SAS Group became the principal shareholder in GO, a Norwegian company launched last May that sells travel through the SAS, Avis Budget Group and gonow.no websites. SAS bought out Reitan Group, which will maintain its distribution agreement with GO.
Massachusetts Port Authority announced a new financial incentive package called the International Air Service Incentive Program designed to help Boston Logan "compete more aggressively for international airline service." It will apply to new nonstop international flights to Asia, Central America, South America, Africa, the Middle East and Mexico City and is intended to "minimize the initial business risk of the air carrier." Massport said ASIP "is not designed to subsidize a service that is not likely to be self-sufficient." BOS currently offers flights to 32 international destinations.
Mesa Air Group, which provides regional lift for Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways and operates independently as Mesa Airlines and go!, reported a $4.2 million loss in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, reversed from an $8 million profit in the year-ago period. "We are certainly disappointed with the results," Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein said. "We are confident in our plans, however, to shrink our less-profitable 50-seat fleet and grow with our larger, more profitable regional jets.
Iberia is in and Grupo Marsans is out as the sale of SAS Group subsidiary Spanair took a dramatic turn yesterday. Marsans presented a formal offer in December but yesterday withdrew its interest, with a spokesperson telling Thomson Financial that the tourism conglomerate that counts Aerolineas Argentinas among its subsidiares "feels a bit betrayed" by SAS's decision not to keep the bidding private.
Alitalia reported significantly improved financial results for 2007 yesterday but stressed that its survival continues to be "increasingly linked" to its ability to raise approximately €750 million by mid-year.
Norwegian reported a 2007 net profit of NOK84.6 million ($15.4 million), reversed from a NOK22 million loss the prior year, as expansion and the acquisition of FlyNordic boosted its bottom line ( ATWOnline, July 3, 2007). Full-year operating revenue climbed 43.7% to NOK4.23 billion against a 35.8% increase in operating expenses to NOK3.72 billion.
A year in which Air Arabia signaled its ambition with an IPO and a significant aircraft order ended with a AED376 million ($102.4 million) net profit, more than three times the AED101 million profit reported in 2006. Revenue rose 71.3% to AED1.28 billion and passenger numbers climbed 53.2% to 2.7 million.
Belavia Belarusian Airlines CRJ100ER flipped over and caught fire at Yerevan Zvartnots International yesterday. There were no fatalities but at least four passengers were hospitalized with burns. The BBC and Associated Press reported that Armenian civil aviation head Artyom Movsesyan said the aircraft's wing touched the ground on takeoff, causing it to flip over and burn. "Nearly everyone onboard received burns of various degrees," an aviation authority spokesperson said, according to several press reports.
"Ever-higher" fuel costs, striking employees, steeper taxes and what Air France KLM described as a "negative impact from the revaluation of derivative instruments" weighed heavily on the company's profit in the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, although its operating result remained robust.
AirAsia X yesterday confirmed the sale of 10% stakes to Bahrain-based Manara Consortium and Japan's Orix Corp. for a combined MYR250 million ($77.2 million) cash consideration ( ATWOnline, Feb. 14). Each investor will receive approximately 16.7 million newly issued shares of common stock. Orix also holds a stake in Japanese LCC Skymark Airlines.
IER said Billund Airport contracted it to install 12 of its 918 common-use self-service kiosks, four of which will be equipped with an active eyecatcher to display airport information. Billund also chose IER's IMS to supervise kiosk operations independently. Kiosks are slated to be operational next month.
Bmi will lease two 757-200s to expand its medium-haul network further from London Heathrow. In December, Chairman Michael Bishop told ATWOnline that bmi was looking for additional capacity, possibly 757s or 767-200s, to support growth on several former BMED routes that were performing well ( ATWOnline, Dec. 24, 2007). The aircraft have been wet-leased from Astraeus for two years with an option to extend.
AirAsia X will sell 10% stakes to private equity funds in Japan (Orix Group) and Bahrain (Perigon Capital) for a combined $75 million, an official told Agence France Press, in order to raise money for the purchase of 25 A330-300s. Virgin Group acquired a 20% stake in the startup last summer ( ATWOnline, Aug. 13, 2007). The AirAsia X official was quoted by AFP but declined to be named.
China Eastern Airlines continues to press on in its effort to reach a deal with Singapore Airlines and plans to cooperate with SIA parent Temasek to fashion terms that will be acceptable to minority shareholders, who vetoed the sale of a 24% stake last month.
Ryanair will take its Internet and call center booking system offline from 10 p.m. Feb. 22 until 11 p.m. Feb. 25. The LCC said the move is necessary to "change over to a new flight booking system," which it is doing in order to comply with a UK Office of Fair Trading mandate that requires all taxes and fees to be included in an advertised ticket price. The carrier reportedly missed a Jan. 31 deadline and received an extension to the end of February.
Synergy Aerospace, the Colombia-based conglomerate that is the parent of Avianca, SAM, Brazil's OceanAir and Ecuador's VIP, signed an MOU with Airbus for the purchase of 10 A350 XWB-800s plus 10 options, the manufacturer announced.
WestJet demonstrated its ability to manage costs and capacity in both the final quarter of 2007 and the full year, reporting record net earnings in both periods. Its full-year profit of C$192.8 million ($192.7 million) represented a 68.2% improvement over the C$114.7 million reported in 2006. Fourth-quarter net earnings of C$75.4 million were nearly triple the C$26.7 million earned in the year-ago period, though they were boosted by a $33.7 million gain related to a reduction in Canada's corporate tax rate.
Deccan Aviation VP-Finance Anand Ramachardran said that the Kingfisher Airlines-Air Deccan merger likely will be completed in April following a sale of shares that will raise $300 million to finance immediate expansion needs ( ATW, February 2008). "At the present moment, we are in talks to appoint a suitable merchant banker for the share sale by the end of this month," he said this week at a financial conference in Mumbai.
Curtiss-Wright Controls reached a $16 million multiyear deal with Saab Aerostructures to provide the large cargo door mechanical system for the 787. Features include flight-critical subassemblies such as the lift, pull-in, latching, locking and vent systems. Production will take place at CWC's facility in Shelby, N.C.
Emirates Trading Agency-Assoc. Construction confirmed plans to launch a regional airline in India in October under a joint venture agreement with an unidentified partner, the Arab Air Carriers Organization reported. The new airline will base in Chennai and/or Bangalore and will fly to southern destinations. ETA-AC reportedly is negotiating with Embraer, Bombardier and ATR for aircraft.
Air France KLM's negotiations with Alitalia received a slight boost this week when Renato Brunetta, an official with the Forza Italia party that has been an opponent of the sale, told reporters that while FI believes the government succeeding that of outgoing Prime Minister Romano Prodi should conclude the deal, if one is struck between AF KLM and AZ in the meantime FI "would respect it." FI reportedly is leading opinion polls ahead of the April elections ( ATWOnline, Feb. 7).
JetBlue Airways CEO Dave Barger confirmed that the LCC hopes to unveil its "enhanced cabin" next month. The product, designed to appeal to business travelers and passengers willing to pay higher fares, will feature seats with extra legroom in the front of its A320s, he told Bloomberg News. The carrier introduced a refundable fare option last month. Barger also told Bloomberg that JetBlue expects to increase unit revenue 11% in 2008, assuming it pays less than $2.50-$2.55 per gal. for fuel after hedges.
In a major fleet upgrade, Garuda Indonesia plans to order 10 777-200ERs at next week's Singapore Air Show. According to Bisnis Indonesia, the airline will use the aircraft to support expansion plans in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. Garuda Operations Director Ari Sapari told media that the MOU with Boeing will be signed in Singapore.
Iberia flew 4.35 billion RPKs in January, up 1% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 1.4% to 5.63 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 0.3 point to 77.3%.
Jetstar Airways CEO Alan Joyce claimed Monday that Australia has evolved into "the most competitive market of any aviation market anywhere in the world." Speaking at a breakfast in Melbroune, Joyce said that despite competition from Virgin Blue and now Tiger Airways, Jetstar will generate pre-tax earnings of A$1.6 billion ($1.44 billion) in the 2007-08 financial year. In the prior fiscal year it contributed A$115 million to Qantas's profit.
