SAS board yesterday appointed former Axel Johnson AB President and CEO Mats Jansson as the airline group's new president and CEO. SAS Chairman Egil Myklebust called Jansson "a respected leader who for 12 years has been president and CEO of a large number of major companies with Nordic and international operations." Jansson, 54, will take over on Jan. 1, replacing interim president and CEO Gunnar Reitan, who stepped in when Jorgen Lindegaard resigned in May ( ATWOnline, May 17).
Korean Air will place an order for 10 freighters by year end, most likely a combination of 777Fs and 747-8Fs, and also is "considering" orders for the 777-300ER and/or the 747-8 Intercontinental, according to senior executives who briefed reporters yesterday in Seoul. Korean Air Cargo President Ken Choi said the airline "definitely, for sure" will place an order for 10 freighters within the next 2.5 months. "The time is now pressing," he said. "We need them [to begin delivery] by 2010."
ACE Aviation Holdings, which was created during the bankruptcy reorganization of Air Canada, yesterday unveiled its previously announced plans for the flotation of the airline unit ( ATWOnline, Aug. 14).
Ryanair cancelled flights to and from Jerez, Granada and Seville Monday and told passengers it was unable to accept checked baggage on all flights to and from Girona, Reus, Santiago, Almeria, Murcia, Valencia, Zaragoza, Santander and Vitoria owing to a strike by Spanish baggage handlers. Passengers were permitted to carry one piece of hand luggage. The International Transport Workers' Federation warned more work actions by ground handling staff would take place, culminating in a 24-hr. strike on Oct. 23.
Comair announced Friday that it has filed suit against the US government, FAA and airport authorities as part of an effort to ensure that compensation owed to victims' families as a result of the CRJ200 accident that killed 49 people at Lexington Blue Grass Airport in August is "shared fairly and reasonably among all parties who share responsibility," according to Comair President Don Bornhorst.
Although Ryanair and other low-cost carriers generate large amounts of revenue from "nonticket sources," legacy airlines derive significantly more by selling frequent-flier miles to partners, typically via co-branded credit cards, says a recent study by IdeaWorks Co.
United Airlines flew 9.25 billion system RPMs in September, an increase of 1.3% over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 2.3% to 11.64 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 0.7 point to 79.5%. Finnair flew 1.55 billion RPKs in September, a 12.3% rise from the year-ago month. Capacity grew 8% to 2.05 billion ASKs and load factor was up 2.9 points to 75.5%. Gol flew 1.31 billion RPKs in September, an increase of 46.7% over the year-ago month. Capacity increased at the same rate to 1.73 billion ASKs, leaving load factor at 75.5%.
US legacy carriers have made substantial progress in becoming more competitive but still trail low-cost carriers in a number of areas related to labor efficiency, a new analysis by the US Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics confirms.
Aeroflot said last week that it now will operate its cargo unit as a separate, wholly owned subsidiary and will lease six MD-11 freighters for delivery in 2008 to replace four aging DC-10s that will be relegated to domestic duty. Aeroflot Cargo will focus on continuing to build up operations at its European freight hub at Frankfurt Hahn, which recorded a 20% year-over-year increase in cargo traffic for the first six months of 2006.
Deccan Aviation, parent of Indian LCC Air Deccan, sold rights to future aircraft deliveries to South Way Aircraft Trading of the Cayman Islands, a special-purpose vehicle, in a $100 million transaction funded by Investec Bank of the UK and Germany's HSH Nord Bank, according to press reports. Deccan has ordered 60 A320s for delivery over a seven-year period. MD G.R. Gopinath told reporters that "the deal would go a long way in ensuring Air Deccan's financial stability and insulating us from the turbulence in the domestic aviation industry."
China Eastern Airlines replaced President Luo Chaogeng with Cao Jianxiong, an executive director at the airline, according to a company statement cited by Reuters that offered no explanation for the move. Luo will remain as a director. SITA named Jean-Pascal Aubert as its chief information officer. He comes from SFR Cegetel Group. Alteon Training named Sherry Carbary president. She formerly was VP-strategic management for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and replaces Patrick Gaines, who is Boeing's new VP-customer support for the Asia-Pacific region.
AirTran Airways Chairman and CEO Joe Leonard was presented with the 2006 Tony Jannus Award last Thursday night in St. Petersburg. Speaking on behalf of the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society, 1986 winner Frank Borman said Leonard "is the finest airline CEO in the world today." He joined AirTran in 1999.
Lufthansa is refining its hub management strategy. From Jan. 1 it will transfer network management tasks and processes to its hubs. According to LH staff magazine Lufthanseat, the process will begin with the winter schedule as short- and medium-haul aircraft are firmly assigned to the Frankfurt and Munich hubs or to a nonhub area on the basis of their tail number. Aircraft may be reassigned at the base for economic or operational reasons but will not be transferred to another hub. With the 2007 summer schedule, long-haul aircraft will be assigned on the same principle.
Lufthansa's winter schedule will include a new thrice-weekly Frankfurt-Kolkata service beginning Dec. 1 and a daily FRA-Cape Town flight in addition to the codeshare service operated by South African Airways. Both routes will be served with an A340-600. In all, LH's winter schedule will comprise flights to 183 destinations in 78 countries, representing a 3.3% year-over-year increase in capacity.
Delta Air Lines announced another international expansion yesterday and CEO Gerald Grinstein signaled that he will retire after the carrier emerges from bankruptcy next year.
Jazeera Airways shareholders approved the listing of the airline's shares as well as a doubling of the company's capital to $69 million, the Arab Air Carriers Organization is reporting. Jazeera intends to list on the Kuwaiti exchange in the first quarter.
Virgin America unveiled its first aircraft, an A320 named Jefferson Airplane, yesterday in San Francisco in a ceremony attended by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The startup, which has leased 34 A320s, still has not received a go-ahead from US authorities while potential US competitors challenge its citizenship, claiming that real control rests with Richard Branson's Virgin Group, not US investors. The unveiling indicated the carrier is "ready, willing and able to fly," CEO Fred Reid told reporters in attendance. DOT is expected to issue a ruling in January.
LTU German Airlines said it is expecting its annual loss to be €25 million ($31.3 million) in 2006, higher than the €10-€15 million forecast by majority owner Hans Rudolf Woehrl this summer ( ATWOnline, Aug. 23) but still an improvement over the €40 million lost in 2005.
Triumph Group said its Triumph Composite Systems subsidiary located in Spokane was awarded a $49 million contract to provide the composite floor panel system for the 787.
Northwest Airlines will revamp 10 757-200s for an expansion of its transatlantic network announced yesterday. The routes include two new destinations from NWA's Detroit hub and the first nonstop transatlantic service from Hartford's Bradley International Airport. "The combination of our customer-focused WorldGateway at the Detroit hub, competitive costs and the Boeing 757 aircraft, which allows us to match capacity with economically viable demand, has made this major expansion possible," President and CEO Doug Steenland said.
Aer Lingus pilots, under the name Irish Airline Pilots Pensions, have accumulated a 2.12% stake in EI as part of an effort by employees of the recently privatized Irish carrier to block a takeover by Ryanair ( ATWOnline, Oct. 10). According to a submission to the Irish Stock Exchange yesterday, the pilots bought 9.8 million shares at €3.04 ($3.82) each. Ryanair made a cash bid of €2.80 per share last week. Its offer is conditional on securing at least 50.1% of the carrier.
Continental Airlines said in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it will report a third-quarter profit and had accrued an employee profit-sharing pool of more than $100 million through Sept. 30. "The actual amount of profit-sharing that the company will be able to distribute to employees on Feb. 14, 2007, depends on the company's full-year financial results," CO said. The third quarter will be its second straight three-month period in the black.
Caribbean Star Airlines and LIAT said this week that they plan to "commence formal negotiations toward the merger of the two carriers" following a decision by the LIAT board. Caribbean Star Chairman R.
Boeing and Singapore Airlines yesterday finalized SIA's order for 20 787-9s with purchase rights for 20 more. The order is valued at more than $4.5 billion. SIA first announced its intent to purchase the Dreamliners in June ( ATWOnline, June 15). Boeing said yesterday that the aircraft will be delivered from 2011 through 2013. "The carrier intends to use the new airplanes on routes to North Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East," the manufacturer said.
