Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways are emphasizing that their newly formed "alliance" is not a merger or a precursor to one but was necessary to "enable a stabilization of the Indian aviation industry in the larger public interest."
Bmi announced the promotion of Interim Commercial Director Martyn Bridger to commercial and service director and Interim Marketing Director Katherine Gershon to sales and marketing director.
Turkish Airlines moved forward with its fleet renewal, announcing yesterday its intention to place an order for 25 widebody and 50 single-aisle aircraft plus 10 widebody and 10 narrowbody options.
Ryanair said it "may" decide to close its Valencia base Friday over a dispute with the regional government, which the LCC claimed "has opted to support other airlines who have not provided a fraction of the growth which Ryanair has to the airport" and has failed to reply to its "proposal on how to ensure the continued growth" at VLC. It set Friday as a deadline for that response. No further details were provided.
Air Berlin confirmed that it is discussing a possible merger with TUIfly, whose effort to combine with Condor and Germanwings was scuttled when Condor parent Thomas Cook withdrew last month ( ATWOnline, Sept. 30). "There are talks, but no results," an AB spokesperson told Bloomberg News.
Jazeera Airways has partnered with NBK Capital and DVB Bank to launch a Kuwait-based aircraft lessor called Sahaab Aircraft Leasing, the companies announced yesterday. Sahaab has been capitalized at $375 million and plans to order 40-50 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus next year, according to press reports. Jazeera CEO Marwan Boodai told Reuters that the low-fare airline will be Sahaab's first customer and that "the Gulf offers plenty of growth opportunities. Cash is here."
Malaysia Airlines is postponing its decision on its long-haul fleet renewal owing to current market conditions, CEO and MD Idris Jala told ATWOnline at the World Route Development Forum in Kuala Lumpur. "It is clear that we will delay the process to look at a widebody aircraft order. We are not in a hurry," he said. MAS had anticipated analyzing future widebody requirements in the current quarter to complement its spring commitment for 35 737-800s plus 20 options ( ATWOnline, April 1).
SkyWorks Leasing entered a comprehensive aircraft management and remarketing agreement with Philip Morris Capital Corp. covering the latter's entire portfolio of 119 aircraft currently on lease to US carriers. Deal includes asset management services such as technical management and supervision, future dispositions, sales and re-leases. Terms were not disclosed.
China Eastern Airlines expects to report a significant loss for the first nine months of 2008 owing to the sharp decline in domestic market conditions and a CNY720-per-ton increase in third-quarter jet fuel prices. CEA posted a CNY212.5 million ($31 million) net loss in the 2008 first half and said it will deepen due to a "decline in domestic demand starting from the third quarter" that it said will continue for the time being as a result of the global economic slowdown.
Thales Training and Simulation and A J Walter Aviation added the A330 to a flight simulator support program under an agreement announced last week. Program also covers the A320 and 777 and includes maintenance and spare parts for instruments and avionics.
AirAsia X hopes to announce its first UK service from its base at Kuala Lumpur International's low-cost-carrier terminal next month and commence the route in March, CEO Azran Osman Rani told ATWOnline at the Routes Leaders Forum in the Malaysian capital.
Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, India's two largest private carriers, yesterday announced the formation of an "alliance" that will include codesharing on both domestic and international flights and a wide-ranging pooling of resources.
Airstream International Group announced the lease of four ERJ-145s to regional startup Athens Airways. Aircraft currently are operated by Flybe and will be delivered to Athens starting next month. Airline is scheduled to begin flying next April to "most of the basic regional Greek destinations," Airstream said.
Iberia flew 4.43 billion RPKs in September, down 6.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 1.4% to 5.5 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 4.2 points to 80.6%. TAM flew 1.91 billion domestic RPKs in September, up 15% year-over-year, against a 17.5% increase in ASKs to 2.95 billion. Load factor fell 1.4 points to 64.6%. International RPKs jumped 41.5% to 1.33 billion, capacity rose 25.4% to 1.66 billion ASKs and load factor was up 9.2 points to 80.4%.
Australian investigators said there is no evidence linking the use of mobile telephones or laptops with last week's Qantas A330-300 inflight incident that injured more than 70 people ( ATWOnline, Oct. 9) as has been speculated. The aircraft remains grounded at Learmonth while Australian and French investigators, Airbus and QF staff examine its computers.
Continental Airlines' third-quarter result, scheduled to be released Thursday, will include $91 million in special charges, it said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Alitalia investor group CAI will delay its formal offer to the airline's administrator by two weeks to Oct. 28, when it will hold a shareholder meeting to approve a charter and capital increase, Agence France Presse reported ( ATWOnline, Oct. 3).
Investigators probing the Aug. 20 Spanair MD-82 crash concluded that the aircraft's flaps were not extended as it attempted to take off and that no warning was sounded in the cockpit.
US Dept. of Transportation announced expanded aviation agreements with Vietnam and Armenia. Vietnam deal affects all-cargo carriers, removing route restrictions and allowing US airlines to carry freight between Vietnam and third countries without stopping in the US. Further liberalization, including on passenger flights, will be discussed at meetings to be held by October 2010. Deal with Armenia is a full open skies accord.
Turkish Airlines released a statement Friday saying it has not received "any notice" regarding its bid for B&H Airlines. A Bosnian government official told media last week that THY had won the tender ( ATWOnline, Oct. 9). "If such notice is received we will inform the public accordingly," THY said.
Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes on Friday announced the formal integration of Gol and VRG (once again called Varig) into a single airline company and from Oct. 19 will launch a new route network in which Gol will focus on shorter routes and Varig will operate longer-haul flights.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, said last week that full-year 2008 pre-tax operating profit will "exceed $65 million," a downgrade from previous guidance of "approximately $85 million." President and CEO William Flynn cited "lower utilization of our 747-200 aircraft and weaker yields [owing to a weak economy] having a negative impact."
Republic Airways Holdings is considering a move into the Hawaii inter-island market to operate 70-seat E-170s in partnership with Mokulele Airlines. An internal memo dated Oct. 1 and obtained by The Honolulu Advertiser said Republic subsidiary Shuttle America "has a potential opportunity for a new codeshare agreement with additional flying beginning on or before Nov. 15, 2008. . .
British Airways CEO Willie Walsh said competing with Lufthansa and Air France KLM for a minority stake in Alitalia "is certainly possible if the CAI investor group restructuring really succeeds," Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported ( ATWOnline, Sept. 30). He also reiterated that BA still is "observing the development of bmi very carefully and we are interested in any acquisition that strengthens our position at Heathrow" ( ATWOnline, Feb. 7).
