Aeroflot confirmed the purchase of Alexander Lebedev's 25.8% stake in the flag carrier. It did not reveal the price, although Lebedev had indicated that SU paid approximately $400 million for the shares ( ATWOnline, Jan. 28).
Aer Lingus reportedly is alliance shopping nearly three years after quitting oneworld ( ATWOnline, May 31, 2006). CEO Christoph Mueller told Bloomberg News that EI "will prepare ourselves for a discussion that the alliances might work on an exclusive basis in the future" and that a decision could come "very soon." He said alliance membership is attractive again because the "Irish market will remain low fare. .
Malev Hungarian Airlines transported 3.3 million passengers in 2009, up 6% from the prior year. It said a new pricing strategy designed to compete with LCCs, group rate guarantees, a fivefold increase in corporate clients, new tourism packages and three new destinations accounted for the increase. CCO Karim Makhlouf said he expects a double-digit gain in first-quarter 2010 passenger numbers.
A year in which US Airways unveiled ambitious plans to reconfigure its airline operation ended with a $205 million net loss that was a significant improvement from the $2.22 billion deficit reported in 2008. A series of special items, including a $375 million unrealized gain on its fuel hedges, contributed to the result. Excluding those items, the group suffered a full-year loss of $499 million compared to a 2008 loss of $808 million calculated on a similar basis.
International Aero Engines announced a V2500 SelectOne order from Jetstar Airways worth up to $1.5 billion comprising engines for 50 A320 family aircraft plus 40 options and purchase rights. Jetstar also signed a $2 billion IAE Aftermarket Services agreement covering the newly ordered engines plus those already operating on 40 current aircraft. Rolls-Royce said its share of the order was valued at up to $1.2 billion and Pratt & Whitney said its share "could exceed" $1 billion, including the aftermarket agreement.
Air India announced a loss of INR14.74 billion ($316.8 million) in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, a 9.7% improvement from the INR16.32 billion deficit reported in the year-ago period.
Jamaica Finance Minister Audley Shaw said the government expects a final decision regarding Caribbean Airlines' potential takeover of Air Jamaica by the end of the month. He said some 70% of JM's staff of 1,200 will be laid off if the deal goes through, The Gleaner reported. "They'll probably need to keep the planes because they will keep the routes," he said. "We are seeking to divest Air Jamaica on the best terms available and to ensure that we have the seat-lift capacity from all those cities for which we have tourism and Jamaican market travelers.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. posted a 2009 net loss of $651 million, narrowed 87.9% from a $5.4 billion loss in 2008, and said it and the airline industry must continue to pare down costs.
Japan Airlines Group named Japan Air Commuter President Masaru Onishi president of both the Japan Airlines Corp. holding company and the Japan Airlines International operating unit as well as COO for JALS. Onishi, who joined the company in 1978, will join recently appointed CEO Kazuo Inamori in leading it through bankruptcy ( ATWOnline, Jan. 20). The company also named Hisao Taguchi executive VP of both the group and JALI. He has run JAL's Kyushu operation since last April.
The hybrid model that secured ATW's 2010 Market Leadership Award paid dividends for AirTran Airways in 2009 as it earned a company record $134.7 million net profit that represented a reversal from its $266.3 million loss in 2008 and is the best full-year result reported in the US so far.
Aeroflot is on the verge of striking a deal with investor Alexander Lebedev to purchase his 25.8% stake in the carrier, putting SU under full control of the Russian government, which already holds 51%. According to reports from Moscow, Aeroflot will pay around $400 million for Lebedev's shares. He told The Guardian that a deal was reached Tuesday night and that he agreed to purchase Russian-made aircraft for his Moscow Vnukovo-based Red Wings and to sell his 26% share in lessor Ilyushin Finance to the government for $175 million.
Jazeera Airways announced a $105 million financing agreement with Natixis Transport Finance for three A320s. It currently flies 11 of the type and has 29 more on order and scheduled for delivery through 2016.
Allegiant Air parent Allegiant Travel Co. posted a record full-year profit of $76.3 million, more than double the $35.4 million reported in 2008. Operating revenue rose 10.7% to $557.9 million while expenses dropped 2.8% to $435.7 million, boosting operating income more than twofold to $122.3 million from $55.8 million in 2008. Cost cuts came largely from decreased fuel and aircraft leasing expenses.
Delta Air Lines posted a 2009 net loss of $1.24 billion, narrowed considerably from a massive deficit of $8.92 billion in 2008 when results were affected by heavy goodwill impairment charges and costs related to its acquisition of Northwest Airlines.
American International Group has decided not to divest ILFC after deciding the profit from the sale would be insufficient, sources told the Financial Times. The paper said that Standard & Poor's has cut ILFC's credit rating to the lowest investment-grade level. Sources told FT that founder and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy has not decided whether to leave ILFC. He was replaced as chairman by Doug Steenland last month ( ATWOnline, Jan. 26).
Baboo reported revenue of CHF73 million ($70.2 million) in 2009, up 30% from the prior year, on a 38% rise in passenger numbers to 406,000. The Geneva-based carrier called 2009 "above all a year of consolidation and of establishing a coherent network based on partnerships." It currently operates three E-190s and two Q400s to 19 destinations. Last year it signed codeshare agreements with Air France, Tarom and Alitalia and linked to AF's loyalty program.
Aer Lingus yesterday warned that it expects market conditions will remain "extremely challenging" in 2010 and that full-year revenue will be "lower than 2009, with the first half of 2010 being particularly weak."
LAN Airlines recorded a net profit of $231.1 million in 2009, down 31.3% from the $336.5 million earned in 2008, a result it claimed demonstrated "the strength of the company's business model and LAN's resiliency to external shocks."
Delta Air Lines intends to invest $1 billion over the next three years on a wide range of measures designed "to improve the customer experience in the air and on the ground," including new business class seats on 90 Boeing widebodies. The company did not directly address plans for the order for 18 787s inherited in its acquisition of Northwest Airlines, but President Ed Bastian said, "Rather than invest in new aircraft, Delta will be spending its capital to improve the quality and consistency of the onboard product and efficiency of the aircraft we already own."
China Eastern Airlines remains committed to choosing an alliance by the Feb. 14 New Year holiday and is scheduled to negotiate with each of the three global groupings this week, an internal source told ATWOnline. "We are still evaluating the decision on which airline alliance to join, which will depend on our negotiations with the three alliances regarding route network, frequent-flyer program, codesharing, etc.," CEA MD Ma Xulun said ( ATWOnline, Dec. 10, 2009).
UK CAA approved British Airways' plan to train pilots and ground staff as cabin crew to be employed in the event of a strike by cabin attendants and will work with the airline and conduct inspections to ensure safety, BA said in its weekly in-house newsletter. The carrier planned to launch the first of nine training courses yesterday, when the Unite union started balloting its 12,000 BA cabin crew members on industrial action. The vote closes Feb. 22.
Air New Zealand, ATW's Airline of the Year, unveiled new economy and premium economy seats as part of a major cabin makeover ( ATW, February 2010). The economy seat features a unique swing-up, fully padded section that converts a triple seat into a bed. A single passenger can buy a set of three seats for little more than the cost of a premium economy seat.
Jet Airways returned to profit after two consecutive quarters in the red, posting a INR1.06 billion ($22.9 million) net profit in the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 that compared to a INR2.14 billion loss in the year-ago period.
Highland Airways, an Inverness-based regional, said it is "currently facing difficult trading" but that it is in advanced negotiations with a "potential investor that provides an excellent way forward" and should have an announcement in the coming days. It was not taking bookings on its website yesterday. Highland operates eight Jetstream 31s, two Jetstream 41s and one BN-2 Islander to nine Scottish and Welsh destinations.
Taban Air Tu-154 caught fire during landing at Mashhad Sunday morning, destroying the tail and rear section and injuring 42. Iranian officials said there were no fatalities and the government subsequently stripped Taban of its operating certificate. The flight originated in Abadan Saturday and diverted to Isfahan owing to poor weather in Mashhad, according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. It departed Isfahan for Mashhad early Sunday. ASN said the aircraft's first flight was in 1993.
