Qantas yesterday reported a A$58 million ($52.2 million) profit for the half-year ended Dec. 31, down 72% from the A$210 million earned in the year-ago semester, and announced the elimination of first class service to all but two destinations in an effort to lift yield.
FAA yesterday proposed a $2.9 million civil penalty against American Eagle Airlines for operating more than 1,000 flights using four CRJ700s "on which improper repairs were performed on landing gear doors," the second significant fine for an alleged safety violation proposed against AMR Corp.'s regional subsidiary this month.
Sri Lankan government is negotiating the purchase of Emirates' 43.6% stake in SriLankan Airlines, Chairman Nishanta Wickremasinghe told reporters yesterday. EK said it "can confirm that the Sri Lankan government has been investigating the possibility of increasing their share in SriLankan Airlines," in a statement cited by Bloomberg News. EK opted out of its management contract with UL two years ago and said it would look to sell its stake ( ATWOnline, Jan. 10, 2008).
WestJet reported 2009 net income of C$98.2 million ($94 million), down 45% from C$178.5 million in 2008, and said it plans to reaccelerate growth this year after slowing annual capacity expansion to just 2.6% in 2009. President and CEO Sean Durfy acknowledged that last year was "very challenging" owing to the recession, H1N1 and "enhanced airport security measures," but said he was "ecstatic" despite the profit decrease because the Calgary-based LCC achieved profitability in all four quarters to extend its streak of consecutive reporting periods in the black to 19.
Lufthansa pilots represented by Vereinigung Cockpit voted overwhelmingly yesterday to strike at midnight next Monday through 11:59 p.m. Feb. 25, a four-day stoppage that the airline called "totally inappropriate."
Norwegian will add an eighth 737 to it Stockholm Arlanda base and launch service to London Gatwick (six-times-weekly from April 29), Edinburgh (thrice-weekly from May 6) and Munich (thrice-weekly from May 7).
Comair Ltd., which operates the South African regional franchise of British Airways and LCC kulula.com, reported a ZAR32.6 million ($4.2 million) profit in the fiscal semester ended Dec. 31, up 2.7% from ZAR31.8 million earned in the year-ago period, and said it has placed an order for eight 737-800s.
Air Berlin yesterday confirmed the purchase of a 25.9% stake in Niki for €21 million ($28.7 million), giving it 49.9% ownership in the Austrian LCC ( ATWOnline, Feb. 17). It also will grant a €40.5 million loan repayable in three years with either cash or the remaining 50.1% of Niki.
Niki is expecting to announce a capital increase Thursday in order to strengthen its position against primary competitor Austrian Airlines, and Air Berlin said yesterday that it is "in advanced negotiations" regarding an increase of its 24% stake in the Austrian LCC. Local media reports suggested that new capital could come from either AB or a new investor and that AB is considering raising its stake to as much as 49%. Niki CEO Otmar Lenz said he could not comment when contacted by ATWOnline.
Royal Jordanian posted a JOD28.6 million ($40.1 million) profit last year, reversed from a JOD24.7 million deficit in 2008, as a drop in fuel costs and "capacity management" helped the carrier weather the global recession and its impact on demand. RJ said the result "reflect[s] the airline's ability to make the best use of available resources, in spite of their limitations, and to continue its fleet modernization program and automate and facilitate travel procedures."
Lufthansa Cargo will cut more than 400 jobs and has extended reduced work hours for ground staff imposed in March 2009 through Feb. 28, 2011. "We suffered steep losses in revenue and tonnage last year, the worst in the history of Lufthansa Cargo," a spokesperson told Bloomberg News.
Rossiya transported 2.9 million passengers in 2009, down 15.3% from the prior year, owing largely to the spinoff of its Moscow branch and its concentration on operations in St. Petersburg. It flew 6.09 billion RPKs last year. Rossiya is scheduled to be merged into Aeroflot, along with five other smaller airlines, this year ( ATWOnline, Feb. 4). United Airlines said January consolidated passenger RASM increased an estimated 9.5%-11.5% year-over-year.
British Airways announced that in conjunction with Washington-based Solena Group it will establish a "sustainable jet-fuel plant" to convert "waste biomass" to "low-carbon fuel to power part of its fleet from 2014." It said the plant would be a first in Europe. It did not set a date for when the plant will be operational. "The new fuel will be derived from waste biomass and manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility that can convert a variety of waste materials, destined for landfill, into aviation fuel," it said.
Jazeera Airways announced the purchase of Sahaab Aircraft Leasing for KWD25.6 million ($88.3 million), a transaction the carrier said will offer "a platform to pursue strategic vertical integration initiatives lined up for 2010 and 2011 that include an airline acquisition and access to global leasing markets." Sahaab currently owns nine A320s that Jazeera operates under a sale-and-leaseback deal and has firm orders with Airbus that will see its owned A320 fleet increase to at least 38 units by 2016.
Air Arabia posted a AED452.2 million ($123.1 million) profit in 2009, down 11.3% from the AED509.7 million reported the prior year, as it continued to grow despite what it called "an enormously challenging period." Revenue slipped 4.5% to AED1.97 billion and "cost of sales" was cut 3.5% to AED1.61 billion, the LCC said. Operating profit was down 14.2% to AED249.1 million from the AED290.2 million reported in 2008.
British Airways in partnership with Washington-based Solena Group said it plans to establish "Europe's first sustainable jet-fuel plant" and will use the low-carbon fuel to power part of its fleet from 2014. The fuel will be derived from waste biomass.
Aegean Airlines announced last week that "discussions" between its main investor, Vassilakis Group, and Olympic Air controlling shareholder Marfin Investment Group "have taken place concerning the potential of a future cooperation," without elaborating. Aegean bid unsuccessfully for Olympic's assets when the Greek government privatized the airline last year ( ATWOnline, March 9, 2009).
Spirit Airlines on Friday unveiled a feature on its website allowing potential customers to see how much of a given fare is comprised of fuel costs. "When a fare is $137 and fuel makes up $78 of that fare, customers can decide if the remaining $59 makes this a good time to buy," it said. The Miramar, Fla.-based LCC provides a chart showing how much fuel is used per passenger for A319 trips of various lengths with an 80% load factor. It also shows the current price of fuel and a per-passenger, per-trip fuel cost.
The nine largest US airlines posted a cumulative net loss of $3.43 billion in 2009, ATWOnline calculated, considerably improved over a net deficit of $25 billion in 2008 when heavy goodwill impairment charges and Delta Air Lines/Northwest Airlines merger costs weighed down the collective bottom line.
Alitalia Group intends to strengthen its position at both Milan Linate and Malpensa with a three-year development plan calling for a "dual-brand and customer hub model" at MXP, including a repositioning of Air One as a Smart Carrier offering low fares on short-/medium-haul routes while reinforcing the Alitalia brand and offering on intercontinental flights. AZ will base two new A330s featuring its new business class at Malpensa and launch flights to Miami in June, adding to its current five intercontinental destinations.
Transaero Airlines, which operates 14 weekly codeshare flights with Austrian Airlines on the Moscow Domodedovo-Vienna route, is concerned about the Russian Ministry of Transport's decision to question OS's nationality. The government is arguing that, based on current bilateral agreements between Russia and Austria, OS no longer is considered a domestic airline following its acquisition by Lufthansa. It currently flies to Russia on temporary traffic rights ( ATWOnline, Feb. 8).
Blue Wings announced that it was insolvent yesterday, a month after suspending service. The Dusseldorf-based carrier said that "insolvency has become unavoidable since our principal Russian investor [48% shareholder Alexander Lebedev] has not kept his financial promises over the past several months." There is no indication that the carrier may resume flights, and no information was available regarding CEO Jorn Hellwig's effort to purchase Lebedev's stake. Hellwig owns 26% of Blue Wings ( ATWOnline, Jan. 22).
China Eastern Airlines is moving forward with its efforts to recruit a strategic investor as it finalizes the merger process with Shanghai Airlines, according to CEA GM and SAL Chairman Ma Xulun. "We are quite open to introducing a strategic investor and welcome any strategic investor or financial investor as long as they are interested in promoting development," Ma noted.
Copa Airlines and Aero Republica parent Copa Holdings reported a $240.4 million profit for 2009, more than double the $118.7 million earned in the prior year. The 2009 result included a $19.4 million charge related to the retirement of four MD-80s and Aero Republica's transition to an all E-190 fleet, as well as a $58 million noncash gain on the company's fuel hedges. Full-year operating revenue dipped 2.8% to $1.25 billion while operating profit slipped 0.3% to $223.3 million.
