Alaska Airlines flew 1.35 billion RPMs in February, a 5.9% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity was cut 2.4% to 1.69 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 6.3 points to 79.8%. AirTran Airways flew 1.29 billion RPMs in February, up 5.4% year-over-year, against a 4.2% lift in capacity to 1.72 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 0.9 point to 75.1%. Allegiant Air flew 414.2 million system RPMs in February, an 18% increase year-over-year. Capacity was up 17% to 469.8 million ASMs and load factor rose 0.8 point to 88.2%.
Aer Lingus received mixed news from the Impact trade union Friday as pilot members agreed to accept the carrier's cost savings package but cabin crew defeated a series of "extremely unpalatable" proposals from the airline.
Lufthansa pilots represented by Vereinigung Cockpit will not strike after the March 8 deadline to reach a settlement with the airline providing discussions continue, a union spokesperson told Bloomberg News. "As long as negotiations remain constructive, there is no reason to strike," the spokesperson said ( ATWOnline, Feb. 24).
Southwest Airlines said the February snowstorms cost it an estimated $15 million in lost revenue but boosted passenger RASM by 16%-17% year-over-year as a result of the reduced capacity. SWA flew 4.99 billion RPMs in February, down 2.3% year-over-year, and capacity was down 8.7% to 6.75 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 4.8 points to 73.9%.
Turkish Airlines was asked by the Polish government to make a major investment in LOT Polish Airlines, a source close to the THY board told ATWOnline, but the carrier rejected the offer because it is focused on its own expansion plans. Last week, THY responded to press speculation that it was pursuing the Polish airline, saying, "There is no board of directors' decision taken regarding the acquisition. . .However, our [company] is open to consider any possible opportunities as part of our growth strategy and [we have] no specific motivation for this matter."
British Airways and flight attendants represented by Unite set a Tuesday deadline "to determine whether or not a mutually acceptable settlement can be achieved," the UK Trades Union Congress said Friday. The parties have been negotiating with help from the TUC, doing so in the shadow of a strike authorization passed by cabin staff late last month and subsequent plans by the airline to use volunteers, pilots and 23 wet-leased aircraft to maintain operations ( ATWOnline, March 4).
European Low Fares Airline Assn.'s 11 members flew 162.5 million passengers in 2009, an 8.7% increase from 2008. Load factor averaged 82%. "These figures show clearly how ELFAA members are bucking the trend in the aviation sector when it comes to passenger numbers," Secretary-General John Hanlon said.
AirBaltic acquired full ownership of a cargo handling business at Riga International and will operate it under a new BalticCargo brand. It will offer "a full spectrum of cargo handling services of passenger aircraft and freighter aircraft, as well as cargo handling facilities," the airline said. "Latvia is currently the fastest-growing passenger aviation market in the EU. In our view, the cargo market has the potential to grow in a similar fasion, given Riga's favorable geographic location and the airport's expanding network of flights," airBaltic President and CEO Bertolt Flick said.
Ryanair will open a base at Malta International in May with one 737. It will launch six new routes from the airport, boosting the total number of destinations to 19 and the number of weekly flights to more than 120. It plans to serve 800,000 passengers per year at MLA. New service will be to Billund, Bologna, Krakow, Marseille, Seville and Valencia.
Avianca, which finalized its merger with Grupo TACA last month, plans to continue growing with the acquisition of Quito-based Aerogal, CEO Fabio Villegas said. Speaking last week to journalists in the Ecuadoran capital, he said Avianca parent Synergy Aerospace intends to invest $7.2 million on an 80% stake in Aerogal while TACA parent Kingsland Holding will acquire the remaining 20%, Dow Jones reported. Government approval is pending. Villegas said Aerogal will take delivery of three new A320s in the second half of this year, increasing its overall fleet to 15 aircraft.
Juneyao Group sold its 63% stake in Tianjin-based Okay Airways to Chinese cargo and logistics company Da Tian W Group and said it prefers to concentrate on building its Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines.
American Airlines faces a growing labor problem as talks with its flight attendants broke down late Wednesday, leading to a strike threat, while its ground workers set a Monday deadline to reach an accord before taking action that could lead to a work stoppage.
American Airlines flew 8.44 billion system RPMs in February, a 2.2% decline from the year-ago month, while capacity dropped 4.2% to 11.18 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.5 points to 75.5%. American Eagle Airlines flew 527.3 million RPMs, up 1%, against a 1.3% cut in capacity to 790.5 million ASMs. Load factor increased 1.5 points to 66.7%.
Turkish Airlines applied to the country's Capital Markets Board for approval to increase its registered share capital from the current TRY500 million ($325 million) to TRY2 billion.
Air Slovakia ceased operations Tuesday owing to financial troubles and unpaid debts. It is the third Slovakian airline to shut down in the past six months following SkyEurope Airlines ( ATWOnline, Sept. 3, 2009) and Seagle Air ( ATWOnline, Oct. 26, 2009). Air Slovakia was founded in 1993 and operated two 737 Classics and one 757-200.
SAS Group President and CEO Mats Jansson told Dagens Nyheter that the company likely will be sold to another airline once it recovers financially. "My understanding is that, after this crisis is over, SAS will be part of a structural deal," he said, according to Reuters. "It is tough out there and there are obvious synergies and advantages to be had from being part of a bigger entity."
Air France KLM said it plans to reduce its summer schedule capacity by just 0.3% year-over-year, comprising an 8% lift in long-haul ASKs and a 4% reduction in the medium-haul network, as "tentative signs of recovery, depending on the country, have been perceived." The company will add Abu Dhabi (five-times-weekly from May 3) and Bata (twice-weekly via Malabo) as new AF destinations from Paris Charles de Gaulle and new KLM flights from Amsterdam to Denpasar (four-times-weekly via Singapore) and Aruba (twice-weekly). The summer program begins March 28.
Panasonic Avionics Corp. will install its overhead Panasonic Digital Multiplexed Passenger Entertainment System on three Israir Airlines A320s. DMPES incorporates the company's X Series System, "which reduces space, weight and power when compared with traditional overhead systems." Oman Air yesterday completed its first A330 flight offering Honeywell Inmarsat SwiftBroadband mobile and Wi-Fi Internet access.
IATA reported that international passenger traffic grew 6.4% year-over-year in January on a 1.2% lift in capacity, pushing load factor up 3.7 points to 75.9%. International cargo traffic jumped 28.3% compared to the prior year, when the airfreight traffic decline was near its lowest point. Cargo traffic is still 3%-4% below early 2008 levels, the organization noted. January passenger and cargo demand reflected "a steady improvement from the precipitous fall in demand that characterized the early part of 2009 rather than a dramatic improvement," it said.
Qantas Group CFO Colin Storrie announced his resignation "for personal and health reasons" effective March 5, the airline announced yesterday. Gareth Evans, currently CFO of the QF airline unit, will fill in for Storrie on an interim basis. The company said it "will consider internal and external candidates" in its search for a permanent successor. Storrie, 41, was appointed CFO and finance director in September 2008.
Japan Airlines announced that it has ended negotiations related to a possible merger of its cargo operations with Nippon Cargo Airlines. JAL and NCA parent Nippon Yusen announced last August that talks about a merger were underway ( ATWOnline, Aug. 24, 2009).
Continental Airlines said last month's snowstorms and their impact on its Newark operation cost it approximately $25 million in lost passenger revenue. At the same time, the resulting cancellations were worth a 1-point increase in RASM. February consolidated unit revenue rose an estimated 7.5%-8.5% from the year-ago month while mainline RASM was up an estimated 5.5%-6.5%. CO flew 6.07 billion consolidated RPMs during the month, up 3.3% year-over-year. Capacity fell 3.8% to 7.81 billion ASMs and load factor surged 5.2 points to 77.7%.
Shanghai Hongqiao-based Juneyao Airlines reported net income of CNY108 million ($15.8 million) in 2009, a more-than-ninefold improvement from the CNY11.5 million profit posted in 2008.
Lufthansa yesterday said it ended a "difficult" 2009 with a net loss of €112 million ($151.9 million), reversed from a restated 2008 profit of €542 million and the company's first full-year deficit since 2003. Revenue fell approximately 10% to €22.3 billion, while operating profit plunged 90% to €130 million from €1.3 billion in 2008.
Singapore Airlines will replace its 777s with A330-300s on flights to Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Kuwait City, Male (all from March 28), Fukuoka, Taipei (each April 28) and Colombo (May 1) as part the carrier's "product enhancement efforts." SIA currently flies the A330 to Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Nagoya Chubu and Osaka Kansai. It has nine of the type, seating 30 in business class and 255 in economy, and will take an additional 10 by year end.
