Swissport International President and CEO Joseph In Albon will leave the company "to take on a new professional challenge." Santiago Olivares will assume the duties of acting CEO with immediate effect. Air Transport Assn. named Edward Barron VP-government affairs and legislative counsel.
UPS denied a French newspaper report that it plans to cancel its order for 10 A380Fs this week. The cargo carrier is the last customer for the freighter version of the aircraft. Rival FedEx cancelled its order for 10 A380Fs in November and placed an order for 15 777Fs with 15 options instead, saying that market demands were too pressing to wait for Airbus to work through production issues ( ATWOnline, Nov. 8, 2006).
Mexicana de Aviacion last week signed a new labor agreement with its ground workers that it said will yield $20 million in annual savings and improve customer service. The accord, which amends rules that had been in place for 15 years, will run through 2009 and give workers inflation-indexed raises plus 1% this year and each of the next two years.
Vueling Airlines said it plans to open its first base outside Spain this year "in order to actively pursue its expansion plans," and is considering Paris Charles de Gaulle, Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Amsterdam. It will announce the location of its first international base toward the end of this month. It carried 3.5 million passengers in 2006, up 75% from 2005, as it increased frequencies on existing routes and launched 17 new services. The Barcelona-based carrier operated 28,382 flights last year, 70% more than in 2005.
Republic Airways Holdings said it is looking to grow its pilot workforce from 1,675 to approximately 2,600 by the end of 2008 and is accepting applications for pilots to fly for Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America. Chautauqua will add 24 CRJ200s by the end of this year to support its new Continental Express operation ( ATWOnline, July 24, 2006).
Alteon Training opened its Singapore Training Center on Jan. 18. The $60 million facility represents the Boeing subsidiary's largest investment in Singapore to date and will have the capability to train 6,000 pilot crews annually, including maintenance and cabin crew personnel. It houses seven full flight simulator bays. Four FFSs--777, F100, A320 and 737-300--are installed, with a 737-800 to be added by mid-year and a 787 in the first quarter of 2008.
Jet Airways reported net earnings of INR400 million ($9 million) for the third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006, a 34% decline from year-ago profits of INR610 million. The carrier said its third quarter "is traditionally the peak quarter in the company's fiscal year" but that overcapacity on the subcontinent once again was a drag on its bottom line.
Iberia Maintenance began servicing CF34 engines last month under a contract signed with General Electric. The first engine serviced belonged to IB affiliate Air Nostrum, but the company is licensed to perform third-party maintenance.
Air New Zealand played down suggestions that the challenges facing the airline are over even as receding fuel prices are prompting a share price rally. In the past five months, ANZ's shares have climbed from NZ$1.20 ($0.82) to just above NZ$2, with some analysts suggesting it will triple its profit over the next four years. But CEO Rob Fyfe warned the carrier is far from where it needs to be. "The improving profit picture is deceiving. We have a long, long way to go before we will be performing as a normal business," he told ATWOnline.
Virgin America unveiled "sweeping changes" designed to counter the US Dept. of Transportation's tentative rejection last month of its application for an operating certificate ( ATWOnline, Jan. 3).
AirAsturias will cease operations Jan. 26, just two months after it launched its first flight ( ATWOnline, Aug. 23, 2006). The Oviedo-based carrier started with a leased A320 and currently flies to Madrid, Lisbon, Rome Fiumicino and Paris Charles de Gaulle. It had intended to expand to Brussels and Amsterdam. Reportedly, it is seeking to relaunch with long-haul A340 service to South America via Madrid.
Despite a fourth-quarter net loss of $26 million, Continental Airlines reported 2006 net income of $343 million, a strong turnaround from a 2005 loss of $68 million, as full-year revenue jumped 17.1% to $13.13 billion.
Vienna Airport operator Flughafen Wien announced yesterday that it plans to acquire a 25.15% stake in Flughafen Friedrichshafen. The companies recently signed a letter of intent and will request the approval of their responsible corporate bodies in the coming weeks. Friedrichshafen Airport is located at the crossroads between Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
AirTran Holdings, which has launched a tender offer to acquire control of Midwest Air Group, said yesterday that the latter's plan for growth is "not well suited for low-cost competition" and relies too heavily on the use of older aircraft such as 50-seat CRJs and MD-80s. Last week Midwest unveiled its plan to boost revenue and increase capacity in an effort to bolster shareholder value and fend off AirTran's takeover effort.
STG Aerospace of the UK signed supply deals with both British Airways and Air Canada for its SafTGlo photoluminescent cabin floorpath marking system. BA will install STG's ColorMatch product across its 757 fleet. AC's order was one of the largest single deals in STG's history, the company said, adding that 2006 marked a record sales year thanks in large part to the ColorMatch technology that allows airlines to install strips that match cabin decor.
Pinnacle Airlines Corp. announced the purchase of Colgan Air, a Virginia-based, family-owned turboprop operation that serves as a regional partner for Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express. Pinnacle, which operates 127 CRJs as Northwest Airlink, will pay $20 million for all of Colgan's stock, with an immediate payment of $10 million cash and an additional $10 million in the form of a one-year note secured by shares in the company.
Indian government said that Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel met with employee groups from Air India and Indian Airlines yesterday to "explain in detail the benefits that would accrue to the airlines post-merger and the collective wisdom behind the entire process." Patel said the merger between the two state-owned carriers would "involve no retrenchment, no cuts or losses in pay scale, perks or allowances" and that "service conditions would further improve." He said the new airline will operate a fleet of approximately 112 aircraft and by the end of the third year of operatio
LTU German Airlines MD Juergen Marbach announced yesterday that after talks between LTU, investors and Spanish authorities, LTU will not establish a new company to take over some South American routes from collapsed Air Madrid ( ATWOnline, Jan. 11). Marbach said there was not enough time to put together a plan "on a solid economic basis" and that LTU's offer to absorb the routes was void.
Southwest Airlines was profitable for the 34th consecutive year in 2006, but posted just a 3.1% year-over-year increase in full-year net income to $499 million from 2005's $484 million as higher fuel prices and lingering security issues slowed its inexorable growth. SWA posted a $57 million profit in the fourth quarter that represented an 18.6% decline from the $70 million earned in the year-ago period.
Japan Airlines Group is responding to strong passenger demand by increasing frequencies on seven international routes and putting its 2007 inflight product through a major revamp. From March 25 it will up its New York JFK frequencies from 10 to 13 per week and from June 1 Paris Charles de Gaulle will be served twice-daily, up from the current 10 weekly flights. JAL also will add a frequency on routes from Tokyo Narita to New Delhi and Moscow Sheremetyevo and from Osaka Kansai to Hanoi, Dalian, Hangzhou and Qinqdao.
Air France KLM Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta yesterday resigned from the Alitalia board, fueling speculation that the group might submit a bid for a controlling stake in Italy's struggling national carrier. "Since the Italian government has launched a bid to acquire stakes in the capital of Alitalia and as Air France KLM is a partner of Alitalia, the Air France KLM Chairman can no longer sit on the board of directors," AF KLM said in a brief statement.
Following five years of steep losses, American Airlines parent AMR Corp. posted 2006 net income of $231 million, a reversal from a net loss of $857 million in 2005 and its first profitable year since 2000. The company earned profits in each of the year's final three quarters, including a $17 million net gain in the fourth quarter that compared to a $600 million net loss in the fourth quarter of 2005.
European Commission allowed Malta to offer startup aid totaling MTL25 million ($75.1 million) for new air routes from Malta International Airport until September 2011. The EC stipulated that aid will be limited to five years for each new service and to 40% of startup costs.
