Czech government selected Air France KLM and the Unimex/Travel Service consortium to proceed to the second round of bidding for a 91.5% stake in CSA Czech Airlines ( ATWOnline, March 24). Aeroflot and Odien, a private investor firm, were rejected. AF KLM issued a statement confirming its selection but provided no further details.
Macquarie AirFinance closed the purchase of two CFM56-5B3/P-powered A321-200s from Aercap. Aircraft are on lease to Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia through 2015.
Jamaica Defense Force counterterrorism unit stormed a CanJet 737 that had been hijacked on the ground for more than 8 hr. at Montego Bay by a lone gunman early yesterday morning, arresting the perpetrator and freeing six hostages. The ordeal began at around 10 p.m. Sunday night when "a young man armed with a gun. . .forced his way through security checkpoints" and boarded the 737, which was on a stopover en route to Santa Clara, Cuba, from Halifax, according to CanJet. The perpetrator demanded to be taken to Cuba.
Austrian Airlines Group flew 1.24 billion RPKs in March, an 18.1% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 14.3% to 1.72 billion ASKs and load factor was down 3.3 points to 72.1%. Pinnacle Airlines flew 407.1 million RPMs in March, up 0.5% year-over-year, against a 6.4% increase in capacity to 550.4 million ASMs. Load factor dropped 4.3 points to 74%. SkyEurope Airlines transported 307,540 passengers last month, down 39% year-over-year. Load factor rose 2.7 points to 73.6%.
Swiss International Air Lines CEO Christoph Franz confirmed to ATWOnline yesterday that passenger numbers in first and business class dropped at a double-digit rate during the past several months, leading the airline to park one A340-300 until summer. "This is equivalent to a 6% drop in long-haul capacity that we originally planned for the summer of 2009," Chief Network and Distribution Officer Harry Hohmeister said. If the downturn continues, Franz said LX conceivably could ground more aircraft. "But then you ruin your network," he conceded.
Singapore Airlines suffered another record passenger decline in March, a 23% year-over-year plunge to 1.3 million. RPKs fell 21.8% to 6.27 billion against a 9% cut in capacity to 9.03 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 11.4 points to 69.4%. Loads fell in all regions, with the deepest reduction (18 points) on European routes. China Southern Airlines flew 7.29 billion RPKs in March, up 4.8% year-over-year. Capacity climbed 3.3% to 9.65 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 1.1 points to 75.6%.
Austrian Airlines Group confirmed to ATWOnline that it will stay afloat until it is taken over by Lufthansa. AAG Executive Board member and CCO Andreas Bierwirth told shareholders at a meeting last week that €90 million ($118.8 million) is still available from the €200 million in aid granted by the Austrian government and that the amount will be sufficient until LH's acquisition of the struggling carrier is approved ( ATWOnline, March 20).
On the heels of a HK$8.56 billion ($1.1 billion) 2008 loss that represented its first full-year deficit in a decade, Cathay Pacific Airways said Friday that it will confront a "toxic combination" of challenges with measures including an 8% capacity cut beginning next month and unpaid leave for employees.
Southwest Airlines Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly last week strongly rejected Wall Street advice that the LCC begin charging for checked baggage to generate more revenue. During a conference call to discuss SWA's third consecutive quarterly loss, multiple analysts pushed Kelly to follow other US carriers and implement baggage fees. But he insisted the move would drive away customers. "The bottom line assessment is we believe we're having a meaningful impact [telling consumers] that we are alone in not charging bag fees and that [impression] is increasing our demand," Kelly explained.
Airbus said it "achieved a significant maintenance cost improvement due to the optimization of scheduled maintenance program intervals" for the A330/A340 family. The A check interval has been extended from 600 to 800 flight hr. and the heavy maintenance check from 10 years to 12. The company said that as a result, operators typically will need to perform five A checks per year rather than seven based on "typical utilization" of 4,400 flight hr. per year.
Shenzhen Airlines reported a first-quarter net profit of CNY160 million owing to a strong rebound in the domestic market; the year-ago result was not available and the carrier did not disclose its first-quarter revenue, expenses, passenger or cargo traffic. Owing to double-digit growth in the domestic market, Chinese carriers posted a collective net profit for the quarter of CNY1.78 billion, according to CAAC.
Nice Cote d'Azur Airport and Air France, in partnership with Amadeus and IER, are trialing a new "Pass and Fly" boarding device through Oct. 30 on the Nice-Paris Orly route. It is being offered to members of NCE's Club Airport Premier program and AF's loyalty program.
Malev Hungarian Airlines last week named Martin Gauss, who has been working with the carrier as a consultant, as its new CEO. Geza Vehervary, who had been holding the position on an interim basis, will remain COO. Gauss was a 737 pilot at British Airways subsidiary Deutsche BA in the early 1990s before entering management. He was named MD of dba in 2004 and remained in the post after its 2006 merger with Air Berlin. He became CEO of Cirrus Airlines in October 2007 and left to become a consultant in June 2008.
Blue Wings' future is up in the air again following a threat from majority shareholder Alexander Lebedev to "probably file for bankruptcy. . .to make a point that it is the German government's fault." Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Lebedev said the LBA still has not reissued Blue Wings' operating license and that the suspended carrier has lost some €25 million ($33.1 million) this month ( ATWOnline, April 8).
Shanghai-based Spring Airlines plans to order 30-50 aircraft from Airbus despite the economic downturn, Chairman Wang Zhenghua said. Wang noted that the fleet expansion plan still requires CAAC approval, which is not a given considering the regulator's stance that Chinese carriers should cancel or delay aircraft orders ( ATWOnline, Dec. 19, 2008).
Gulf Air officially turned its eight 787 options into firm orders, lifting its commitment to the next-generation widebody to 24 and giving Boeing its first 787 orders this year. The manufacturer recorded the deal on its Orders and Deliveries website this week even though the Bahraini carrier had committed to the extra eight aircraft last summer ( ATWOnline, Sept. 5, 2008).
JetBlue Airways announced that industry veteran Russ Chew, who was brought onboard after a weather-related operational meltdown two years ago ( ATW, October 2007), will "transition" from his role as president and COO to that of a senior adviser. Senior VP-Airports and Operational Planning Rob Maruster has been promoted to COO and CEO Dave Barger will add the title of president, both effective June 1.
Air China joined its "big three" rivals in suffering a significant 2008 loss, reporting a CNY9.15 billion ($1.34 billion) deficit under Chinese accounting standards that marked a reversal from the CNY3.7 billion profit in the previous year.
After four consecutive years in the black, Royal Jordanian suffered a JOD23.4 million ($32.8 million) net loss in 2008 as it absorbed JOD46.7 million in fuel hedge losses after reporting a JOD20.4 million profit in 2007. Operating revenue rose 29% to JOD703 million on a 14.1% increase in passenger numbers to 2.7 million. Yield grew 11% due to the increased ticket prices necessitated by soaring fuel costs. RJ's fuel bill jumped nearly 73% to around JOD285 million. It posted an JOD18.7 million profit excluding taxes and hedge losses.
Eroding international premium traffic showed no signs of recovery in February, plunging 21.1% year-over-year following January's 16.7% drop, IATA reported. International economy traffic also fell, lowering 8.3% in February after a 4.7% dip in January. But it is the steep slide in demand for premium tickets that truly has shaken the global airline industry ( ATWOnline, March 18).
SuperJet International, the Sukhoi/Alenia Aeronautica joint venture, received EASA Part 145 certification from ENAC allowing it to perform aircraft maintenance, completion and customization work. The Venice-based marketing, customization and support company for the Superjet 100 said it hopes to receive Part 147 training certification and Design Organization Approval, essential to the design and development of VIP and cargo variants, by year end. That certification also will enable it to carry out line maintenance on A320s at Venice.
Southwest Airlines' stretch of unprofitability continued with a first-quarter net loss of $91 million, reversed from a $34 million profit in the year-ago period and the LCC's third consecutive quarter in the red, leading it to initiate a "systemwide voluntary early-out program" as part of an effort to "align headcount to current capacity."
Ryanair confirmed that TUI UK agreed to stop "screenscraping" its website in settlement of legal proceedings filed against it. The English High Court approved the cease-and-desist agreement that was signed by TUI on March 26 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 19, 2008).
