Emirates appears to be evaluating an IPO on the Dubai bourse, according to comments from Chairman Ahmed Bin Said al-Maktoum and CEO Tim Clark. According to London's The Times, al-Maktoum suggested that an IPO is in EK's immediate future and that 25% of the carrier initially will be offered to the market, reducing its dependence on the country's oil income. He said the airline has no interest in using the proceeds to fund a merger and instead will be focused on its own growth.
Air Transport Assn. said the composite Airline Cost Index through the second quarter rose to 185.7, up 5.6% year-over-year. In comparison, the Consumer Price Index climbed 2.4% year-over-year. Fuel accounted for 25.4% as average cost rose 2.2% to $2.02 per gal. while labor accounted for 23.6% even as the average cost of a full-time equivalent employee dropped 2%. Overall unit operating cost per ASM declined 1.1% to 12.46 cents. "Soaring fuel prices, among other pressures, leave little room for error in maintaining today's modest profit margins," ATA Chief Economist John Heimlich said.
Having rejected a takeover offer from Astar Air Cargo just a little more than three months ago, Ohio-based ABX Air yesterday became the acquirer, reaching a deal to purchase Cargo Holdings International of Orlando in a transaction valued at approximately $350 million.
JetWorks Leasing on behalf of a group of institutional investors arranged the sale of a 767-300 to Ryan 767, a company affiliated with Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines.
Frontier Airlines will build a new heavy maintenance base at Colorado Springs and plans to launch the $25 million construction project in late spring 2008. When completed in 12-18 months, the facility will employ around 225 and feature approximately 30,000 sq. ft. of hangar space, 45,000 sq. ft. of offices and support shops and 25,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and tool room space. Frontier, which currently leases space at Denver International, said it spent more than a year researching the site and that Colorado Springs "has proven. .
Air China will issue up to 400 million new A shares to finance the acquisition of 54 aircraft and provide a CNY1.5 billion ($200.8 million) supplement to its working capital, according to widespread press reports from China. The carrier has 15 787s, 24 A320 family aircraft and 15 737s on order. The plan is subject to regulatory approval. Shares, which will not be available to most foreign investors, will amount to 5.1% of CA's existing A-share capital, Reuters reported.
Jeppesen named Senior VP-Training and Alteon COO Brad Thomann senior VP and COO, effective Jan. 1, and Senior VP-Rail, Logistics and Terminals Greg Bowlin senior VP-business and general aviation, effective immediately.
British Airways reported net income of £487 million ($1.01 billion) in the six months ended Sept. 30, up 21.1% from the £402 million it earned in the year-ago period, but it revised downward its forecast for both revenue and expenses for the full year ending March 30 due to the weak US dollar.
Claiming that it is "very much on the right path with [its] restructuring measures," Austrian Airlines Group reported a €29.2 million ($42.2 million) profit in the third quarter, reversed from a €17 million loss in the year-ago period.
Asiana Airlines reported a KRW36.9 billion ($40.7 million) profit in the third quarter, down 15.4% from the KRW43.6 billion earned in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing cited by Bloomberg News. Operating profit rose 75% to KRW80.1 billion and revenue was up 4.8% to KRW967 billion as passenger numbers climbed.
IER said EDS Switzerland selected IER's new Self-Service Check-In Application for its Zurich operations. EDS now will be able to offer a complete check-in solution consisting of the EDS Departure Control System and the IER Common Use Self-Service Application and IER check-in kiosks.
Allegiant Travel Co., parent of Allegiant Air, reported $7 million in net income for the third quarter, a significant improvement over a $1.2 million loss during the same period a year ago. Operating revenue was up 41.7% to $86.3 million while operating income more than tripled to $9.5 million from $2.9 million. Expenses rose 32.3% to $76.7 million. "Our results in the third quarter, historically our weakest, remain in line with our expectations," CEO and Chairman Maurice Gallagher Jr. said. "We more than doubled our operating margin to 11% despite substantial growth."
Finnair credited continuing growth on its Asian routes and a year-old efficiency program with boosting third-quarter profit to €39.6 million ($57.2 million), a nearly fourfold increase from the €10.3 million posted in the year-ago period.
Alitalia Group's net debt as of Sept. 30 was €1.71 billion, an increase of 6% from the prior month. The company repaid €13 million worth of medium/long-term financing in September.
Following the recent launch of its Xi'an-based regional joint venture Kunpeng Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines will continue its Go West strategy with Yinchuan-based Ningxia Airlines.
Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, LH Cargo and Germanwings need about 420 additional pilots next year to meet growing demand, including 315 pilots for the passenger segment alone, and the company is formulating a new training concept to help fill the ranks.
SpiceJet reported a INR377.7 million ($9.6 million) loss in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept 30, widened from a INR319.1 million pro forma deficit in the year-ago period. The carrier changed its financial year to April-March from June-May, meaning it did not report official results for the July-September 2006 period. Second-quarter revenue rose 64.6% to INR2.7 billion and pre-tax loss widened to INR374.7 million from INR310.8 million. Six-month loss of INR192.3 million was an improvement from a INR355.9 million loss in the semester ended Sept. 30, 2006.
Airbus appointed Thierry Baril executive VP-human resources, Klaus Richter executive VP-procurement and Christian Scherer executive VP-strategy & future programs. American Airlines promoted Bob Reding to executive VP-operations, Tom Del Valle to senior VP-airport services and Carmine Romano to senior VP-maintenance & engineering. Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings elevated Jason Grant to senior VP & CFO. Aviation Partners Boeing tapped Mike Stowell as executive VP.
EasyJet will participate in Amadeus and Galileo, becoming the first major European low-fare carrier to sign deals with GDS companies. The carrier said the move is designed to tap into the $90 billion corporate travel market in Europe. EasyJet said it will add a point-of-sale fee to fares booked through the GDSs, ensuring that its Web site "remains our primary distribution channel and fares will always be cheapest when booking direct online."
ONCE LITTLE MORE THAN A ground handling company at the country's gateway airport, Oman Air's fortunes are changing dramatically as, for the first time in its history, the feisty domestic and regional airline assumes national carrier status. With that new status comes access to international routes that were beyond its reach as long as Gulf Air was officially the national airline for Oman. Earlier this year, however, the Omani government decided to withdraw from the troubled multistate entity to concentrate its energies and finances on building up the local airline.
Tiger Airways is upping the ante down under ahead of the late-November launch of flights from its new Australian base in Melbourne, placing 40,000 tickets on sale from A$9.95 ($9.13) inclusive of taxes and charges and announcing Newcastle, Canberra and Hobart as new destinations. Separately, Tiger launched Singapore-Chennai service over the weekend and today will begin flying to Xiamen, its fifth Chinese destination.
Benefiting from yuan appreciation and fast-growing demand in the domestic market, Chinese carriers reported a collective profit in the third quarter. Hainan Airlines posted net income of CNY228.9 million ($30.6 million) in the period, up 19.1% over CNY191.5 million earned in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenue increased 5.5% to CNY2.26 billion against a 0.6% drop in operating expenses to CNY1.72 billion. Net profit for the first nine months of 2007 was CNY418.62 million.
New Congolese airline established by SN Brussels Airlines and Hewa Bora Airways will carry the name airDC, SN Brussels announced yesterday ( ATWOnline, Sept. 12). AirDC's commercial passenger flights are expected to start in early 2008. It will operate 737s and BAe 146s from its home base at Kinshasa N'Djili on a domestic and continental network. SN African Projects Manager Johan Maertens was appointed CEO. The name airDC is a reference to RDC, the French acronym for Democratic Republic of Congo.
