TAP Portugal and TAM signed a partnership agreement Friday under which they will codeshare on flights between Portugal and Brazil and onward to destinations in each carrier's network as well as link their loyalty programs. Specific routes or effective dates were not announced. Separately, the TAM board elected Maria Claudia Amaro chairman and Mauricio Rolim Amaro vice chairman.
Northwest Airlines will remove 17 CRJ200s from regional partner Pinnacle Airlines and reassign them to Mesaba Airlines, which NWA acquired as part of its restructuring plan ( ATWOnline, April 25). Pinnacle is losing the aircraft because it failed to reach a new labor agreement with its pilots by March 31, a condition stipulated as part of its service agreement, an NWA spokesperson said.
The traffic and revenue boost resulting from an increase in its operating fleet by six aircraft to 20, along with falling unit costs, were enough to overcome lower yields and help Norwegian Air Shuttle narrow its first-quarter loss to NOK14.9 million ($2.5 million) from NOK42.9 million in the year-ago period. Revenue was up 36.9% to NOK738.1 million and expenses climbed 26% to NOK693.9 million, contributing to an operating loss of NOK24.5 million that was reduced significantly from a NOK59.7 million deficit in the first quarter of 2006.
Sun Country Airlines announced that CEO Shaun Nugent resigned effective immediately, citing personal reasons. Petters Aviation President T. Jay Salmen, who was Sun Country's CEO in 2002-06, will serve as interim CEO.
China Eastern Airlines' troubles continued into the first quarter as it posted a CNY510.9 million ($66.26 million) loss, narrowed from a CNY955.1 million deficit in the year-ago quarter.
United Airlines Union Coalition, comprising the Air Line Pilots Assn., Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn.
US Airways Group escaped a first quarter that featured two significant storms disrupting operations in the Northeast and a complicated reservations system integration with a $66 million net profit, a slight 1.8% improvement over earnings of $65 million in the year-ago quarter. Along with the good financial news, US unveiled a series of "customer service initiatives" including increased airport staffing, enhanced passenger reaccommodation capabilities and other improvements.
Qantas announced an agreement with State Capital Investment Corp., the investment holding arm of the Vietnamese government, to purchase 30% of Pacific Airlines, the country's second-largest carrier. Financial details were not disclosed on a deal first flagged by this website three months ago ( ATWOnline, Jan. 25).
Republic Airways Holdings reported $19.3 million in net income for the first quarter, a 14.1% increase over the same period a year ago, as operating revenues rose 12.9% to $290.4 million while expenses grew 12.5% to $235.6 million to produce an operating income of $54.8 million, up 14.4%.
Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, recorded a first-quarter net loss of $10.3 million compared to a loss of $79.1 million in the 2006 quarter, but said that excluding special items in both years it would have reported a 2007 quarterly loss of $15.8 million versus a 2006 profit of $2.8 million.
Lufthansa yesterday released a full first-quarter earnings report in which it highlighted the €554 million ($755.7 million) net profit announced Wednesday and said that it will achieve a €1 billion full-year operating profit assuming "the current positive framework conditions remain intact."
Emirates' star continues to rise, as evidenced by the record AED3.46 billion ($941.8 million) profit the parent company reported for the fiscal year ended March 31, representing a 23.5% increase over the prior year's profit of AED2.8 billion and based largely on the AED3.1 billion in net earnings contributed by the airline.
Midwest Air Group reported an $8 million profit for the first quarter, reversing an $8.7 million loss in the year-ago period, as operating revenue climbed 10% to $165.8 million and expenses dipped 0.6% to $159 million, turning a 2006 operating loss of $9.3 million into an operating profit of $6.7 million. "While the first quarter of 2007 was positive on several levels, overall it fell short of our expectation," said Chairman and CEO Tim Hoeksema.
Falling revenue, resulting primarily from the implementation of a deferred revenue accounting policy for its loyalty program, contributed to a $152 million first-quarter net loss for United Airlines parent UAL Corp. and a $237 million loss before reorganization items, taxes and equity in earnings of affiliates that narrowed from a $311 million loss on a similar basis in the year-ago quarter. The company reported a $22.6 million net profit in the first quarter of 2005, during which it exited bankruptcy protection, due to the adoption of fresh-start reporting.
Embraer's board officially elected Frederico Fleury Curado as president and CEO, succeeding Mauricio Botelho, who will remain chairman. Curado was selected last summer ( ATWOnline, Aug. 7, 2006). Mauro Kern Jr. succeeds Curado as executive VP-airline market while Antonio Julio Franco was named executive VP-organizational development and Flavio Rimoli is the new executive VP-legal counsel.
EADS and United Aircraft Building Corp. will operate a joint venture to convert A320s and A321s to freighters for entry into service beginning in 2011 ( ATWOnline, May 17, 2006). Speaking yesterday at Airbus's annual Technical Press Briefing in Toulouse, COO-Customers John Leahy said the conversions will take place at facilities in Dresden and north of Moscow. The cost for an A320P2F will be $4.5 million, rising to $5 million for an A321P2F.
AirTran Holdings reported net income of $2.4 million for the first quarter ended March 31, reversing the $8.8 million loss posted in the same period a year earlier. Revenues jumped 21.3% to $504.5 million while expenses rose 14.9% to $491 million, producing an operating profit of $13.4 million compared to an operating loss of $11.3 million in the 2006 quarter. "We obviously feel a sense of satisfaction with the first quarter even though the profit is not larger," Chairman and CEO Joe Leonard said.
China Southern Airlines reported a first-quarter net loss of CNY188 million ($24.3 million), narrowed from a CNY665 million deficit in the year-ago quarter, on a 26.1% year-over-year lift in operating revenue to CNY11.89 billion. Operating expenses rose 24.3% to CNY10.58 billion. Industry analysts cited falling domestic oil prices and the appreciation of the yuan as key to CZ's improved performance.
Delta Air Lines received confirmation of its reorganization plan yesterday from the US Bankruptcy Court, paving the way for it to exit Chapter 11 protection on April 30 after its $2.5 billion in exit financing has closed ( ATWOnline, April 17). Trading of its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange is expected to commence April 26 on a "when issued" basis and on May 3 on a "regular way" basis.
British Airways yesterday signaled its intent to delist its American Depository Shares from the New York Stock Exchange and terminate its reporting obligations under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a move it said will save it approximately £10 million ($20 million) annually. BA will file the required form with the US Securities and Exchange Commission "on or about" May 8 and its deregistration form "as soon as practicable" after June 4. Its American Depository Receipts will trade on the over-the-counter market.
LAN Airlines posted net earnings of $86.1 million in the first quarter, an 8.1% increase over a year-ago profit of $79.7 million, a result that included a one-time nonoperating gain of $33.7 million.
China's airlines maintained their rapid growth rate in the first quarter, enjoying a 15.9% year-over-year rise in passengers to 40.9 million and a 13.3% gain in freight to 858,000 tonnes, according to CAAC statistics released yesterday. International numbers lifted significantly. International passengers climbed 23.9% to 3.8 million and freight rose 25.1% to 238,000 tonnes.
Jat Airways said it expects 2007 to be "the most successful business year over the past 17 years" based on traffic trends through the first 100 days. It transported 237,201 passengers during the period, a 5.6% increase from a year ago, with a 2.5-point rise in load factor to 51.8%. Austrian Airlines flew 1.75 billion RPKs in March, down 0.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 4.2% to 2.35 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.8 points to 74.7%.
A first quarter that JetBlue Airways would like to forget ended with a $22 million loss, a narrowing of the $32 million deficit posted in the first quarter of 2006 but a result that Chairman and CEO David Neeleman described as disappointing despite the major operational disruptions--and bad publicity--that accompanied the two ice storms in the northeast US. "We learned a great deal following the events and consequently, we're better able to recover from irregular operations and provide the superior service our customers deserve and have grown to appreciate," Neeleman said.
