CIT Aerospace said it signed lease agreements last year covering 119 aircraft for delivery through 2010 and that it delivered 49 aircraft in 2008. It added five new customers during the year. Aviation Capital Group said it completed 49 lease and sale transactions in 2008, including four purchases, four new leases, three extensions and two sales in the fourth quarter. It ordered 23 A320s and 15 737s last year and plans to take delivery of 10 737s and three A320s this year.
Assn. of European Airlines announced that Croatia Airlines President and CEO Ivan Misetic will chair the organization this year, succeeding KLM President and CEO Peter Hartman. US Airways promoted Senior VP and CFO Derek Kerr to executive VP (he will remain CFO) and named Sabre Holdings Senior VP-Air Services Brad Jensen as senior VP and CIO.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission, which manages Minneapolis-St. Paul International, yesterday voted to approve an agreement with Delta Air Lines under which MSP will become the "Delta North" headquarters and the airline will retain many of the financial benefits that subsidiary Northwest Airlines enjoyed by basing its headquarters there.
Pinnacle Airlines flew 407.3 million RPMs in December, up 11.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose at the same rate to 537.3 million ASMs, leaving load factor at 75.8%.
British Airways warned yesterday that it expects to report an operating loss of "around" £50 million ($69 million) in its third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31 and a £150 million operating loss for the full year, largely owing to foreign exchange losses.
France's government is set to lend French banks €5 billion ($6.49 billion) with the understanding that the funds will be used to finance aircraft purchases, a measure aimed at preventing airlines from cancelling orders with Airbus, according to widespread reports in Europe. The government apparently is seeking a way to assist Airbus without directly subsidizing the manufacturer, which has warned that 2009 will be "a very challenging year" ( ATWOnline, Jan. 16).
Kelowna Flightcraft signed a six-year contract with Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance to maintain the CF6-50C2 engines on its fleet of DC-10-30 freighters. Work will take place in KLM E&M's Schiphol engine shop.
CIT Aerospace announced the lease of one A320-200 to Swiss International Air Lines. Aircraft is powered by CFM56-5B4/Ps and scheduled for delivery in April.
Lufthansa Systems reached a three-year extension on its contract with KLM cityhopper to streamline crew management and operations control using its NetLine/Crew, NetLine/Ops and NetLine/Ops Maintenance Control technologies.
FlyLAL Lithuanian Airlines filed for bankruptcy Friday, less than a week after shutting down following its failed sale to a Swiss investment group ( ATWOnline, Jan. 21). "We looked at all possible options to continue operations, but being unable to continue flights and without seeing any real chances to renew operations, we were forced to file for bankruptcy," CEO Vytautas Kaikaris said in a statement. The carrier previously had said it was "open for further proposals" but that they must come quickly.
Okay Airways, the Tianjin-based carrier that was suspended last month following a dispute between management and shareholders, was approved to resume operations Saturday. According to CAAC, Okay is permitted to operate passenger services from Tianjin to Harbin, Chengdu, Sanya, Kunming via Changsha, Sanya via Zhuhai, Chongqing via Taiyuan and Quanzhou via Nanjing this week. From Feb. 1 it is expected to resume operating approximately 20 routes. It is estimated that the company has suffered a CNY100 million ($14.6 million) loss due do the suspension.
El Al agreed to plead guilty to colluding on cargo shipping charges and will pay a $15.7 million criminal fine, the US Dept. of Justice announced. The Israeli carrier joined LAN Cargo and subsidiary ABSA Cargo Airline, which also pleaded guilty last week and will pay a combined fine of $109 million ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23).
Lufthansa cancelled 46 domestic and European flights out of its Frankfurt hub owing to a 3-hr. warning strike staged by flight attendants Friday morning. The UFO trade union had issued a warning of industrial action following a breakdown in negotiations over a wage increase ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18, 2008).
Continental Airlines said December consolidated RASM rose 3.5%-4.5% year-over-year. Traffic fell 6.7% to 7.11 billion RPMs against a 8.1% decline in capacity to 8.9 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.2 points to 79.9%. Frontier Airlines said December yield rose 1.7% year-over-year to 11.75 cents and unit revenue climbed 11.3% to 9.34 cents. RPMs fell 9.7% to 721.2 million while capacity dropped 17.5% to 907.2 million. Load factor was up 6.9 points to 79.5%.
Cebu Pacific Air transported 6.7 million passengers in 2008, up 23% from the prior year, and expects 9.3 million in 2009 as it adds three A320s and three ATR 72-500s to its fleet. It now flies to 15 international and 27 domestic destinations, with five new domestic airports to be added in the coming months. President and CEO Lance Gokongwei said Cebu was "able to successfully convince more Filipinos to travel by air despite economic uncertainties" by offering all-inclusive fares and discounts for passengers declining to check luggage.
Nav Canada introduced ADS-B coverage over the Hudson Bay, eliminating "an 850,000-sq.-km. gap in Canada's radar coverage," the air navigation services provider said. The first use of ADS-B involved an Air New Zealand Jan. 15 flight from London Heathrow to Los Angeles. Sensis Corp. is supplying Nav Canada with ground equipment consisting of an antenna, a receiver and a target processor installed at stations along the Hudson shoreline.
Ray LaHood, President Barack Obama's choice for Secretary of Transportation, told the US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he is committed to upgrading to the NextGen air traffic management system and is against the recently suspended slot auctions at New York area airports ( ATWOnline, Dec. 23, 2008). "I know this NextGen stuff is expensive, but we have to do it," LaHood was quoted as saying.
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. signed a contract with Taiwan-based Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. to design and manufacture slats, flaps, belly fairings, rudders and elevators for the new MRJ family of 70/90-seat jets ( ATWOnline, Sept. 5, 2008). First flight of the MRJ90 is scheduled for 2011 with certification and first delivery expected by 2013. The smaller MRJ70 will follow a year later.
United Airlines will conduct a small test of RFID bag tags at Chicago O'Hare next month, according to an employee communication. "We're looking to validate whether this technology will speed up the baggage check process," Initiative Leader Gary Dulaney said. More than 1,000 high-mileage travelers will participate in the six-week trial, which is being conducted "in close partnership with the Star Alliance Technical Advisory Committee," he said. Customers will receive RFID bag tags at their homes and will check in online before arriving at ORD.
Chinese government cut the domestic fuel price by an additional 5.7% to CNY5,440 per ton, a move that will help airlines save about CNY4 billion this year, according to Haitong Securities Aviation Analyst Ma Ying. Fuel currently accounts for more than 40% of Chinese carriers' operating costs ( ATWOnline, Dec. 22, 2008).
EasyJet reported a 31.5% year-over-year increase in fiscal first-quarter revenue to £550 million, which it said reflected a "flight to value" environment in which an increase in business and long-haul leisure travelers "is more than compensating" for a softening in demand.
Air France KLM yesterday said the projected operating loss for its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 will be "to the tune of" €200 million ($258.3 million) ( ATWOnline, Jan. 21). It reiterated that its "objective is to generate a positive operating result" for the full year but that the amount will depend on "how the economic situation evolves, particularly in the cargo business which is facing a tough operating environment."
LAN Cargo reached a plea agreement with the US Dept. of Justice and will pay an $88 million fine over five years to settle its portion of the wide-ranging global investigation into price-fixing and collusion that has ensnared a host of high-profile carriers. In addition, Campinas-based ABSA Cargo Airline, in which LAN holds a majority stake, struck a similar deal and will pay a $21 million fine over five years.
