Allegiant Travel Company discontinued the private offering of $250 million in senior unsecured notes due to "adverse market conditions." It had announced the offering last week, the proceeds of which were intended to pay for the purchase and induction of MD-80s and 757s ( ATWOnline, May 20).
Air New Zealand achieved a world first for Airbus, using RNP level 0.1 for Sydney-Rotorua service on May 22 despite cloud cover down to just 400 ft. The RNP 0.1 value is the lowest level approved by Airbus and authority to operate below RNP 0.3 had just been granted to ANZ the previous day. Without the technology, NZ978 would have had to divert to Auckland, causing significant disruption to the inbound passengers and also to the outbound passengers scheduled to depart from Rotorua to Sydney the same afternoon.
British Airways, in the first day of a five-day walkout by some cabin staff, said it operated all its flights from London Gatwick and London City airports Monday and "confirmed" the previously announced flight schedule from London Heathrow.
Alaska Air Group said its subsidiaries Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air have jointly reduced carbon dioxide emissions per RPM by 23% since 2004, AAG said. It attributed the reduction to the transition to more fuel-efficient aircraft and "numerous fuel-conservation projects." Alaskaoutfitted its 737s with blended winglets in 2008 ( ATWOnline, July 1, 2008).
Finnair will lease two E-170s to Kenya Airways for four years beginning June 1. Value of the lease agreement is nearly $20 million. The leasing arrangements are being made by US lessor Jetscape Inc. Finnair Aircraft Finance, responsible for administering the Finnair fleet, either owns or leases 10 E-170s. Of these, two are leased to Finncomm Airlines in Finland. The aircraft leased to KQ are for sale. AY also operates 10 E-190s.
US Air Transport Assn.said April passenger revenue rose 12.5% compared to April 2009 based on data provided by a sample of its member carriers, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year improvement. The rate of improvement slowed somewhat from March 2010, however, when passenger revenue rose 15.4% year-over-year.
Singapore Airlines reported net income of S$215.8 million ($337.4 million) for its fiscal year ended March 31, a 79.7% drop from a S$1.06 billion profit in the prior year that nevertheless marked a recovery from a net loss of S$466 million recorded in the first half of FY2009-10.
China Eastern Airlines will sign a binding agreement with SkyTeam next month, according to alliance MD Marie-Joseph Male. The carrier signed a letter of intent to join the alliance last month ( ATWOnline, April 19). "We have formed a special team to help CEA meet SkyTeam's various requirements regarding IT systems, frequent-flyer program and marketing so that it will be in line with the standards of the other SkyTeam member carriers," Male said.
British Airways suffered a net loss of £425 million ($534.3 million) for its fiscal year ended March 31, widened 18.7% from a £358 million deficit in the prior year.
Frontier Airlines flight attendants voted to join the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA yesterday, defeating the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which also had sought to organize the heretofore-unrepresented workers. According to AFA, 456 out of 879 attendants voted for AFA representation at Frontier, which was acquired out of bankruptcy by Republic Airways Holdings last summer. IBT received approximately 235 votes. The Teamsters represent nearly 1,500 cabin attendants at Republic's other airline units Republic Airways, Chautauqua and Shuttle America.
LuxairGroup posted net income of €1.3 million ($1.6 million) in 2009, down from an €8.5 million profit in 2008, on an 8.1% drop in revenue to €382.7 million. "All LuxairGroup activities experienced daunting regressions in business and revenue" in 2009, President and CEO Adrien Ney said. "We [have] registered some stabilization and even a slight climb in early 2010, but this won't be able to bring us back to pre-crisis levels yet." He added that volcanic ash-related airspace closures "will certainly mark the 2010 balance sheet."
American Airlines announced that Peter Bowler, president and CEO of regional affiliate American Eagle, is retiring. Bowler will remain in the post, which he has held for 11 years, until a successor is named. AA Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey said Bowler "has overseen the transition of American Eagle to one of the largest regional jet operators in the world, offering over 1,600 flights a day to destinations throughout the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. I offer my sincere thanks for his leadership and many contributions."
UPS Airlines will furlough 54 pilots Sunday and may cut around 250 additional pilots by year end, according to both the company and the Independent Pilots Assn. representing the cargo carrier's 2,800 pilots.
SkyTeam said that Vietnam Airlines and Tarom "are on track to become members in June," with Vietnam Airlines joining June 10 in Hanoi and Tarom entering June 25 in Bucharest. The carriers are working with member airlines to guide them on more than 100 joining requirements. The alliance said they are being audited "and need to demonstrate fulfillment and understanding of the requirements to deliver the SkyTeam customer service standards. Both airlines are well on track to pass the audit successfully."
Lufthansa yesterday took delivery of its first A380-800 in a ceremony at Airbus's Hamburg facility. The Trent 900-powered aircraft is the first of 15 A380s that LH has on order. It expects to receive three more this year and four in 2011.
Malaysia Airlines posted a net profit of MYR310 million ($96.5 million) for the first quarter, reversed from a net loss of MYR694.8 million in the year-ago period, on a 21% rise in revenue to MYR3.3 billion that it attributed to "the economic recovery which boosted global travel."
Air France KLM Group reported a heavy net loss of €1.56 billion ($1.93 billion) for its fiscal year ended March 31, nearly double its €814 million deficit in the prior year, but management reiterated that it believes a breakeven operating result is possible in the current financial year excluding the impact of pre-2009 fuel hedges and subject to costs related to the closure of European airspace owing to volcanic ash.
