Thai Airways said it cut nonfuel costs through the first five months of this year by 18.9% from the year-ago period to approximately THB34.76 billion ($1.01 billion).
Merpati Nusantara Airlines Twin Otter 300 that disappeared Sunday with 16 people onboard was located yesterday morning in mountains a little more than 20 mi. from its intended destination of Oskibil ( ATWOnline, Aug. 4). A search and recovery operation reportedly was underway yesterday.
A Bangkok Airways ATR 72 that departed from Krabi Island crashed on landing in Koh Samui yesterday, skidding off the runway and colliding with an unused airport control tower, killing the flight's captain and requiring hospitalization of seven others including the copilot.
Aero-Instruments said yesterday that it secured FAA Parts Manufacturer Approval for its 0851HL-AI Pitot Probe, which it claimed can replace Thales pitot probes on Airbus aircraft. Airbus last week told airlines that Thales pitot probes should be replaced with Goodrich models on all A330s/A340s as a "precautionary measure" and EASA said it will issue a similar order shortly ( ATWOnline, Aug. 3).
Etihad Airways transported more than 616,000 passengers in July, a record for the airline and up 9% from the year-ago month. July 31 was the busiest day in its with 21,640 passengers. July load factor was 88% on a 20% increase in the number of weekly flights.
Shanghai Airlines yesterday said it expects to report a first-half net loss, which will follow its CNY1.36 billion ($198.8 million) deficit in 2008. It cited the global decline in air travel, especially "the sharp drop in cargo traffic" at its Shanghai Airlines Cargo International subsidiary, in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. SAL has begun the merger process with China Eastern Airlines ( ATWOnline, July 14), which revealed last month that it was profitable through the 2009 first half.
Austrian Airlines Group returned to the red in the second quarter, reporting a €78.5 million ($112.3 million) loss compared to an €11.7 million profit in the year-ago period, but expects to benefit from approximately €80 million in annual synergies as a Lufthansa subsidiary, AAG Executive Board members Andreas Bierwirth and Peter Malanik told ATWOnline yesterday in Vienna.
Aer Lingus Group reached agreement with Airbus on deferred delivery of its new long-haul aircraft and terminated lease agreements on two A330s ahead of schedule. One leased A330 will leave the fleet in October, 18 months ahead of schedule, and the second will depart next March, 14 months ahead of schedule. EI already has returned two leased A330s this year and now plans to operate eight long-haul aircraft until 2013. The carrier placed an order in June 2007 for six A330-300Es and six A350s with A330 deliveries scheduled for 2009-11 and the A350s in 2014-15.
Rolls-Royce reported a £1.55 billion ($2.6 billion) profit in the first half of 2009 compared to a £339 million surplus in the year-ago semester, a surge largely due to financing income. Profit before financing was £593 million compared to £322 million the prior year. Its civil aerospace division reported an underlying profit before financing of £257 million, down 5.5% year-over-year. It delivered 424 engines, down from 462 in the first half of 2008, although underlying revenue rose 8.5% to £2.28 billion.
Austrian Airlines Group said it is "highly probable" that its deal with Lufthansa will be successfully concluded this month, or next month at the "latest,, following the European Commission's July 31 confirmation that it will approve the takeover ( ATWOnline, Aug. 3). It also said there are "clear signals that a positive decision is forthcoming in the financial aid proceeding," which Lufthansa has said is a condition of its acquisition.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. yesterday announced the closure of a $276 million private placement offering of senior secured notes due 2016 initiated in order to refinance, in part, debt scheduled to repaid in October.
Embraer reported that earnings for the second quarter fell 49.5% to $67.8 million compared to $134.4 million in the year-ago period largely owing to fewer higher-value commercial aircraft deliveries. Total deliveries for the quarter numbered 56, up from 52 last year; however, the number of E-Jet deliveries declined from 41 to 33. It delivered 15 Phenom 100 microjets. Net revenue was $1.46 billion, down 10.9%, also owing to the different product mix between the quarters.
ANA released details of the "emergency income recovery plan" designed to produce an additional ¥30 billion ($316.7 million) in revenue during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, and keep it on course for a full-year profit of ¥3 billion. It reported a ¥29.2 billion net loss in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 3).
China Southern Airlines reached agreement to sell six A300-600Rs, plus five spare PW4158-3 engines and spare parts, for $124 million to Tigris International of the Netherlands Antilles. Hong Kong-based Galink Aviation Technology acted as broker, CZ said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. CZ has been operating the aircraft for 14-16 years, it said, and expects a gain of approximately CNY46.6 million ($6.8 million) from the sale.
Air France started selling seats for its first commercial A380 flight on Nov. 23 from Paris Charles de Gaulle to New York JFK. It will be the first European airline to operate the A380 and the first carrier to fly transatlantic between Europe and the US. It also will operate the aircraft on a westbound flight Nov. 20 and return Nov. 21 and will auction off 380 of the 538 seats to benefit childrens' charities. The Web-based auction is scheduled for October.
Merpati Nusantara Airlines Twin Otter 300 carrying 16 passengers and three crew remained missing yesterday after failing to arrive at Oksibil on a scheduled 50-min. flight originating Sunday morning in Javapura. The aircraft first flew in 1979, according to the Aviation Safety Network.
Ryanair reached agreement with BNP Paribas, Calyon and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. for the financing of 55 737-800s scheduled for delivery between November 2009 and October 2010. Banks were mandated to act as joint arrangers for Ryanair's euro-dominated export credit facility from the US Export-Import Bank.
Continental Airlines 767-200 scheduled to land yesterday morning at Houston Intercontinental after departing Rio de Janeiro Galeao Sunday night diverted to Miami after severe turbulence injured at least 26 occupants, four seriously. Fourteen passengers were hospitalized, according to officials. A Continental spokesperson said the turbulence was "unanticipated" and occurred around 900 mi. from Miami, according to press reports.
British Airways reported a £106 million ($174.3 million) net loss for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, reversed from a £27 million profit in the year-ago period, citing "volatile" yields and "trading conditions [that] continue to be very challenging." CEO Willie Walsh said the carrier sees "no visible signs of improvement" in its ability to generate revenue, but he noted that "traffic volumes [that] are down considerably" have "stabilized" and "show some signs of improvement for the peak summer months."
ANA Group posted a net loss of ¥29.2 billion ($306.6 million) for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, reversed from a ¥6.6 billion profit in the year-ago period, as falling revenue "far outweighed" cost savings. "Beset by H1N1 influenza, which came on top of the global recession to further suppress demand to levels not seen before, the three-month period under review was tough in the extreme," Executive VP-Finance Tomohiro Hidema said. "Individual consumption in Japan was down, as companies saw tumbling revenues across the board and capital investment fell."
Spring Airlines reported a half-year net profit of CNY41.17 million ($6 million), a threefold year-over-year improvement, on a 20% lift in revenue to CNY894 million. The Shanghai-based carrier credited "effective cost control" and a "high load factor" for the result. It said it saved about CNY28.41 million in fuel expenses for the first six months and maintained a load factor of 95%, 17.4% higher than the domestic airline industry average.
Republic Airways Holdings reported second-quarter net income of $14.1 million, down 50.4% from a $28.4 million profit in the year-ago period, on an 18.2% fall in revenue to $320 million. Operating income dropped 18.4% to $53.6 million from $65.7 million as operating expenses lowered 18.2% to $266.3 million. During the quarter Republic made a bid to buy bankrupt Frontier Airlines.
