AAR named Dave Cann VP-regulatory compliance. He was head of US FAA's Flight Standards Service Aircraft Maintenance Division until his retirement one year ago.
US Airways confirmed yesterday that it will report a full-year loss, which was expected after it ended the third quarter $1.67 billion in the red. Its fourth-quarter result will be impacted by a $0.77-per-gal. loss on its fuel hedging contracts, which accounted for 60% of its mainline consumption. However, it expects to report a full-year gain of $0.12 per gal. In December the group flew 4.82 consolidated RPMs, down 0.9% from the year-ago month, against a 6.2% fall in capacity to 6.06 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 4.3 points to 79.6%.
Air France KLM appears to be on the verge of being named a minority partner in the reorganized Alitalia, beating out Lufthansa for the right to purchase a 20%-25% stake, according to widespread press reports from Italy. Investor group Compagnia Aerea Italia met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday and "explained . . . their preference for Air France and were told there were no objections from the government," a CAI source told Reuters in Rome ( ATWOnline, Dec. 15, 2008).
Thai Airways will seek a delay in the delivery of six A330s scheduled to arrive between April and year end, having already received permission from Airbus to push back payments ( ATWOnline, Jan. 7). "We want to negotiate for more time before the delivery. The more months we can delay, the easier it is for us to manage our expenses," acting Chairman Surachai Thansitpong told Bloomberg News. Thai will continue to use aircraft that were scheduled to be replaced by the new A330s.
Cathay Pacific Airways said it expects to report a HK$7.6 billion ($980.2 million) unrealized mark-to-market loss on its fuel hedging contracts for 2008 and that its full-year financial result is "still expected to be disappointing." It issued a profit warning two months ago and said that "revenue has continued to weaken" since that time ( ATWOnline, Nov. 7, 2008).
Goodrich and Rolls-Royce completed formation of their 50/50 engine controls joint venture. Aero Engine Controls will supply controls for Rolls aircraft engines. Goodrich said it will retain the aftermarket products and services business associated with the JV's products and that as part of the transaction it received $100 million in cash, which was used to make a voluntary incremental contribution to its pension plan.
Continental Airlines 737-800 took off from Houston Intercontinental yesterday afternoon and flew for approximately 1 hr. 45 min. with the No. 2 CFM56-7B powered by a biofuel blend including algae oil supplied by Sapphire Energy and jatropha oil provided by Terasol Energy. The flight follows Air New Zealand's 747-400 test flight last week that featured one engine powered by a jatropha blend ( ATWOnline, Jan. 6). The CO aircraft burned 3,600 lb. of 50/50 mix of jet fuel and biofuel in one engine and 3,700 lb.
Ryanair and Aer Lingus both confirmed Tuesday talks, and while the former did not comment, EI released a statement yesterday saying the LCC's bid is "not capable of completion."
Austrian Airlines has found places in its network for two 767-300ERs made available through a reduction in service to Mumbai and Chicago O'Hare. One will operate on OS's daily Vienna-Tel Aviv service beginning this spring while the other will fly on its six-times-weekly VIE-Dubai service beginning March 1, increasing capacity on the route by 20%. Five additional flights to DXB are operated with A320s or 737-800s.
Wizz Air said it transported 5.9 million passengers in 2008, a 41% increase over 2007. It currently operates 20 A320s and plans to take delivery of seven this year. It is targeting more than 8 million passengers in 2009. Air Canada and Jazz flew 3.28 billion RPMs in December, down 6.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 9.9% to 4.56 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 2.9 points to 81.7%. EasyJet transported 3.1 million passengers in December, up 7.3% from the year-ago month. Load factor rose 3.3 points to 82.3%.
British Airways soon will announce new restructuring measures designed to reduce costs and increase efficiency, it indicated in BA News, its in-house weekly newspaper. "Only through delivering fundamental change can we achieve the small profit we are targeting this year and emerge from the crisis as a strong global player," CFO Keith Williams said, warning that the shakeup will be "far-reaching, reshaping our company from top to bottom."
AerCap Holdings announced a facility agreement with Calyon SA and "other banks and financial institutions" outlining terms under which European export credit agencies Coface (France), ECGD (UK) and Euler-Hermes (Germany) may guarantee up to $1.4 billion in financing. AerCap said the figure "represents a significant portion" of the financing required for an A330 order scheduled for delivery in 2009-12. According to AerCap, the loans are to be provided by a syndicate of banks led by Calyon acting as Global Arranger "and are subject to customary ECA requirements."
United Airlines flew 8.2 billion RPMs in December, down 11.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 12.7% to 10.26 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1.1 points to 79.9%. British Airways flew 9.18 billion RPKs in December, down 3.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 3% to 11.98 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 0.2% to 76.7%. Ryanair transported 4.4 million passengers in December,11% more than in the year-ago month. Load factor was level at 79%.
Southwest Airlines said it has completed the private placement of $400 million in senior secured notes due to mature on Dec. 15, 2011. They will bear interest at 10.5% per year and are secured by an interest in 17 737-700s.
Thai Airways received permission from Airbus to delay the initial payment on six A330s scheduled to be delivered this year, acting President Narongsak Sangapong told Reuters. Payment will be postponed to April from this month, with subsequent payments also pushed back three months. The first of eight ordered A330s is due to arrive in April.
China Southern Airlines posted a $6.3 million gain on its fuel hedges in 2008, becoming the only Chinese carrier to avoid the impact of last year's wildly fluctuating oil prices. The Guangdong-based airline suspended its hedging contract in September, which is why it was able to remain in the black, a company insider told ATWOnline yesterday.
DAE Capital signed a sale and leaseback contract with Air New Zealand covering two 777-300ERs. Lease terms are for 12 years and aircraft are due to be delivered in January and March 2011.
Emirates has saved about 10 million liters of fuel and 772 hr. of flight time in the five years since it started working with Airservices Australia to pioneer Flex Tracks. The program involves the use of sophisticated ground and cockpit technology to track live weather and helps pilots chase tailwinds and favorable conditions. It was developed by ASA in December 2003 ( ATW, April 2006).
Frontier Airlines pilots represented by the Frontier Airline Pilots Assn. ratified a labor agreement Monday that will extend wage and benefit concessions through Dec. 11, 2011 ( ATWOnline, May 23, 2008). "This agreement is important because now 100% of our workers have made wage and benefit concessions, a factor that will prove critical in attracting exit financing for our emergence from bankruptcy," Frontier President and CEO Sean Menke said.
Ryanair extended to Feb. 13 the deadline for Aer Lingus shareholders to accept its takeover offer while confirming that on the initial closing date of Jan. 5 it had received acceptances totaling just 29.83% of the shares in EI, including its own stake of 29.82%.
Aeroflot said it plans to post a profit of RUB9.3 billion ($316 million) this year, which would be "higher than the expected level of 2008," as it moves forward with a plan and budget "taking into account the anti-crisis-management program aimed at increasing the efficiency of the operational and commercial activity."
The mystery surrounding what is now dubbed the Ningaloo Triangle centered at Western Australia's North West Cape near Exmouth deepened last week when it was confirmed that Qantas experienced a second air data inertial reference unit failure in just four months in the area ( ATWOnline, Nov. 17, 2008).
Air Canada boosted its liquidity with a series of financial agreements in late December. It arranged a five-year, $78 million loan from Calyon New York Branch and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale and secured a revolving credit facility with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which agreed to provide AC with up to C$100 million ($82.9 million) of revolving credit for one year. AC said it drew C$50 million from the facility upon closing. The carrier also concluded a series of agreements for secured financings with General Electric Capital Corp.
