Ryanair said it "welcomed" reports that the European Commission will not appeal the European Court of First Instance's annulment of the EC's ruling in the longstanding Ryanair/Charleroi state-aid case ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18, 2008) "The Commission simply got it wrong, as has been subsequently proven by the huge success of Charleroi Airport," Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said.
Air France Industries sold its stake in Hangxin Aviation Engineering Group to senior management and "cadre employees" at the Chinese component MRO organization. The share transfer agreement was initialed in December and signed on Feb. 19.
A nearly 50% year-over-year increase in revenue was not enough to save Norwegian from the damaging fluctuation in fuel prices last year as the LCC slid to a NOK7.6 million ($1.1 million) full-year loss from an NOK84.6 million profit in 2007.
Ryanair announced summer cutbacks at Liverpool owing to unfavorable exchange rates and the UK government's £10 ($14.22) air passenger duty that the LCC said is "devastating" traffic at the airport. It will reduce the number of aircraft based at LPL to six from seven and the number of weekly flights by 14% to 163, resulting in 50 job cuts. It recently has drawn down its service at several other airports for similar reasons ( ATWOnline, Feb.
Embraer announced yesterday that it will cut an estimated 20% of its workforce of 21,362 employees in response to an "unprecedented crisis affecting the global economy." The more than 4,000 cuts will be concentrated in production and administration, with a layer of management structure eliminated. Most of the engineering workforce will remain onboard continuing with new product and technology development. The Brazilian manufacturer forecasts $5.5 billion in revenue this year and expects to deliver 242 commercial and executive aircraft.
Emirates plans to expand 2009 passenger capacity by 14% year-over-year and cargo capacity by 17%, with a focus on adding new flights and larger aircraft to existing routes rather than adding a high number of new destinations. In its next fiscal year starting April 1 it plans to take delivery of seven A380s (bringing its total to 11), 10 777-300ERs, one 777-200LR and one 777 freighter. It will take delivery of a 777F before the end of the current fiscal year.
Southwest Airlines will begin serving Boston Logan this fall with a "conservative number of flights and a two-gate operation," according to Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly. SWA will continue to serve Providence and Manchester, N.H., and will release additional details regarding its BOS service "in the coming months." Kelly said using the airport "is a smart choice" for the LCC, which traditionally has operated at less congested, cheaper facilities, and that its BOS service "will be made possible by. .
Austrian Airlines Group board members Andreas Bierwirth and Peter Malanik told journalists in Vienna last night that the company lost at least €131.5 million ($165.5 million) in 2008 and January 2009, or half of the total value of its shares. It now expects to release full-year financial results on March 13.
Copa Airlines and Aero Republica parent Copa Holdings posted a $152.2 million profit in 2008, down 6% from the $161.1 million reported in 2007 as a result of a $20.2 million write-down in the value of its fuel hedges. Nearly all metrics improved on the operational front. The Panamanian company enjoyed a 25.5% year-over-year surge in revenue to $1.29 billion and a 13.4% rise in operating income to $224 million from $197.5 million in 2007.
AirTran Airways flew 1.27 billion RPMs in January, up 4.5% on the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 3.8% to 1.74 billion ASMs and load factor rose 5.8 points to 73.2%. Frontier Airlines flew 632.9 million RPMs in January, down 16% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 13.3% to 901.4 million ASMs and load factor fell 2.3 points to 70.2%. Passenger yield climbed 1.6% to 10.44 cents and RASM was down 1.7% to 7.33 cents.
JAL Group will integrate four subsidiary aircraft maintenance companies on Oct. 1, forming JAL Engineering Co. in a move intended to enhance productivity "and further strengthen the quality of aircraft maintenance services through the consolidation of expertise and technological know-how," according to the airline. The four companies are JAL Narita Aircraft Maintenance Co., JAL Tokyo Aircraft Maintenance Co., JAL Engine Technologies Co., and JAL Aviation Technologies Co.
Clickair board approved the merger with Vueling Airlines Wednesday and said CEO Alex Cruz will hold the same position at the merged carrier that will keep the Vueling name. Current Vueling Chairman Josep Pique will be chairman of the new entity, according to a statement cited by Reuters. The Spanish stock market regulator still must sign off on the tie-up ( ATWOnline, Feb. 16).
CFM International and Saudi Arabian Airlines finalized a $300 million order for CFM56-5Bs to power 22 new A320s with deliveries beginning this year. Order was announced at last year's Farnborough Air Show ( ATWOnline, July 15, 2008). SV also plans to lease an additional 28 CFM56-5B-powered A320s. CFM said that all of Saudi Arabian's CFM56-5B engines are the Tech Insertion configuration.
Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings befitted form the "unpredicted fortune" of the collapse of its two chief competitors in the first half of 2008 to post net income of $28.6 million for the year, more than four times its 2007 net profit of $7.1 million and a notable result given the substantial annual losses reported by most US carriers.
Virgin Blue watered down speculation that 400 employees will lose their jobs but announced a capacity cut flagging an end to some of the heavily discounted airfares being seen in the region. The airline plans to reduce capacity by 8% over the next 12 months by withdrawing five of its 76 aircraft from service. A spokesperson told ATWOnline that "some of the 400 staff affected" will be transferred to its new long-haul airline V Australia. Like many carriers, Blue also is looking at options such as job sharing, part-time work and leave without pay to minimize the job losses.
Pratt & Whitney's Columbus Engine Center retrofitted an IAE V2500-A5 owned by US Airways to a V2500 SelectOne. The V2500-A5 has been in service since Feb. 16, 1998, and has more than 38,000 hr. on wing with nearly 15,000 cycles. Pratt said it is "the first" to do this and, according to VP-Global Engine Centers Tom Mayes, "it is important because it shows airlines that it is possible to get even greater performance from one of their existing assets."
Republic Airways Holdings may take control of Mokulele Airlines after the Hawaiian carrier defaulted on an $8 million loan issued by the Indianapolis-based regional operator.
Allegiant Air, a leisure carrier that touts its service "to/from America's favorite small cities," will open its sixth base on May 1, when it launches operations at Los Angeles with flights to 12 destinations. The LCC will base two 150-seat MD-80s at LAX and fly to Bellingham (from May 2), Billings (May 22), Des Moines (May 24), Fargo (May 23), Grand Junction, Colo. (May 1), McAllen, Tex. (May 24), Medford, Ore. (May 1), Missoula (May 2), Monterey (May 3), Sioux Falls (May 23), Springfield, Mo. (May 3), and Wichita (May 23).
A year that featured the failure of ExpressJet Holdings' branded flying experiment ended with an $88.2 million net loss, widened 25.5% from the $70.2 million deficit reported in 2007.
Mesa Air Group, which operates as a regional partner with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways and independently as Mesa Airlines, reported net income of $15.9 million for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, reversed from a loss of $4.2 million in the year-ago period, and noted that Hawaiian inter-island subsidiary go! turned a profit for the first time. The regional operator reduced expenses on lower capacity and benefited from the sharp drop in fuel prices during the three months.
CFM International announced that Lufthansa selected the CFM56-5B to power 27 A319s/A320s it has on order. Contract is worth approximately $375 million and includes CFM's Tech Insertion option. Deliveries will commence this year and continue through 2012. LH currently operates more than 150 CFM56-powered Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the Snecma/General Electric joint venture said.
SAS Group airlines flew 1.72 billion RPKs in January, down 14.8% year-over-year. Capacity fell 9.8% to 2.84 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 3.6 points to 60.7%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 1.6 billion RPKs, down 15.3%, against a 10.1% fall in capacity to 2.62 billion ASKs. Load factor declined 3.8 points to 61.3%. Finnair flew 1.96 billion RPKs in January, a 6.3% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.3% to 2.52 billion ASKs and load factor was up 4.4 points to 77.8%.
Sharjah-based LCC Air Arabia concluded a "landmark" 2008 with a AED509.7 million ($138.7 million) profit, up 35.6% from the AED376 million reported in 2007.
AAR Corp. announced an agreement with US FAA that "terminates" the agency's emergency order of suspension that forced the company to shut down its Miami landing gear facility ( ATWOnline, Feb. 12). AAR Landing Gear Services "agreed to a variety of revisions to its maintenance procedures and manuals, enhanced training," and will revise its method of documentation for maintenance performed, AAR said. Operations will restart "no later than Feb.
