Air India will be the name of the new state-owned airline resulting from the merger of the old Air India and Indian Airlines ( ATWOnline, April 2), Minister of Civil Aviation Praful Patel announced yesterday, adding that the new company will have its registered office in New Delhi, its corporate office in Mumbai and headquarters for domestic operations and most strategic business units in Delhi.
While several Chinese low-cost carriers have struggled, newcomers East Star Airlines and Spring Airlines have started strong. East Star reported net earnings of CNY11.4 million ($1.5 million) on CNY281 million in revenue in its first year of operation, while Spring posted a CNY30 million profit in its recently completed second year.
TAM signed an MOU yesterday with Lufthansa to explore "possible close cooperation" that will include "the implementation of codesharing on domestic and international routes" as a first step.
Qantas released a statement saying that its board "endorsed the leadership of Geoff Dixon as [CEO] and his senior management team" and asked him to stay in that position until "at least" July 2009. Chairman Margaret Jackson announced her intention to retire later this year after 15 years on the board and seven as chairman ( ATWOnline, May 18). "I greatly value what Qantas has achieved over the past seven years, culminating in the largest takeover offer for an airline in aviation history.
Intra-Asian air transport liberalization was dealt a blow with confirmation that the governments of Singapore and Malaysia do not intend to open access on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route ahead of the ASEAN capital city liberalization deadline of year end 2008. The move is seen as protection for Malaysia Airlines as it continues its restructuring, although it is to post its third consecutive quarterly profit later this month, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation ( ATWOnline, Feb.
Alitalia canceled about half its flights scheduled for today owing to two separate 8-hr. strikes called by trade unions representing Italian air traffic controllers and AZ flight attendants. In a statement, the carrier said the 394 cancellations will involve national and international flights in almost equal proportion. Separately, AZ adopted Amadeus's Fares and Pricing Engine and the Amadeus Ticket Changer. It will use the solutions on a standalone basis to process all fares and pricing requests.
TUIfly will increase capacity for the upcoming winter schedule by 12% year-over-year, operating 240 weekly flights from 17 German airports to 48 destinations in 15 countries. Grenoble will be a new destination. TUIfly is expecting to transport 13.5 million passengers this year. American Airlines flew 11.55 billion RPMs in April, down 3.3% from the year-ago month, as domestic traffic fell 3.7% and international RPMs were down 2.5%. Capacity declined 3.7% to 14.06 billion ASMs on a 4.3% domestic drop and a 2.7% fall in international capacity.
AJ Walter Aviation announced a partnership with Singapore-based Relaer Asia in engine leasing. Relaer will "assist AJW in the sourcing of engine assets, support negotiations with customers, manage the lease agreements and all of the logistic concerning the maintenance storage and supply of the assets."
World Airways signed a one-year, $22.5 million deal to continue operating Toronto-Frankfurt MD-11 freighter flights for Air Canada, extending an agreement set to expire July 1.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines will be privatized, according to a government announcement cited by press reports. The move could happen as early as next month. The airline, which employs 4,800 people, is planning significant layoffs and projecting a BDT6.91 billion ($97.2 million) loss in the fiscal year ending June 30, according to Reuters.
Peace Air of Canada announced that it ceased operations last Friday. The regional carrier, in its fifth decade, served destinations in Alberta and British Columbia.
Royal Jordanian officially is the 787's first Middle East customer, Boeing revealed this weekend, announcing that the carrier is the source of an order for two previously unidentified aircraft. RJ also took two options and said it intends to lease a further eight 787s. It announced its commitment to the Dreamliner in December when it selected it to replace its A340s ( ATWOnline, Dec. 21, 2006). At the time, it said it intended to start with 4-5 787s.
US Dept. of Transportation granted final approval Friday for Virgin America to begin operations, ending a prolonged process in which the airline was forced to revise its certification application to ease concerns it would be under the influence of minority owner Virgin Group, a non-US citizen that has a 25% stake in the airline.
LAN Argentina said it reached an agreement late Thursday to end a strike by pilots and mechanics that forced cancellation of all its flights for four days.
TAM and United Airlines signed an MOU Friday to "develop an agreement that enables the airlines to offer codeshare flights." The proposed agreement will include reciprocal frequent-flier programs. TAM President Marco Antonio Bologna said the accord will give TAM passengers access to UA's US network, adding, "We anticipate that this partnership will result in more traffic and more revenue for TAM." UA Executive VP and Chief Revenue Officer John Tague said, "Our complementary route networks will deliver many codeshare and frequent-flier benefits to our customers.
Northwest Airlines received final US Bankruptcy Court approval of its reorganization plan Friday and said it will exit Chapter 11 on May 31, ending a 20-month restructuring process in which it slashed annual expenses by $2.5 billion including $1.4 billion in annual labor costs.
Sichuan Airlines and TransAsia Airways of Taiwan are in negotiations to launch a new carrier based in Shanghai, according to Lin Xiaoxin, president of Goldsun Group, TransAsia's biggest shareholder.
After several years of improved performance, British Airways Friday reported its first quarterly loss in two years as well as a 34.9% decline in consolidated net profit to £304 million ($600.8 million) for its fiscal year ended March 31, and admitted it has set aside £350 million to settle fines and claims relating to alleged price-fixing on long-haul passenger and cargo fuel surcharges.
SITA and China Southern Airlines reached an agreement under which the carrier will employ the IT service provider's integration platform to enhance its e-ticketing and global distribution capabilities. CZ CIO Hu Chenjie said SITA's solution can optimize the airline's IT capability and help it grow into one of the top carriers in Asia, noting the significance of SITA's worldwide GDS reach. CZ will link SITA's solution with the Chinese GDS monopoly run by Travelsky and other Chinese airlines.
Airline Partners Australia dropped a bombshell on Qantas stockholders yesterday by announcing that is not going to make another bid for the airline, which some investors reportedly counted on when they rejected APA's A$5.45 ($4.52) per share offer. At the same time, Chairman Margaret Jackson, who backed APA's effort, reportedly announced her intention not to seek reelection at November's annual meeting.
Citing the domestic market's "slow revenue growth and excess capacity," United Airlines yesterday announced it will reduce 2007 domestic mainline ASM growth by around 2% from previously planned levels. "We believe removing marginal capacity is an appropriate response" to the sluggish domestic trends, Executive VP and Chief Revenue Officer John Tague commented.
TAP Portugal plans to expand its African and Brazilian services this summer as it adds three former Austrian Airlines A330-200s to its fleet, CEO Fernando Pinto told ATWOnline in Copenhagen this week. A fourth aircraft may follow but no decision has been made ( ATWOnline, Dec. 12, 2006). Increased frequencies to Luanda, Brasilia and potential nonstop services to Maputo, Johannesburg and an eighth Brazilian destination are in the offing, Pinto said.
AirTran Holdings extended its tender offer to Midwest Air Group shareholders to June 8 following Wednesday's expiration, the third time it has pushed back the deadline on a bid that repeatedly has been rejected by the Milwaukee-based carrier since it first was made public last December. Meanwhile, Midwest strengthened its position by entering into a codeshare agreement with longtime rival Northwest Airlines.
