JetBlue Airways yesterday reported a $20 million second-quarter profit, reversed from a $9 million loss in the year-ago period, and said it expects to remain in the black in both the third and fourth quarters. "We believe our strong brand, unique value proposition and ongoing focus on maintaining financial strength will position us for continued success in this recessionary environment. Despite a challenging revenue outlook, we continue to expect to generate a profit every quarter this year," CEO Dave Barger said.
MyAir suspended all operations following a decision by Italian civil aviation authority ENAC to revoke the LCC's AOC effective July 24. ENAC said MyAir's service became unreliable owing to persistent financial difficulties and that it failed to meet restructuring-related obligations. The carrier had been flying on a provisional AOC since June 25. It operated scheduled services linking a dozen Italian cities and destinations in Europe and Morocco with a mixed fleet of A320s and CRJ900s. It commenced operations in December 2004 and had its main bases at Bergamo and Venice.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air parent Alaska Air Group reported second-quarter net income of $29.1 million, down 53.9% from a $63.1 million profit in the year-ago period, but said earnings improved excluding special charges owing to significantly lower fuel costs.
Air France KLM flew 17.07 billion RPKs in June, down 6.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 5% to 21.25 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 1.1 points to 80.3%. Air Canada and Jazz flew 4.17 billion RPMs in June, a 9.1% drop year-over-year, against a 7.6% cut in capacity to 5.15 billion ASMs. Load factor slipped 1.3 points to 80.9%. AirTran Airways flew 1.76 billion RPMs in June, down 6.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 5.3% to 2.11 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 1.1 points to 83.6%.
UPS reported second-quarter net income of $445 million, down 49% from $873 million in the year-ago period, on a 16.7% reduction in revenue to $10.8 billion. Chairman and CEO Scott Davis said that while weak global economic conditions have "pressured" the delivery company, "UPS remains financially very strong" and "can weather this recession." CFO Kurt Kuehn added, "Declines in both our domestic and international business appear to be stabilizing but volumes will remain significantly below last year's levels. .
Copa Airlines said the US Export-Import Bank offered a final commitment for financing two 737-800s scheduled for delivery this year and preliminary commitments covering 10 additional aircraft for delivery in 2010-12. Copa has 25 737NGs on order from Boeing.
AirTran Airways parent AirTran Holdings reported a second-quarter net profit of $78.4 million, reversed from a net loss of $14.8 million in the year-ago period, and projected it will maintain profitability in the second half of 2009 despite the poor economic environment.
Oxford Aviation Academy signed a five-year agreement with British Airways covering provision of pilot training and simulator time for BA CityFlyer's incoming E-170s and E-190SRs.
Aeroflot carried 758,100 passengers in June, an 11.1% decline year-over-year. Load factor fell 3.8 points to 70.7%. Through the half-year, SU's passenger numbers fell 12.1% to 3.9 million, with load factor at 63.5%.
ExpressJet Holdings reported a $13.1 million second-quarter loss, an improvement from the $34.3 million deficit during the same period a year ago. Revenue plunged 61.9% to $170.6 million, a decline attributed to a drop in passengers and the suspension of its ExpressJet branded and Delta Air Lines operations. Operating loss narrowed to $10.8 million from $43.7 million as expenses sank 29.8% to $20.3 million. "These results are reflective of the worldwide drop in passenger revenues, which are forecast to continue through 2009," President and CEO Jim Ream said.
US scheduled passenger airlines employed 6.8% fewer fulltime-equivalent workers in May than in the year-ago month, according to the Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. It marked the 11th consecutive month of decline. The seven network airlines reduced their May employee rolls by 8.2% year-over-year, LCCs' rose 1.2% and regionals' fell 7.7%.
Allegiant Air parent Allegiant Travel Co. continued to defy the shrinking economy during the second quarter, launching 20 new routes and posting a net profit of $23.9 million that compared to earnings of just $2.6 million in the corresponding 2008 period.
Assn. of European Airlines expressed concern over "the continuing trend on the part of airports across Europe to increase the fees they charge to their airline customers in order to compensate themselves for lower traffic levels during the current recession." It said the practice particularly is evident in Germany, where Frankfurt Airport is proposing an 8.4% boost next January to fund future expansion on top of a 4.6% hike for "central infrastructure." Munich announced a 4% increase in charges.
Niki wants 50% of the traffic rights between Vienna and Eastern Europe if Lufthansa's acquisition of Austrian Airlines Group is confirmed, President Niki Lauda told ATWOnline. "So far AAG has all the traffic rights to Eastern Europe, except our daily Vienna-Moscow DME service," Lauda said. "We have no idea how and if the merger will be completed. My company has to answer an additional 40 question from the European Commission regarding the process" by July 27.
Ryanair said it "will continue to explore the concept of 'fare-free standing' flights with Boeing and the relevant aviation authorities in the US and EU" after 66% of 120,000 passengers participating in an online poll said they would be willing to stand in the cabin on flights 1 hr. or shorter if the fare was free. The LCC said 42% would stand for half price and 60% felt standing should be an option ( ATWOnline, July 7).
Delta Air Lines posted a second-quarter net loss of $257 million, narrowed from a $1.04 billion deficit in the year-ago period, with results for both quarters heavily affected by special charges. For the current period, $58 million in expenses related to DL's acquisition of Northwest Airlines and fuel hedge losses of $390 million pushed it into red. Absent these charges, it would have reported a net profit of $191 million. In the year-ago period, it would have earned $137 million excluding $1.3 billion in special charges largely related to goodwill impairment.
Ryanair will reduce winter schedule capacity at London Stansted by 40%, operating just 24 aircraft from the airport compared to the present 40. CEO Michael O'Leary said the decision "shows just how much [UK Prime Minister] Gordon Brown's £10 ($16.46) tourist tax and the BAA Monopoly's high airport charges are damaging London and UK tourism and the British economy generally," while reiterating that STN is one of Ryanair's two most expensive bases (along with Dublin).
Continental Airlines reported a second-quarter net loss of $213 million, widened from a $5 million deficit in the year-ago quarter, and announced it will cut 1,700 additional jobs "across the company" to mitigate the impact of "significant declines in high-yield traffic." Speaking to analysts and reporters, CO executives said business passengers have "curtailed travel" or switched to economy-class tickets. Compounding the 27% year-over-year dip in premium tickets are demand-stimulating low fares on economy seats, President and COO Jeff Smisek said.
Snecma won a six-year engine service per hr. contract from WindJet covering the CFM56-5As powering the Italian airline's A319s and A320s. AJ Walter Aviation signed a power-by-the-hr. contract with Belle Air covering the Albanian airline's A320 family aircraft. Belle plans to operate up to seven Airbus narrowbodies within three years.
East Star Airlines asked CAAC for permission to resume operations despite a Wuhan court's rejection of takeover offers from China National Aviation Fuel Holding Co. and Shanghai YuField. East Star was forced to suspend operations and enter bankruptcy owing to its heavy debt burden and the March collapse of a share sale deal with Air China parent CNAC ( ATWOnline, July 17).
Delta Air Lines is adding a $5 charge for each of the first two pieces of luggage checked at an airport ticket counter, kiosk or curbside on domestic tickets purchased on/after July 16 for travel from Aug. 4. Bag fees paid online (DL charges $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second) will not be subject to the $5 fee.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. posted a second-quarter net profit of $28 million largely owing to $305 million in noncash mark-to-market fuel hedge gains, much improved over a $2.74 billion loss in the year-ago period when goodwill impairment charges dragged down the bottom line.
Southwest Airlines returned to profit after three consecutive quarters in the red, earning $54 million in the second quarter, down 83.2% from $321 million in the year-ago period, although it warned that "based on weak travel demand and fuel price volatility, we cannot predict a profitable third quarter 2009."
