Flydubai, the LCC startup slated to launch later this year, appointed Kenneth Gile COO. He joins the carrier from Skybus Airlines, where he was president and COO for four years. Southwest Airlines named 15-year employee Kay Weatherford VP-revenue management and pricing. She had been senior director-revenue and traffic analysis.
ANA and Japan Airlines are looking to cut underperforming domestic and international routes. ANA told media that it may suspend 10 routes, while Nikkei Business Daily suggested that JAL may suspend 21 routes. Both airlines are expected to make formal announcements by the end of this week.
LOT Polish Airlines said this week that it will need to restructure as quickly as possible to avoid a cash crisis. LOT has gone through five CEOs in the last five years under changing Polish governments, hindering its ability to make long-term strategic decisions over the period. "It is a wonder that this company still exists," a carrier executive told this website.
Emirates President Tim Clark told ATWOnline that the current economic environment has not caused the airline to reconsider its long-held philosophy of going it alone and avoiding alliances, mergers or acquisitions. He dismissed as unfounded speculation that EK might be interested in Alitalia. "I believe if you cannot grow yourself, or if you need to merge with another airline, your business model is wrong," he commented. EK has resisted overtures for years to join oneworld or Star Alliance.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair parent Cathay Pacific Group blamed the relentless hike in fuel costs for a loss of HK$663 million ($85 million) in the 2008 first half, reversed from a profit of HK$2.58 billion in last year's first six months.
Iberia's second-quarter net profit of €21.2 million ($33 million), down 66.2% from the €62.6 million reported in the year-ago quarter, belied the operational difficulties facing the carrier, which swung to an operating loss. Operating revenue rose just 0.9% year-over-year to €1.37 billion while costs were up 5.6% to €1.37 billion. Passenger revenue dropped 2%. IB's operating result was a €4 million loss, reversed from a €56.9 million profit in the second quarter of 2007. Fuel costs climbed 48.8% to €404.6 million.
Chinese carriers are struggling with the financial strain imposed by declining domestic demand and surging fuel costs and have turned to new financing in an effort to reduce the burden.
Air France KLM reported net income of €168 million ($261.7 million) for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, down 59.4% from a €415 million profit in the year-ago period, and said it will seek an additional €190 million in annual cost savings to counter "the new economic environment."
Malaysia Airlines unveiled a voluntary program under which employees will have the option to take voluntary leave, work part time or explore opportunities outside the company and return, according to a statement cited by Reuters. "Although we want to reduce manpower in the short term to manage our costs as we are similarly affected by the fuel price, our approach is different as we will grow in the medium to long term," MAS said.
Lufthansa A320 with 107 passengers onboard collided with a Futura International Airways 737-800 carrying 180 passengers on a Manchester taxiway yesterday, damaging both aircraft but causing no injuries. The A320 was preparing for a takeoff to Frankfurt while the 737 was scheduled to depart for Tenerife. Neither aircraft apparently was traveling at a high speed. A Manchester Airport spokesperson told Agence France Press that "the planes were taxiing towards the runway when the Futura plane touched the wingtip of the Lufthansa plane. .
Southwest Airlines flew 6.89 billion RPMs in July, down 2.3% year-over-year. Capacity rose 4.3% to 9.03 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 5.1 points to 76.3%.
Delta Air Lines notified Mesa Air Group that it is terminating the contract under which MAG subsidiary Freedom Air operates seven CRJ900s, alleging that Freedom has failed to maintain specified operational performance outlined in the contract. The timeline for the cancellation was not disclosed. Mesa believes the decision to cut its flying is part of DL's ongoing effort to reduce capacity. Others suggest the move could be in preparation for its planned merger with Northwest Airlines and a possible consolidation of regional airline operations.
Delta Air Lines announced that it will partner with Aircell to install its Gogo inflight broadband network on the carrier's entire domestic mainline fleet, which numbers more than 330 aircraft. Installation is expected to be complete next summer, after which passengers will be able to access the Internet and corporate VPNs and conduct SMS and other functions with Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Access will cost $9.95 on flights of 3 hr. or less and $12.95 on flights longer than 3 hr. Gogo will be offered initially on DL's 133 MD-88s/-90s.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. named Pratt & Whitney Senior VP and GM-Pratt & Whitney Global Services Partners James Keenan as senior VP-United Services. Keenan spent 14 years at UA before moving to Pratt.
Air Arabia reported an AED82 million ($22.3 million) second-quarter profit, up 14% from the AED71.7 million announced in the year-ago period, a result it said "demonstrate[ed] continued superior performance and ongoing organic growth." Revenue soared 79% to AED487 million.
News from Travel Technology Update: Kayak.com stopped displaying American Airlines' fares in search results after the two companies clashed over how Kayak and its subsidiary, SideStep.com, refer consumers to sites for booking American flights. American wanted Kayak to direct consumers only to its own site for booking its flights. Kayak, however, shows results from Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity and other third-party sites, and it refused to suppress those options for American flights.
Malev Hungarian Airlines said it will remove five 737s from its fleet during the winter schedule and lease them to other carriers. It will not remove any European or Middle Eastern destinations from its network, but the fleet rationalization, which includes the previously announced grounding of its two 767s and the suspension of its North American service ( ATWOnline, July 25), will result in the layoff of approximately 250 active employees and a further 150 "in a legal working relationship" with the company, or 21.6% of the workforce.
TRAX USA said Azul Brazilian Airlines will implement its MRO solution EVO featuring advanced production, materials and technical records functionalities.
Frontier Airlines said a group of three unsecured creditors comprising Republic Airways Holdings, Credit Suisse Securities and AQR Capital has offered to invest up to $75 million in an effort to shore up the bankrupt carrier's finances. Frontier President and CEO Sean Menke described the debtor-in-possession financing offer as a "tremendous vote of confidence in our company and our business plan.
Asiana Airlines suffered a KRW19.2 billion ($18.9 million) loss in the second quarter, reversed from a KRW38 billion profit in the year-ago period as rising fuel costs proved decisive. Gross revenue rose 20.8% year-over-year to KRW1.04 trillion but operating expenses climbed 30.2% to KRW919.8 billion. Operating income fell to a KRW17.9 billion loss from a KRW20.6 billion profit in the second quarter of 2007.
In an unprecedented move, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority launched a two-week special audit of Qantas, which said it welcomed the move, hoping to put an end to the publicity that has resulted from incidents it labeled as largely normal, everyday airline events.
Royal Jordanian reported a net loss of "around" JOD3.1 million ($4.4 million) in the first half of 2008, widened from a deficit of JOD1.9 million in the year-ago semester. It said the result was "much better than the losses estimated in the budget. . .despite the soaring jet fuel prices that the company had to pay for this year." Operating revenue rose 33% year-on-year to JOD315 million on a 21% increase in passengers to 1.2 million. RJ credited its "efforts to market sales, improve product and offer distinguished onboard services" for the increase.
Kunpeng Airlines last week signed an agreement with the Henan provincial government to transfer its operating base and headquarters to the capital of Zhengzhou from Xi'an in order to better capitalize on the central Chinese market. Kunpeng parent Shenzhen Airlines Chairman Li Kun explained at the signing ceremony that the move is "a strategic adjustment" that will allow it to grab more market share in a region whose growth appears to be accelerating.
ASIG renewed its contract with United Airlines to provide interior cabin grooming services at London Heathrow. ASIG serves about 70 aircraft per week for UA.
Star Alliance carriers serving Incheon have completed their collocation to the western part of the main terminal. Airlines involved are Asiana Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, ANA, Lufthansa, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, United Airlines and Turkish Airlines. They combine to operate 1,500 weekly flights from the airport. ICN is the third Asian hub, after Beijing and Shanghai, at which Star has implemented its Move Under One Roof strategy this year.
