integrated but has not determined a specific plan. Ameco, which was created in 1989, is the oldest JV MRO organization in China involving mainland and foreign participants.
Southwest Airlines flew 7.07 billion RPMs in June, a 5% increase on the year-ago month, against a 1.9% lift in capacity to 8.63 billion ASMs. Load factor grew 2.4 points to 81.9%. US Airways operated 5.79 billion system RPMs in June, a 2.9% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.7% to 6.7 billion ASMs and load factor gained 0.2 point to 86.4%. Domestic RPMs declined 0.8% to 4.18 billion against a 0.2% rise in capacity to 4.83 billion ASMs.
ARC reported that ticket sales through participating travel agencies climbed 21.9% in June compared to June 2009 to $7 billion, marking the eighth consecutive month of improvement. June credit card sales grew 22.6% year-over-year to $6.3 billion. Total fares excluding taxes and fees rose 22.9% to $6 billion. Domestic fares jumped 18.9% to $3.1 billion on a 5% lift in transactions and international fares leaped 27.7% to $2.9 billion on a 6% rise in transactions.
Lufthansa and the ver.di union representing 50,000 cabin crew and ground workers agreed on a 22-month pay freeze. In exchange, the workers will get a one-time bonus that could equal up to 2% of their annual pay, depending on LH's full-year 2011 earnings. "The challenge for the current business year is to grow and keep costs in balance. This is not so easy," Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber told ATW on the sidelines of the recent Aegean Airlines Star Alliance induction ceremony in Athens.
China's airlines are bracing for a CNY140 ($20.70) per ton increase in domestic fuel costs after the Chinese government announced it is raising its domestic fuel price from CNY5,470 to CNY5,610 per ton.
Ryanair said it will cut capacity at its Dublin base this winter to 12 aircraft operating 850 weekly flights, down from 14 aircraft operating 1,000 last winter.
Delta Air Lines flew 18.53 billion system RPMs in June, a 4.2% rise year-over-year. Capacity lifted 1.5% to 21.13 billion ASMs and load factor increased 2.2 points to 87.7%. American Airlines operated 11.25 billion system RPMs in June, up 3.2% year-over-year, while capacity rose 1.3% to 12.96 billion ASMs. Load factor increased 1.6 points to 86.8%. American Eagle flew 736.5 million RPMs, up 5.3%, against a 6.5% increase in capacity to 956.3 million ASMs. Load factor fell 0.9 point to 77%.
Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht strongly rebuffed negative remarks about alliances by "certain airlines" and called on national governments and regulators to ensure competition remains fair.
Air Canada asked a Canadian federal court Tuesday to scrap the recent award of takeoff and landing slots to Porter Airlines at Toronto's downtown airport, arguing that the allocation process was "fatally flawed," according to Reuters. Since launching in 2006, Porter Airlines has operated from Toronto City Centre, where for a time it was the sole scheduled airline. AC has been opposed to Porter's position at the business-passenger-friendly facility since the Toronto Port Authority pushed regional Jazz Air (and by extension AC) out of YTZ in 2006.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Panasonic Avionics yesterday signed an MOU to equip all CX and Dragonair passenger aircraft with full broadband connectivity.
Alitalia yesterday joined the Air France KLM-Delta Air Lines transatlantic profit/loss-sharing joint venture, adding Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa to a network that utilizes Amsterdam, Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York JFK, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Lyon, Cincinnati, Memphis and Salt Lake City.
Swiss International Air Lines believes its continued profitability will hinge on its ability to control costs and leverage its brand. "Swiss transported 13.8 million passengers last year and made a profit of CHF146 million ($137.2 million); that means we earned just CHF10 per ticket," CCO Holger Haetty told ATW recently in Vienna. "Cost management in a business with low margins will be an ongoing process…We need discipline."
