Quintiq's Advanced Planning and Scheduling Suite was selected by Brussels Airport to improve planning and capacity studies of check-in desks and gates.
AirTran Airways parent AirTran Holdings reported a second-quarter profit of $41.5 million on record passenger traffic. The result marked a 29.9% increase from the $32 million earned in the second three months of 2006. Operating revenue climbed 16.3% to $614.1 million and expenses rose 14.9% to $544.3 million. Fuel cost was up 16.5% to $204 million and operating profit rose 28% to a company-record $69.7 million. The airline carried 6.3 million passengers during the quarter, up 16.9%, while flying 4.53 billion RPMs, up 22.3% year-over-year.
Pratt & Whitney announced that its Global Material Solutions subsidiary earned PMA certification from US FAA for the CFM56-3 high-pressure turbine shroud, marking the first certification for the 48 life-limited and gas-path replacement parts it plans to produce for the engine ( ATWOnline, March 30).
China's big three airlines--Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines--expect to post first-half profits thanks largely to "continuous growth of the domestic market" and the appreciation of the yuan. China Southern yesterday said it expected a reversal from its CNY835 million ($110.4 million) loss in the year-ago semester, while earlier this week Air China said in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it expected to report a profit more than 20 times greater than the CNY45.8 million earned in the first six months of 2006.
Northwest Airlines said yesterday that it will reduce domestic mainline capacity by another 1% next month and likely begin hiring new pilots later this year. The carrier previously announced plans to cut domestic mainline capacity by 3% from Aug. 1 ( ATWOnline, July 2) to help mitigate cancellations.
Austrian Airlines Group CEO Alfred Oetsch said the company is "on the right course" as it reported a €7.7 million second-quarter profit that represents a turnaround from a €3.9 million loss suffered in the year-ago period.
Adria Airways said revenues generated by its MRO center in Ljubljana during the first half of 2007 rose 64% over the year-ago period as it serviced 43 third-party aircraft and added that it will start construction of a third hangar this fall.
UPS reported second-quarter net income of $1.1 billion, slightly improved over net earnings of $1.06 billion in the year-ago quarter, citing gains in its air-driven international business including a 14% jump in international export revenue. "Strong gains in our international package segment offset a lack of growth in the US business," Chairman and CEO Mike Eskew said. Revenue increased 3.8% to $12.19 billion as operating profit lifted 4.1% to $1.77 billion.
Astar Air Cargo yesterday withdrew its "indication of interest" in acquiring fellow DHL subservice carrier ABX Air for more than $450 million in cash. The move came a day after ABX President and CEO Joe Hete informed Astar Chairman, President and CEO John Dasburg that the proposed acquisition had been "unanimously rejected" by ABX's board ( ATWOnline, July 25).
Lufthansa Technik signed Total Component Support and Total Engine Support deals with Aegean Airlines covering up to 27 A320 family aircraft and the IAE V2500s being phased into the Greek carrier's fleet. The eight-year deal is worth approximately $100 million, LHT said.
Boosted by hefty nonoperating gains from asset sales and its investment in Swiss International Air Lines, Lufthansa reported a net profit of €992 million ($1.37 billion) in the first six months of 2007, up from €85 million in the year-ago semester and representing a record high for the company. The result implies a second-quarter profit of €438 million as calculated by ATWOnline, which compares to a €138 million profit in the second three months of 2006.
V Australia is the name chosen for Virgin Blue's new long-haul airline that will commence transpacific services to the US late next year with a 777-300ER ( ATWOnline, July 11). Virgin Blue cannot use the Virgin name outside Australia as part of an agreement reached when Singapore Airlines took a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1999. The new name was chosen from among nearly 6,000 entries solicited in a contest.
Asiana Airlines earned a profit of KRW38 billion ($41.5 million) in the second quarter, up from a KRW15 billion profit in the year-ago period, thanks to investment gains and the appreciation of the won, according to a regulatory filing cited by the Antara news agency. Revenue rose 2.1% year-over-year to KRW861 billion but operating profit dropped 7.2% to KRW20 billion. Separately, Asiana increased to daily its four-times-weekly Incheon-Frankfurt service.
Gulf Air COO Bjorn Naf yesterday was named acting president and CEO, replacing Andre Dose, who resigned suddenly Monday ( ATWOnline, July 24). The carrier said the search for a permanent replacement "has begun."
Qantas unveiled a radical overhaul of its international long-haul inflight product ahead of the delivery of its first A380 in August 2008. A new premium economy class ( ATWOnline, July 24) featuring 42-in. pitch, a new Panasonic IFE system, enhanced connectivity in all cabins and upgraded lie-flat business class beds are the main features of a makeover that will be offered on the A380s and QF's 747-400s starting in February.
Djibouti Airlines An-26 crashed Monday near Shinile, Ethiopia, killing one passenger. There were 13 passengers and six crew onboard the cargo flight, which departed Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, and was on its way to Djibouti City, according to the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. The aircraft reportedly suffered engine problems and was attempting an emergency landing when it crashed.
JetBlue Airways' recovery from its operational meltdown in February and its overly aggressive expansion continued with a $21 million second-quarter profit that represented a 50% increase over the $14 million earned in the year-ago quarter and supported CEO Dave Barger's claim that "slowing capacity growth will allow us to strengthen our balance sheet and facilitate earnings growth."
United Airlines reported second-quarter net income of $274 million, more than double the $119 million earned in the year-ago period, on a 2% rise in revenue to $5.21 billion. "Our fundamental performance this quarter was quite strong," Executive VP and CFO Jake Brace said. He cited "good cost control" and "excellent" capacity management as keys to the positive result.
WestJet Chairman and CEO Clive Beddoe, the charismatic founder of the Calgary-based LCC, will relinquish the CEO role to President Sean Durfy on Sept. 4. "I will continue to play a key role within WestJet as the company's executive chairman by establishing and supporting the strategic direction of the company," Beddoe said.
Canada and Iceland signed an open skies agreement that replaced an MOU signed in 1995 and will allow Icelandair, which currently serves Halifax, to launch a Toronto service next spring. It said flights will operate 5-7 times per week. The carrier said additional Canadian destinations "are under consideration for future development."
UTair Airlines reported a 40% year-over-year increase in revenue to RUB9 billion ($354.3 million) for the first half of 2007, Russia's AK&M reported. Passenger numbers climbed 21% to 1.3 million and traffic was up 25% to 1.93 billion RPKs.
ABX Air yesterday "unanimously rejected" Astar Air Cargo's proposal to acquire it for more than $450 million in cash. ABX and Astar are DHL's primary subservice carriers in the US and the latter late last month issued an "indication of interest" to purchase the former and merge their air operations, which both are based at DHL's Wilmington, Ohio, hub ( ATWOnline, July 2).
