Continental Airlines and US Airways implemented passenger deplaning procedures for lengthy tarmac delays in preparation for the US Dept. of Transportation's new rule taking effect April 29 that will require airlines to let passengers disembark when delays reach 3 hr. or face hefty fines.
Two of the airline industry's ancillary revenue pioneers are attempting to see how far the fee-for-service concept can be pushed, with Spirit Airlines announcing that it will charge passengers up to $45 for carryon bags and Ryanair revealing that it is continuing to pursue its pay-per-use toilet idea.
Turkish Airlines reported a 2009 net profit of TRY559.1 million ($369.5 million), down 50.7% from the TRY1.13 billion it earned in 2008, according to selected financial results released to the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Revenue increased 15% to TRY7.04 billion from TRY6.12 billion in 2008 and operating profit rose 12% to TRY832 million. The carrier grew its fleet by 4% during the year to 132 aircraft. Traffic lifted 17% to 40.11 billion RPKs on a 22% gain in capacity to 56.55 billion ASKs, producing a load factor of 70.9%, down 3.1 points.
AerCap Holdings signed a five-year, $120 million corporate debt facility agreement with UBS as lead arranger. The facility will be used for "general corporate purposes," it said.
Republic Airways Holdings will rebrand Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines, both of which it acquired last year, under a single name and plans to announce the new moniker (likely either Frontier or Midwest, though there is some speculation that a combined name or new brand could be revealed) in dual ceremonies in Denver and Milwaukee on April 13, The Indianapolis Star reported. The rebranded airline will be managed out of Republic's Indianapolis headquarters.
Pinnacle Airlines and United Steelworkers AFL-CIO reached a tentative agreement to amend the collective bargaining accord covering 930 ground operations employees at Memphis and other locations. Ground operation employees now must ratify the agreement, it said.
AirTran Airways flew 1.74 billion RPMs in March, a 9.6% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity grew 5.5% to 2.07 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 3.1 points to 83.8%. AirTran said the load factor and RPMs represent new all-time company records for both the month of March and the first quarter. Allegiant Air flew 571.2 million RPMs in March, up 15.4% year-over-year, against a 14.4% lift in capacity to 636.7 million ASMs. Load factor rose 0.8 point to 89.7%.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said business travelers are returning to the airline, generating yield growth for the first time in more than a year. Speaking to The Australian, he said domestic yields topped year-ago figures in December and international yields followed suit in February. Over the past 18 months, business travelers stopped flying or downgraded to economy, resulting in the airline's premium yield falling by as much as 40%. Joyce is confident that domestic premium yields will remain strong throughout the year and noted that QF is raising domestic capacity by 3% in 2010.
FedEx moved to take another step in the effort to automate air cargo, yesterday introducing Electronic Trade Documents, which will allow shippers to upload international shipping documentation electronically. IATA has been pushing the air cargo industry to embrace "e-freight," arguing that paper accompanying airfreight adds more than $1 billion in costs annually and creates mistakes, lost documents and related confusion that cause cargo to get held in customs facilities ( ATW, June 2008).
Jazz Air and Thomas Cook Canada signed a flight service agreement, expected to generate approximately C$100 million ($99 million) in annual revenue, under which Jazz will operate "no less than" six 757-200s to "various sun destinations" from Canada November-April. The charter routes previously were flown by Skyservice Airlines, which shut down operations last week ( ATWOnline, April 1).
AirAsia X complained that the Malaysian government has "protected" Malaysia Airlines on routes from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney and Seoul Incheon, creating uncertainty over whether the former can launch services to the Australian and South Korean capitals by June as planned.
Japan Airlines will submit a reorganization plan by the end of June that includes cutting 47-51 routes, according to reports by multiple Japanese media outlets.
Qantas A380 suffered a dual tire blowout on landing at Sydney last week. Flight QF32 from Singapore arrived at SYD on Wednesday at 8.30 p.m. local time and on touchdown is understood to have suffered a brake problem that apparently locked the wheels.
ANA confirmed the merger of its Air Japan charter and ANA & JP Express cargo subsidiaries, following up on a corporate plan announced last month ( ATWOnline, March 22). Both operate 767s. ANA & JP will be dissolved following the acquisition by ANA of shares held by Japan Post Service (33.3%), Nippon Express Co. (10%) and Mitsui OSK Lines (5%) last week. Air Japan employs 411 and ANA & JP 207. ANA said the impact on its consolidated results "will be minor."
Edelweiss Air, a Swiss International Air Lines subsidiary, ordered one A330-300 for delivery in March 2011 to replace its single A330-200. The carrier operates three A320s and is evaluating the addition of a fourth. It will launch a weekly Zurich-Calgary-Vancouver service on May 31. Edelweiss transported 703.000 passengers last year, nearly 25% more than in 2008.
Airphil Express is the new name of the former Air Philippines, effective last week. A low-cost subsidiary of Philippine Airlines parent PAL Holdings, Airphil added two single-class, 177-seat A320-200s on lease--its first jets--and placed them into service from Manila to Iloilo, Bacolod, Puerto Princesa and Cagayan de Oro. The acquisition is the beginning of an expansion that will see the carrier acquire 20 A320s over the next 20 years, adding to its current fleet that also includes eight Q-300s/400s.
Japan Airlines' main lenders reportedly are not willing to provide the bankrupt carrier with further relief unless they see evidence that it is making strides in slashing costs, in particular by cutting back on international services.
Virgin America, Virgin Blue and its V Australia subsidiary announced the linkage of their loyalty programs. VX and Blue also announced a cabin crew exchange program set to start in October.
Volga-Dnepr Group, parent of heavy airfreight specialist Volga-Dnepr Airlines and scheduled air cargo operator AirBridgeCargo Airlines, said the carriers' combined traffic increased 7% year-over-year in 2009 to 1.85 billion FTKs. However, revenue for the year lowered 15% to $1.25 billion as global cargo yields took a major hit. The Moscow-based company pointed out that its traffic and revenue results compared "favorably" in an air cargo industry that had a historically negative year.
Southwest Airlines yesterday responded to comments from WestJet that it is considering exploring additional codeshare opportunities, including one with Delta Air Lines, insisting that it it is "prepared to move forward to implement our agreement" with the Canadian LCC but that it will look for alternatives for Canada service if WS goes in a different direction.
Bahrain Air said it is targeting a breakeven 2011 and that its board has boosted its authorized capital by 50% to BHD30 million ($79.3 million). The carrier, which began flying two years ago, launched thrice-weekly flights to Dhaka and four-times-weekly service to Chittagong last month and plans to begin serving Istanbul Ataturk on June 16. It operates four A320s and two A319s.
Ryanair raised its net profit guidance for the fiscal year ended March 31 to "not less than €310 million ($418 million)" from a previously forecast €275 million ( ATWOnline, Feb. 2) as a result of "somewhat stronger than expected passenger bookings, at better than expected yields" in late February and March in the runup to the Easter holiday weekend. The LCC expects to announce its full-year results on June 1.
Bombardier reported net income of C$707 million ($696 million) for its fiscal year ended Jan. 31, down 31.1% from C$1.03 billion in the prior fiscal year, blaming a "challenging economic backdrop" for the drop.
Virgin Blue Group finalized a contract with Boeing for up to 105 737NGs, confirming and adding to a February MOU in a deal that is the biggest in the Australian company's 10-year history and the largest Boeing has landed in 18 months. The agreement includes 50 firm 737-800s with options to convert orders to either the -700 or -900, plus 25 options and 30 purchase rights. Deliveries are scheduled to run from June 2011 through 2017 ( ATWOnline, Feb. 25).
