Frontier Airlines Holding reported a $2.4 million net profit in April, reversed from a $26.9 million deficit in the year-ago month. Operating profit was $5 million compared to a $21.9 million operating loss last year. It incurred $1.1 million in bankruptcy-related expenses during the month. Mainline unit revenue rose 1.3% year-over-year to 9.30 cents and unit cost dropped 19.5% to 8.49 cents.
Austrian LCC Niki said it has derived significant benefits from the weakness of Austrian Airlines, and it also is involving itself in its larger rival's privatization process. "In the first quarter of 2009, our passenger numbers increased 34% compared to the same period last year. We are seeing a caravan of passengers not wanting to pay higher fares moving to us," President Niki Lauda told ATWOnline.
Air Berlin lost €88.4 million ($123.4 million) in the first quarter, widened 48.3% from its €59.6 million deficit in the year-ago period, although revenue and yield rose and its impending partnership with TUIfly appears to be on the verge of being finalized.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airline does not expect to try to obtain new capital beyond the A$500 million ($389.6 million) raised through a February share placement ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5). "We have built up our cash balances and our plans going forward have deferred capital expenditure," he said in comments cited by Reuters.
Aegean Airlines reversed its traditional first-quarter deficit, posting a €4.6 million ($6.4 million) profit compared to a €4.4 million loss in the year-ago period, crediting falling oil prices, fleet renewal and reduced distribution costs owing to the rise in Web sales. It broke even on the operating level compared to a €6 million loss last year but recorded a €4.4 million gain on the sale of its participation in three catering companies. Revenue increased 13% to €111.3 million on a 9% lift in passengers to 1.2 million.
Air New Zealand yesterday revealed the results of its Dec. 29 747-400 biofuel test flight at the Eco-Aviation conference presented by ATW and Leeham Co. in Washington, saying that data gathered from the 2-hr. flight show that a 50/50 blend of jatropha-based fuel and standard jet fuel could reduce fuel burn by 1.2% and carbon dioxide emissions by 60%-75% on an average 12-hr. 747 flight.
Deccan 360, a cargo startup established by Air Deccan founder G.R. Gopinath, launched service yesterday with an A310 freighter flight from Delhi to Hong Kong. "Deccan 360 will be the first Indian company to create a hub-and-spoke distribution model in the express industry in India," parent company Deccan Express Logistics said. "Deccan 360's air and surface network will offer unmatched, next-day connectivity to more than 85% of the Indian GDP." The carrier reportedly will add more A310Fs later this year.
British Airways CEO Willie Walsh said the airline would consider purchasing bmi's slots at London Heathrow if they became available, the Financial Times reported. "In the current environment, it is difficult to argue we should go out and acquire those slots. Having said that, it may be the only opportunity we ever get," Walsh told the paper. Bmi is the second-largest slot holder at LHR after BA with about 12%.
WestJet announced yesterday that its codeshare partnership with Southwest Airlines, slated to launch by late 2009, "will be delayed" because SWA "has decided to redirect a portion of its resources dedicated to the codeshare project towards other near-term revenue opportunities." Calgary-based WS emphasized that its new Sabre reservation system will be online by the fourth quarter and could handle implementation of the codeshare ( ATWOnline, July 9, 2008) but said SWA is concerned about launching the arrangement i
El Al reported a $39.8 million first-quarter loss, narrowed 20.4% from the $50 million deficit posted last year. Revenue was down 26% to $346.7 million as passenger numbers fell 13% year-over-year. "Strict management of expenses together with the drop in fuel prices after offsetting for hedging expenses led to a significant drop in the company's costs and better results," President Haim Romano said in a statement cited by Reuters.
Lufthansa Group airlines flew 12.2 billion RPKs in April, down 4.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 1% to 16.14 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 2.8 points to 75.6%. United Airlines flew 9.39 billion consolidated RPMs in April, an 8.7% decline year-over-year. Capacity fell at the same rate to 11.75 billion ASMs, leaving load factor at 79.9%. China Southern Airlines flew 7.47 billion RPKs in April, up 2.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.1% to 9.78 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 1.6 points to 76.4%.
Jat Airways intends to change its name, Chairman Sasa Vlaisavljevic told Vecernje Novosti. Names under consideration are Air Serbia, Serbia Airlines and Serbia Airways, the newspaper reported.
Russia's S7 Airlines will join oneworld next year, the 10-member group announced, adding 54 new destinations and eight new countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) to the alliance's network.
Astra Airlines of Greece acquired a second 99-seat BAe 146-300 from BAE Systems Asset Management. The Thessaloniki-based charter and ACMI carrier took its first of the type last July and will use the new aircraft to launch its first scheduled flight to Kiev.
Virgin Atlantic nearly doubled its pre-tax profit to £68.4 million ($108.7 million) for its fiscal year ended Feb. 28 from £34.8 million in the prior year. CEO Steve Ridgway said the company increased profitability despite "the toughest trading environment ever" because "with some of the lowest fares ever" it is "winning market share from our competitors." He added that "load factors remain resilient as travelers take advantage of these bargain fares." VS said fares are "at their lowest level in 25 years." The airline will celebrate its 25th anniversary on June 22.
The Star Alliance Chief Executive Board accepted Aegean Airlines' membership application yesterday, Star CEO Jaan Albrecht announced at a news conference in Athens. Aegean is the first Greek carrier to join an alliance and will add a network spanning 23 domestic and 24 international routes on 200 daily flights.
Jet Airways finished its fiscal year ended March 31 INR4.02 billion ($84.7 million) in the red compared to a INR2.53 million loss in 2007-08 and said a return to breakeven and profitability "requires exceptional efforts" considering the "sluggish demand" forecast for the coming year. The Indian carrier enjoyed a 23.4% increase in revenue to INR118 billion, but a year marked by plunging demand, overcapacity and the Mumbai terrorist attacks proved too great a burden on the bottom line ( ATWOnline, Jan. 19).
Malev Hungarian Airlines said Russia's Vneshekonombank, which took over the carrier in January ( ATWOnline, Feb. 12), has provided a €20 million ($28 million) loan that will enable it to add a third and fourth Q400 over the summer. Chairman Anatoly Ballo said Malev has revised its 2009 business plan, which now "includes important steps to offset the crisis that are sufficient to bring the airline into a stable operational position."
British Airways reported a net loss of £358 million ($563.7 million) for its fiscal year ended March 31, reversed from a net profit of £726 million in its prior fiscal year, and said it will slash capacity 4% in the upcoming winter season and park up to 16 aircraft.
Bombardier Aerospace selected SAMCO Aircraft Maintenance as a recognized service facility for Dash 8/Q Series aircraft. SAMCO's facility is located at Maastricht and will provide service for aircraft based in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It will be able to perform C checks, heavy maintenance and aircraft modifications and upgrades.
Hainan Airlines is expected to receive a CNY3 billion ($439 million) capital injection from the Hainan provincial government and its parent Hainan Airlines Group to facilitate fleet expansion and improve its debt ratio. The provincial government and HAG each will provide CNY1.5 billion to HNA. The money is intended to reduce the Haikou-based carrier's debt ratio to 81%. HNA plans to introduce 90 new aircraft in 2009-13. They will cost around CNY24.3 billion; the capital injection is aimed at broadening aircraft financing channels available to HNA, Guotai Junan Securities noted.
Cathay Pacific and Dragonair reported an 8.8% rise to 2.2 million passengers enplaned in April. Traffic increased 5.3% to 7.88 billion RPKs on a 1.1% lift in capacity to 9.54 billion ASKs, resulting in load factor heightening 3.2 points to 82.6%. The increase was mainly owing to the Easter holiday falling in April this year and fare stimulation, the airline group said. "The slump in demand for premium traffic continued unabated across the network and. .
Hit hard by competition from high-speed rail, Shanghai-based Spring Airlines, the most profitable Chinese LCC, is abandoning plans to open a second base in Zhengzhou to the north and shifting its attention south to Sanya in Hainan Province.
Southwest Airlines announced the closure of the second tranche of its sale and leaseback deal with BOC Aviation, selling three 737-700s for $104 million ( ATWOnline, April 7). BOC immediately leased the aircraft back to SWA for 16 years.
