Southwest Airlines received a reprieve from US FAA yesterday and now has until Dec. 24 to replace the unapproved parts on approximately 39 remaining 737-300s/-500s as both the regulator and Boeing said the exhaust gate assembly hinge fittings "would not prevent safe operation of the airplanes."
Wizz Air yesterday announced the addition of a third aircraft in Prague in June 2010 in response to SkyEurope Airlines' shutdown ( ATWOnline, Sept. 1). It also will increase frequencies on existing services to London Luton, Rome Fiumicino, Bergamo, Brussels Charleroi and Eindhoven in September and October. Meanwhile, Niki CEO Otmar Lenz confirmed to ATWOnline that the carrier will look to expand into areas that lost service as a result of SkyEurope's demise.
Sensis announced that Newark International and Boston Logan International now are operating with its Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model X. The runway incursion detection and alerting system is operational at 19 US airports. FAA plans to deploy ASDE-X at 35 airports by 2011.
Avianova, a new Russian LCC, launched operations from Moscow Vnukovo with two A320s serving Sochi, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don and Samara. RIA Novosti said the airline's fares start at RUB250 ($7.88) excluding taxes and fees. Avianova Director Vladimir Gorbunov said the carrier hopes to add two aircraft in time for the winter schedule, The Moscow Times reported. The current aircraft are on lease from ILFC for five years each. Avianova's main shareholders are Alfa Group and Indigo Partners.
The legal wrangling between Delta Air Lines and regional partner Mesa Air Group has heated up again now that Delta has filed suit to cancel its contract with Mesa subsidiary Freedom Airlines, which operates 22 ERJ-145s as Delta Connection.
Hainan Airlines posted net income of CNY175 million ($25.6 million) in the first half based on domestic accounting standards, down 43.7% from the CNY311 million reported in the year-ago period, on a 3.5% decrease in operating revenue to CNY6.12 billion.
British Airways took delivery of the first of two A318s equipped with steep approach capability. The CFM56-5B9/3-powered aircraft will operate on the carrier's twice-daily (except Sunday) London City-New York JFK service scheduled to launch Sept. 29, featuring an all-business-class cabin with 32 seats. Route will be twice-daily in mid-October. Separately, BA today is reintroducing the wider seats previously offered in its Club Europe cabin in response to customer feedback. "As these are converter seats, the installation is simple and there is no extra cost," BA noted.
American Airlines will furlough 228 flight attendants on Oct. 1 and place an additional 693 on leave. The Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants said the carrier originally had planned to cut 1,200 positions in response to previously announced capacity reductions but that the union and management worked to minimize the final number. As a result, 244 employees will go on leave in October and November and an additional 449 will be asked to take voluntary leave. Of the furloughs, 105 will come at New York LaGuardia and 65 at Chicago O'Hare, with the remainder at Boston, St.
Considering the precipitous drop in revenue and yields and the fact that general anxiety about the weak economy was exacerbated by the swine flu scare, US passenger airlines' second-quarter financial results could have been far worse than they were. Even with key indicators decidedly not in their favor, six of the nine largest airlines earned a net profit during the three-month period and seven of nine were profitable on an operating basis.
Iberia, its associated carriers Iberia Regional Air Nostrum and Vueling as well as oneworld partners American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair and Royal Jordanian, will move to Barcelona El Prat's new Terminal 1 on Sept. 9. The Puente Aereo (Air Bridge), Iberia's 60-flights-per-day walk-on shuttle service between Madrid and Barcelona, will have its own mini-terminal in the T1 building.
American Airlines' decision to work with HP to build a new passenger services system dubbed a "bold move" by Monte Ford, the carrier's chief information officer took many observers by surprise.
FOR AIRCRAFT SPOTTERS, WHO REVEL IN variety, Kuala Lumpur International is becoming positively boring, with 44% of the flights being AirAsia A320s as the airline becomes the largest user of the airport. That statistic is more extraordinary given that just 7.5 years ago it had two aircraft and six routes and founder and CEO Tony Fernandes rarely if ever received an audience with regulators and politicians, let alone a cup of coffee from a banker. Now the red carpet is unrolled wherever he goes as airports build new terminals to accommodate AirAsia's expansion.
JetBlue Airways and Lufthansa, which owns 15.6% of the New York JFK-based LCC, yesterday announced a codeshare agreement. Subject to US Dept. of Transportation approval, LH initially will place its code on connecting flights from JFK and/or Boston to Austin, Buffalo, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, Rochester, San Juan, Syracuse, Tampa and West Palm Beach.
SkyEurope Airlines suspended operations yesterday, hours after airport operators in Prague and Bratislava said they would stop handling the LCC's flights beginning today because it is behind on payments. Vienna halted the LCC's flights in mid-August and SkyEurope had been shuttling VIE passengers to/from Bratislava ( ATWOnline, Aug. 24).
Jazeera Airways lost KWD1.3 million ($4.4 million) in the second quarter, widened 39.8% from the KWD897,900 net loss reported in the year-ago period. Revenue dropped 11.5% to KWD10.1 million against a 5.6% lift in expenses to KWD11.5 million. Operating loss of KWD1.4 million compared to a KWD516,100 profit in the 2008 second quarter. Six-month net loss of KWD2.2 million deepened from KWD152,100 in the year-ago semester.
Thai Airways suffered a THB5.4 billion ($156.5 million) loss in the second quarter, a 41.6% improvement from the THB9.25 billion deficit reported in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 31.9% to THB34.63 billion and expenses were down 34.8% to THB39.92 billion. Capacity was cut 11.2%, but a 22.7% fall in RPKs lowered load factor 9.9 points to 66.2%. The airline said the traditional low season, the global downturn, the H1N1 flu and domestic political unrest combined to produce the loss. Yield dropped 11.6% to THB2.37.
Southwest Airlines and US FAA were working toward accommodation today on a plan and timetable to replace unapproved exhaust gate assembly hinge fittings on some 49 of the airline's 737s. When the agency became aware of the existence of the unapproved parts, it issued a letter giving SWA conditional approval to operate aircraft with the parts for 10 days, a deadline that expires today at 5 p.m. local time ( ATWOnline, Aug. 27).
Frontier Airlines reported a $17.8 million net profit in July, reversed from a $3.2 million loss in the year-ago month. Operating profit was $24.9 million compared to a $1.2 million surplus in July 2008. Results were impacted by $5.5 million in reorganization expenses. Mainline unit revenue fell 5.1% to 11.26 cents while unit cost was down 27% to 8.58 cents.
Lufthansa Cargo would consider giving up some or all of its fleet of 19 freighters if night flights are banned at Frankfurt, CEO Carsten Spohr told Reuters. A German court recently ruled that the Hesse state government should decide on whether to reduce or ban night flights. The state made a reduction to 17 flights per night part of its agreement to permit construction of a fourth runway at FRA in 2011. LH said it would require 23 nightly flights by 2020 for both passenger and cargo service, Reuters reported.
Aegean Airlines earned a €13.4 million ($19.2 million) profit in the first half of 2009, more than double the €5.5 million reported in the year-ago semester. Revenue rose 5% to €275.4 million. It cited falling oil prices and reduced maintenance and fuel costs associated with its recent fleet renewal. It took delivery of eight A320 family aircraft during the six-month period. Aegean transported 2.9 million passengers, up 9%, boosted by a 20% gain in international boardings to 1.3 million.
Kingfisher Airlines board yesterday approved measures to raise up to $100 million, largely through global depository receipts, in addition to the INR5 billion ($101.4 million) rights issue approved last month, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange cited by press reports from India. The board also approved a doubling of the carrier's authorized share capital to INR10 billion. All decisions are subject to shareholder approval.
Air India said it presented its turnaround plan to the government's Committee of Secretaries and that, "while appreciating the various measures taken by Air India, the committee felt that in some areas more aggressive cost reduction measures were required to be adopted and the company also needs to examine its strategic position with respect to its shareholders' objectives." AI said the committee directed the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in consultation with the Ministry of Finance, to present a loan or bailout proposal to the cabinet.
Gulf Air signed a four-year, $70 million loan agreement with Bahrain Islamic Bank that will be used partly to finance eight A320s expected to be delivered in the 2009 fourth quarter and 2010 first quarter.
China Southern Airlines reported net income of CNY25 million ($3.7 million) for the first half of 2009 based on international accounting standards, down 96.9% from the CNY818 million earned in the year-ago semester, thanks to government aid. According to yesterday's filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Guangzhou-based carrier received a subsidy of CNY1.52 billion during the period. Half-year operating revenue fell 9.2% year-over-year to CNY24.88 billion as CZ suspended fuel surcharges, while operating expenses dropped 12.6% to CNY22.27 billion on lower fuel prices.
The European Commission Friday officially approved Lufthansa's proposed acquisition of Austrian Airlines Group, saying LH alleviated antitrust concerns by agreeing to reduce service between five European cities and Vienna. Separately, AAG announced draconian cuts to its management structure (see item below).
