Helvetic Airways, based in Zurich, will stop operating all scheduled flights at the end of October owing to high fuel prices and instead will use its four F100s on ACMI and charter flights. Three of its aircraft already are on wet-lease with Swiss International Air Lines. Helvetic's scheduled routes to Brindisi, Catania, Lamezia Terme, Palermo and Jerez de la Frontera will be closed this fall. It said all 125 employees will remain on staff. It launched operations in 2002.
Horizon Air said it will increase the pace with which it will transition to an all-Q400 fleet and retire its remaining 12 Q200s by Oct. 28 rather than April 2009. It also will begin phasing out its CRJ700s in September ( ATWOnline, April 25). During the transition it is scheduled to take delivery of 14 more Q400s. It currently operates 34 and now expects to fly nothing but the turboprop by the end of 2009.
A fiscal second quarter during which it faced a legal challenge from Hawaiian Airlines, moved forward on the closure of its Air Midwest operation and received notification that Delta Air Lines would terminate its capacity purchase agreement still ended positively for Mesa Air Group, which reported a $9.4 million profit compared to a $24 million loss suffered in the three months ended March 31, 2007.
Natixis Transport Finance will provide pre-delivery payment loan financing to Norwegian for 10 737-800HGW aircraft scheduled for delivery between summer 2009 and spring 2011, the carrier announced. Norwegian placed an order for 42, plus 42 options, last year ( ATWOnline, Aug. 31, 2007).
China Eastern Airlines announced a CNY1.3 billion lease deal for three A340s with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Financial Leasing Co. CEA plans to add 20-30 aircraft each year through 2013, increasing capacity by 12% annually. It currently operates 220 aircraft. CEA MD Cao Jianxiong said the leases will help with the carrier's cash flow problem.
Sterling Airlines no longer will staff bases permanently at Aalborg, Billund, Malmo and Gothenburg Landvetter from Jan. 1 and will focus on its operations at Copenhagen, Stockholm Arlanda and Oslo Gardermoen, the LCC announced yesterday.
Struggling Wuhan-based East Star Airlines, which claimed it is in "financial crisis," last week was dealt a further blow by CAAC, which decided to suspend its right to fly to Guangzhou and Shenzhen from July 7. This makes the second time ESA has faced such a sanction. Flights to Shanghai were suspended by the regulator last month owing to the airline's inability to submit its "air transport funds" to CAAC in time.
Delta Air Lines will add fuel surcharges to SkyMiles award tickets effective Aug. 15 amounting to $25 on flights within the US and between the US and Canada and $50 on flights from the US and Canada to all international destinations. DL called it a "difficult but essential decision in the face of record-high fuel costs" and said it "hope[d] this is temporary."
Air France KLM flew 17.83 billion RPKs in May, up 6% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 5.8% to 22.48 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 0.2 point to 79.3%. Iberia flew 4.52 billion RPKs in May, up 6% year-over-year, against a 3.2% increase in ASKs to 5.68 billion. Load factor rose 2.1 points to 79.5%. Air Canada and Jazz flew 4.31 billion combined RPMs in May, up 4.5% year-over-year. Capacity rose 4% to 5.17 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 0.3 point to 83.2%.
Icelandair will cut 20% of its workforce of 1,230 employees as a result of financial pressures brought on by rising fuel prices, it announced last week. The reduction of approximately 240 staff will occur in the fall. The airline also will reduce its winter flying schedule by 14% and suspend service during the winter to Berlin Tegel, Toronto and Minneapolis/St. Paul from Keflavik. Service to Paris Charles de Gaulle will be reduced while flights to New York JFK will increase.
Malaysia Airlines is prepared to "take the lead" in increasing fuel surcharges and perhaps raising fares by as much as 50% in order to negotiate a "frightening" economic environment, MD and CEO Idris Jala wrote in an open letter last week. "Change, and I mean drastic change, is absolutely vital for our survival. That, and a willingness to reinvent the way we operate, including through mergers and acquisitions," Jala said.
Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines pilots, whose leaders reached a tentative agreement on a joint contract last week with DL management ( ATWOnline, June 25), will enter into a period of "good faith" negotiations over details of seniority list integration and agreed to enter into binding arbitration by year end if differences still remain.
Survey of International Air Travelers, which has been conducted on international flights and at airport gates by the US Dept. of Commerce on a monthly basis for 25 years, is taking steps toward automating the process, and airlines can benefit from the move by placing a link on their websites that will appear when a passenger completes an international booking to or from the US. The link will take the passenger to a web portal set up by DOC's Office of Travel & Tourism Industries to conduct the surveys and collect the data.
Niki is in talks with Embraer and Bombardier about a regional jet order. "We are evaluating which smaller aircraft between 88 and 114 seats is ideal for us below the A320 family. The A318 is a not useful airplane, so we are studying what else is on the market. But nothing is concrete," President Niki Lauda told ATWOnline in Ibiza. The Austrian carrier would use smaller aircraft to increase frequencies on routes such as Zurich or Frankfurt. Lauda said high oil prices are forcing the airline to consider more cost-effective aircraft. Niki has hedged 35% of its fuel needs.
US FAA Assistant Administrator-Aviation Policy, Planning and Environment Dan Elwell will leave the agency to become US Aerospace Industries Assn. VP-civil aviation effective July. 7. Aer Lingus named Ryanair Director-Scheduled Revenue Sean Coyle as its new CFO. He will join EI on Aug. 11.
Claiming it has a "much different story to tell today than our competitors," Southwest Airlines yesterday unveiled a schedule adjustment that will see it add a net nine roundtrip flights to its network.
Lufthansa Group airlines flew 13.61 billion RPKs in May, up 27.1% year-over-over. Capacity increased at the same rate to 17.33 billion ASKs, leaving load factor level at 78.6%.
Flow International signed a multimillion-dollar contract with Airbus to manufacture and install multiple Composite Machining Center abrasive waterjet and routing machine tool systems for A350s. CMC systems will be used to cut wings, fuselage, wing spars, keel beam and other parts.
Qantas said it is experiencing strong forward bookings from the US for its Melbourne-Los Angeles A380 service set to launch on Oct. 20. It has configured its A380 for just 450 passengers with 14 seats in first class, 72 in business, 32 in premium economy and 332 in economy. A Qantas spokesperson told the Australian Associated Press that US sales, which began June 16, are progressing. "Our forward bookings are positive for the US market on both our 747s and the A380," the spokesperson said.
Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes received permission to complete its acquisition of VRG (formerly Varig) "with no restrictions" from the Brazilian Administrative Board for Economic Defense, the final agency from which it needed to gain approval for the transaction. It appears that the two carriers will continue to operate separately, but Gol President and CEO Constantino de Oliveira Jr. said the ruling "will allow us to consolidate our investments and improve synergies between the airlines' operations. . .
Air France KLM, Cathay Pacific Airways, Martinair and SAS Group all reached agreement with the US Dept. of Justice to plead guilty in US court and pay criminal fines "for participating in a multiyear conspiracy to fix prices for air cargo rates," DOJ said yesterday.
AerCap Holdings said it closed a $1 billion aircraft securitization through Aircraft Lease Securitisation II Ltd. The deal will provide "long-term nonrecourse funding" for 30 new A320 family aircraft, according to the company. The jets are part of a 70-aircraft order placed by AerVenture Ltd., AerCap's joint venture with two Kuwait-based partners, LoadAir and Al Fawares.
ALAFCO reached a deal with Saudi Arabian Airlines for the sale and lease of 17 aircraft for delivery from 2009 through 2015, the Arab Air Carriers Org. reported. Agreement comprises the sale of eight 787-9s worth $1.6 billion, the 12-year lease of an additional four -9s and eight-year leases on five A320-200s. Separately, Saudi Arabian and Singapore Airlines signed a marketing and cooperation MOU under which they will explore codesharing, schedule coordination, loyalty program linkups and cargo and marketing coordination.
Air Berlin is reconsidering its acquisition of Condor Airlines from Thomas Cook, CEO Joachim Hunold said at AB's annual shareholder meeting this week, according to Reuters. The deal was announced last fall. "Because of the significant delays in the approval process and the changing economic circumstances, we are currently examining whether the Condor transaction is still sensible," Hunold said. AB was scheduled to acquire 75.1% of Condor next February and the remaining share in February 2010.
