Both Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines said year-over-year unit revenue declines are down to around 8%, providing some statistical indication that the US industry has weathered the worst of the demand storm.
Allegiant Air flew 350.5 million RPMs in November, up 25.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 24.6% to 387.9 million ASMs and load factor increased 0.6 point to 90.4%.
ARINC announced a comprehensive technology replacement agreement with Avicom Japan, that country's service provider for airline and civil aviation communications, under which it will enhance Japan's ACARS data link infrastructure with "efficient ACARS multiple-service technology." New technology will allow for increased data link message traffic while enabling Avicom to prepare for eventual controller-pilot data link communications and aeronautical telecommunications network operations, according to ARINC.
Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport announced an agreement with airline representatives regarding airport charges in 2010 and 2011. Charges will increase 4% on July 1 and an additional 3% on Oct. 1. On April 1, 2011, they will rise by another 3% and then by 2.5% on Oct. 1, 2011. In total, charges will rise 12.5% over the two-year period. The agreement is contingent on a deal setting a charge schedule in 2012-15 that must be reached by Feb. 19. In the absence of such a contract, charges will rise 8.4% on April 1.
TUI Travel, the tourism conglomerate that includes TUIfly, Thomson Airways, Arkefly, Corsairfly and Jet4you, among others, reported a £24 million ($39.6 million) deficit in its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, a 91% improvement from the £267 million loss suffered in the prior year. CEO Peter Long said the result was a reflection of "the effectiveness with which we have delivered merger synergies" and the fact that "the main summer holiday is an essential expenditure" for customers.
Shenzhen Airlines promised to maintain its operational stability following the Sunday arrest of controlling stakeholder Li Zeyuan, who was accused of economic crimes. Shenzhen President Li Kun has taken charge of the carrier in the interim. Launched in 1995, Shenzhen originally was a state-owned airline but was privatized when Shenzhen Huirun Group and Shenzhen Yiyang Group purchased a 65% share in May 2005. Li Zeyuan holds 89% of Huirun. CAAC and Air China, which holds a 25% stake in Shenzhen Airlines, have sent a working group to the carrier to help maintain stability.
American Airlines yesterday named ExpressJet President and CEO James Ream as its new senior VP-maintenance & engineering. He will take over on Jan. 1, succeeding the retiring Carmine Romano. Ream held various positions at AA between 1987 and 1995 and led ExpressJet for the past eight years.
What distinguishes these "high performers"? Accenture recently released a comprehensive study, "Achieving High Performance in the Airline Industry," that may provide some clues. The consultancy--which has spent the last six years conducting a wide-ranging research project trying to determine what distinguishes high-performance businesses across a range of industries--turned its attention to airlines, closely examining and analyzing the financial performance of carriers from around the world for the period 2001-07.
In October, Iberia disclosed plans to create a new short- and medium-haul carrier feeding its growing long-haul network of mainly Latin American services through its Madrid hub. The announcement was unexpected given that IB has a solid short/medium-haul network into MAD spanning all 38 domestic airports, 47 destinations in Europe and eight in North Africa that it serves with a fleet of 81 Airbus family aircraft.
US National Transportation Safety Board will dispatch a team to assist China's investigation into Saturday's crash of an MD-11F owned by Avient Aviation. The aircraft crashed on takeoff at Shanghai Pudong, killing three crewmembers and injuring four others. Indications are that it may have lifted off before the tail struck the runway. It was built in 1990 and subsequently converted. It was delivered recently to Avient and was en route to Bishkek.
Icelandair Group reported a ISK3.96 billion ($32.3 million) third-quarter profit, down 9.7% from the ISK4.39 billion earned in the year-ago period, and announced an agreement with co-owner Unimex Group to sell 20% of its stake in Czech LCC Travel Service at a ISK889 million loss.
EasyJet called for introduction of mandatory environmental standards covering the next generation of aircraft that will ensure a 40% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. "Step-change technology is in the pipeline, and we need tough legislation on emission standards for it to be delivered sooner," CEO Andy Harrison said last week. "Wartime has led to the biggest leaps in aviation technology.
Aer Lingus scheduled an extraordinary board meeting for today to determine an "alternative" plan to achieve its targeted €97 million ($145.4 million) in cost cuts in case ongoing negotiations with labor unions do not result in an agreement ( ATWOnline, Nov. 19). CEO Christoph Mueller confirmed that EI will "proceed with alternative means of delivering the savings within the same timeframe as the plan in the absence of agreement."
China Eastern Airlines' merger with Shanghai Airlines received final approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission yesterday, giving CEA clearance to grab about 50% of the Shanghai market. China Eastern plans to acquire SAL through a share swap in which each SAL share will be exchanged for 1.3 CEA shares. SAL will keep its brand ( ATWOnline, Oct. 12).
Finnair announced the transfer of some 490 Northport ground handling employees at Helsinki Vantaa to Barona Group, a staffing agency, and some 130 Cargo Terminal Operations warehouse employees to Suomen Transval, effective today. "By creating solutions based on strategic partnerships, we can change our fixed costs into variable costs and focus on Finnair's core business," Deputy CEO Lasse Heinonen said. Around 200 Northport employees went on strike yesterday to protest the decision and AY said that "delays and individual cancellations are possible" as a result.
ALAFCO, the Kuwaiti lessor, earned a KWD10.2 million ($35.8 million) net profit in its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, "slightly more" than the previous year, it said.
Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey told shareholders that the airline is back in the black after a difficult period at the beginning of 2009 and now is forecasting a profit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. "We are currently profitable again," he told the airline's annual general meeting in Brisbane. "We expect that if the market continues as it is at the moment we'll be able to maintain that guidance through to June 30 [2010]."
Air India and pilots represented by the Indian Commercial Pilots' Assn. reached an agreement Sunday that allowed the carrier to avoid a strike scheduled to begin today ( ATWOnline, Nov. 18). "The agreement involves some financial payout by the airline," an AI official told The Hindu. ICPA General Secretary R.S. Otaal said AI "accepted all our demands," according to Mint.
