Citing union unrest in September and the sharp increase in fuel prices, Alitalia reported a pre-tax loss of €65.8 million ($84.5 million) in the third quarter, which compares to a €15.7 million profit in the year-ago period. The embattled Italian carrier said it expects a positive result for the fourth quarter, yet warned that full-year consolidated net loss will exceed last year's deficit of €167.6 million.
Aeromexico yesterday announced firm orders for two 787-8s and 10 737-700s, orders that previously were listed by Boeing as unidentified. The combined value of the 12 aircraft is more than $830 million. The 787s, to be delivered in 2011, are in addition to three the carrier plans to lease from ILFC ( ATWOnline, June 30).
Swiss International Air Lines will continue its long-haul expansion with the addition of three A340-300s in the next two years. It took two ex-Sabena A330-200s last month, one of which entered service yesterday with the other set to begin flying in mid-December ( ATWOnline, Oct. 19). By summer 2008 it will operate 23 long-haul aircraft. Its fleet expansion, which includes two A321s and one A320, will create 550 new jobs.
Ryanair extended the deadline for its offer for Aer Lingus to Dec. 4 from Nov. 13 as it conceded that fewer than 0.1% of EI shareholders have accepted its €2.80 ($3.60) per share bid. The LCC said that "valid acceptances of the offer had been received in respect of 504,994 Aer Lingus Shares," representing about 0.095% of the issued share capital. EI urged its shareholders earlier this month to take no action on the offer ( ATWOnline, Nov. 6).
Bombardier yesterday inaugurated a new £1.5 million ($2.9 million), 50,000-sq.-ft. repair and maintenance facility in Belfast that will serve Emirates, UPS, British Airways, bmi and Icelandair aircraft.
Iberia Group posted consolidated net profits of €75.6 million in the third quarter, down 80% from the €372.6 million earned in the year-ago period, which encompassed capital gains realized from the sale of its Amadeus stake. Operating revenue excluding nonrecurrent items grew 6.7% to €1.42 billion with revenue from passengers and freight up 5.2% to €1.195 billion. Excluding nonrecurring items, operating expenses rose 6.6% to €1.34 billion. Operating profit reached €87.7 million, up 8.6%.
TAAG Angola Airlines took delivery on Nov. 11 of three 737-700s and two 777-200ERs. Chairman Jesus Nelson said TAAG will take delivery of an additional 737-700 in January and another 777-200ER in the fourth quarter of next year. He added that the airline is in negotiations to acquire a 777-300ER.
Centavia, Serbia's first LCC, ceased operations after just a few months of service. Austria Press News Agency reported that Serbian authorities did not grant permits for Centavia to operate scheduled flights to Montenegro, Croatia, Switzerland and Germany, a major setback for the fledgling airline. The carrier said both of its BAe 146s have been returned to their lessor.
Boeing revealed yesterday that KLM converted six options for 737-800s that will be delivered before mid-2008. The firm order, previously listed by the manufacturer as "unidentified," is valued at $423 million. Boeing said KLM plans to use the new planes to "replace several Classic 737s." "In the current market environment, our customers want the most fuel-efficient products to keep their costs under control," said Marlin Dailey, Boeing Commercial Airplanes VP-sales-Europe, Russia and Central Asia.
British Airways yesterday moved to raise the premium-service bar with the rollout of a £100 million ($191.1 million) overhaul to its Club World business class cabin featuring "next generation" lie-flat beds, multiple channel video/on demand IFE and in-seat laptop storage bins and hookups.
Czech Airlines, citing "the recent fall in oil prices," reduced its fuel surcharge on passenger tickets by $2 on European routes to $23 and by $7 on long-haul flights to North America to $60.
Tiger Airways said yesterday it has chosen International Aero Engines V2500-A5s to power the eight A320s it ordered last month ( ATWOnline, Oct. 18). Pratt & Whitney, one of four partners in the IAE consortium, said its share of the Tiger order is worth more than $100 million. The engine order is accompanied by a long-term V2500Select aftermarket agreement that will be extended to cover the Singapore carrier's existing fleet of eight A320s, which also are powered by V2500s.
Embraer appointed David Balloff VP-external relations for the US. His primary role on behalf of the Brazilian manufacturer will be to serve as a liaison to the US Congress, Dept. of Transportation, FAA, National Transportation Safety Board and various industry groups located in Washington. Balloff previously served with FAA and NTSB and as an adviser to Rep. Jimmy Duncan (R-Tenn.) when he was chair of the House Aviation subcommittee.
Air France KLM flew 17.01 billion RPKs in October, a 5.6% rise over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 6% to 20.91 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 0.3 point to 81.4%. Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz flew a combined 3.95 billion RPMs in October, a 4.6% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.8% to 5.03 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.6 point to 78.4%.
Cargo carrier ABX Air reported third-quarter net income of $6.6 million, down 10.8% from net income of $7.4 million in the year-ago quarter, on a 24% drop in revenues to $281.3 million.
Falling operating income and a C$102 million ($90.2 million) noncash pre-tax charge related to the redemption of Aeroplan miles issued before 2002 weighed heavily on ACE Aviation's bottom line as the Air Canada parent reported a third-quarter profit of C$103 million, down 62% from C$271 million earned in the year-ago period. Chairman, President and CEO Robert Milton called the result "solid" and said the quarter featured "continued progress achieved in the implementation of ACE's business strategy" of spinning off its various subsidiaries.
Austrian Airlines will launch twice-weekly Vienna-Erbil flights on Dec. 11, nine months after it postponed the service ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27). It said the city in the Kurdistan region now is secure. It will be the first European carrier to operate to Iraq and will use A319s. Meanwhile, it has ceased its Vienna-Pecs service.
AirAsia challenged the Singapore government to open its skies and "allow everyone to fly." CEO Tony Fernandes, delivering a keynote address at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's Outlook 2007 summit in Singapore, said the LCC's fares around ASEAN countries are "90% less than the typical fare from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur." He told delegates that AirAsia has tried for five years to gain access to Singapore but the government has declined.
Delta Air Lines announced plans to recall 1,000 flight attendants next year. During the "first few months" of 2007 it is scheduled to train up to 500 previously furloughed cabin staff. "It is great that our plan is working and we are able to continue to bring back Delta people," COO Jim Whitehurst said. The airline recalled 200 flight attendants in September ( ATWOnline, Sept. 12).
Delta Air Lines is bankrupt but profitable thanks to a $98 million noncash gain from reorganization items that propelled it to a $52 million net profit in the third quarter, a monumental reversal from the $1.13 billion loss incurred in the year-ago period.
Emirates said yesterday that it is investing $27 million to outfit its entire fleet with equipment from AeroMobile that will allow use of mobile phones in flight. The service will be launched onboard a 777 as early as January, the airline said. Calls will be linked to the ground using the Inmarsat satellite communications system already installed in all EK aircraft and will be billed to passengers' phone bills "as with any other roaming call," the carrier said.
EasyJet transported 2.9 million passengers in October, up 7.3% from the year-ago month. Load factor fell 2.4 points to 83.2%. Separately, the carrier will reinstate its thrice-weekly Bristol-Pisa service on Jan. 18. The route originally was a summer-only service. Year-round service will become daily by the end of March.
SkyTeam carriers Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia and KLM have co-located their operations at Sao Paulo Guarulhos Terminal 1, which the alliance said is the first co-location in its network where the participating airlines operate equally. A common-use ticket office and joint purchasing of ground handling services also have been implemented. The alliance operates 75 weekly flights to and from GRU.
United Airlines flew 9.67 billion RPMs in October, up 2.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose at the same rate to 11.99 billion ASMs, leaving load factor at 80.6%. Lufthansa flew 9.87 billion RPKs in October, a 3.5% rise over the year-ago month. ASKs climbed 1.3% to 13.06 billion and load factor was up 1.6 points to 75.6%. Gol flew 1.33 billion RPKs in October, up 39.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 49.6% to 1.91 billion ASKs and load factor fell 4.9 points to 70%.
