Volga-Dnepr Group, parent of outsize airfreight specialist Volga-Dnepr Airlines and scheduled cargo carrier AirBridge Cargo, reported a 49.6% increase in revenue to $720 million for the first nine months of the year. The company did not reveal its costs or income. "Our growth is based on our successful 'cargo supermarket' concept of offering a wide range of air transportation services to our customers and providing efficient information and customer service," President Alexey Isaikin said.
Alitalia yesterday accepted nonbinding bids from Air France KLM and Air One parent AP Holding and a consortium led by Italian attorney Antonio Baldassarre, taking a critical step in a protracted effort to sell off a majority stake of the beleaguered airline.
Vietnam Airlines placed an order for five ATR 72-500s with deliveries starting at the end of 2009. The aircraft, configured with 70 seats, will be used both to expand its current fleet and to replace its ATR 72-200s. VN currently operates seven -200s and three -500s. It added the ATR 72-500s in 2001. "The growth of Vietnam Airlines is tied to its successful partnership with ATR," Chairman Nguyen Sy Hung said. "This partnership has led to the development of a strong regional network connecting remote and small regions to main hubs."
Cathay Pacific Airways placed an order for eight A330-300s to be delivered in 2010-12, Airbus and Rolls-Royce announced yesterday. The Trent 700-powered aircraft will join a fleet of 48 -300s operated by CX and Dragonair, including three leased aircraft scheduled for delivery next year. Both carriers will receive new planes. Rolls said the engine order was worth approximately $280 million at list prices.
EU and Ukraine last week officially opened negotiations on a Common Aviation Area agreement. If successful, Ukraine will harmonize its legislation with European standards and implement a large part of the European aviation acquis communautaire. The EU has signed similar agreements with western Balkan countries and Morocco. According to EC data, some 2.1 million passengers traveled between the EU and Ukraine by air in 2006, an increase of 21% over 2005.
British Airways flew 8.84 billion RPKs in November, up 2.4% from the year-ago month, against a 1.6% rise in ASKs to 12.09 billion. Load factor rose 0.6 point to 73.1%. US Airways Group flew 4.75 billion RPMs in November, a 4.6% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity fell at the same rate to 6.1 billion ASMs and load factor slipped 0.1 point to 77.8%. US said consolidated passenger RASM increased 2%-4% year-over-year.
Frontier Airlines is cutting its workforce by 10%, or an estimated 100 positions, and will determine if its fleet needs to be "right-sized" in light of escalating operating costs and fuel prices. In addition, the company today was set to begin operating its new regional subsidiary Lynx after receiving final approval from the US Dept. of Transportation yesterday. "They can start flying anytime," a DOT spokesperson told ATWOnline.
US aerospace industry civil aircraft sales jumped 16% this year to $53 billion, nearly matching the value of military aircraft sales, Aerospace Industries Assn. President and CEO Marion Blakey said yesterday in Washington. US aerospace industry sales will total $198.8 billion in 2007, up 8.5% over 2006. Addressing the AIA Year End Review and Forecast Luncheon for the first time since stepping down as FAA Administrator this fall, Blakey said revenues from civil aircraft sales should climb 13% to $60.4 billion in 2008, exceeding military aircraft sales for the first time since 2002.
Egyptian government reportedly has cancelled a plan to sell a 20% stake in EgyptAir. The daily Al-Ahram, citing Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq, said the government changed course after the airline confirmed a profit of $91.3 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, a 17% improvement over the prior year.
Copa Airlines secured financing from Private Export Funding Corp. for the purchase of two 737-800s, for which preliminary commitments for comprehensive long-term US Export-Import Bank guarantees have been obtained, the carrier said. Lead arranger was J.P. Morgan Securities. Aircraft are worth $146 million at list prices and are scheduled for delivery in May and November 2008.
Goodrich agreed to make its Aerostructures facility in Foley, Ala., part of Boeing's Network Service Center program. Contract calls for shop repair and overhaul of thrust reversers on 737s and 777s.
Lufthansa Flight Training will extend its Vienna simulator center with the addition of a Q400 simulator from CAE. Austrian Airlines subsidiary Tyrolean Airways will be one of the principal users of the new simulator, which should go into operation by next summer. Tyrolean operates 10 Q400s.
Tiger Airways has flown into the black while claiming to have the second-lowest unit costs in the world. Speaking exclusively to ATWOnline, Tiger CEO Tony Davis, who has been tight-lipped on the airline's profit performance, said: "We have been cash flow positive for two years and profitable for the last two quarters." He also declared yesterday that Tiger now "has the world's second-lowest ASK costs" behind AirAsia and issued a warning to Australia's Jetstar Airways: "We are reducing our costs all the time."
El Al will purchase four new 737-800s, one of which will be delivered next year with the remainder arriving in 2009, according to a statement from the carrier cited by Reuters. El Al yesterday confirmed to ATWOnline that it will acquire the four aircraft, but it was unclear whether it is a new order or a confirmation of previously placed options or purchase rights. Separately, El Al and American Airlines applied to US and Israeli authorities to begin codesharing. El Al and AA passengers will have access to Israel from 28 North American destinations, up from the current five.
Emirates said it raised $297 million to finance the acquisition of two 777s through a lease arranged by Doric Asset Finance & Verwaltungs. Transactions covering a 777-200LR delivered last month and a -300ER scheduled to arrive this month involve 10-year operating leases with extension options. Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale and Dr. Peters Group also were involved in the arrangement.
Asia's largest and most successful low-cost airline appears set to become the largest A320 operator in the world as well. AirAsia yesterday placed an order for 25 firm A320s plus 25 options, bringing the commitment of the group (Malaysia AirAsia, Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia) to 175 firm aircraft and 50 options. The contract was signed at the Langkawi Airshow by AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes and Airbus COO-Customers John Leahy.
Alitalia board is scheduled to meet today to review offers for the 49.9% stake that the government wants to sell. The embattled carrier last week delayed the deadline for nonbinding offers by one week to today and committed to "immediately" announcing the number of proposals received and the identities of the bidders ( ATWOnline, Nov. 3). Air One, Air France KLM and Lufthansa often are named as candidates, though the latter two had not confirmed publicly their intent to submit an offer as of yesterday.
Thales will provide avionics and IFE systems for AirAsia X's forthcoming fleet of 15 new A330-300s. Systems include the FMS, T2CAS Terrain and Traffic Collision Avoidance System and Mode S. Contract covers 15 years of after-sales repair and maintenance support through Thales Repair by-the-hour and Turn Key Maintenance packages.
Indian government will sell off up to 15% of Air India in the second half of next year, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said this week, according to widespread press reports from New Delhi. Patel said the merged AI "certainly needs an infusion of equity to fund current acquisition needs and future growth. . .Its equity structure is very, very small." The company currently has an equity base of INR1.45 billion ($36.8 million), according to reports.
US National Transportation Safety Board recommended that FAA require installation of fire suppression systems in all cargo aircraft operating under Part 121 following its investigation into a fire that destroyed a UPS DC-8 in February 2006 in Philadelphia. Fire started "from an unknown source within one of the containers in the main cargo compartment," NTSB said, concluding "that the threat from cargo fires could be mitigated by the installation of fire suppression systems."
Delta Air Lines flew 9.36 billion system RPMs in November, up 5% from the year-ago month, against a 5.6% increase in capacity to 12.15 billion ASMs. Load factor fell 0.4 point to 77.1%. DL said unit revenue "increased modestly" year-over-year, with "strong improvements" in international operations. Northwest Airlines flew 6.13 billion consolidated RPMs in November, down 0.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 1.1% to 7.43 billion ASMs and load factor rose 0.7 point to 82.4%.
American Airlines flew 11.15 billion system RPMs in November, a 4.1% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.2% to 13.72 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1.5 points to 81.2%. American Eagle flew 723.6 million RPMs, down 0.9%, against a 1% increase in ASMs to 1 billion. Load factor fell 1.4 points to 72.1%. United Airlines flew 9.01 billion system RPMs in November, down 1.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 1.3% to 11.31 billion ASMs and load factor dipped 0.1 point to 79.6%.
US airlines yesterday warned of rising fuel costs and a slowing US economy, with Continental Airlines and Southwest Airlines reducing planned 2008 capacity growth and Delta Air Lines projecting that it could post an operating loss in the fourth quarter.
Turkish Ministry of Transport will impose stricter controls on civil aviation in response to the Atlasjet MD-83 crash that killed all 57 onboard last Friday ( ATWOnline, Dec. 4). The ministry will perform checks of all aircraft operated by private airlines in the country, as well as checks of training standards, Turkish media reported. In addition, authorities intend to reduce flights to destinations on which carriers suffer from low load factors, especially on routes to smaller cities in the provinces.
China Eastern Airlines shareholders conference that will decide the fate of the Singapore Airlines stake purchase is drawing near ( ATWOnline, Nov. 28), and Air China parent China National Aviation Corp. again has raised its stake in CEA. CNAC upped its share to 12.07% from 11.02% by purchasing its 4.278 million H shares, according to data released yesterday by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
