Volga-Dnepr Group reported a 51% increase in sales last year to $1.05 billion, $300 million of which was contributed by its scheduled airline AirBridge Cargo. The latter figure represented a 32% gain over 2006. V-D said the overall revenue rise was due in large part to a "substantial" 62% increase in the charter market for outsize and heavy cargo. Volga-Dnepr Airlines carried that freight while AirBridge transported 101,900 tons aboard its 747s, an increase of 29%. The company said it is in the process of growing and upgrading its fleet.
Worldwide Flight Services acquired a 60% shareholding in British Airways Regional Cargo late last month from three of the latter's founders, with the remaining 40% continuing to be held by British Airways World Cargo. Terms of the acquisition were undisclosed. BARC operates more 260,000 sq. ft. of handling facilities at 11 airports in the UK and Ireland. Employing 246 staff, it provides cargo handling for BAWC and other major carriers, including American Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Air India and GB Airways.
A brutal week for the US airline industry that featured the closure of two established carriers and embarrassing Congressional hearings concluded Friday night with the announcement that Skybus Airlines, an ambitious LCC based out of Columbus, had ceased operations. The startup said in a message posted on its website that it "struggled to overcome the rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment," but that those issues "proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier."
Turkish Airlines celebrated its entry into Star Alliance last week as well as an 80% increase in full-year profit to $224 million, saying the figure would have been higher if not for foreign exchange-related losses.
Pratt & Whitney Canada received type certification from Transport Canada and EASA for the PW127M, the latest derivative of the PW127F and PW127E engines that power the ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500. P&WC said the PW127M offers 5% more power than earlier versions. It will be offered on existing variants of the aircraft going forward and also will be the standard engine on the 42-600 and 72-600.
Continental Airlines became the fifth major US carrier to raise its fees for a second checked bag ( ATWOnline, March 31), announcing that economy class passengers who are not premium members of CO's loyalty program will pay $25 for the second piece effective May 5. Policy applies to flights in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.
Czech government last week announced a tender for an adviser to facilitate the privatization of CSA Czech Airlines. The tender will begin April 15, and once a consultant is chosen the government intends "to finish the privatization within months," Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said, according to Reuters.
US Dept. of Homeland Security avoided potential confusion at airports last week by granting an extension to Maine on compliance with the first phase of a federal law mandating new security features on driver's licenses. Extension followed assurances from Gov. John Baldacci (D) to "use the resources at my disposal" to amend state policies in accordance with DHS demands. It was unclear, however, whether the state legislature would back him.
SITA announced completion of 700 workstations at Beijing Capital's Terminal 3 to support Olympic Games traffic this summer including check-in, boarding and transfers. A $3 billion addition, the terminal is expected to boost annual capacity by 30 million passengers ( ATWOnline, March 3). SITA projects that 50 of its self-service check-in kiosks will be ready to go live for the Olympics.
Air One will increase its presence from Milan Malpensa this summer, using opportunities available as a result of Alitalia's downscaling at the airport. The Italian carrier will operate 138 weekly flights from MXP on a network featuring domestic, European and long-haul routes. Last month, Network, Marketing and Business Development Director Giorgio de Roni told ATWOnline that AP had applied to the US Dept. of Transportation for authority to launch flights to the US. The new transatlantic open skies agreement eliminates the designation requirements but still requires licensing.
TACA expects 2008 revenue to increase 15% year-over-year to $1.1 billion as passenger traffic rises 10%-15%, President Roberto Kriete told the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit last week, according to the news service. "We are growing because we do not depend on the North American market," he said.
Compass Airlines, a wholly owned Northwest Airlines subsidiary, said it served nearly 500,000 passengers in its first year of operation flying 17 E-170s. It also announced that it was approved for daily Detroit-Monterrey service beginning May 2. Compass operates 74 daily flights to 26 cities as Northwest Airlink and expects to fly 36 aircraft and transport more than 2 million passengers by year end.
United Airlines flew 10.04 billion system RPMs in March, down 2.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity was level at 12.14 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 2.3 points to 82.7%. US Airways Group said consolidated March passenger RASM climbed 5%-7% year-over-year but President Scott Kirby said high fuel prices will lead the company to reduce mainline capacity 3%-4% in the second half of 2008. The group flew 5.58 billion consolidated RPMs last month, down 0.7% from the year-ago month, against a 2.9% fall in capacity to 6.65 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.9 points to 83.9%.
British Airways expects to operate a full schedule to and from London Heathrow's Terminal 5 Saturday and next week. However, the financial impact of the troubled opening is estimated to be around £16 million ($31.7 million), BA said yesterday, reflecting all costs associated with the disruption in addition to lost revenue opportunities.
EgyptAir Chairman Atef Abdel Hamid said the carrier's effort to meet the requirements for Star Alliance membership is nearing conclusion and it expects to be ready for a Cairo joining ceremony scheduled for July. "We still have some challenges to meet the last standards of a Star Alliance member," Hamid told ATWOnline this week in Istanbul. He said training of certain staff and some minor adaptations to its IT infrastructure are still on the docket but will be completed on schedule.
Northwest Airlines yesterday announced a series of measures "in response to the high cost of fuel and current economic uncertainties," including a 5% reduction from its 2008 business plan in domestic capacity following the peak summer schedule that will result in the removal of an additional 15-20 aircraft from service. Aircraft removed will comprise 10 DC-9s and a mix of 757s and A319s/A320s.
Alitalia board yesterday convened an emergency meeting following Air France-KLM's withdrawal from its bid to acquire the ailing Italian flag carrier and named Aristide Police as chairman replacing the resigned Maurizio Prato. The board maintained that the AF-KLM deal remains "suitable to ensure Alitalia can return to profitable growth," according to Reuters, and that it would "evaluate the existence of the necessary conditions to continue doing business" at a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday. However, time is running out.
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly conceded that there "was clearly a mistake with our regulatory compliance" when the carrier operated 46 737 Classics for nine days in March 2007 after it had disclosed to US FAA that the aircraft were in noncompliance with an agency airworthiness directive but insisted that "safety of flight" was not compromised.
TAP Portugal reported its "best year ever" in 2007 with a net profit of €32.8 million ($51.2 million) that represented a more-than-fourfold increase over the €7.3 million earned in 2006 as operating profit more than doubled to €79.3 million from €30.3 million a year earlier.
United Airlines grounded all 52 of its 777s after disclosing to US FAA that a review of its maintenance records revealed that required checks on cargo fire suppression systems were "not performed." UA cancelled an estimated 38 flights yesterday as it conducted the inspections. It said one of five bottles in the 777's cargo fire suppression systems had been overlooked during routine maintenance checks.
Delta Air Lines will terminate an agreement as of May 3 with Mesa Air Group subsidiary Freedom Airlines, which operates 34 ERJ-145s on behalf of Delta Connection, for failing to meet an agreed-upon completion rate.
Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said the economic and industry downturn predicted by many, including IATA ( ATWOnline, April 2), likely will not have a significant effect on the German company. "Lufthansa started very well this year," he told ATWOnline this week in Istanbul. "We have invested carefully for the future." He said LH's flexibility will enable it to weather any crisis.
Amadeus Activities & Entertainment destination services platform was selected by Iberia. It will be integrated on IB's website and contain more than 7,000 bookable destination products at more than 400 destinations worldwide. It automatically displays content according to the destination and dates of the customer's booked flight segment.
Virgin Atlantic Airways reaffirmed its well-known interest in acquiring bmi and reportedly is seeking support from Lufthansa, which holds 30%-minus-one-share in bmi and an option to acquire Chairman Michael Bishop's 50%-plus-one-share stake by the end of June 2009, for the tie-up. "We are very interested in a merger with bmi," VS External Affairs and Route Development Director Barry Humphreys told Sueddeutsche Zeitung, noting LH could hold a stake in the new merged entity.
