FedEx exercised options on 15 777Fs valued at $3.75 billion, bringing its firm backlog for the type to 30, and took options on an additional 15. The delivery giant originally ordered 15 777Fs plus 15 options in November 2006, when it cancelled an order for 10 A380Fs owing to Airbus production delays on the now-suspended large freighter program ( ATWOnline, Nov. 8, 2006).
Rapidly expanding Turkish Airlines will make its final decision on an order for 35 widebody aircraft (25 firm plus 10 options) within the next three months and is looking seriously at the 777.
New Alitalia faced problems common for its predecessor on its first day of operations yesterday as workers staged protests at Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Linate, causing some flight cancellations and delays. "I don't have any illusions," Alitalia CEO Rocco Sabelli told La Stampa, noting that the carrier had drawn up an emergency plan for the protests. "There are problems to be resolved, and there will be plenty more to resolve."
Lufthansa said it does not expect to complete original plans to increase its shareholding in bmi to 80% this month, Dow Jones reported. LH has not officially submitted a request to the EU for antitrust approval. It currently holds 30%-minus-one-share in bmi but plans to purchase an additional 50%-plus-one-share stake from bmi founder and Chairman Michael Bishop following the latter's decision last fall to exercise his sell option ( ATWOnline, Oct. 30).
Airbus parent EADS CEO Louis Gallois told reporters in France that the manufacturer may need to slow production rates in 2009 owing to airlines' inability to take planned deliveries because of the weak economic environment. "I could not give a figure of a percentage of the 2009 delivery backlog that might be at risk," he said.
Air Mauritius said it suffered falling revenue and an "unprecedented deterioration of its financial performance" largely attributed to losses related to fuel hedges in its third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, leading to a nine-month loss of approximately €18 million compared to an €11.6 million profit in the year-ago period. The company realized a nine-month net loss of €20.5 million on its fuel hedging contracts and mark-to-market losses through the nine-month period totaled €129.5 million.
AerCap Holdings said it signed new lease agreements for 14 aircraft during the fourth quarter of 2008. It also delivered 12 aircraft and nine engines under lease agreements, purchased 11 aircraft and six engines, sold three aircraft and five engines and disassembled two aircraft and seven engines. New lease agreements were with Air China (three new A330s), Sichuan Airlines (three new A330s), Air One (three new A320s), Indonesia's Batavia Air (three 737-400s), North American Airlines (one 767-300) and AeroMexico (one 767-300). As of Dec.
Jat Airways transported 1.4 million passengers in 2008, up 4% from 2007, while cargo fell 13% to 2,829 tonnes. Passenger load factor rose 2 points to 64%.
As was widely expected, Air France KLM will become the relaunched Alitalia's international partner and will take a 25% stake in the restructured carrier through a capital increase of approximately €323 million ($435.1 million). The decision ends months of speculation and uncertainty and came on the last day of the flag carrier's operation as the "old" Alitalia. The AF KLM board approved the investment Friday ( ATWOnline, Jan. 9).
Zambian Airways suspended operations over the weekend, citing an inability to handle rising costs. The carrier also reportedly owed National Airports Corp., which controls the nation's airports, more than $2 million. Government officials indicated they would meet with the airline's executives to discuss a potential state-assisted reorganization.
Snecma Services won a seven-year Engine Services per Operation contract with CSA Czech Airlines to provide MRO support for CFM56-3s. Snecma will furnish remote engine monitoring services and Snecma Services Brussels will handle shop visits.
Iberia promised to cooperate fully with an inquiry by Spain's Public Works Ministry into alleged mistreatment of passengers during a major winter storm in Madrid that caused hundreds of cancellations last Friday and Saturday. "We've had reports of [IB] conduct toward its passengers that is unacceptable," Public Works Minister Magdalena Alvarez told reporters, according to Reuters.
Austrian LCC Niki's partnership with S7 Airlines continues to be delayed by Russian regulators, CEO Othmar Lenz told ATWOnline. "S7 needs traffic rights between Moscow Domodedovo and Vienna. If S7 gets these rights, then we can implement codeshare operations," Lenz said. Bilateral talks should be completed next month ( ATWOnline, Oct. 17, 2008).
American Airlines flew 10.32 billion system RPMs in December, an 8.2% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 8.6% to 13.03 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 0.4 point to 79.2%. American Eagle flew 588.1 million RPMs, down 12.4%, against a 13.5% fall in capacity to 837.3 million ASMs. Load factor rose 0.9 point to 70.2%. Alaska Airlines flew 1.48 billion RPMs in December, down 5.2% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 10.9% to 1.84 billion ASMs and load factor was up 4.9 points to 80.7%.
China Eastern Airlines is taking a series of measures to curb rising operating costs and try to engineer a turnaround from what it expects to be a significant 2008 loss.
Air France KLM flew 16.83 billion RPKs in December, up 1.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.9% to 21.32 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 0.3 point to 78.9%. Southwest Airlines flew 5.79 billion RPMs in December, up 1.1% from the year-ago month, against a 1% decline in capacity to 8.32 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.5 points to 69.7%. LAN Airlines flew 2.44 billion RPKs in December, up 10.7% year-over-year. Capacity rose 12.6% to 3.26 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 1.3 points to 74.7%.
FlyLAL Lithuanian Airlines has been purchased by SCH Swiss Capital Holdings for $1 million plus an agreement to cover debt of some €1 million ($1.4 million). "We were looking for an airline to purchase, and this is a good company to invest in. . .FlyLAL can be a very strong regional carrier," SCH CEO Jan Erik Jansson told the Associated Press, adding that the firm does not "see these debts as a big problem." The sale will take effect on Jan. 23, according to reports.
SkyEurope Airlines announced that GECAS terminated leases on six 737s effective Jan. 8 and the aircraft have been returned to the lessor. The LCC said the capacity has been "replaced" and that all scheduled flights are being operated, although it provided no further details. It also said that Longstock SAPO, a Greek/Portuguese investor ( ATWOnline, Dec.
French investigators now have access to data from the flight data and voice recorders salvaged from an Air New Zealand A320 on lease to XL Airways that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in late November, killing all seven onboard ( ATWOnline, Dec. 5, 2008). The data were extracted successfully in the US, raising hopes that France's Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses will gain insight into the accident, as the crew had given no indication of any problem to air traffic control.
Lufthansa Technik announced the establishment of Lufthansa Technik Maintenance International, a 100% subsidiary integrating the former Condor/Cargo Technik it previously acquired. LTMI will be based in Frankfurt and will assume responsibility for airline third-party MRO business previously handled by LHT. It will continue to maintain Lufthansa Cargo's MD-11s as well. The unit has some 1,000 employees.
Metropolitan Airports Commission, which manages Minneapolis-St. Paul International, last week declined to approve a tentative agreement reached in December with Delta Air Lines that would have allowed DL to retain many of the financial benefits subsidiary Northwest Airlines received for basing its headquarters at MSP.
Aer Lingus CEO Dermot Mannion and CFO Sean Coyle agreed to waive a controversial new clause in their contracts that provided for a €2.8 million ($3.8 million) parachute payment for Mannion if they left EI following its acquisition. Ryanair, which has offered to buy its rival, claimed the payments proved that EI did not foresee a future as an independent carrier ( ATWOnline, Jan. 8). The amount of Coyle's prospective payment was unclear.
European Commission, as expected ( ATWOnline, Jan. 9), granted conditional approval for the merger of Clickair and Vueling Airlines Friday. Clearance depends upon the release of slots at Barcelona "and other European airports to address competition concerns." Clickair, Vueling and Iberia, which will hold 45% of the new airline, have offered to cede slots on "all routes where competition concerns were identified," according to the EC.
