ARINC and Flybe selected IER to supply more than 100 IER 918 self-service check-in kiosks for installation at 22 airports in the UK and Europe. IER 918s feature passport and barcode readers and general purpose printers to enhance pre-departure services.
Severely affected by weak economic conditions, FedEx reported a 44% drop in net income for its full fiscal year ended May 31 to $1.13 billion from $2.02 billion the previous year. The result included a rare quarterly net loss in the fiscal fourth quarter of $241 million, reversed from net income of $610 million in the year-ago period. "Record high fuel prices and the weak US economy dampened volume growth and substantially affected our bottom line," Chairman, President and CEO Frederick Smith said.
US FAA yesterday announced that Bulgaria has been raised to a Category 1 safety rating from the Category 2 imposed in September 2003. It said Bulgaria was in compliance with ICAO standards in a January reassessment.
TUI acquired the remaining stake of Moroccan LCC Jet4you. It owned 40% of the Casablanca-based airline and purchased the remaining shares last week, Agence France Presse reported. Jet4you operates five 737 Classics and plans to double its fleet by 2013. It reported €51 million ($78.7 million) in revenue last year.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it expects second-quarter revenue to increase over the year-ago period as both capacity and traffic fall. Second-quarter mainline passenger RASM is expected to rise 4%-5% year-over-year, with consolidated PRASM lifting 3.5%-4.5%. At the same time, mainline and consolidated capacity are expected to decline 1.4% from the year-ago period. Mainline traffic will fall 4%-4.5% and consolidated RPMs will decline 4.25%-4.75%.
Air Canada, following the path of several US counterparts, said yesterday it will cut total system capacity by 7% year-over-year in this year's fourth quarter and the 2009 first quarter and slash its workforce by 2,000.
Copa Airlines flew 456.2 million RPMs in May, up 22.3% year-over-year, against a 17.2% increase in capacity to 580.1 million ASMs. Load factor rose 3.3 points to 78.7%.
Virgin America said yesterday that it will reduce fourth-quarter capacity by 10% compared to previous projections by adding flights on "select high-demand routes while reducing capacity on off-peak flights this fall," citing seasonal demand changes and high fuel prices. "These temporary schedule reductions and strategic additions better reflect the industry landscape we anticipate, given that consumer demand for air travel will be affected by seasonality and, potentially, by higher gas prices in the fall," President and CEO David Cush said.
Arguing that the case for its merger with Delta Air Lines is "stronger than ever," Northwest Airlines yesterday unveiled a further round of capacity cuts that will contribute to the removal of 43 aircraft from its fleet this year retroactive to Jan. 1. "In response to these extraordinary fuel costs, we are taking prudent actions to reduce our capacity and right-size the airline. This will allow us to better match our capacity to customer demand as airfares, by necessity, must increase," President and CEO Doug Steenland said.
Lufthansa will begin phasing out its 60-strong 737-300/-500 fleet by next year, with the -500s leaving by the end of 2009 and the remaining aircraft being retired by 2012, depending on market developments.
Singapore Airlines is achieving load factors of 95% on its A380 services to London Heathrow, according to airline sources, while the four A380s currently in service are averaging nearly 80%. SIA officials said the novelty of flying aboard the new jumbo aircraft has contributed to their popularity. It launched A380 flights to Tokyo Narita last month ( ATWOnline, May 21) and is scheduled to take delivery of its fifth A380 before July.
Korean Air changed the name of its short-haul domestic LCC, slated to start operations next month, from Air Korea to Jin Air ( ATWOnline, May 5). KE said the name change is intended to signal the carrier's "practical" approach, also to be signified by employee uniforms comprising jeans, t-shirts and jackets. The LCC's livery will feature a butterfly with blue and purple wings on a bright green background emblazoned on the tails of its 737-800s and A300-600s. The bodies of the aircraft will be painted silver.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said the LCC will be "comfortable" even if oil prices reach $200 per barrel, the Associated Press reported from Kuala Lumpur. "We have taken a very different approach in that we will market ourselves out of this problem," he said. "We think that just putting your head in the sand and crying about oil and cutting routes is not the solution." He said reduced competition will be the "silver lining" during the current downturn. AirAsia also will focus on boostin onboard sales, AP reported.
US majors (the six legacy carriers plus Alaska Airlines) reported a system operating loss margin of 5.2% in the first quarter, reversed from a 2.5% profit in the year-ago period, according to the US Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The seven carriers reported a combined operating loss of $1.32 billion compared to a $559 million profit in the year-ago period ( ATW, June 2008). Summaries of low-cost carriers and regionals were not completed because bankrupt Frontier Airlines and Comair did not file their results on time.
AirTran Airways said second-quarter "yield growth has been slower" than expected "despite numerous fare increases," leading it to drop its unit revenue forecast to a year-over-year improvement of 1.5%-2% from April's prediction of 5%-6% ( ATWOnline, April 23). It said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that in "some" markets, "fares were increased too rapidly, which limited the company's ability to effectively manage close-in demand," resulting in an increased mix of lower-yield connecting traffic.
TAM and Swiss International Air Lines yesterday signed an MOU establishing a codeshare agreement and loyalty program link-up. It is expected to be implemented in the second half of this year.
German airlines will need more than 900 commercial aircraft valued at $109 billion over the next 20 years, with 100 around A380 size, 200 mid-to-long-range and 600 short-haul, Airbus VP-Market Forecasting Laurent Rouaud told media in Frankfurt yesterday.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew 7.59 billion RPKs in May, up 19.6% on the year-ago month, against a 16% increase in capacity to 9.81 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 2.3 points to 77.4%. Gol and VRG flew a combined 2.36 billion RPKs in May, up 20.7% year-over-year. Capacity climbed 18.6% to 3.61 billion ASKs and load factor rose 1.1 points to 65.4%. WestJet flew 1.13 billion RPMs in May, a 19.3% year-over-year increase, against a 20.1% lift in capacity to 1.42 billion ASMs. Load factor slipped 0.5 point to 79.5%.
UK-based Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways will begin operating jointly under the name Thomson Airways from May 1, 2009. The rebranding of the two leisure carriers follows the merger of the tourism division of TUI AG and First Choice Holidays last fall. Changes will be phased in gradually with rebranding work on the fleet expected to be completed over the next two years. "Our aim is to build on the very best from these two award-winning airlines that share a very strong drive to provide a truly exceptional customer experience.
Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber remains confident that the current downturn in the industry will not force the German carrier to reduce capacity like European rivals British Airways and Air France KLM.
Air Mauritius expects its profit for the year ending March 31, 2009, to fall to €4 million from the €16 million it earned in the recently completed year, according to a statement cited by Reuters. It said the drop is due to "prevailing market conditions and current fuel prices."
Delta Air Lines flew 10.51 billion system RPMs in May, up 4.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 1.5% to 12.67 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 2.1 points to 82.9%. It said RASM performance was "strong" and that it was "well positioned" to deliver on its summer revenue targets. SAS Group flew 3.05 billion RPKs in May, up 12.5% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 11.3% to 4.26 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 0.7 point to 71.7%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 2.61 billion RPKs, up 11.8%, against a 10.5% lift in ASKs to 3.56 billion.
Silverjet's recent roller coaster ride, which appeared to end happily for the all-business-class carrier earlier last week with an acquisition and relaunch agreement with a Swiss investment firm, took a plunge for the worse Friday as the deal suddenly collapsed.
