Malaysia Airlines received shareholder approval for a MYR2.67 billion ($784.6 million) rights issue designed to fund future fleet growth and expansion. It said the rights shares priced at MYR1.6 each will be offered to current shareholders on a one-for-one basis. No date for the issue was announced. MAS is aiming to own at least a third of its fleet and is purchasing six yet-to-be-delivered A380s, two 747s and two 777s from state-owned Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad for INR3.19 billion. The airline expects to take delivery of three new 737-800s this year.
Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras, the Campinas-based carrier launched by JetBlue Airways founder David Neeleman, said it carried approximately 2.2 million passengers in its first year of operation ended Dec. 15, 2009, and achieved an average load factor of 79.7%. It eclipsed 85% from March 2009. Azul now operates 14 E-190s/195s on 19 routes to 16 destinations. It is scheduled to take seven more aircraft in 2010, another 12 in 2011, and plans to have 80 planes by 2013. On Friday, Azul confirmed that TPG has purchased a 10% stake in the carrier, according to Dow Jones.
Korean Air posted a 2009 net loss of KRW61.2 billion ($53.8 million), ATWOnline calculated, narrowed considerably from a KRW1.96 trillion loss in 2008. KE Friday reported fourth-quarter 2009 net income of KRW122.3 billion, reversed from a KRW659.5 billion deficit in the prior-year period and its third straight quarterly profit after six consecutive losses stretching from the 2007 fourth quarter to the 2009 first quarter. It did not release full-year 2009 figures, but this website calculated its annual result based on quarterly reports throughout the year.
American Airlines said Friday it has made the "painful but necessary decision" to furlough up to 175 pilots in the first half of this year, with the first round of reductions coming at the end of February.
Cargoitalia said it carried 6.8 million kg. of freight on 128 rotations in its first four months of service ended Dec. 31. Load factor was 80% on its routes from Milan Malpensa to New York JFK/Toronto and Hong Kong via Almaty. Flights to Dubai and Chicago O'Hare were added this month. It operates two MD-11SFs and will take a third in June. It has orders for five A330-200Fs plus three options.
Kingfisher Airlines reported a INR4.2 billion ($90.9 million) loss in its third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, widened 1.7% from INR4.13 billion in the year-ago period, with about half of the deficit resulting from one-time exceptional items and foreign exchange losses. Third-quarter revenue fell 5% to INR13.7 billion and operating expenses were cut 17% to INR14.48 billion. Employee and fuel costs decreased 22% and 20% respectively, but INR2.18 billion in exceptional items (compared to INR470 million the year before) erased the effect of the cost cuts.
SA Express, the Johannesburg-based regional, announced the Feb. 1 launch of Congo Express, a joint venture with BizAfrika Congo that will serve Lubumbashi, Kinshasa and Mbuji Mayi with a CRJ200. "We plan on growing the domestic routes to serve other airports within the DRC, followed by an extension of services beyond the borders of the DRC," MD Didier Kindambu said. SA Express will hold 49% of the new airline and the livery will reflect that of XZ but feature the light blue and yellow of the DR Congo flag. XZ will handle maintenance.
Transaero Airlines said it concluded a "stable" 2009 with a 3.6% increase in passenger numbers to 5 million and a 6.7% lift in RPKs to 18.73 billion. FTKs rose 8.6%. It launched 12 domestic routes from Moscow Domodedovo and added seven aircraft: One 777, one 747-300, two 737-800s, two 737-500s and one Tu-214. It decommissioned two 747-200s and now flies 47 aircraft.
Aircell said it has secured $176 million in equity financing from both new and existing investors. It will use the funds for network expansion and operations "during this rapid growth phase of the business." Its Gogo inflight Internet service currently is available on more than 700 aircraft with nine airlines.
SAS Group airlines flew 1.59 billion RPKs in December, a 10.9% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 16.4% to 2.27 billion ASKs and load factor rose 4.3 points to 69.7%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 1.45 billion RPKs, down 11.7%, against a 17.3% cut in capacity to 2.05 billion ASKs that lifted load factor 4.4 points to 70.5%. Finnair said its fourth-quarter scheduled yield fell more than 12% year-over-year and the full-year figure was down 14%. "No rise in prices is perceptible," it said.
Star1 Airlines of Vilnius, which launched scheduled services in July, said revenue in its first six months of operation reached LTL28 million ($11.4 million) and that it carried 36,000 passengers on routes to London Stansted, Milan Malpensa, Dublin and Girona. The carrier said its market share at Vilnius International reached 5%. Load factor was 69%. Star1 operates a single 148-seat 737-700 on scheduled routes. It also flies charters.
Southwest Airlines yesterday reported its 37th consecutive full-year profit, a $99 million surplus that represented a 44.4% decline from the $178 million earned in 2008, and remained committed to maintaining flat capacity this year despite improving booking trends.
EasyJet said it remains "on track to deliver substantial profit improvement" during its fiscal year ending Sept. 30 as it reported a solid 10.5% year-over-year increase in revenue to £607.5 million ($990.3 million) in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31. Revenue per seat increased 4.2% to £47.50, comprising a 1.9% rise in ticket revenue to £37.60 and a 14% hike in ancillary revenue to £9.90. Operating cost per seat excluding fuel rose 10.3%.
Iberia flew 3.85 billion RPKs in December, a 2.7% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity was cut 6.4% to 4.87 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 3 points to 79%. Air Berlin said December unit revenue fell 6.5% year-over-year to €4.98 cents (7.06 cents). It transported 2.1 million passengers, up 0.8% year-over-year, while load factor rose 0.5 point to 73.1%.
Gulf Air signed a preliminary lease agreement with Embraer for two E-170ARs scheduled for delivery in early March. Aircraft will be leased for three years, with an option for a further five, and will seat seven in business class and 60 in economy. Gulf said it will initiate a "full analysis and evaluation of all the regional jets on the market including Embraer, Airbus and Bombardier" in order to select the "optimal" aircraft to complement its new regional focus ( ATWOnline, Nov. 24, 2009).
Blue Wings' 48% shareholder Alexander Lebedev said he has accepted an offer from CEO Jorn Hellwig to sell off his stake, according to the dpa news agency. Hellwig currently owns 26% of Blue Wings, which suspended operations last week ( ATWOnline, Jan. 14). Lebedev reportedly has invested more than €500 million ($709.2 million) in the German airline.
Continental Airlines reported a 2009 net loss of $282 million, improved 51.9% from a $586 million deficit in the year-ago period, and pointed to a fourth-quarter profit of $85 million as a sign that it is "holding the line on costs and working more efficiently." Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Smisek warned that CO and the US airline industry "likely have a long and slow road to recovery ahead," though he noted, "A long and slow recovery is better than what we had in 2008 and 2009."
Ryanair will further reduce its capacity at Dublin Airport this summer and focus on "higher-yield, outbound, peak-month, summer sun routes, rather than stimulating year-round inbound tourism with low-access fares." It cited "high and rising" airport charges and the Irish government's €10 ($14.18) "tourist tax" ( ATWOnline, June 18, 2009). The LCC will cut its Dublin-based fleet from 18 aircraft last summer to 15 and trim weekly rotations by some 19% from more than 600 to fewer than 500.
China Southern Airlines has committed to purchasing 20 A320 aircraft for delivery in 2011-13. The carrier said it would pay less than the $1.54 billion catalog value for the aircraft and that the fleet expansion will increase ATKs by 4.5%. Aircraft are part of the order for 110 A320 family aircraft and 40 A330s that the Chinese government placed with Airbus in November 2007.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. kicked of the US airline industry's full-year reporting season yesterday by announcing a $1.47 billion net loss for 2009, improved 30.7% from a $2.12 billion deficit in 2008, on a 16.2% decline in revenue to $19.92 billion.
Gulfstream International Airlines parent Gulfstream International Group will convert $1.5 million of subordinated debt to convertible preferred stock under an agreement with Gulfstream Funding II, a lender that issued the loan in October.
US Air Transport Assn. said members' December passenger revenue fell 4% year-over-year, the 14th consecutive monthly decline, and 2009 full-year revenue plunged a record 18%. December passenger traffic was down 3% and the average price to fly 1 mi. dropped more than 2%. Full-year passenger volume was down 6% from 2008, with a 13% fall in the average price to fly 1 mi.. The largest previous full-year revenue decline was the 14% slip from 2000 to 2001.
LOT Polish Airlines has three bidders interested in participating in the carrier's privatization, according to reports from Warsaw. A Polish treasury spokesperson said a major airline and a financial investor are among the suitors. Air France KLM denied reports that it is participating, and Aeroflot denied interest when asked by Bloomberg News. The treasury spokesperson said the sale is unlikely to happen this year. The treasury holds 68% of the carrier.
ANA President and CEO Shinichiro Ito yesterday expressed concern over the Japanese government's heavy involvement in Japan Airlines' bankruptcy restructuring. Between the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan and the Development Bank of Japan, both of which are government-backed institutions, JAL will receive ¥900 billion ($9.9 billion) to ensure it does not collapse as it goes through the court-monitored process ( ATWOnline, Jan. 20).
OnAir will go live with its Internet and VPN connectivity service next month but sees a profitable future for its phone and PDA inflight connectivity service, with CEO Benoit Debains telling ATWOnline yesterday, "We are, and we remain, a phone company." The Airbus/SITA joint venture provided no further details concerning Internet OnAir's launch but Debains insisted that the company's Mobile OnAir service and Internet are complementary. "Contrary to what people believe," he said, "it's not phone versus Internet."
