Tiger Airways fired the first shots in what is expected to be one of the toughest domestic fare wars yet seen in Australia ( ATWOnline, May 4). Its opening fare of A$80 ($67.29) between Darwin, one of its two current entry points, and its domestic base of Melbourne is one-third the typical fare. The cities are 3,151 km. apart. Jetstar Airways responded immediately with a A$79 offering.
Philippine Airlines yesterday reported net income of $140.3 million for its fiscal year ended March 31, its largest-ever annual profit and a more than sixfold improvement over last year's $22.8 million profit. "These solid results. . .confirm that PAL is fully recovered and is now firmly on track towards long-term profitability," President Jaime Bautista said. "We are consolidating these gains by reinvesting them in the business in order to further improve our products and services, which is critical in shoring up our competitive position in the liberalized aviation milieu."
Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines' 17 member carriers transported 11.4 million passengers on international routes last month, up 4% year-over-year. RPKs rose 3.2% over May 2006, capacity grew less than 1% and load factor gained 1.7 points to 72.2%. International FTKs increased 4.6% after two months of stagnant growth and capacity was up 3.9%, lifting cargo load factor 0.4 point to 65.9%. Through the year's first five months, passenger numbers were ahead 4.2% to 58.3 million.
EgyptAir subsidiary EgyptAir Express this week launched regional services from Cairo to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada using three E-170s. The new regional carrier plans to expand its network to Luxor, Borg El Arab and Marsa Matrouh beginning next month. Three additional E-170s are expected to arrive by September and Express is looking at moving into regional markets such as Jeddah, Amman and Beirut.
Northwest Airlines said yesterday it is "informally meeting" with its pilots union in an effort to resolve a "staffing issue" that has led to numerous flight cancellations ( ATWOnline, June 26).
A TAAG Angola Airlines 737-200 carrying 71 passengers and seven crew crashed yesterday at M'Banza Congo Airport on arrival from Luanda, killing four passengers and one crewmember, according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. According to press reports, the aircraft broke apart after hitting the runway and skidded into a house or building. TAAG reportedly was added to the EU's airline blacklist to be published next week, along with all Indonesian carriers and several from Eastern Europe.
LOT Polish Airlines and Boeing will open a training center for pilots and cabin crew in Warsaw, the carrier announced. The facility will be equipped with at least four flight simulators and a cabin simulator. No further details were provided, but LOT did say it would be "the largest and most state-of-the-art facility of this kind in Eastern and Central Europe." It said the agreement resulted from meetings with representatives of Boeing subsidiary Alteon Training at last week's Paris Air Show.
Qantas's announcement Wednesday that it "remained comfortable with its previous guidance that its 2006/07 profit before tax was in line with the average market expectations" ( ATWOnline, June 28) has emerged as a de facto profit upgrade, the fourth this financial year. In March the airline forecast a A$940 million ($790.7 million) pre-tax profit but robust traffic figures have had analysts preparing more bullish earnings.
DHL said it officially completed the previously announced transaction to form a strategic partnership with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings subsidiary Polar Air Cargo ( ATWOnline, Oct. 17, 2006). DHL is investing $150 million for a 49% stake and 25% of voting rights in Polar.
LAN Airlines announced that its rights offering closed June 17 netted $320 million on the Chilean and US markets ( ATWOnline, March 8). The company placed 19.9 million shares, representing a 6.2% increase of its share count. An additional 2.2 million common shares have not been placed and are reserved for a stock option plan for employees, LAN said.
Qantas sold its 4.2% stake in Air New Zealand, which it acquired in early 2002 in association with the proposed Tasman Networks Agreement that was scuttled by regulators ( ATWOnline, Nov. 16, 2006). QF said it acquired the shares at NZ$2.23 each and sold them at NZ$2.70. Following the sale, it said it "remained comfortable with its previous guidance that its 2006/07 profit before tax was in line with the average market expectations."
Austrian Airlines Group plans to announce an order for 10 long-haul aircraft, with additional options possible, by autumn. "Now we have the latest technical details about the A350. The race will be between the A350 and the 787," CEO Alfred Oetsch told ATWOnline last week in Chicago. The new long-haul aircraft will replace the current fleet of six 767-300ERs and four 777-200ERs in the 2013-2015 timeframe. Oetsch said the carrier is not in a hurry.
WestJet, which launched its first scheduled Caribbean service with Toronto-Nassau flights last November, announced additional international operations yesterday, with new seasonal flights planned from YYZ to Montego Bay, Puerto Plata and Punta Cana. The destinations are part of an expanded schedule that includes increased winter service to Hawaii and the launch of a number of routes, including daily YYZ-Los Angeles service from Dec. 15.
Three weeks after insisting it would see the process through to the end, Aeroflot yesterday announced it would withdraw from the bidding for the Italian government's stake in Alitalia.
Southwest Airlines said yesterday that it will slow its growth to contend better with weak economic conditions and fuel costs, lowering capacity growth to 6% from 8% for the 2007 fourth quarter and full-year 2008, dropping unprofitable routes, adding new ones (including five new destinations from Denver) and taking delivery of 19 net aircraft next year instead of the previously planned 34. Additionally, in what may be a bid to win more business fliers, it will unveil a new "boarding/seating method" in the fourth quarter, replacing its open seating policy.
Tiger Airways' impending entry into the Australian market ( ATWOnline, May 30) is altering the dynamics of the country's route structure. This week, Qantas low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Airways announced plans to operate on the major Sydney-Brisbane route from December. The move represents a departure from the convention of not linking major capital city airports, a policy that protected QF from direct competition.
Ryanair said yesterday that it expects the European Commission to block its proposed €1.48 billion hostile takeover of Aer Lingus and vowed to fight the decision vigorously.
Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise will change its name to BOC Aviation effective July 2. The move follows its acquisition by the Bank of China ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18, 2006). SALE has a portfolio of 75 aircraft flying with 29 airlines and has 63 on order with Boeing and Airbus for delivery to 2012.
The US Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that a group of 21 US passenger airlines, consisting of the seven largest network, low-cost and regional carriers based on operating revenue, reported a collective system operating profit margin of 2.7% for the 2007 first quarter, the group's first profitable first quarter since 2000 and its fourth consecutive following years of heavy losses.
Jet Airways yesterday reported its fourth consecutive full-year profit, although net earnings of INR280 million ($6.8 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31 represented a 94% plunge from the INR4.5 billion earned in the prior year. Still, CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told ATWOnline that the result was a "remarkable achievement," saying the "whole industry in India is estimated to lose $400-$500 million, whereas we could stay as the only profitable carrier. It's also good to note that we were able to turn our international operations profitable in the fourth quarter."
Aloha Airlines reported a first-quarter net loss of $24.2 million, widened from a deficit of $20.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue was down 10% to $88 million, a spokesperson confirmed to ATWOnline. The privately held airline has been locked in a taxing fare war with Mesa Air Group subsidiary go!, which entered the inter-island market last year.
