KLM last week signed an agreement with Wereld Natuur Fonds (the Dutch branch of the World Wildlife Fund) to "achieve CO2-neutral growth in comparison with 2007" by offsetting approximately 4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the next four years through "emission reduction and compensation."
Republic Airways Holdings increased its commitment to the E-175 by 13 firm aircraft, Embraer announced Friday. The order, worth $403 million at list prices and destined for RAH subsidiary Republic Airlines, comprises eight aircraft previously listed as "unidentified" by the Brazilian manufacturer and five converted options. The airline currently flies 76 E-170s and 11 175s, with a backlog of 32 aircraft. The parent company, which also owns Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America, operates 182 Embraer aircraft and is the world's largest E-jet operator.
France's Conseil d'Etat last week ruled that easyJet and Ryanair each must apply French labor laws for staff operating in the country. Both LCCs had appealed against last year's decree that obliged foreign airlines to apply domestic labor laws to aircraft crews based in France. Ryanair argued that the decree contravened European laws on free movement of labor and services, freedom of establishment and the liberalized air transport market.
Eurocontrol appointed David McMillan as its next DG. Currently DG of civil aviation at the UK Dept. for Transport, McMillan will succeed Victor Aguado, whose seven-year term ends Jan. 1.
Shanghai SR Aircraft Technics, the joint venture between SR Technics and Shanghai Foreign Aviation Service Corp., signed a contract to provide line maintenance services for Singapore Airlines 777s and 747s during their transit stops at Shanghai Pudong. Services commenced on July 1. Additionally, it will provide line maintenance services for SIA's 747F cargo operations at the airport.
World Air Holdings, parent of World Airways and North American Airlines, said it expects its first-quarter revenue to be in the range of $220-$225 million, 2%-4% higher than the year-ago quarter and 10%-12% higher than 2006 fourth-quarter revenue of $201.3 million ( ATWOnline, July 6).
Air France and Aeroports de Paris have begun the progressive opening of AF's new boarding facility at Charles de Gaulle, which is scheduled to be fully operational by year end with annual capacity of 8.5 million passengers. Planned for next year is the April reopening of CDG's Terminal 2E and the fall inauguration of a regional terminal. A second boarding facility is slated to be built by 2012. Separately, AF unveiled its new Tokyo Narita lounge, which is 400 sq. m. and has seating capacity for 140 passengers.
Iberia's board yesterday said it would agree to "make the delivery of all the information requested" by the consortium led by US investment group TPG Capital and British Airways available, as long as a "formal and binding offer" resulted.
United Airlines flew 10.73 billion system RPMs in June, a 0.3% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 1.2% to 12.03 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.8 point to 89.1%. Iberia flew 4.69 billion RPKs in June, up 4.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed just 0.6% to 5.59 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.8 points to 83.8%. China Southern Airlines flew 6.19 billion RPKs in June, up 14.5% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 11.3% to 8.66 billion ASKs and load factor increased 2 points to 71.5%.
Royal Brunei Airlines will lease four 787-8s for delivery beginning in late 2009, according to Rolls-Royce, which announced that it reached agreement with the carrier to provide Trent 1000 engines and a long-term TotalCare service accord. Aircraft lessor was not identified.
Macquarie AirFinance leased a new IAE V2500-powered A320 to TAM. Macquarie said it recently completed acquisition of all third-party interests in 25 aircraft owned by five joint venture companies originally established by GATX Corp. In January it acquired third-party interests in another former GATX JV owning four aircraft. The aircraft involved in the recent transaction include 19 737-800s, five A320-200s and one 757.
Vietnam Airlines reported a pre-tax profit of $13.3 million for the first half of 2007, down from approximately $19 million in the year-ago period, AFX News reported from Hanoi. The earnings for the recently completed semester constituted 56.4% of its full-year target, VN said. Revenue rose 11.9% year-over-year to around $580 million while six-month passenger numbers climbed 16.5% to 3.8 million, AFX said.
Malev Hungarian Airlines announced that CEO Janos Gonci has left the post "by mutual agreement" and will be replaced by former British Airways executive and Air Astana CEO Lloyd Paxton. Gonci remains a member of the Malev board, the airline said. Paxton joined BA in 1960 and held a wide variety of positions over 35 years at the airline before moving to Kazakhstan. Malev credited Gonci with facilitating its recent privatization and oneworld membership and "maintaining the corporation's liquidity."
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew 6.67 billion RPKs in June, up 1.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 1.5% to 8.23 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 0.1 point to 81%. TAM flew 1.79 billion domestic RPKs in June, up 15.2% from the year-ago month. Domestic capacity rose 24.4% to 2.47 billion ASKs and load factor fell 5.8 points to 72.6%. International RPKs grew 66.5% to 905 million against an 80.3% climb in ASKs to 1.3 billion, dropping load factor 5.8 points to 69.4%.
Air China will take delivery of 23 A320s that were part of the government's purchase of 150 aircraft concluded last fall ( ATWOnline, Oct. 27, 2006), according to widespread press reports from China. CA will take the aircraft, worth approximately $1.41 billion at list price, between January 2009 and December 2012, according to a company statement. Its capacity will rise 5.9% with the new aircraft.
Aeroflot announced a deal with Rosneft, a Russian oil company, under which the carrier will purchase "petroleum derivatives and oil chemistry products," transport Rosneft employees and exchange infrastructural assets, technical expertise and marketing, among other elements. The parties also will cooperate on establishing storage and fueling facilities at domestic airports. Rosneft posted a $3.5 billion profit in 2006, according to SU. Separately, SU said it appointed Natalya Goncharova to direct the company's "interaction with the investment community."
Mexicana Airlines announced the elevation of CFO Manuel Borja to CEO replacing Emilio Romano, who held the position since March 2004. Borja, who will take over July 16, held a similar position at hotel operator Grupo Posadas, which acquired Mexicana from state-controlled holding company Cintra in late 2005 ( ATW, May 2007).
Northwest Airlines said it is selling nine of its 65 A319s as part of an effort to right-size its fleet. The carrier said the deals were negotiated during its Chapter 11 restructuring and now are nearing closing. Buyers and purchase prices were not disclosed. NWA's A319s are configured with 16 business-class and 108 economy seats. It also has 73 148-seat A320s.
Swissport International appointed Per Utnegaard president and CEO of Swissport Group. He replaces Santiago Olivares, who recently was named CEO of Ferrovial Servicios.
Lufthansa yesterday signed an MOU with Moscow Domodedovo operator East Line Group to transfer its 61 weekly flights to the Russian capital to DME from Sheremetyevo beginning with the summer 2008 schedule.
AiRUnion is planning to apply for IOSA certification once the merger of the five constituent carriers is complete, a source close to the airline told ATWOnline in Moscow. That is expected to occur in November. The companies won government approval two months ago ( ATWOnline, May 4). None of the five airlines--KrasAir, Domodedovo Airlines, Sibaviatrans, Samara Airlines and Omskavia--is an IATA member.
The board of China Southern Airlines, which also is the parent of Xiamen Airlines, yesterday approved the purchase of 20 A320 family aircraft for CZ and 25 737-800s for Xiamen. The two orders will cost a combined CNY23.5 billion ($3.09 billion), according to a statement released yesterday. China Southern and Xiamen will sign contracts with Airbus and Boeing separately. CZ noted it expects to take delivery of A320s from March 2009 to August 2010 while Xiamen will introduce the 737s between July 2011 and November 2013.
L'Avion is speeding up its expansion, citing "better than forecasted" results for the first six months of operation. The Paris Orly-based all-business-class carrier said it will add a second 90-seat 757-200 at the end of October and a second daily frequency on its ORY-Newark service. It reported a 78% June load factor.
Virgin Blue filed an application with the US Dept. of Transportation to operate 10 weekly Australia-US flights beginning in November 2008, which would put it in direct competition with rival Qantas on lucrative transpacific routes. The Australian carrier applied for the traffic rights under the name "Virgin Blue International Airlines," a subsidiary of the Virgin Blue group of companies, but said it will choose a new name for its future transpacific operations prior to launch. It also is seeking an Australian operating certificate for VBIA, which is expected to be granted.
