CAE signed contracts valued at C$52 million ($53 million) with Lufthansa Flight Training and Xiamen Airlines to design and manufacture four full-flight simulators and associated CAE Simfinity training devices. LH Flight Training ordered a CAE 5000 Series A320 FFS and a CAE 7000 Series 747-8I FFS while Xiamen Airlines ordered two CAE 7000 Series 737-800 FFSs along with a suite of Simfinity training devices.
Iberia reached a two-year extension on its handling contract with Iberworld covering services at 41 Spanish airports. ARINC announced a three-year deal with Etihad Airways to provide its ARINC X.400 Message Handling System featuring enhanced message flow, message management and visibility. Gate Aviation, a subsidiary of gategroup, acquired The Caterers UK, a catering company based at Manchester Airport. Gate Aviation, formerly known as IAS/Fernley, provides airlines with cleaning services at Manchester.
Iberia tallied its 12th consecutive profitable year in 2007 with consolidated net earnings of €327.6 million ($486.5 million), a better-than-fivefold increase over the €56.9 million it earned in 2006. Last year's results were boosted by net gains on the disposal of assets and impairment losses amounting to €196.3 million, including the sale and leaseback of six A320s and the sale of an MD-87. In 2006, such items totaled just €4.2 million.
AirAsia posted a 73% leap in net profit to MYR245.7 million ($76.7 million) for its fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31, from MYR142.1 million in the year-ago period, on a 43% lift in revenue to MYR632.7 million.
Eedo Knowledgeware of the Netherlands said Eurocontrol selected the Eedo ForceTen learning content management system "for the development and delivery of e-learning services for ATC and ARM management staff."
Oneworld airlines this week will begin bringing all operations together at Beijing International in the airport's vast new passenger terminal. British Airways and Qantas will move on Feb. 29 while the alliance's other members serving Beijing (Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Finnair and Japan Airlines) will transfer into Terminal 3 on March 26. The six oneworld carriers will use check-in desks in the terminal's Area C.
China Eastern Airlines formally rejected Air China's bid to raise its stake in the Shanghai-based airline from 12% to just over 26% yesterday and said it will continue its search for a strategic investor with a continued preference for Singapore Airlines.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, more than doubled its net income in 2007 to $132.4 million from the $59.8 million earned in the previous year.
Ryanair filed yet another complaint with the European Commission alleging illegal state aid, this time highlighting more than €400 million ($594 million) per year in the form of exemptions from environmental taxes granted by the Dutch government to transfer passengers.
International Assn. of Machinists released a statement yesterday saying it will partner with the Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights to "coordinate legislative efforts" and oppose "any combination" of legacy carriers in the US. IAM Transportation General VP Robert Roach Jr. said airline employees and customers "are the two groups essential to an airline's success, yet they are the ones who are hurt the most in mergers."
Philippine Airlines said an "absence of major one-time gains" was responsible for a swing in financial fortunes that resulted in an $11.3 million loss in the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, reversed from a $79.5 million profit in the year-ago quarter. Operating income, however, improved to $15.3 million from $13.2 million in the year-ago period, PAL claimed. Revenue slipped 5% to $371.8 million while expenses climbed 23% to $383 million. It did not explain how it achieved an operating profit.
With the end of the UK government's consultation on expansion at London Heathrow approaching, rivals British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways reiterated their support for a third runway at the world's largest international airport. "Expansion is crucial for British Airways and all other airlines operating from the airport," BA CEO Willie Walsh said in the latest BA News. "Heathrow is slipping behind. The facts speak for themselves, with a cut in the number of destinations it serves while other European hubs increase and expand."
UTair reported a RUB270 million ($11 million) profit in 2007, up 2.3% from the year-ago figure, according to press reports from Russia. It expects net earnings of RUB320 million this year on revenue of RUB33.3 billion. AK&M reported that UTair intends to add 10 737-500s by year end and 10 more by the close of 2009. Bloomberg News reported that it will lease half of those aircraft from Continental Airlines. Separately, UTair transported 205,398 passengers in January, up 122.7% from the year-ago month.
Thai Airways reported a THB1.84 billion ($59 million) profit in the three-month period ended Dec. 31, a sharp decline from the THB4.03 billion earned in the year-ago quarter. The airline changed its fiscal year as of Jan. 1 to match the calendar, so what previously has been the first fiscal quarter (Oct.-Dec.) now will not impact its full-year results. Revenue for the December quarter climbed 23.3% year-over-year to THB53.49 billion against a 15.9% increase in costs to THB49.77 billion. Operating profit was THB3.72 billion.
Cyprus Airways, which had endured losses for four straight years, yesterday reported a €1.2 million ($1.8 million) profit for 2007, reversed from a net loss of €7.4 million the previous year. "After four difficult years of recording losses in the tens of millions, it appears that Cyprus Airways has finally been able to win the bet over its survival," Chairman Kikis Lazarides said at a news conference. "Prospects are favorable for registering a profit in 2008."
Alaska Airlines flew 1.41 billion RPMs in January, a 9.9% rise from the year-ago month, against a 6.2% increase in ASKs to 2.05 billion. Load factor was up 2.4 points to 68.9%. Austrian Airlines Group flew 1.32 billion RPKs in January, down 19.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 15.9% to 1.9 billion ASKs and load factor declined 3.5 points to 69.6%.
CAE won Level D certification from UK CAA for its first 5000 Series A320 FFS developed to address training requirements for high-volume narrowbodies. The simulator will be used for A320 training at CAE's Burgess Hill facility.
Airlines likely will face higher insurance renewals this year compared to 2007, according to Aon Corp.'s "Airline Industry Market Review." The culprit is higher hull and liability claims last year even as premiums were falling. Aon stated that insurers incurred $1.72 billion in claims for hull, liability and estimated "attritional losses" in 2007 while taking in just $1.51 billion in premiums, down 11% compared to 2006 and the lowest figure since 2000.
Germanwings and TUIfly are not expected to conclude negotiations to merge their LCC operations by the time the boards of Germanwings parent Lufthansa and travel conglomerate TUI meet in mid-March, delaying the prospective combination ( ATWOnline, Jan. 30). German magazine Focus reported that the talks will not conclude before summer and that antitrust approval could take an additional four months.
China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines expanded their codeshare arrangement with an eye toward solidifying their presence at their increasingly competitive Shanghai hub. The new accord, which goes into effect March 1, will see each carrier place its code on the other's flights to Harbin, Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing and Shenzhen for a probationary period lasting until March 29. At that point, if the airlines agree, the cooperation will be extended to the end of the summer schedule.
Lufthansa yesterday released select preliminary 2007 financial results indicating that the German airline group achieved a net profit of €1.66 billion ($2.46 billion) last year, more than double the €803 million reported in 2006. Revenue rose 13.1% to €22.4 billion and group operating profit climbed 63.1% to €1.38 billion from €845 million the prior year.
Ryanair's website came back online yesterday, one day ahead of schedule, after closing down for the weekend to update the system and bring it in line with UK Office of Fair Trading regulations requiring that airline websites include fixed, nonoptional taxes, fees and charges in advertised prices on both their homepages and during the booking process ( ATWOnline, Feb. 14). Ryanair said its new website offers enhancements such as the possibility to change flights up to 4 hr.
RAK Airways, the United Arab Emirates-based startup that launched service from Ras Al Khaimah in November, selected Boeing to provide its narrowbody fleet. It placed an order yesterday for four 737-800s plus two options worth AED1.65 billion ($449.2 million), it said in a statement cited by numerous press reports from UAE.
Vueling Airlines reported a sharp widening in full-year net loss to €63.2 million ($93.7 million), nearly six times worse than the €10.8 million loss posted in 2006, citing falling fares and record fuel costs as causes. The Spanish LCC's average fare dropped more than 20% in 2007 to €37.65 owing to strong competitive pressure from "traditional and low-cost carriers alike," it said, noting that the negative impact on its bottom line amounted to €60 million.
BOC Aviation signed agreements with Qantas for the lease of eight A320s. Aircraft will be delivered from Airbus between the third quarter of 2010 and first quarter of 2011 and will be operated by low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Airways.
