Kingfisher Airlines Chairman and CEO Vijay Mallya said that "the days of discounting and cut-price ticketing are over" in India. "Airfares are going to reflect the actual costs of operation. All of them," he told the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's annual Aviation & Tourism Investor Summit in Mumbai. He signaled that fares soon may be rising at LCC Air Deccan, in which Kingfisher parent United Breweries Group recently acquired 26% ( ATWOnline, June 4).
Goodrich was selected by TUI Group to provide MRO nacelle system services and support across its group of airlines. In total the carriers operate a fleet of approximately 120 aircraft.
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said the carrier will "prototype inflight wireless connectivity next year" ( ATWOnline, April 20). Speaking at the Merrill Lynch Global Transportation Conference in New York yesterday, Kelly also said the carrier's 8% growth this year "is too high" in the face of the soft demand environment. "We don't need to be growing at 8%," he said.
Ryanair yesterday claimed that it now is the world's largest international airline in terms of passengers, based on IATA statistics. The LCC carried 40.5 million passengers on international flights in 2006 compared to Lufthansa's 38.2 million, Air France's 30.4 million and British Airways' 29.5 million. Low-cost rival easyJet was sixth with 21.9 million, with American Airlines the largest non-European carrier--and seventh overall--at 21.2 million. "Just 10 years ago most of the other airlines on this IATA ranking carried 10 times more passengers than Ryanair," the airline said.
Air Canada Jazz said a Federal Court judge reversed a previous order denying the carrier the right to appeal its eviction from Toronto City Centre Airport last year ( ATWOnline, Oct. 24, 2006). Porter Airlines now is operating from the airport. ACJ said it was "gratified that the case will be heard based on the merits and will proceed with this action expeditiously."
Four years after DHL parent Deutsche Post World Net sold its 25% stake in Astar Air Cargo to ease concerns that the carrier was in violation of US foreign ownership rules, DHL this week announced it has acquired a 49% minority equity interest and a 24.9% voting interest in Astar, one of its primary US subservice fliers.
SAS Group yesterday unveiled a new mid-to-long-term strategy that will focus on raising annual pre-tax profit to SEK4 billion ($566 million) and boosting passenger traffic by 20% by 2011 through divestment of noncore assets and a renewed focus on "flying to, from and within Northern Europe."
Delta Air Lines announced an amendment to its Visa/MasterCard processing agreement that will eliminate the previously required $1.1 billion holdback comprising an $800 million cash reserve and a $300 million letter of credit. The cash was returned to DL and the LOC was terminated, with no future holdback required "except in limited circumstances," the airline said. It will end the current quarter with $4.2 billion in liquidity, including a $1 billion revolving line of credit.
Royal Jordanian President and CEO Samer Majali was elected incoming chairman of IATA's board of governors during the 63rd AGM last week. He will assume the role at the next AGM in June 2008.
Airbus will bring a pair of A380s and an A330-200 to next week's Paris Air Show. A380 MSN009, powered by Engine Alliance GP7200s, will take part in the daily flying displays and a second A380, MSN007 fitted with a demonstration cabin and Trent 900 engines, will be on static display throughout the week. The A330-200 will be on loan from Qatar Airways.
United Airlines is implementing a new ground-hold policy to help avoid extended delays during what is expected to be a challenging summer travel season in the US.
Austrian Airlines Group CEO Alfred Oetsch said Austrian is facing growing competition on its routes to Eastern Europe ( ATWOnline, May 2) and that in order to defend its critical Focus East strategy and "keep our position strong," it will "consider whether to buy or take shares in one of the carriers in Eastern Europe." He did not provide further details, but airlines from countries like Romania, Bulgaria or Moldova may be among the most likely targets. "You don't buy an airline, you buy the market," he said.
CHAMP Cargosystems said 28 "of the world's leading cargo carriers" are switching over to the new Web-enabled and Java-based version of ULD Manager. Among them are Air China, Finnair, Icelandair and Saudi Arabian Airlines.
Sudan Airways this week announced that it will be partially privatized. The government will keep 30% while Kuwait's Aref Investment Group will take 49% and Sudan's Faiha Holding will have 21%. The move is part of a privatization program launched by the government in 2004. "The three parties are expecting a successful cooperation and a historic boost for the airline in all aspects," the carrier said, adding that its "final destination. . .is the transformation of Sudan Airways into a stock market company."
Citing "huge demand," Silverjet CEO Lawrence Hunt told ATWOnline that the all-business-class carrier is preparing to announce new US destinations just six months after launching service between London Luton and Newark. "We had a 61% load factor in our second month," he said. He specifically mentioned Chicago and Los Angeles as potential new markets. Silverjet features lie-flat beds, in-seat entertainment systems and reduced check-in times from a private terminal at Luton. Some 70% of tickets are purchased online, while travel agents book the remainder, Hunt said.
With a critical vote by shareholders for its board of directors coming tomorrow, Midwest Airlines yesterday said that second-quarter earnings will "fall short of analysts' expectations" and could dip below the $8.8 million earned in the 2006 second quarter, a revelation quickly seized upon by AirTran Holdings as supporting its attempt to acquire the Milwaukee-based carrier.
China Southern Airlines has outlined its strategy to seize a greater share of the international cargo market. It will begin by converting six A330 passenger aircraft into freighters over the next two years in addition to taking delivery of six 777Fs in 2008-10. It intends to add to its domestic network but will commit most of the increased capacity to international routes.
Lufthansa flew 10.37 billion RPKs in May, up 6.2% on the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 4.4% to 13.64 billion ASKs and load factor rose 1.3 points to 76.1%.
Shannon-based Genesis Lease Ltd. signed a definitive agreement with InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. (IndiGo) for the sale and leaseback of two new A320-200s. Aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to IndiGo in July and September.
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation warned that commercial aviation's growth in India may depend on whether or not the government is willing to "redouble their commitment to reform." CAPA said it conducted an industry survey in India and found that "investor uncertainty related to issues of transparency, evenhanded application of regulations and policies governing inter-airport competition and this was limiting potential new investment in the country, especially in its critical airport sector." Executive Chairman Peter Harbison said the Indian government "must institute a clear policy road
Alteon Training signed an agreement yesterday with Northwest Airlines to provide simulator training for carriers on seven aircraft types at NWA's training center in Eagan, Minn. NWA and Alteon will place a 787 full flight simulator and other 787 training equipment in the center by April 2008. Alteon will have exclusive rights to market excess simulator time to all 787 operators and will provide training at the facility to airlines throughout the world on the 747-400, 747-200, 757, DC-9, A320 and A330.
Finnair President and CEO Jukka Hienonen has concluded that the airline's Asian strategy has "paid off." He told ATWOnline at last week's IATA AGM in Vancouver that 2007 Asian traffic has grown 30% year-over-year and is expected to maintain that rate through year end. Last month, 70% of passengers inbound from Asia connected on Finnair's European network, he added. He said the airline is considering opening a fifth Chinese destination and is targeting South Korean service as well.
EADS named Marwan Lahoud, currently CEO of missile manufacturing subsidiary MBDA, chief strategy and marketing officer replacing Jean-Paul Gut, COO-marketing, strategy and global development, who will leave the company Oct. 1. ATR named Stephane Mayer CEO replacing Filippo Bagnato, who is now chairman of the turboprop manufacturer's board. Mayer, whose appointment is effective immediately, has been chairman and CEO of EADS Socata since 2003.
