Bmi will cease offering business class on flights from London Heathrow to destinations in the UK and Ireland from Jan. 27. In addition, passengers purchasing higher Flexible Economy fares will be able to change tickets without a fee and will have access to lounges, reserved seats at the front of the aircraft and free food and beverages onboard. It also announced the launch of twice-daily London Heathrow-Vienna service on March 28 using an A320. Star Alliance partner and fellow Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines will codeshare.
SIA Engineering Co. broke ground for a non-OEM provider of MRO services by purchasing a stake in Pratt & Whitney's PW1000G engine "risk-revenue sharing program" in exchange for a key role in Pratt's MRO network. SIAEC, a member of Singapore Airlines Group, will hold a 3% stake in the engine RRSP for the Bombardier CSeries and a 1% stake in the Mitsubishi Regional Jet engine RRSP.
Continental Airlines will record $77 million in fourth-quarter special charges and $145 million for the full year, as well as a noncash income tax benefit, it said. The fourth-quarter items comprise $36 million in aircraft-related charges, $29 million in pension plan settlement charges and $12 million in route impairment charges. Full-year totals are $89 million, $29 million and $22 million respectively in addition to $5 million in severance payments.
Japan Airlines yesterday filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo under Japan's Corporate Rehabilitation Law, initiating a restructuring process that it said will include major cost cuts and structural changes with the aim of returning to profitability by March 2012.
American Airlines will increase its charge for the first checked bag on domestic flights to $25 and the second bag to $35 effective Feb. 1, matching the raises announced by Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways ( ATWOnline, Jan. 14). Premium passengers and loyalty program members are exempt.
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft President Gary Scott yesterday said the manufacturer is in "advanced discussions with some customers" for CSeries orders and that he would "be surprised if we don't announce another order in the first half of next [fiscal] year," beginning Feb. 1. Scott was speaking to reporters in Dublin. Lufthansa and Lease Corp. International are the only customers so far and have ordered a combined 50 firm aircraft and 50 options.
Aer Lingus announced the departure of Deputy CEO and COO Niall Walsh, effective immediately. EI CEO Christoph Mueller will assume Walsh's duties temporarily with assistance from Chief Engineer Fergus Wilson, the airline said. A search for a new COO is underway.
Iberia's merger with British Airways could be concluded next month, according to Caja Madrid Chairman Miguel Blesa. The head of IB's largest shareholder (23%) told reporters, "We're on the right track. I think February will be decisive for the deal. There's not much left that needs agreeing to, if anything at all. I don't know if it will be [signed] in February but it won't go past March," according to Reuters. The merger MOU was signed in November ( ATWOnline, Nov. 13).
Irish air traffic controllers at Dublin, Cork and Shannon represented by Impact plan to strike for 4 hr. this afternoon. The Irish Aviation Authority said controllers are demanding a 6% pay increase and that it already has suspended 12 who "stopped doing work on a number of ongoing projects." IAA said the 6% increase would cost the authority €6 million ($8.6 million) per year and would be passed on to airlines.
Airbus announced the promotion of Executive VP-Customer Services Charles Champion to head of engineering, effective April 1. He will succeed the retiring Patrick Gavin. Turkish Airlines promoted Head of Marketing and Sales Faruk Cizmecioglu to VP-sales & marketing.
AeroLogic, the joint cargo venture between Lufthansa and DHL Express, added two 777-200Fs in December, doubling its fleet to four of the type. It will launch weekend service from Frankfurt to both Atlanta and Chicago O'Hare during the current winter schedule, as well as daily Leipzig-Hong Kong service (nonstop four-times-weekly). It plans to take delivery of additional 777Fs in June, July, September and December. "Demand for Europe to Asia and Europe to US remains stable, despite the weakened world economy, and is expected to increase in the mid-term," AeroLogic said.
US Air Transport Assn. reported that its third-quarter airline cost index fell 36% year-over-year to 185.3, a decline that compares to the 1.6% fall in the US Consumer Price Index. The average price paid for fuel slid to $1.94 per gal. from $3.51 in the third quarter of 2008, although the average cost of a fulltime-equivalent worker climbed 7.6%. Fuel and labor accounted for nearly 50% of airline operating expenses, ATA said.
Japanese Transport Minister Seiji Maehara said Friday that the government-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan will announce Japan Airlines' restructuring plan on Tuesday, while the troubled carrier tapped into an emergency credit line to allow it to maintain operations in the meantime.
Tiger Airways has taken a bold gamble and ignored the less-than-enthusiastic endorsement of its IPO from regional analysts to price it at the maximum S$1.65 ($1.19) per share ( ATWOnline, Jan. 12). The potential S$246.8 million raised from the IPO that closes today will be used to pay down debt and finance new aircraft. The offering comprises 155.6 million new shares and an additional 9.6 million from investor Indigo Partners. The shares are expected to begin trading on Jan. 22.
Jamaican government said last week that Air Jamaica's acquisition by Caribbean Airlines was "expected to be consummated" over the weekend. The deal was expected to include an equity infusion but will require the government to pay JMD27 billion ($298.8 million) toward JM's 2010 capital expense budget, debts and costs required to cover "the redundancy of hundreds of employees." The government appointed a new five-member board chaired by insurance executive Denis Lalor to oversee JM's divestment and transition to Caribbean along with President and CEO Bruce Nobles.
Pinnacle Airlines announced the closure of a $10 million credit facility with Independent Bank of Memphis. The funds will provide Pinnacle with working capital until it receives a federal income tax refund estimated to be worth $38 million. The company said it also modified a $25 million spare parts loan "to reduce certain liquidity requirements."
Lufthansa Group airlines flew 13.42 billion RPKs in December, up 19.1% from the year-ago month, against an 18% lift in capacity to 17.53 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 0.8 point to 76.6%. Lufthansa Passenger Airlines flew 9.39 billion RPKs, up 4.2%, while ASKs increased 2.7% to 12.22 billion and load factor climbed 1.1 points to 76.8%. Swiss International Air Lines flew 2.31 billion RPKs in December, a 2.4% increase year-over-year. Capacity fell 3.5% to 2.85 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 4.7 points to 81%.
Aer Lingus pilots represented by the Irish Airline Pilots Assn. accepted annual pay cuts of €30 million ($43.5 million) that were recommended by an Irish Labor Relations Commission arbitrator. The reductions are part of EI's continuing effort to implement a €97 million savings program, which the airline has said is being held up by pilots' reluctance to agree to cuts ( ATWOnline, Dec. 3, 2009).
US Aerospace Industries Assn. named former FAA Chief of Staff David Mandell VP-membership and business development. United Airlines parent UAL Corp. named Global Hyatt Corp. CMO and CIO Thomas O'Toole senior VP and CMO. Cirrus Airlines promoted Director-Sales and Marketing Ingrid Jung to MD.
Arlington-Va.-based ARC reported this week that December sales through participating US travel agencies totaled $4.41 billion, representing an 8.6% increase year-over-year and the "strongest final month of the year since 2005." Total fares rose 9.2% to $3.74 billion and the number of transactions increased 6.9% to 8.9 million. Domestic fares climbed 5.1% to $1.96 billion on a 6.7% lift in transactions, while international fares surged 14.2% to $1.78 billion on a 7.5% lift in transaction. ARC had 188 participating airlines in December, up three from the prior month.
TAM announced plans to refurbish the passenger cabins across its entire fleet, both new aircraft and retrofit, including the redesign of all seats, galleys, stowage areas, lavatories and "cabin architecture, where possible." It contracted Priestmangoode of London for the three-year project, which also will feature a uniform redesign. Separately, TAM signed a long-term, full-content distribution agreement with Sabre Travel Network.
Singapore Airlines confirmed the March 28 launch of a daily A380 service to Zurich, which will replace its 12-times-weekly 777-300ER service. ZRH will be SIA's third European A380 gateway after Paris Charles de Gaulle and London Heathrow. ZRH will conduct final infrastructure tests required to attain A380 certification on Jan. 20-21.
OAG reported that January global seat capacity has increased 3% year-over-year to 294.6 million seats. It is the fifth consecutive month of growth. Frequencies will rise 2% to 2.4 million flights, boosted by a 10% lift among LCCs. North American airlines cut intra-regional flights 2.7% and seats 2.8% but grew to/from the region by 3% and 1% respectively.
Republic Airways Holdings said yesterday that all of its executive management functions, including those of subsidiaries Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines, will be consolidated at its Indianapolis headquarters and former Frontier CEO Sean Menke will leave the company at the end of the current quarter.
Thai Airways President Piyasvasti Amranand told reporters yesterday that the airline expects to post a net profit in both 2009 and 2010, when it expects to be THB4 billion ($121.3 million) in the black, Reuters reported. A profit in the 2009 fourth quarter will reverse a THB1.57 billion loss through the first nine months of last year, he said ( ATWOnline, Nov. 17, 2009).
