UK airports handled 241 million passengers in 2007, up 2.4% on the prior year, according to UK CAA, which noted that growth was "slower than that seen over the last decade and continues a trend which began in 2005." Transport movements at UK airports grew 1.8% year-over-year to 2.5 million, rising 2.6% at the five London airports that contribute 58% of the country's total passenger numbers. Majority (58%) of UK passengers, or 139 million, were bound for or arriving from continental Europe, up 3.1% from 2006. Largest increases were to/from Poland (30.7%) and Italy (6%).
Spanair launched a new four-class fare structure dubbed Spanairx4, calling the concept "modern and versatile" and one that will set it apart from domestic competitors. The classes are labeled "business," "avant," "economy plus" and "economy." Business offers passengers a 30-kg. baggage check-in allowance (10 kg. more than economy plus and economy), lounge access and preferential service onboard, including free catering and "blocking of the middle seat" to provide more space. It also offers flexible and penalty-free options for booking changes, including on day of flight.
Lufthansa, which last week announced a doubling in full-year earnings, is not resting on its profitable laurels but instead is committed to investing in its premium product, executives told ATWOnline. A new first class cabin (in anticipation of the A380), an improved business class seat with greater recline and its own private jet fleet ( ATWOnline, March 10) are in the cards for the German giant.
US airlines carried 769.4 million passengers in 2007, up 3.3% from 2006 and an all-time high, according to US Dept. of Transportation statistics released last week. Domestic passengers were up 3.1% to 679 million while international passengers rose 4.7% to 90 million. Southwest Airlines carried more total system passengers (101.9 million) than any other carrier, the first time it has topped the list, besting American Airlines (98.2 million), which led each of the previous five years.
Qantas warned senior management and staff, but not the markets, that its fuel bill could climb by A$1 billion ($930.8 million) in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009.
Air France KLM flew 14.95 billion RPKs in February, up 3.7% from the year-ago month, against an 8.4% increase in capacity to 19.81 billion ASKs. Load factor dropped 3.4 points to 75.5%. Lufthansa Group airlines flew 10.91 billion RPKs in February, a 33.4% jump from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 32.3% to 14.45 billion ASKs and load factor increased 0.6 point to 75.5%. Air Canada and Jazz flew a combined 3.81 billion RPMs in February, up 5.8% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 6.3% to 4.81 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 0.4 point to 79.2%.
US FAA last week mandated "significant upgrades" to aircraft cockpit voice and flight data recorders. All voice recorders in aircraft carrying more than 10 people must capture the last 2 hr. of cockpit audio instead of the current 15-30 min. New rule also requires an independent backup power source for voice recorders to allow continued recording for 9-11 min. if all power sources are lost or interrupted.
Singapore Airlines will fly the A380 to Tokyo Narita on May 20, making the Japanese capital the fourth city to receive A380 commercial flights. Flight SQ636 will depart Changi at 12:40 a.m. and arrive at NRT at 8:30 a.m. local time. Return flight will take off at 1 p.m. local time. Service will continue daily thereafter.
AerCap Holdings, the Dutch lessor, will lease 10 new A330-200s to Aeroflot for 9-10-year periods with deliveries beginning in November and extending to April 2010. AerCap has an additional 20 A330s on order with Airbus but has not yet announced placement.
Continental Airlines, in partnership with Boeing and GE Aviation, will conduct a biofuels demonstration flight in the first half of 2009 using one of its 737NGs. It will be the first such flight in North America and the third overall. Virgin Atlantic Airways carried out a demonstration flight last month on a 747-400 with one engine partially powered by a blend of babassu oil and coconut oil ( ATWOnline, Feb. 26) and Air New Zealand will conduct one later this year with an undisclosed fuel mix.
Southwest Airlines yesterday returned to service 34 of 38 737 Classics it temporarily grounded Wednesday for inspection and operated a normal schedule, saying the other four aircraft will need "surface repairs" expected to be completed by this weekend.
Air New Zealand is staying true to the philosophy that earned it Air Transport World's 2008 Passenger Service Award and embracing more product upgrades designed to snare premium customers, rather than cost cuts, to combat soaring fuel prices. Speaking to ATWOnline in Auckland, CEO Rob Fyfe reasoned, "In a cross-country race, the best time to pass the guy ahead is on the hill. And we are fighting fit and in great shape and we should look at this time to pass our competitors."
CIT Aerospace this week signed a firm contract for 15 A320s and five A330-200s. The aircraft are worth approximately $1.9 billion at list prices, CIT said, and will be delivered from 2011 through 2014. "We continue to see a growing demand from our customer base for more efficient aircraft similar to the Airbus A320 and A330 family of aircraft. As a result of this demand we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to further enhance and diversify our fleet," President-Transportation Finance C. Jeffrey Knittel said. No engine choices were announced.
TAM suffered precipitous drops in full-year unit revenue and yield in 2007, according to select operating indictors released this week. Yield declined 13.6% year-over-year to BRL25.3 cents and RASK fell 17.1% to BRL17.08 cents, according to US GAAP. Load factor dropped 3.5 points to 70.4% while unit cost improved 7.6% to BRL16.22 cents, or 5.8% to BRL10.89 cents excluding fuel. On domestic services, yield fell 19.4% to BRL23.42 cents and unit revenue declined 22% to BRL15.51 cents. Internationally, yield was down 17% to BRL17.66 cents and RASK plunged 23.3% to BRL12.44 cents.
IATA this week condemned UK CAA's decision to allow significant charge increases at London Heathrow and Gatwick ( ATWOnline, March 12), saying that "failure is the only word to describe the CAA's decision." IATA claimed that BAA generated an operating profit of 35% at LHR, producing a net return on invested capital of 15.3% that was twice the level of the cost of capital set by CAA.
Lufthansa reported a net profit of €1.66 billion for 2007, more than double the €803 million earned in the prior year, on a 13% rise in revenue to €22.42 billion, both records for the German airline group as results were boosted by a book gain of about €503 million from the sale of its shares in Thomas Cook.
Shanghai-based Spring Airlines posted a record net profit of CNY70 million ($9.8 million) in 2007, more than double the previous year's result. Operating revenue rose to CNY1.23 billion, but industry analysts credited effective cost control for the profit result. According to CAAC statistics, Spring's operating expenses were 18% lower than the domestic average. The carrier is one of the few profitable Chinese LCCs and operates a single fleet type (A320) with an all-economy cabin configuration.
Southwest Airlines removed 38 737 Classics from service yesterday for inspections, leading to cancellation of 4% of its schedule, a move that resulted from its "ongoing internal review of. . .maintenance programs, policies and procedures" launched in the aftermath of last week's FAA-proposed $10.2 million civil penalty for alleged safety lapses.
JP Morgan projected a collective full-year loss of $4 billion-$9 billion for US airlines yesterday. In a research note, analyst Jamie Baker forecast continuing high oil prices and declining demand and warned, "We don't believe the industry can move quickly enough to put much of dent in forecasted losses." He projected a decline in demand of 6%-7% owing to a weak US economy that JP Morgan believes is already in a recession. "Even a best-ever recessionary demand scenario results in a $4 billion industry loss," Baker wrote.
Air Berlin's acquisition of LTU has proven to be costly, as the German LCC reported a steep drop in full-year profit to €11 million ($16.9 million) from the €50.1 million earned in 2006. "We are right on track with the LTU integration," CEO Joachim Hunold said yesterday as the carrier released preliminary financial figures. "Although the preliminary earnings for 2007 did not meet our expectations, we have reason to be optimistic for 2008." He said capacity utilization and unit revenue improved "significantly" through February and he was "pleased" with bookings.
Aer Lingus did well in its first full year as a privatized company, with a net profit of €105.3 million ($161.8 million) compared to a net loss of €69.9 million in 2006. Revenue rose 15.2% to €1.28 billion on a 7.8% growth in passengers to 9.3 million. Operating costs increased 15.1% to €1.19 billion, primarily owing to greater volumes and higher oil prices. Fuel cost jumped 26.3% on an underlying basis to €253.3 million. Operating profit before employee profit share came in at €88.5 million, up 16.4% from €76 million a year earlier.
Air France confirmed that its offices were raided this week by the European Commission as part of its investigation into alleged price-fixing practices on passenger flights between Europe and Japan ( ATWOnline, March 12). Lufthansa and KLM revealed Tuesday that they had been targeted. "Air France confirms that in similar fashion to other airlines, it is being questioned by the European Commission about links between the EU Union and Japan.
SITA and Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority announced forthcoming installation of air traffic information system Digital-ATIS and an air-ground data link service at Kigali. The technology, which is in keeping with ICAO's Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Safety in Africa, will reduce reliance on voice communications and is expected to be in place by year end.
Singapore Airlines took delivery of the third production A380 (MSN006) Saturday. The Trent 900-powered, 471-seat aircraft will be placed into Singapore-London Heathrow service on March 18 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 31).
