Transaero announced a partnership with Gazprom Neft that "guarantees prompt and efficient jet fuel supply" in Russia "on favorable terms" in return for reduced fares for Gazprom employees.
Northwest Airlines reported a second-quarter net loss of $377 million owing mainly to a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $547 million, reversed from a $2.15 billion profit in the year-ago period that benefited heavily from one-time bankruptcy exit gains. Absent the goodwill impairment charge, NWA said it would have posted $170 million in net income for the quarter, down 17% from $205 million earned excluding Chapter 11 restructuring gains in the same period last year. The carrier said it benefited in the 2008 second quarter from a $250 million gain related to fuel hedging.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. reported a second-quarter net loss of $2.7 billion mostly attributable to $2.6 billion in previously announced accounting charges, reversed from a $274 million profit in the year-ago period, and said it will slash 5,500 frontline workers by the end of 2009 in addition to the 1,400-1,600 salaried and management employees and contractors it already planned to cut.
Lufthansa said it was "surprised" by a strike called by 1,000 pilots flying for LH subsidiaries Eurowings and CityLine that resulted in the cancellation of 465 flights yesterday and 525 scheduled for today. Pilots walked out at noon yesterday and will remain on strike until midnight tonight. The Cockpit union called the strike on short notice and said all major airports in Germany would be affected. Its strike window will close at the end of this week, but it is expected that members will vote on further strike action shortly.
Airbus won EASA certification for its OnAir mobile phone system for its single-aisle aircraft. The manufacturer is the first to receive this type of certification for production and forward-fit installation. Separately, EASA granted Airbus Production Organization Approval, recognizing the manufacturer's status as a single integrated European company and confirming the establishment of a global quality framework for management, responsibilities, procedures and resources.
Copa Airlines placed a firm order for two additional 737-800s for delivery in 2010 and 2011, increasing the total number of 737NGs it has on order to nine. Its fleet currently is comprised of 27 737NGs and 13 E-190s. Its -800s seat 16 in business class and144 in economy.
JetBlue Airways unveiled plans to cancel growth plans and defer aircraft deliveries as it announced a second-quarter net loss of $7 million, reversed from a $21 million profit in the year-ago period. CEO Dave Barger said the LCC enjoyed "strong unit revenue growth" during the quarter and that summer bookings showed "continued strength," but that like its US counterparts it is facing an environment in which "revenue gains are clearly not keeping pace with the extraordinary increase in the price of jet fuel."
UPS reported a 20.9% drop in second-quarter net income to $873 million from $1.13 billion last year. Revenue rose 6.7% to $13 billion but expenses lifted 10.8% to $11.55 billion, producing an operating profit of $1.45 billion, down 17.6% from $1.77 billion in the same period last year. Total international package revenue, which is tied heavily to air operations, rose 17.9% to $2.95 billion, but international package operating margin fell 5.2 points year-over-year to 13.8%.
TAM flew 1.96 billion domestic RPKs last month, up 9.3% year-over-year, against an 18.3% hike in capacity to 2.91 billion ASKs. Load factor dropped 5.6 points to 67.1%. International RPKs rose 32.9% to 1.2 billion while ASKs climbed 26.8% to 1.65 billion, lifting load factor 3.4 points to 72.6%. WestJet flew 1.12 billion RPMs in June, up 17.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 23.1% to 1.45 billion ASMs and load factor fell 3.4 points to 76.5%.
Tunisair announced a capital increase of $14 million through the issue of 16.2 million new shares on the Tunis bourse that will be distributed to existing shareholders at a ratio of one new share for every five held. Shares carry a nominal value of TND1 ($0.85)
US Airways reported a $567 million net loss in the second quarter, reversed from a $263 million profit in the year-ago period, citing "the staggering increase" in fuel prices. The loss is partly the result of net special items of $466 million including a goodwill impairment charge of $622 million. Absent the special items, the quarterly loss would have been $101 million, reversed from a profit of $261 million on a similar basis in the 2007 second quarter.
Kuwait parliament on Monday gave final approval to the privatization plans of Kuwait Airways. The state plans to sell 40% of the carrier to the public and 35% to a long-term investor within two years. The airline, which operates 17 aircraft, is expected to be privatized within 10 months ( ATWOnline, Jan. 10).
Honeywell won a 10-year extension on its contract with Southwest Airlines to provide MRO for avionics and mechanical products on 737s. Contract covers up to 520 aircraft plus future deliveries and includes Honeywell APUs, HMUs, lighting, components and wheels and brakes.
Boeing said it received an offer from TRC Capital Corp. to purchase 2 million shares of common stock, representing less than 1/3 of 1% of its outstanding shares, at $63 per share. The manufacturer said it "does not express an opinion and does not make a recommendation as to whether shareholders should tender their shares in TRC's mini-tender offer."
LOT Polish Airlines President and CEO Dariusz Nowak told ATWOnline that LOT is restructuring ahead of its planned privatization, a process that will be its "biggest challenge." He said one move will be to add more charter flights to its low-fare subsidiary Centralwings, which operates 737 Classics. He said the company is looking to position Centralwings as "a kind of mixed charter and maybe LCC flights to some selected points." He said the mainline has adopted some of Centralwings' low-cost strategies in order to reduce its own cost base.
Transaero flew 7.97 billion RPKs during the first six months of 2008, up 55% year-over-year. Passenger numbers climbed 56% to 2.1 million, a company record. The Russian carrier added two 747s, four 767s and one 737 during the semester. It now operates 37 aircraft. Copa Airlines flew 481.1 million RPMs in June, up 24.8% year-over-year, against a 21% increase in capacity to 598.6 million ASMs. Load factor rose 2.5 points to 80.4%. SkyEurope Airlines transported 344,383 passengers last month, up 4.4% from the year-ago month. Load factor fell 2.1 points to 77%.
Air Cargo Management Group reported that US domestic airfreight and express revenue increased just 1% year-over-year in 2007 to $32.81 billion, a "slim" gain it attributed to fuel surcharges.
Thai LCC One-Two-Go Airlines, which suffered an MD-82 crash last September that killed 89, will suspend some or all of its operations from today until Sept. 15 while it restructures. An English-language statement on its website said the carrier would be "operating a reduced schedule" during that period, but press reports out of Thailand cited other statements from One-Two-Go indicating a total grounding and citing financial problems as the cause.
AirBridge Cargo, the scheduled 747F airline owned by Volga-Dnepr Group, said it likely will not achieve profitability this year despite a more-than-doubling of first-half 2008 revenue to $210 million from $96 million in the year-ago period.
Midwest Airlines yesterday unveiled a revised flight schedule that will feature elimination of service to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and San Diego and an enhanced codeshare agreement with Northwest Airlines.
Austrian Airlines will cut winter schedule capacity by 5% from its original plan and will remove three aircraft from its fleet next year as part of its effort to negotiate "the current crisis in the aviation industry," it said. Service to London City will end Aug. 18 and flights to Chicago O'Hare will end at the conclusion of the summer schedule. Other "targeted" reductions will occur in Europe over the winter.
Pratt & Whitney concluded the Farnborough Airshow by announcing that Uzbekistan Airways selected PW4000s to power four firm 767s it has on order in a deal valued at more than $130 million. Deliveries are slated to begin in 2013. It also said that AWAS Aviation Trading Ltd. selected IAE V2500s to power 30 A320s to be delivered in 2011-15 in a deal valued at $166 million. AWAS currently owns a fleet of 29 A320-family aircraft powered by V2500s.
Serbian government plans to reduce the minimum price it will accept for the sale of flag carrier Jat Airways to compensate for rising fuel prices, Deputy Prime Minister Mladjan Dinkic said last week ( ATWOnline, June 16). According to Reuters, the government initially priced the airline at €150 million and said it would sell a 51% stake in a tender expected to be called by the end of this month. Dinkic said there is a "reserve plan" if the government is unsatisfied with the tender's outcome.
Delta Air Lines reached an accord with Pinnacle Airlines and agreed to abandon plans to terminate its 10-year contract with its regional partner, with terms of the reaffirmed deal allowing Pinnacle to continue operating as a Delta Connection carrier until 2017.
