Delta Air Lines Executive VP-Human Resources and Labor Relations Mike Campbell said in a merger update sent to employees yesterday that "seniority integration has already been resolved for pilots, dispatchers, AMTs and meteorologists" and that progress is being made on "a fair and equitable integration for flight attendants." If Northwest Airlines flight attendants agree to recommendations made by their DL counterparts last week, "we would have seniority integration issues resolved for the vast majority of our combined employee groups," he said.
Airports Council International-Europe said it was "alarmed" by the European Commission's proposal for a temporary freeze of the 80/20 slot rule during the upcoming summer schedule, which would allow airlines to reduce capacity while retaining historic rights to slots at coordinated EU airports ( ATWOnline, March 11).
Air New Zealand endorsed a government proposal to subsidize one work day over a two-week period to help national businesses through the economic downturn. CEO Rob Fyfe said ANZ would embrace the aid if it is forced to reduce capacity further and consider redundancies ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27).
Shanghai Airlines Chairman Zhou Chi told a shareholders meeting last week that the 787 does not "fully meet the quality that Boeing touted earlier" and said the carrier is considering cancelling and/or postponing some or all of its nine Dreamliner orders, according to Bloomberg News.
Finnair said it will furlough about 700 pilots for at least one week each beginning in the middle of next month as part of a €30 million ($38.4 million) cost-savings program in the company's flight operations division. Length of leave will depend on aircraft type. Finnair Catering also will place employees on unpaid leave of two weeks to three months as part of a €3.9 million cost-cutting initiative ( ATWOnline, Feb. 6).
MNG Technic won a tender issued by the Turkish airports authority for construction of a new MRO hangar at Istanbul Ataturk. The 64,000-sq.-m. facility will be built in four phases. Construction of the 16,000-sq.-m. first phase will begin "as soon as possible," MNG said. The company provides line and heavy maintenance at its IST base and line maintenance services at airports in Istanbul and Antalya.
China Southern Airlines expects to its 2008 net loss to be worse than previously expected owing largely to its decision to retire older aircraft whose value continues to decrease in the current economic downturn. It said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that the impairment "will, to some extent, have a negative impact on the 2008 financial results of the company."
Austrian Airlines Group executive board members Andreas Bierwirth and Peter Malanik said Friday in Vienna that the company does "not have enough reserves to get through the crisis" that helped push it to a €429.5 million ($550.3 million) loss in 2008, a reversal from the €3.3 million profit in 2007 and the worst result in its history.
Lufthansa Group airlines flew 9.83 billion RPKs in February, a 9.8% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 5.7% to 13.63 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 3.3 points to 72.1%.
ALTA member airlines carried 10.6 million passengers in January, up 5.8% from the year-ago month, fueled by strong domestic and Latin American traffic that offset weaker demand to the US and Europe. RPKs rose 3.2% to 15.79 billion against a 4% increase in capacity to 21.58 billion, lowering load factor 0.5 point to 73.1%. US Airways said February consolidated passenger RASM fell 9%-11% year-over-year, although total RASM dropped just 5%-7% thanks to a la carte revenue initiatives. It flew 4.19 billion consolidated RPMs, down 9.3%, against a 9% drop in ASMs to 5.48 billion.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary told a Dublin tourism conference this week that charging for lavatory use "is not likely to happen, but it makes for interesting and very cheap PR." He made worldwide headlines two weeks ago with his proposal to charge passengers £1 ($1.38) per use and continued last week, saying he was "serious" about the move and had discussed implementation with Boeing ( ATWOnline, March 9).
American Airlines announced a new 17-year lease at Dallas Love Field but will suspend American Eagle flights at the airport from June 11 until terminal renovations are complete in 2013. Eagle serves Chicago O'Hare from DAL."We have every intention of returning service to Love Field when the new terminal is completed," AA VP-State and Community Affairs Kevin Cox said. AA does not operate mainline flights at the airport, which is dominated by Southwest Airlines. Separately, Eagle will launch a daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Santa Fe flight on June 11.
Claiming that some airlines are "overreacting" to the current downturn with hasty reductions of their networks, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker confirmed that the carrier's winter expansion will include its first services to Australia.
Bmi Group yesterday confirmed a £99.7 million ($137.2 million) loss in 2008, reversed from a £7 million profit the prior year, and said it plans to reduce costs by an additional £45 million this year and is negotiating a pay freeze with employees.
Aegean Airlines' ambitions were checked last week when it was denied the right to purchase rival Olympic Airlines, but the carrier said it has continued on a "healthy and dynamic growth path" and finished 2008 with a €29.5 million ($37.5 million) profit, down only 18% from the €35.8 million earned the previous year.
Malaysian government finally agreed to fund the construction of a new low-cost terminal at Kuala Lumpur International costing MYR2 billion ($541 million). The promise to build the facility, scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2011, ends an impasse between the government and AirAsia, which had threatened to build its own exclusive airport just east of the capital in order to ease congestion at the current terminal that can handle only 15 million passengers per year ( ATWOnline, Feb. 3).
Air France KLM confirmed it intends to proceed with an order for approximately 100 long-haul aircraft, although the timeline has been changed slightly owing to the present economic environment. "Air France KLM's plan to launch a call for tenders for around 100 Airbus or Boeing medium-capacity long-haul aircraft, initially scheduled for 2008, is being maintained. The order could be placed by the end of the year, or maybe a little later," a spokesperson told ATWOnline. The group has both Airbus and Boeing aircraft in its long-haul fleet.
CSA Czech Airlines posted a 2008 pre-tax profit of CZK500 million ($23.6 million), compared to a CZK111 million profit in 2007. It said pre-tax earnings under IFRS came to $550,000, reversed from an $8.8 million loss on a similar basis the prior year. It said fuel and currency hedges were the difference and that absent those its fuel expense would have increased by CZK1.2 billion. However, falling demand in the second half of last year cost approximately CZK400 million in lost revenue.
Lufthansa Group concluded a volatile 2008 with a €599 million ($759.8 million) net profit, down 63.8% from the hefty €1.66 billion earned in 2007, and admitted that it expects declines in passenger numbers, revenue and operating profit this year.
Aer Lingus posted a 2008 net loss of €107.8 million ($136.7 million), a sharp reversal from the €105.3 million earned the previous year, citing "exceptionally challenging trading conditions for the aviation industry as a whole." CEO Dermot Mannion said, "Falling consumer demand in key markets, a weakening dollar and sterling, and increased competition across the network combined to put sustained and significant pressure on our business throughout the year."
Cathay Pacific Airways reported its first full-year net loss in a decade, posting a 2008 deficit of HK$8.56 billion ($1.1 billion), reversed from net income of HK$7.02 billion in 2007.
Air France KLM yesterday said that owing to a "sharp decline in demand," summer schedule (March 29-Oct. 25) capacity will be down 3.4% year-over-year rather than the 2% announced last month ( ATWOnline, Feb. 16). The reduction will comprise 3.4% cuts on both its long-haul and medium-haul networks. AF will reduce ASKs 2.7% (2.5% long-haul, 3.1% short/medium-haul) without eliminating any routes save Paris Charles de Gaulle-Chennai, which will be suspended due to "heavy losses," and Paris Orly-Valladolid.
AirAsia X yesterday commenced its five-times-weekly Kuala Lumpur-London Stansted service aboard a 286-seat A340-300 ( ATWOnline, Oct. 14, 2008). AirAsia appointed IAM, Network Cargo Services, FlyUs, Global Cargo Management and ACT as cargo sales agents in Western Europe. Aviance handles at STN.
Virgin America reported limited 2008 fourth-quarter financial figures yesterday and said it posted a $27 million operating loss, narrowed from the $59.9 million deficit in the year-ago period, its first full operating quarter. Revenue more than tripled to $109.7 million and expenses rose 42.5% to $136.7 million. Load factor soared 19.1 points to 81.2%, unit revenue was up 86.7% to 9.28 cents and operating CASM fell 12.7% to 11.57 cents. VX released limited nine-month figures last month ( ATWOnline, Feb. 3).
