Boeing said yesterday that its second-quarter financial results will include a charge of approximately $0.22 per share, or $250 million, owing to delays in its Airborne Early Warning & Control program. The manufacturer continues to expect earnings per share of $5.70-$5.85 for full-year 2008 "as companywide performance and productivity are expected to offset the AEW&C charge by year end." Its EPS guidance for 2009 remains unchanged at $6.80-$7.00.
Austrian Airlines Group said yesterday that it will cut overall capacity by 5% for the coming winter season. Citing high fuel prices and weak demand, AAG said it will close its double-daily Vienna-London City service from Aug 18. In the winter, VIE-Chicago O'Hare flights will cease and frequencies from VIE to New York JFK and Mumbai will be reduced. Its fleet will be lowered by three aircraft in 2009. It did not announce any layoffs but warned that further cost-cutting actions could become necessary in the future.
US airlines and the Air Transport Assn. are reaching out to their customers to help control what they say is rampant speculation in oil futures that is contributing to today's record fuel prices. In an "open letter to all airline customers" signed by the heads of the 12 largest US passenger airlines, the CEOs ask them to urge Congress to tighten regulation of the oil futures market. According to the letter, "Twenty years ago, 21% of oil contracts were purchased by speculators who trade oil on paper with no intention of ever taking delivery.
Japan Airlines plans to introduce its new premium economy cabin on four more European routes this year. From Oct. 2 it initially will be available on three of the seven weekly flights between Amsterdam and Tokyo and from Dec. 6 on all flights. Premium economy will be introduced on all three weekly Moscow-Tokyo flights from Nov. 29. The cabin will be offered on three weekly flights between London and Osaka from Oct. 1, going to daily from Nov. 29. It will be introduced on daily service between Paris and Nagoya from Dec. 6.
EgyptAir will become Star Alliance's 21st member today in a ceremony in Cairo. The carrier said it fulfilled all minimum requirements to become a Star member in fewer than nine months. It hopes to benefit from feed provided by Star members to bring further traffic to Cairo and Star hopes to be able to extend its presence in Africa via its newest member.
Lufthansa Technik subsidiary Lufthansa Technic AERO Alzey, which specializes in regional aircraft engines, named Mark Johnson as CEO replacing the departing Peter Kamenz. Johnson most recently was commercial manager at LH's Frankfurt hub.
Skyworks Leasing arranged the sale of a Transamerica Aviation A320 to VGS Aircraft Leasing One, a subsidiary of VGS Aircraft Holding (Ireland). Aircraft is on lease to US Airways. It also arranged the sale on behalf of Bank of America of a 767-300 to 767(2), a company affiliated with Ryan International Airlines, and of a former Skybus Airlines A319 acquired earlier this year from Air Canada to a special purpose company affiliated with VTB Leasing, Moscow. After interior modifications, that aircraft will be placed on long-term lease with Rossiya.
Lufthansa Group airlines flew 13.87 billion RPKs in June, a 27.9% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 29.4% to 17.1 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 1 point to 81.1%. US Airways Group said June consolidated passenger RASM rose 2%-4% year-over-year. It flew 5.86 billion RPMs, down 0.6%, against a 0.6% increase in capacity to 6.95 billion ASMs. Load factor fell 1 point to 84.4%. Ryanair transported 5.2 million passengers in June, up 19% from the year-ago month. Load factor fell 1 point to 84%.
Northwest Airlines said yesterday that its previously announced capacity cuts, which will include the removal of more than 40 aircraft from its fleet in 2008, will result in a reduction of 2,500 frontline and management employees. NWA also unveiled a range of new fees designed to combat "record fuel costs." "Our fuel costs have more than doubled in the past year," President and CEO Doug Steenland said. "In order to manage through this unprecedented fuel challenge, we have to take action to both control costs and increase our revenue."
CAE yesterday announced that the 777-300ER full-flight simulator it designed and manufactured for Delta Air Lines won Level D certification under US FAA Part 60. FAA implemented Part 60 in late May as an extension of its National Simulator Program to bolster qualification requirements for the use of flight simulation training devices. The CAE FFS, which is in operation at DL's Atlanta training center, is the first to achieve this certification.
Air Berlin yesterday announced that Stuttgart prosecutors have dropped insider trading charges against CEO Joachim Hunold, Chairman Johannes Zurnieden and three other executives "due to lack of evidence." Their offices and homes were raided 13 months ago when suspicion arose over stock purchases made prior to AB's acquisition of dba ( ATWOnline, June 20, 2007).
Chinese carriers were dealt another blow to their bottom lines this month as authorities decided to raise the jet fuel price by CNY720 ($104.83) per ton.
Jat Airways launched twice-weekly Belgrade-Pula flights last week aboard an ATR 72, reestablishing air service to Croatia after 17 years. Service will continue to Aug. 21, and Jat said it is "prepared" to extend it if it remains popular. Separately, Jat transported 141,000 passengers in June, up 11% year-over-year, as load factor rose 4 points to a record 65%. Six-month passenger numbers climbed 9% to 578,781.
Air New Zealand will freeze senior executive salaries and has "challenged each division to identify opportunities to review nonessential activity and reduce employee numbers through attrition and nonreplacement of roles that are not operationally critical," CEO Rob Fyfe told Bloomberg News.
ExpressJet Airlines said yesterday that it will suspend its independent branded flying operation on Sept. 2, citing rising fuel costs, ending a program that never made money after its April 2007 launch ( ATWOnline, May 10, 2007).
Air France KLM flew 18.21 billion RPKs in June, a 2.6% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 4.1% to 22.34 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 1.2 points to 81.5%. It said it expects capacity during the winter schedule and next summer to grow approximately 2%. British Airways flew 9.71 billion RPKs in June, down 3.7% year-over-year. Capacity rose 1.2% to 12.66 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 3.8 points to 76.7%.
Gol and VRG parent GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes said it expects to report a negative pre-tax margin of 17%-19% for the recently completed second quarter and a negative operating margin of 21%-23%. The company reported a BRL35.4 million ($22.1 million) loss in the second quarter of 2007 and a BRL3.5 million deficit in the first quarter of 2008. Second-quarter capacity is estimated to have risen 23%, down from the forecast 25%, and load factor is expected to be 64%-65%, up from the forecast 61%-63% but down from the year-ago period's 66%.
ANA confirmed to ATWOnline that it has not yet decided to order the A380 as widely reported late last week and in fact has not even issued an RFP. A spokesperson told this website that the airline set up a New Aircraft Selection Committee last week to examine both the A380 and the 747-8. "No RFPs have gone out yet," the spokesperson said, adding that ANA will decide among the 747-8, the A380 or continuing to build its long-haul fleet around the 777-300ER.
Austrian Airlines yesterday reached agreement with AeroLogic, the Lufthansa/DHL cargo joint venture, to train its pilots for type ratings for the 777-200F.
Ethiopian Airlines and privately held Togolese startup ASKY signed an MOU to form a strategic partnership covering marketing, operations, maintenance, training, financing and management contracts, ET announced. It will hold a 20% stake in the startup, which is expected to launch services in December with eight aircraft likely to be leased from ET. "Ethiopian has been engaged in the process of identifying a hub in West Africa in order to serve the region better and connecting it to the rest of the world," CEO Girma Wake said.
LAN Cargo was approved by the Colombian government to launch an affiliate cargo airline there with plans to initiate services in the first quarter of 2009. Noting that Colombia is "the largest air cargo market in Latin America in terms of exports to the US," LAN earlier this year applied for the right to launch a new airline ( ATWOnline, May 13). It said yesterday that the carrier will provide airfreight services between Colombia and the US using an undisclosed number of 767-300 freighters.
AirTran Airways will cut 180 pilots and 300 flight attendants effective Sept. 6, Senior VP-Marketing and Planning Kevin Healy told the Associated Press yesterday. The carrier said last week it would impose a 15% pay cut on officers and a 5%-8% cut on most staff ( ATWOnline, July 3). As for the job cuts, Healy said AirTran will offer voluntary leave for employees with at least five years of service in a deal under which medical benefits and flight privileges would be maintained for 6-12 months.
JetBlue Airways flew 2.3 billion RPMs in June, up 2.3% year-over-year, against a 3.2% increase in capacity to 2.77 billion ASMs. Load factor fell 0.7 point to 83.1%. Gol and VRG flew a combined 2.23 billion RPKs in June, an 18.4% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 19.6% to 3.42 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 0.6 point to 65.4%. EasyJet transported 4.1 million passengers in June, up 19.5% year-over-year, while load factor rose 0.1 point to 86.9%.
