WestJet, Air France and KLM yesterday announced their intention to codeshare by late 2009 or early 2010. An MOU signed by the three airlines also covers the possibility of interline e-ticketing, through check-in and loyalty program cooperation. WestJet said the codeshare would include flights to/from Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. KLM will serve all four when its Amsterdam-Calgary route opens in May, while AF flies to Montreal and Toronto.
Oneworld member carriers will adopt an alliance livery on a portion of their fleets "as a symbol of their renewed commitment to the alliance," Governing Board Chairman and American Airlines Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey announced this week at the alliance's 10th anniversary event in Madrid. Star Alliance runs a similar program ( ATW, February 2008). Around 40 aircraft will bear the new livery, which features the oneworld name and logo on the fuselage against a white or a polished metal background.
LAN Airlines is working on an interim solution to fill the gap until the first of its 26 787s finally arrives, CEO Enrique Cueto told ATWOnline, and now expects the first Dreamliner to come two years late "by the end of 2013."
US Depts. of Energy and Agriculture will release up to $25 million in funding for research and development of biofuels, including aviation biofuels, the Air Transport Assn. announced.
Oneworld has no plans to change its strategy and remains interested in adding new members only in Brazil, Russia, India and mainland China, Governing Board Chairman and American Airlines Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey said yesterday at a Madrid marking the alliance's 10th anniversary.
Ryanair Deputy CEO Michael Cawley told reporters yesterday that the LCC is talking with both Boeing and Airbus about placing an order for 300-400 aircraft within the next two years for delivery in 2012-17. It will sell older aircraft to clear some space but eventually is targeting 200 million passengers per year. It transported 57.7 million in 2008 and currently operates 181 737-800s. Cawley said there was no impediment to operating both Boeing and Airbus types; "We're large enough now to run two fleets."
Qantas yesterday suspended trading in its shares pending an announcement on "capital management initiatives," with speculation increasing over a potential effort to raise A$500 million ($319.6 million) or more for a restructuring that could include new executive appointments. QF shares have sunk 6.5% in recent days to A$2.29. There also is considerable speculation regarding a significant ramp-up of its Jetstar Airways operation in both Australia and New Zealand.
Fraport announced the sale of its 65% stake in Frankfurt-Hahn to the State of Rhineland-Palatinate for €1 ($1.28). The state now holds 82.5% of HHN, with eastern neighbor Hesse holding the remainder. Fraport said its divestment largely was related to Ryanair's threat to reduce its operation at HHN if the operator successfully imposed a per-passenger "airport development fee." It said the fee "was an essential prerequisite. . .to make Hahn profitable."
UPS reported full-year 2008 net income of $3 billion, widened significantly from a $447 million profit in 2007 when its results were skewed by a one-time $6.1 billion pension payment, but nevertheless said it must make "tough decisions" to cope with a "severe decline in economic activity around the world." In what is perhaps a more telling comparison, 2008 income was down 28.6% compared to $4.2 billion in 2006. To counter the difficult financial environment, the delivery giant announced yesterday that it has "consolidated operating districts, reduced air segments and eliminated some
Oneworld Governing Board Chairman and American Airlines Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey dismissed suggestions that the alliance might fall apart if the application for antitrust immunity for AA, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Royal Jordanian or the proposed merger between BA and IB fails. "We are not contemplating anything else than getting immunity, which will enable us to compete on more equal terms with the other alliances," Arpey told ATWOnline at the group's 10th anniversary event in Madrid.
Finnair CEO Jukka Hienonen told ATWOnline at this week's oneworld meeting in Madrid that the airline does not have the flexibility to remain stable during the current market downturn. Finnair was €2.1 million ($2.7 million) in the black through the first nine months of 2008, but it does not expect a positive full-year result.
A stunning SEK6.32 billion ($754.7 million) full-year loss, reversed from a SEK636 million profit in 2007, prompted yesterday's unveiling of a new restructuring initiative dubbed Core SAS that will include a SEK6 billion rights issue and approximately 3,000 layoffs.
Korean Air reported a full-year 2008 net loss of KRW1.96 trillion ($1.4 billion), reversed from a net profit of KRW11.1 billion in 2007, citing the weak won as the biggest contributor to the heavy deficit.
Continental Airlines said January consolidated RASM fell 5%-6% year-over-year. Traffic dropped 11% to 6.43 billion RPMs against a 6.5% decline in capacity to 8.79 billion ASMs. Load factor was down 3.6 points to 73.2%.
The market conditions that forced European heavyweights Air France KLM and British Airways to warn of steep operating losses appear to have bypassed Germany, where Lufthansa yesterday raised its full-year operating profit projection to €1.3 billion ($1.66 billion) from the previous €1.1 billion.
Iberia shareholder Caja Madrid Chairman Miguel Blesa told reporters that a merger agreement with British Airways is "close," Reuters reported from Madrid. The bank is IB's largest shareholder at 23%. "The perception now I think is that the share exchange will not be 60-40," he said. "Iberia is now worth more. It will be closer to 55-45." IB's increased valuation has been a source of concern at BA ( ATWOnline, Feb. 2).
Ryanair reported a €118.8 million ($152.1 million) net loss for the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, a sharp reversal from the €47.2 million earned in the year-ago period, owing primarily to a 71% increase in fuel costs and a 9% decline in average fare.
Aeroflot said "preliminary analysis" of its 2008 financial performance indicated a 26.2% year-over-year growth in revenue based on Russian accounting standards. "This gives ground for us to expect a positive financial result for 2008, close to the 2007 level," SU said. It reported a $313.4 million profit under IFRS in 2007. It transported 9.3 million passengers in 2008, up approximately 13.4%, but load factor fell 0.3 point to 70.9%. Separately, the airline launched twice-weekly Moscow Sheremetyevo-Eilat Ovda flights aboard an A320.
Kenya Airways expects to report a profit for its fiscal year ending March 31 but warned yesterday that the figure will be as much as 25% lower than the KES5.5 billion ($67.8 million) earned in 2007-8. "The benefits that accrue from the decline in jet fuel prices are being offset by the hedge costs, thus impacting on the profitability," Chairman Evanson Mwaniki said in a statement. The Kenyan shilling also has declined against the US dollar. KQ reported a KES736 million profit in the six months ended Sept.
Pratt & Whitney reached a four-year deal with Evergreen International Airlines to provide line maintenance services for PW4000, JT9D and CF6 engines. Agreement includes engine changes and is renewable up to 20 additional years.
Airbus signed a cooperation agreement with Xian Aircraft Industry Co. stipulating that wings for A320 family aircraft assembled at the Tianjin FAL will be fully completed and tested in Tianjin. XAC will build an equipping and testing facility near the FAL, with operations expected to start by year end. First delivery of fully equipped wings is scheduled for the 2010 first quarter. Production rates by the end of 2010 are projected at two units per month and by the close of the following year at four units per month.
Having lost a bid to receive confidential treatment for financial and traffic information that it is required to file with the US Dept. of Transportation as a certificated carrier, Virgin America yesterday said it suffered a $175.4 million loss in the first three quarters of 2008.
