Airlines & Lessors

China Airlines added chairman to the title of President Chao Kuo-shuai, replacing Philip Wei, who resigned in the wake of the August engine fire and explosion on a CI 737-800 in Okinawa ( ATWOnline, Aug. 24), according to press reports from Taipei.

Vietnam Airlines confirmed yesterday that it will acquire 12 additional 787-8s following Boeing's Monday announcement that the carrier had promised to "move forward" with additional acquisitions ( ATWOnline, Oct. 2).

Sabena Flight Academy acquired a Level D 737-700/-800 full flight simulator.

Republic Financial Corp. purchased two A340-200s from Airbus Financial Services. Aircraft are leased to Royal Jordanian.

China Eastern Airlines is making preparations for the sale of a 24% stake to Singapore Airlines to be approved at a shareholders meeting to be held before the end of the year, Board Secretary Luo Zhuping said.

American Eagle Airlines will invest $10 million in its maintenance facility at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill. The carrier has operated an MRO facility at the airport since 2004 and said the investment will facilitate a move to a larger hangar and add 100 employees to a workforce that currently numbers 120. The expansion "will enable the airline to maintain more aircraft every night and to take on additional maintenance responsibilities," it said.

Spain's stock market regulator CNMV yesterday suspended trading in Vueling Airlines following reports that the Barcelona-based LCC might issue another profit warning in the coming days. The airline said in early August that it would not meet its 2007 targets after cutting its average second-quarter fare by 23% in response to aggressive pricing by competitors.

Sensis Corp. said its Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X system at Charlotte Douglas International is operational. ASDE-X uses a combination of surface movement radar, transponder multilateration and ADS-B sensors to provide controllers with an accurate picture of the location and identity of aircraft and vehicles on the airport surface.

Airbus yesterday announced that Vietnam Airlines signed an MOU for acquisition of 10 A350-900 XWBs and 20 A321s, while Boeing acknowledged that the carrier "has indicated its plan to move forward with additional [787] procurements."

Megadata announced that Kansas City International purchased a subscription to PASSUR Pulse, which will help increase its capture of landing fee revenue.

Turkish Airlines CEO Temel Kotil told ATWOnline in Istanbul that THY's heavy investment in new routes and aircraft finally is paying off with figures he called "nice and amazing." Revenue for the first semester rose 29% year-over-year to TRY2.2 billion ($1.81 billion), boosting the carrier's net profit to TRY125.4 million and its net margin to 9%, Kotil said. Load factor for the first nine months climbed 4 points to 73%.

American Airlines parent AMR Corp. yesterday said it will prepay $545 million in aircraft debt in the fourth quarter as part of an effort to "buttress its financial foundation," but the company continued to contend with criticism over its declining stock price. AMR has achieved six straight quarters in the black after years of losses, but its share price has decreased by about 50% since the beginning of the year. Citigroup yesterday downgraded it from "buy" to "hold" and lowered its per-share price target to $24 from $34.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES AS CHINA'S FAST-GROWING ECONOMY generated strong market demand for her airlines in recent years. It was the worst of times as the airline industry at large was hit hard by a succession of external shocks after 9/11 such as SARS, Avian flu and the dramatic run-up in fuel costs since 2004. China's air transport industry also has struggled with the rise of new entrants and domestic competition and the aftereffects of the government-mandated consolidation that saw the big three carriers absorb many of the smaller regional lines.

COORDINATING THE PURCHASING activities of seven airlines within a group is no simple task, but it is one that David Rowell, head of purchasing-Aviation Flight & Ground Operations with TUI Travel PLC, believes is crucial for any large airline assemblage dealing with a complex supply chain.

AAR named Don Wetekam president-AAR Aircraft Services-Oklahoma. Alaska Airlines promoted Ben Minicucci to staff VP-customer service-airports/operational support and Sandy Stelling to MD-product development. American Airlines elevated Mark Mitchell to MD-customer experience. Boeing appointed Daniel Gillian dir.-enterprise sourcing-India. Caribbean Airlines welcomed Philip Saunders as CEO. Delta Air Lines tapped Richard Anderson as CEO, Edward Bastian as president and Mike Medeiros as VP-airport customer service-JFK Airport.

SAS said the grounding of its fleet of 27 Q400s will begin to be lifted on Oct. 4 when its first aircraft of the type returns to service, with the remaining Q400s returning to operations during the following days.

Clickair, the startup Spanish LCC, has carried 3.5 million passengers since it started operations one year ago today and is on target to carry 4.5 million by year end on 50 routes. Former Iberia routes make up 24 of the 50 and 26 are its own. Iberia holds a 20% stake in Clickair. The LCC operates 39 routes from its home base at Barcelona El Prat, where last month it was the second-largest operator in passengers carried after Iberia. It currently is operating 22 A320s, up from an initial three at launch.

Air New Zealand, Boeing and Rolls-Royce signed an MOU to conduct jointly what they claimed will be the first trial of a commercial 747 operated with biofuel. The test flight will take place in late 2008 or early 2009 using an ANZ 747-400. The aircraft will not carry passengers and only one engine will run on the blended biofuel/kerosene mix. While the flight may use biofuel sourced from around the globe, ANZ CEO Rob Fyfe told media that the airline is "keen to encourage research into alternative fuels in New Zealand."

The legal dispute between Hawaiian Airlines and Mesa Air Group took an unexpected turn this week when Mesa attorneys told a US Bankruptcy Court in Honolulu that CFO Peter Murnane mistakenly deleted files related to the case as he attempted to purge pornography from his computer.

SAS said it is not yet able to estimate the potential total financial damage from the grounding of its 27 Q400s, now in its 17th day. The carrier has said it is losing about SEK10-SEK15 million ($1.5-$2.3 million) daily ( ATWOnline, Sept. 26). A spokesperson told ATWOnline that SAS is wet-leasing several aircraft from other companies to allow it to operate an "emergency" schedule. "The number of aircraft we lease varies every day," the spokesperson explained.

AerCap Holdings took delivery of a new 737NG, the seventh of the type the lessor has acquired in the last 12 months.

Making one of the most anticipated long-haul aircraft order announcements in recent years, British Airways yesterday said it will purchase 12 A380s and 24 787s and place options for a further seven A380s and 18 787s.

Reykjavik-based FL Group, which owns a stake of about 9% in American Airlines parent AMR Corp., wrote a strongly worded letter to AMR's board of directors this week urging immediate action to halt the rapid descent of the company's stock price.

Ryanair said it reached agreement with its Dublin-based pilots on a new four-year contract that "will significantly improve" pay and work conditions and bring them into line with the pay and conditions to which it previously agreed with pilots in Shannon and Cork. "This new agreement. . .means that all Ryanair pilots at its three Irish bases are now covered by long-term pay, benefits and roster agreements," the airline said.

Montenegro Transport Minister Andrija Lompar said the nation plans to sell stakes in state-owned Montenegro Airlines next year, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and airlines and private consortiums all potential buyers, Reuters reported. "Capital increase is the privatization model that will make it possible to restructure the Montenegro Airlines fleet by buying new Embraer aircraft so we can open new [routes]," he said. The carrier currently operates a fleet of four F100s.