Taipei-based Far Eastern Air Transport is considering introduction of a strategic investor in order to alleviate its debt burden, according to the carrier's Chinese mainland chief, Shi Jianhua. "We are trying to raise money in order to pay off our debt," Shi said. He added that FEAT is negotiating with a variety of unnamed companies, including airlines, regarding an investment. It has debt of $10.7 million and a bank loan of $160 million.
JetBlue Airways took delivery of its first A320 featuring a redesigned cabin that will be available on each of its 88 future deliveries. New interior is 1,050 lb. lighter than its predecessor and results in annual fuel savings of $52,000 per aircraft, JetBlue said. The cabin includes lighter Recaro seats that offer increased personal space created by thinner seat profiles, new sidewall paneling that adds width and shoulder room, 10% more overhead bin space and new LED lighting.
Jat Airways reported a RSD300 million ($5.2 million) profit in 2007, which it said was 50% higher than forecast and its best result in 17 years. It credited its "stable, market-oriented business policy that generated earnings on its own merit without any government assistance." It did not provide a year-ago result. The Serbian flag carrier transported 1.3 million passengers last year, up 8.3% from 2006, and load factor climbed 4 points to 62%.
Frontier Airlines Holdings announced that Executive VP and CFO Paul Tate will resign effective March 21. Frontier said a search for Tate's successor is underway.
SkyTeam Chairman and former KLM chief Leo van Wijk told The Wall Street Journal that Air France KLM intends to inject €3 billion ($4.4 billlion) into Alitalia and to acquire 100% of the ailing flag carrier. "If we get a deal with the Italian government, then we will make a general offer for Alitalia and if it works out, we will delist it," van Wijk told the paper.
Boeing has begun final assembly of the fourth 787 and second flight test aircraft. Ships two and three are static and fatigue test aircraft. According to VP-787 Final Assembly and Change Incorporation Steve Westby, there is "significantly less traveled work on this [fourth] airplane." He added in a statement: "The degree of completeness of sections at the partners is significantly better than Airplane 1. Condition of assembly is much better and we will see continued improvements on the condition of each assembly shipped.
AviIT reached agreement with Etihad Airways to support all ACARS services across the carrier's fleet. Contract includes implementation of AviIT's Archimedes and Airboard system, flight operations log transmission services and integration of ACARS data with engineering fault diagnostic, crew planning and fuel planning systems. ACARS technology provides two-way messaging between aircraft and ground stations via VHF, HF or satellite.
Korean Air placed a firm order for three additional A380s, bringing its commitment to the jumbo jet to eight, Airbus announced yesterday. The newly ordered aircraft are scheduled to arrive in 2012-13. KE expects its first A380 in 2010, when it will introduce the plane on routes to the western US. The A380 program now boasts 192 firm orders from 16 customers.
China Eastern Airlines will be the first of the country's big three carriers to expand into the niche regional market following CAAC's approval of its joint venture with AVIC I, Happy Air ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5). AVIC I will be Happy's controlling shareholder with a 60% stake, while CEA will put in CNY400 million ($55.7 million) for the remaining 40%. The new venture will be based in Xi'an and use Chinese-built aircraft for its fleet, specifically the MA60 and ARJ21.
Singapore Airlines canceled an A380 flight to Sydney Monday night owing to a fuel pump defect, according to a statement provided to the Associated Press. A replacement pump did not solve the problem and a 747-400 was used on the flight as SIA's other A380 was undergoing maintenance. "Airbus and our own engineers have dedicated teams to try to address these issues quickly, but last night's fuel pump defect took much longer to fix," SIA told AP.
Mesa Air Group's go! subsidiary announced the launch of a Hawaiian-language website. Go! operates approximately 60 daily flights on inter-island routes aboard CRJ200s and as a codeshare partner of Mokulele Airlines.
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways reached an approximately $200 million settlement last week on a class action suit filed on behalf of some 8 million US and UK passengers who purchased long-haul tickets from Aug. 11, 2004, through March 23, 2006, when the carriers were found to have colluded on fuel surcharges
GKN Aerospace said CAAC extended its MOC covering MRO of various engine fan blades and components for Airbus and Boeing aircraft until Dec. 31, 2009. MOC validates maintenance operation compliance with CAAR part 145.
Boeing named Matthew Ganz president of its Phantom Works research and development unit. Ganz was president, CEO and GM of HRL Laboratories, which is owned by Boeing and General Motors. He succeeds the retiring Bob Krieger.
Turkish Airlines flew 2.31 billion RPKs in January, a 7% rise from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 3.6% to 3.43 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.2 points to 67.5%. JetBlue Airways flew 2.08 billion RPMs in January, up 7.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 8% to 2.75 billion ASMs and load factor slipped 0.5 point to 75.6%. Aer Lingus flew 1.07 billion RPKs in January, a 16.4% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 25.9% to 1.67 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 5.2 points to 64%.
A turbulent year for Brazilian commercial aviation and the acquisition of floundering flag carrier Varig hit hard at Gol's bottom line as the LCC's Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes parent reported an 82% plunge in full-year profit to BRL102.5 million ($58.6 million) from the BRL569.1 million earned in 2006, plus an operating loss.
SkyEurope Airlines conceded that it will not be profitable this financial year, which ends Sept. 30. Management told a shareholders meeting in Vienna last week that the LCC is working on maintaining its financial viability ( ATWOnline, Feb. 6). CFO Nick Manoudakis said it will continue to work on cutting costs and has asked pilots to reduce aircraft speed to save fuel. SkyEurope also is open to investment from other carriers, he said.
AirTran Airways CEO Robert Fornaro said last week that mergers are a good idea for struggling airlines that may need to reduce capacity but not for AirTran, which has been profitable consistently for nearly a decade and should benefit from consolidation. Speaking at an Aero Club luncheon in Washington, Fornaro said, "The industry needs to evolve and the quicker the better. .
Cathay Pacific Airways raised its stake in Air China from 17.5% to more than 18% through the Feb. 6 purchase of 15 million H shares, according to a statement released by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week. CA Board Secretary Huang Bin noted that Cathay may have want to avoid any dilution of its cross-shareholding in CA, as the latter plans to circulate 400 million additional A shares to raise funds for the acquisition of 54 aircraft ( ATWOnline, Nov. 5, 2007).
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew 7.79 billion RPKs in January, up 17.8% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 10.2% to 9.47 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 5.3 points to 82.3%. Hawaiian Airlines flew 651.7 million RPMs in January, up 4.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 5.8% to 784.7 million ASMs and load factor slipped 0.9 point to 83.1%.
JADE won US FAA STC authority under the Singapore-US Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement for cabin interior reconfiguration modification on Singapore Airlines 747s. SIA, SIA Engineering and Singapore Jamco participated in JADE's application. This is the first STC granted under the Singapore-US BASA.
Asiana Airlines will invest KRW23 billion ($24.3 million) in startup Busan International Air and become the managing shareholder of the new carrier with a 46% stake, it announced yesterday. Now capitalized to the tune of KRW50 billion, BIA will "focus on offering customers low fares but with the quality service and safety assurance that is synonymous with Asiana Airlines," the latter said. An Asiana "taskforce" will begin working on launching service. No further details were released.
