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.
SkyEurope Airlines, the financially troubled LCC based in Bratislava, said it has secured a new investor, FOCUS Equity B.V., which it said plans to invest €16.5million ($23.2 million). The carrier also said it will lease two 737-300s from Air Slovakia.
Ryanair will reduce winter schedule capacity at London Stansted by 40%, operating just 24 aircraft from the airport compared to the present 40. CEO Michael O'Leary said the decision "shows just how much [UK Prime Minister] Gordon Brown's £10 ($16.46) tourist tax and the BAA Monopoly's high airport charges are damaging London and UK tourism and the British economy generally," while reiterating that STN is one of Ryanair's two most expensive bases, the other being Dublin. The airline said BAA rejected its call for "deep cuts in these high passenger fees" this winter.
Air Canada suspended activity related to the implementation of a new reservations system under development with ITA Software. The carrier recorded a second-quarter impairment charge of C$67 million (US$61.9 million) related to the development of the system, dubbed Polaris.
Navtech expanded its contract with Delta Air Lines for its Preferential Bidding System crew rostering tool to include more than 4,500 pilots from Northwest Airlines.
Kingfisher Airlines reported a INR2.43 billion ($50 million) loss in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, widened from a INR1.58 billion deficit in the year-ago period, according to Dow Jones. Revenue dropped 6% year-over-year to INR13.14 billion and the board reportedly approved a INR5 billion equity raising through a rights issue, follow-on offer or placement of deposit receipts. EBITDA was positive at INR2.54 billion compared to a INR3.24 billion loss in the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The airline suffered a INR16.09 billion loss in the fiscal year ended March 31.
The global economic downturn, swine flu and unfavorable fuel hedges were enough to drag Singapore Airlines to its first quarterly deficit since 2003, a S$307.1 million ($212.6 million) loss that compared to a S$358.6 million profit in the fiscal first quarter of 2008-09.
Lufthansa yesterday said it reached "material agreement" with EU regulators on its proposed takeover of Austrian Airlines Group, but airline officials declined to reveal details as they announced LH's 88.4% year-over-year second-quarter profit drop to €40 million ($56.5 million).
Southwest Airlines, which launched service at Denver a little more than three years ago, announced yesterday that it has submitted a nonbinding proposal to bid for bankrupt Frontier Airlines, which now is scheduled to be sold at auction next month.
Citing sharp declines in volume and unit revenue for both passenger and cargo transport, Air France KLM yesterday announced a €431 million consolidated net loss in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, a marked deterioration from the €132 million profit earned in the year-ago period.
Ryanair will reduce Dublin winter capacity by 22% year-over-year, or by four aircraft to 14 based aircraft. It did not specify which routes would be affected, but weekly flights will drop below 1,000 from the approximately 1,200 operated to/from DUB in winter 2008-09. Last month it said it would lower the number of aircraft at DUB to 16. It said the newest cuts are the result of "high and rising costs at Dublin Airport, combined with an insanely stupid €10 ($14.12) tourist tax" imposed by the Irish government.
Alitalia released select financial and operating data for the period from Jan. 13, when it re-launched under new ownership as a merged company with Air One, to June 30 ( ATWOnline, March 4). It posted an operating loss of €273 million ($385.5 million), comprising a €210 million first-quarter loss and a €63 million second-quarter deficit.
Russian State Civil Aviation Administration said domestic airlines carried 18.8 million passengers through the first six months of 2009, down 18% year-over-year, Reuters reported. June passenger numbers fell 13.4% to 4.6 million. Frontier Airlines flew 804.4 million RPMs in June, down 13.1% year-over-year. Capacity fell 14.9% to 903.8 million ASMs, lifting load factor 1.8 points to 89%. Allegiant Air flew 468.8 million system RPMs in June, up 25.6% year-over-year. Capacity rose 29% to 527.3 million ASMs and load factor dropped 2.4 points to 88.9%.
Star Alliance added functionality to its website allowing customers to book and purchase round-the-world tickets. Such transactions previously required the assistance of an airline call center, ticket office or travel agent.
British Airways will remove inflight meals in economy class on flights shorter than 2.5 hr. from next week, although it will continue to serve breakfast on flights departing before 10 a.m. and offer free drinks and snacks. It expects to save £22 million ($36.1 million) annually as a result. It will not sell food onboard and claimed it is "not unusual to make small changes [to inflight catering] to avoid waste and save money where it makes sense and it meets customers' changing tastes." British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Assn.
Ameco Aviation College opened its new CNY50 million ($7.3 million), 7,400-sq.-m. extension at Beijing Capital International. Facility contains classrooms and a workshop. AAC now can host some 400 students for type training and 550 for basic/apprentice training at any given time. Ameco Beijing is a joint venture between Air China (60%) and Lufthansa (40%).
Turkish Airlines flew 17.3 billion RPKs through the first six months of 2009, up 11.2% from the year-ago semester. Capacity rose 19.1% to 25.3 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 4.8 points to 68.2%. Finnair flew 1.55 billion RPKs in June, down 13.4% year-over-year, against a 14.2% cut in capacity to 2.1 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 0.6 point to 74%. Air Berlin said June unit revenue rose 14% to 6.07 euro cents (8.63 cents). Passenger numbers fell 4.9% to 2.6 million on a 2.7% cut in seats to 3.3 million. Load factor slipped 1.8 points to 79.1%.
