CAE said it acquired Sabena Flight Academy for an undisclosed amount of cash with the aim of expanding its pilot training capability. It will gain control of Sabena's training center in Brussels equipped with FFSs for A320s, A330s, A340s, 737 Classics and 737NGs. It also will take over Sabena's pilot training school in Mesa, Ariz., equipped with 40 aircraft.
Airbus last week released a forecast for Central Europe that projected the region will require approximately 460 new aircraft worth $32 billion through 2026. Single-aisle aircraft "will dominate deliveries," it said. Traffic in the region is expected to grow 6.7% annually through 2026, faster than the global average of 4.9%, the manufacturer said.
ExpressJet Friday signed a new seven-year capacity purchase agreement with Continental Airlines that CO said included lower rates comparable to those charged by other regional providers. Under the new contract, which will take effect July 1, ExpressJet will operate a minimum of 205 aircraft for CO the first year and a minimum of 190 in following years. The deal enables the regional to swap out some of its 37-seat jets for larger 50-seat RJs to be operated under the CO agreement.
Swiss Aviation Training said it will acquire an E-190 full-flight simulator to train Lufthansa Group cockpit crews. CAE is expected to deliver the simulator by year end.
Telair will provide SilkAir with its Sliding Carpet Loading System for A319s and A320s under a recent deal. Airbus will install the systems prior to delivery.
Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe said the carrier is growing increasingly confident that commercial quantities of environmentally sustainable fuels that meet all its stringent criteria will become available over the next few years.
Air Astana President Peter Foster told ATWOnline last week that the carrier is well positioned to weather the current economic environment, insisting that conditions in Central Asia will remain strong.
Aeroflot last week confirmed that it plans to lease an additional 19 A320 family aircraft. No other details were provided. Interfax reported that the carrier plans to add up to 65 Airbus aircraft in the future. It already operates 36 narrowbody Airbus aircraft. It reportedly wants to double its current level of domestic services by 2014. CEO Valery Okulov told ATWOnline at the IATA AGM in Istanbul last week that SU is looking for a European airline with which it can form a strategic partnership. "We are considering Austrian Airlines. .
Qantas Group announced a series of changes to its international network owing to fuel expense. CEO Geoff Dixon said Japan and Southeast Asia will be most affected. "The Japan-Far North Queensland market has also been particularly difficult for Qantas for a number of years," he noted.
Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey expressed "profound disappointment" with an Australian JP Morgan report that claimed in one of its scenarios that the airline "could collapse under the weight of higher fuel prices." The gloomy forecast was reported widely in Australia by most major papers with alarmist headlines. Speaking to ATWOnline from Brisbane, Godfrey pointed out, "The doomsday scenario was only one of three in the JP Morgan report and the report actually forecast that the airline's share price would rise and its profit would be 600% higher than the 2008-09 profit."
Gol and VRG parent Gol Linhas Aereas said Executive VP and CFO Richard Lark will be elevated to the board effective June 16 and serve as an "adviser" to CEO Constantino de Oliveira Jr. He will transition his former responsibilities to Treasurer Anna Bettencourt, who will become finance director and investor relations officer, Controller Fabio Pereira and Accounting and Tax Director William Cattan, who also will serve as principal accounting officer. Schiphol Group appointed Jos Nijhuis president and CEO effective Jan. 1, 2009.
Emirates will receive its first A380 on July 28 at a ceremony in Hamburg. First service will be from Dubai to New York JFK, possibly as early as Aug. 1. At the recent IATA AGM in Istanbul, EK President Tim Clark made waves when he announced that the airline had no plans to reduce flying because of soaring fuel prices and the softening of the market. "We are not cutting back but in fact are looking to expand," he told delegates. The expansion could include the conversion of an order for 10 787-8Fs to the passenger version, according to some observers in Dubai.
The 787 delay is having a "quite dramatic" effect on Royal Jordanian's long-haul growth strategy, Chairman and CEO Samer Majali told ATWOnline at this week's IATA AGM in Istanbul. "The [787] delay hits our strategy," he said, noting that the carrier's regional and mid-haul fleet renewal will be finalized by next year.
Oneworld airlines generated "record" revenues from the alliance's sales activities in 2007, Managing Partner John McCulloch said during a presentation at this week's IATA AGM.
Following in the footsteps of United Airlines and American Airlines, Continental Airlines yesterday became the latest US carrier to announce a major downsizing, revealing plans to retire 67 737s, lower 2008 fourth-quarter mainline domestic capacity by 11% and reduce its workforce by 3,000. In a message to employees, Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner and President Jeff Smisek said, "The airline industry is in a crisis. Its business model doesn't work with the current price of fuel and the existing level of capacity in the marketplace. We need to make changes in response."
United Airlines, facing rising fuel costs and a weak US economy, yesterday announced a dramatic downsizing that will see its Ted service discontinued and include the retirement over the next 19 months of 100 aircraft with the aim of reducing mainline capacity by a cumulative 17%-18% for 2008-09.
Spirit Airlines said its warning to employees regarding possible job cuts was not an indication that it plans to reduce flying ( ATWOnline, June 4). "Spirit has not made any decisions regarding capacity reductions," CEO Ben Baldanza said.
Finnair CEO Jukka Hienonen is preparing the airline for what he considers to be an impending crisis in commercial aviation. "We are already looking at our network and we certainly will cut capacity in Europe and also look to some of our long-haul routes," he told ATWOnline at this week's IATA AGM in Istanbul. If the outlook remains gloomy, he said, "we will have to take additional measures." Finnair launched its new Helsinki-Incheon route this week as part of its continuing strategy to link the Finnish capital with Asia. But lately it has seen some softening in that market.
Amadeus reached 10-year agreements with 12 Arab Air Carriers Org.-affiliated airlines for distribution activities in their home markets. Six members who have partnered with Amadeus for the past seven years will be joined by another six when their current distribution agreements expire at year end.
Emirates SkyCargo carried 1.3 million tonnes of cargo in the fiscal year ended March 31, up 10.9% year-over-year, and boosted revenue 20% to AED6.4 billion ($1.7 billion), comprising 19% of Emirates' total revenue. But Divisional Senior VP-Cargo Ram Menen warned that the current fiscal year "will not be easy" and that cargo operators are entering into a "correction period" that will weed out inefficient players. "All carriers will have to refine their operating practices and airlines operating fuel inefficient aircraft will not survive," he warned at a gathering of SkyCargo employees.
Italy's Air One cemented its commitment to increasing its international profile with a firm order for 12 A350-800s plus 12 options and 12 A330-200s with eight options.
JetBlue Airways announced an expansion of the inflight connectivity services offered aboard its BetaBlue Wi-Fi-equipped A320, which launched last December ( ATWOnline, Dec. 12, 2007), to include "a more diverse e-mail and messaging platform" open to a variety of leading Web-based e-mail providers and a "simple yet extensive search and discover option" from e-commerce site Amazon.com. The expanded services are provided over JetBlue subsidiary LiveTV's Kiteline network platform and are free of charge.
ALAFCO announced the sale of five new A320-200s to Aref Logistics for $325 million. Aircraft will be operated by charter subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.
Spirit Airlines employees were notified that the low-fare carrier could be headed for hundreds of layoffs in the next two months as it struggles with soaring fuel costs, according to a report in The Miami Herald. Letters went out Saturday to union leaders indicating that up to 60% of flight attendants (448) and 45% of pilots (242) could be out of work by Aug. 1 as the airline closes its New York LaGuardia and San Juan bases and scales back its operation in Fort Lauderdale.
Royal Jordanian CEO Samer Majali took over as IATA chairman yesterday succeeding TAP Portugal CEO Fernando Pinto. He will serve one year and said the agenda "has extraordinary challenges. Change must be even more aggressive." IATA's board of governors announced that Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Tony Tyler will succeed Majali in June 2009, when the AGM will take place in Kuala Lumpur. Midwest Airlines COO Joseph Kolshak resigned after four months on the job, according to widespread press reports.
