Air France KLM flew 16.11 billion RPKs in January, a 1.9% fall from the year-ago month. Capacity was down 1.2% to 21.03 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 0.5 point to 76.6%. Hawaiian Airlines flew 647.6 million RPMs in January, down 0.6% year-over-year. Capacity rose 5.4% to 827.3 million ASMs and load factor fell 4.8 points to 78.3%. Gol flew 2.32 billion system RPKs in January, down 10.2% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 10.7% to 3.37 billion ASKs and load factor rose 0.4 point to 68.9%.
Air China is evaluating the purchase of a 24% stake in Air China Cargo worth CNY718 million from Beijing Capital Airport Holding Co. CA Board Secretary Huang Bing noted a final decision on making the cargo company a wholly owned CA subsidiary "will depend on the specific situation of the cargo market at home and abroad." Last year the airline raised its stake in Air China Cargo to 76% from 51% through purchase of Gold Leaf Enterprise Holdings' stake in CA Cargo shareholder Langxing Co ( ATWOnline, Feb.
This year may not be a good one for regional airlines as mainline partners continue to cut capacity and seek contract concessions, analysts from Raymond James & Associates said at last week's Growth Airline Conference in New York. "Capacity is being reduced and organic growth opportunities are limited," analyst Duane Pfennigwerth said. "Future growth could come from consolidation or a move towards more high risk opportunities."
Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson said the manufacturer is "cautiously optimistic" regarding 2010 but is "prepared" to cut aircraft production rates if necessary.
Volga-Dnepr Group, parent of Volga-Dnepr Airlines and AirBridgeCargo Airlines, increased revenue from its charter and scheduled air cargo services by 46% in 2008 to $1.4 billion. Cargo tonnage rose 25% year-over-year to 267,000 tonnes and FTKs jumped 32%.
Massive fuel hedging losses and falling revenue resulted in a 43% drop in fiscal third-quarter profit at Singapore Airlines Group, to S$337.2 million ($225.5 million) from the S$590 million earned in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2007.
Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee yesterday released its final report on last September's Aeroflot Nord 737-500 accident near Perm that killed all 88 onboard, finding that the pilot who "lost spatial orientation" had been drinking.
Greece's Marfin Investment Group said it is "ready to proceed to direct negotiations" with the government regarding its floundering effort to privatize Olympic Airlines and that it is willing to invest up to €200 million ($259.5 million) to acquire OA's three divisions. The government's tender failed to produce a satisfactory offer by last week's deadline ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5), at which point officials reached out to Greek investors seeking a bid.
Southwest Airlines began testing onboard Wi-Fi Internet connectivity in conjunction with Row 44 yesterday, deploying the technology on one 737. It also is partnering with Yahoo! to offer an inflight homepage. Service will be free during the test period, which will last "the next few months" and include three more aircraft that SWA is in the process of equipping. US Federal Communications Commission has not given approval for permanent inflight use and SWA said it will wait to evaluate the trial period before deciding whether to move forward with fleetwide equipage.
SunExpress, the joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, reported a 33.8% year-over-year increase in 2008 revenue to €406.8 million ($526.2 million) on a 40.9% surge in passenger numbers to 4.2 million. Load factor rose 1.1 points to 77.6%. It said it was profitable but did not release financial figures. SunExpress operates 14 737-800s and three 757-200s and will take delivery this year of three -800s that will replace the leased 757s. It will fly 816 weekly frequencies to 87 destinations during the upcoming summer schedule.
Thomas Cook Group announced that it plans to acquire Lufthansa's 24.9% stake in its Condor Airlines subsidiary for €77.2 million ($99.9 million) under options granted in 2007. Condor transported just under 7 million passengers last year but suffered a 10% year-over-year decline in January, a source close to the airline told ATWOnline. Last fall, Thomas Cook pulled out of negotiations to combine Condor, TUI Travel's TUIfly and LH's Germanwings ( ATWOnline, Sept. 30, 2008).
Bandeirante operated by Brazil's Manaus Aerotaxi crashed in the Manacapuru River Saturday while on its way to the Amazon city of Coari, killing both pilots and 22 of the 26 passengers onboard. The aircraft, which first flew in 1981, was certified to carry a maximum of 19 passengers, according to the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network.
Delta Air Lines said yesterday that it and subsidiary Northwest Airlines will stop using about 170 gates at airports throughout the US as the merged carriers consolidate operations. CEO Richard Anderson told employees in a recorded message that DL and NWA facilities at US airports all will bear the Delta name by year end. Branding will become uniform at airports internationally by the middle of next year, he said. He claimed the consolidation of airport facilities "translates into multimillions of dollars of rental savings."
US airlines posted an ontime arrival rate of 76% in 2008, up from 73.4% the year before, the US Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported. In December, the 19 reporting carriers were on time at a 65.3% rate, up 1 point year-over-year. Airlines cancelled 3.3% of their domestic scheduled flights, a 0.2-point improvement from December 2007. Hawaiian Airlines' December ontime arrival rate of 79.6% was the best, followed by US Airways at 72.1% and American Airlines at 69.9%. Worst was Comair at 55.1%, followed by Alaska Airlines at 58.4%.
Virgin Group President Richard Branson was upbeat at Friday's Seattle delivery ceremony as V Australia took delivery of the first of seven 777-300ERs and, speaking to ATWOnline, dismissed naysayers who warned of starting an airline in difficult times.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is not interested in joining a global alliance even as it copes with the impact of the global downturn ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5).
Cargolux Airlines International announced the launch of Cargolux Italia, a subsidiary that will operate long-haul cargo flights from Milan Malpensa. It plans to start operations as soon as ENAC grants certification, which is expected in April. No further details were announced.
EASA formally approved the 777F Friday following FAA certification on Feb. 3, Boeing announced. Launch customer Air France is scheduled to take first delivery this quarter ( ATWOnline, Nov. 18, 2008).
Malev Hungarian Airlines is late paying January wages to its employees and reportedly was able to distribute just HUF50,000 ($217.68) to each worker last Friday, promising the remainder following this week's extraordinary general meeting concerning the carrier's takeover by Russia's Vneshekonombank ( ATWOnline, Jan. 28).
Japan Airlines parent JAL Group reported a net loss of ¥38.5 billion ($428 million) for its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, reversed from a ¥13.1 billion net profit in the year-ago period, citing a "downward slide" in demand and "volatile" fuel prices.
American Airlines flew 9.64 billion system RPMs in January, down 11.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 8.3% to 13.07 billion ASMs and load factor fell 2.8 points to 73.8%. American Eagle flew 521.9 million RPMs, down 17.9%, against a 12.4% decline in capacity to 852.6 million ASMs. Load factor was down 4.1 points to 61.2%. Delta Air Lines flew 8.87 billion system RPMs in January, a 2.2% drop year-over-year. Capacity was down 8.5% to 7.34 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1.5 points to 76.4%.
Air France Industries, KLM Engineering & Maintenance and Aviation Repair Technologies Services formed an engine disassembly joint venture, Turbine Support International. TSI will disassemble, inspect and repair CF6-50, CF6-80 and CFM-56 parts to support engine repair activities on AF's and other third-party airlines and lessors. AFI and KLM E&M will assume a majority stake in TSI, which will be based at ART's Arkansas facility.
MacAir Airlines, an Australian regional carrier that served Queensland with 11 aircraft, shut down Friday. It operated one ATR 42-500, six Saab 340Bs and four Metro 23s and recently had entered voluntary administration.
British Airways was £127 million ($286 million) in the red through the first nine months of its fiscal year, compared to a £642 million surplus in the year-ago period, implying a net loss of £85 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008. CEO Willie Walsh cited "further economic weakness and the fall in sterling" for the result, while the airline repeated its forecast of a £150 million operating loss for the full year ( ATWOnline, Jan. 27).
