CAAC yesterday announced it will transfer rights to routes operated by China Eastern Airlines in Yunnan Province to other carriers and impose a fine of CNY1.5 million in response to a March 31-April 1 incident in which pilots returned outbound flights to Kunming ( ATWOnline, April 8). CAAC's investigation concluded that the "disgraceful incident" involving 21 flights largely was the fault of disgruntled CEA pilots.
Sterling Airlines managed to reduce its full-year net loss drastically to DKK34 million ($7.2 million) in 2007, narrowed from the DKK166 million deficit it posted in the prior year. Revenue decreased 0.8% to DKK3.89 million as average fare fell 5.2% to DKK805. Ancillary revenue per passenger, however, increased 55.4% to DKK101.
Midwest Airlines will eliminate positions for 109 employees, including 35 pilots who will be furloughed, and reduce flights by 2.5% owing to soaring fuel costs, it announced this week. "The actions. . .will enable us to maximize revenues, reduce our cost structure, provide sufficient cash and help us weather the storm," CEO Tim Hoeksema said.
US airline executives this week expressed alarm at the consistently high price of fuel, warning that no relief is in sight. "We're not expecting fuel prices to decline," Delta Air Lines President and CFO Edward Bastian said, explaining that DL's proposed merger with Northwest Airlines was driven in part by soaring energy costs. "When we thought about how we would cope with the higher price of fuel, both of us came to the conclusion that we needed greater scale," he said.
AirTran Airways flew 1.71 billion RPMs in March, up 15.8% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 12.9% to 2.15 billion ASMs and load factor increased 1.9 points to 79.6%. Finnair said March unit revenue fell by nearly 3% year-over-year as traffic rose 15% to 2.01 billion RPKs. Capacity climbed 18.2% to 2.63 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 2.2 points to 76.4%. Aer Lingus flew 1.42 billion RPKs in March, up 22.1% from the year-ago month, against a 26.5% increase in ASKs to 1.88 billion. Load factor slipped 2.8 points to 75.3%.
Hewa Bora Airways DC-9 crash Tuesday remained under investigation as the confirmed death toll reached 40, according to the BBC ( ATWOnline, April 16). Most of the dead likely were on the ground, according to reports, as the aircraft was unable to lift off the shortened runway at Goma International and crashed through a wall into nearby shops and houses.
Chinese airlines suffered a collective drop in growth in the first quarter owing to a sharp slowdown in international growth caused by depreciation of the US dollar. According to CAAC statistics released yesterday, Chinese airlines carried 45.7 million passengers and transported 983,000 tonnes of cargo in the quarter, up 11% and 12.4% year-over-year respectively.
Japan Airlines agreed to pay a $110 million fine as part of a plea agreement with the US Dept. of Justice related to its role in the fixing of international cargo rates. Qantas, British Airways and Korean Air already had pled guilty and agreed to penalties in a long-running investigation by US and European authorities that has targeted other carriers as well ( ATWOnline, Jan. 3).
EADS CEO Louis Gallois, in perhaps his starkest language yet regarding its and Airbus's fiscal plight, referenced Greek tragedy to describe the impact on aerospace manufacturing in Europe that the rising euro/sinking dollar is having. "We are at levels which are becoming unbearable," he told reporters in Paris yesterday. "We cannot stay under this Damocles sword, which is starting to fall." He reiterated that each 10 cent rise in the euro compared to the dollar costs Airbus €1 billion ($1.59 billion) as it builds aircraft in euro costs and sells them in dollars.
Airstream International Group arranged the sale and leaseback of two F70s and a related spare Rolls-Royce Tay 620-15 engine. Aircraft are operated by Malev Hungarian Airlines. Aircraft and spare engine were purchased by Gladiator Leasing.
Philippine Airlines announced the launch of a low-fare subsidiary, PAL Express, that will operate turboprops on regional routes and to smaller island airports incapable of handling larger aircraft. Airline will be based in Cebu and fly six Q400s and three Q300s initially. PAL announced the acquisition of the aircraft last week ( ATWOnline, April 11), with deliveries scheduled in the next 4-6 months. "PAL Express will meet the growing demand. .
News from Travel Technology Update: On March 18, American Airlines experienced one of its most horrendous weather days ever at its principal hub, Dallas/Fort Worth. It canceled hundreds of flights. Yet by the next evening, its operations were largely back to normal. American's quick recovery from what could have been a headline-making nightmare was due in large part to new software developed by its operations research department.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. launched the US first-quarter reporting period on a decidedly down note yesterday, posting a $328 million net loss compared to an $81 million profit in the year-ago quarter and projecting a difficult 2008 owing largely to "very volatile" fuel costs.
Air France-KLM said it was "pleased" by the Delta Air Lines/Northwest Airlines merger announcement and that it looked forward to combining with the new carrier "in the form of a joint venture offering a network with extremely attractive multiple hubs." AF-KLM said it had offered short-term financial aid to the airlines as part of the transatlantic alliance granted antitrust immunity last week ( ATWOnline, April 11) but said that "considering the strong liquidity position of the combined airlines," it is "totally
Ryanair and easyJet are threatening to withhold a portion of the airport charges imposed by BAA at London Stansted and Gatwick respectively while they challenge the fee increases in court.
The announcement of the merger agreement between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines rippled across the US commercial aviation landscape yesterday as the respective pilot groups took opposing sides and the identity of future consolidation candidates was scrutinized.
Legislation to ban the use of mobile phones on all commercial flights in the US was introduced yesterday by Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) and John Duncan (R-Tenn.). The three are members of the House aviation subcommittee. Mobile phones currently are not permitted on domestic flights and both FAA and the Federal Communications Commission would have to lift their own bans before an airline could offer the service. The proposed legislation, if passed by Congress and signed by the President, would take the decision out of the two agencies' hands.
British Airways said that Director-Operations Gareth Kirkwood and Director-Customer Services David Noyes will be leaving the carrier and confirmed their departures "follow the airline's move to Terminal 5." BA will appoint a COO and combine the roles.
China Eastern Airlines enjoyed a turnaround in 2007, posting a net profit of CNY269 million ($38.4 million) that represented a reversal from the CNY3.3 billion loss suffered the previous year. Operating revenue rose 13% to CNY42.52 billion, but CEA cited yuan appreciation as the main driver behind its improved performance as a great deal of its debt was incurred in US dollars, reducing its financial costs by 114% year-over-year. Operating expenses climbed 4% to CNY43.08 billion with jet fuel accounting for 40.9%, up from 29.2% in 2006.
Executives from Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines moved quickly yesterday to persuade investors, employees, consumers and regulators that the proposed blockbuster merger of the two carriers will be positive for all, while insisting they will avoid many of the pitfalls of past mergers.
Mxi Technologies announced that Air Canada agreed to implement its Maintenix management software throughout its fleet. Designed to automate maintenance and engineering processes, technology is expected to be fully operational by 2010.
SkyWest Airlines will launch twice-daily Delta Connection service from Salt Lake City to both Gillette and Rock Springs, Wyo., July 7. SkyWest and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew 1.56 billion RPMs in March, up 2.2% from the year-ago month, against a 3% increase in capacity to 1.97 billion ASMs. Load factor fell 0.6 point to 79.2%.
Skymark Airlines of Japan transported 3.7 million passengers last year, up 26% from 2006, while load factor soared 13.5 points to 77.2%, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reported.
