AerCap Group named Keith Helming CFO and Heinrich Loechteken chief investment officer. Airbus promoted Mario Heinen to senior VP & A380 Program head, replacing Charles Champion, and Alain Flourens to succeed Heinen as head-Single Aisle Program. Air Canada elevated Daniel Shurz to VP-network planning and Charlie McKee to VP-marketing. AirTran Airways elected Mark W. Osterberg as VP & chief accounting officer. Aloha Airgroup tapped Gordon Bethune as chairman and named Mike Malik CIO of Aloha Airlines. ATA Airlines appointed Gary Ellmer senior VP-operations & GM-charter.
A profit in the airline industry these days is not so rare, but when you increase profits and every other significant parameter against soaring fuel prices and a new robust competitor, that certainly is something to celebrate. However, Australia's Virgin Blue is not celebrating. Like its latest advertising campaign, "Getting into Business," the airline's management is getting on with the job of attracting more traffic from the business end of town.
As 2005 drew to a close, European Commission VP for Transport Jacques Barrot and Moroccan Minister for Equipment and Transport Karim Ghellab met in the attractive Moroccan holiday resort city of Marrakech to initial a comprehensive air transport agreement between the EU and Morocco. The setting was appropriate: Marrakech has the largest souk, or traditional market, in the country, and what was being traded was nothing less than access to the air market between the 25 EU member nations and the North African nation of 33 million.
Six years ago this month, then Continental Airlines Chairman and CEO Gordon Bethune responded to a reporter's query about rising business fares by pointing out that higher prices weren't discouraging corporate travelers from buying tickets on his airline. Noting that Continental's load factor was up by more than a point on a 4% lift in capacity and a 9% gain in yield during the 2000 third quarter, he could not resist cracking: "Maybe fares aren't high enough."
Spring is the time of year associated with renewal, but this year it is the holiday season that will herald regeneration for inflight connectivity. By year end, a host of new services for airline passengers are scheduled to be springing to life. Counterbalancing the arrivals will be the departure of the 800-lb. gorilla of connectivity: Connexion by Boeing.
Only the COLOR is the SAME. In 1996, All Nippon Airways, "Japan's second airline," operated 17 550-seat domestic 747SR-100s and flew through clouds of red ink to a host of international destinations to try and match rival Japan Airlines. Today, ANA is at the cutting edge of aircraft efficiency and flies only where it can make money, as it has done in each of the past three fiscal years.
JetBlue Airways is returning to all four GDSs with a new five-year, full-content agreement with Worldspan and participation in Amadeus in the works. Worldspan said its agreement with JetBlue will provide access to the carrier by "business travelers who book trips online using Worldspan Trip Manager XE, as well as travel buyers who purchase opaque flights or travel packages at designated Worldspan-connected travel Web sites," in addition to travel agencies.
Regional Express of Australia will lease 25 Saab 340Bs from Saab Aircraft Leasing as part of its fleet modernization and expansion program. The first aircraft will arrive in January.
Ryanair said it will add four new 737-800s to its base at Girona Barcelona and launch 17 routes from March, bringing to 40 the number of routes it operates from the airport, which is located some 103 km. (64 mi.) northeast of Barcelona. The LCC said the expansion represents a $280 million investment. New routes from GRO include three-times-weekly service to Altenburg, Brescia, Fuerteventura, Gothenburg, Marrakech, Pescara, Teesside and Trapani; four-times-weekly flights to Aarhus Bologna, Bristol, Faro, Malmo, Newcastle, Oslo and Tenerife, and a daily to Porto.
Cathay Pacific Airways completed its acquisition of Dragonair and also the shareholding realignment involving Cathay, Air China, China National Aviation Company, CITIC Pacific and Swire Pacific. Dragonair is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay but retains its brand and market position. After years of an often testy relationship, Cathay said it intends to begin immediately to "maximize the synergies and opportunities of its international network" with Dragonair's China network of 22 destinations.
Silverjet, a proposed UK startup that plans to offer transatlantic low-fare, all-business-class service, named Katherine Gershon launch and international development director, George Henderson IT director and Tamarah Khatib UK marketing manager. The airline is planning for a winter 2006 start.
Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport was set to begin full-scale international and domestic operations this morning at 3 a.m. local time ( ATWOnline, Sept. 21). First arrival was expected to be a Lufthansa Cargo flight 5 min. later inbound from Mumbai. The first scheduled departure was to be a Saudi Arabian Cargo flight to Riyadh. The first passenger flight to arrive was to be VV#171 Aerosvit Airlines from Kiev. VV#172 outbound for Kiev will make the first passenger departure.
Lufthansa Technik yesterday announced a Total Component Support Agreement with Air Deccan covering the Indian LCC's newly arriving fleet of up to 60 A320s for a period of 10 years. Under terms of the $150 million deal, LHT and its Indian subsidiary, One Stop Airline MRO Support, "will independently serve" the Air Deccan fleet with the provision of components at the carrier's Bangalore hub.
Bmi is testing a security line reserved for its own passengers at London Heathrow, CEO Nigel Turner confirmed to ATWOnline. The trial started some months ago and was suspended temporarily following the Aug. 10 security alert. The bmi-only line is located in Terminal 1 and aims to speed up the lengthy waiting times passengers face to get through LHR's security. "Heathrow needs to improve its transfer product if it wants to maintain its lead position in Europe," said Turner, who also would like to see "an end to airports behaving in a monopolistic manner.
The Irish government and Aer Lingus yesterday priced the IPO of the state-owned airline at €2.20 ($2.80) a share, valuing it at €1.1 billion. Earlier this month, the carrier gave an indicative range of €2.10-€2.70 a share for the Dublin and London listing, which is scheduled for Oct. 2 ( ATWOnline, Sept. 13).
Island Air said it will return its recently acquired Q400 and halt the delivery of two more on order in a move that company officials tied directly to the $19 inter-island fares being offered by rival go!, a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group that entered the market last summer ( ATWOnline, Sept. 26).
United Airlines reportedly is exploring the possibility of merging with or acquiring another airline. According to Crain's Chicago Business, the carrier has hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to advise it in the matter. United declined to comment to the paper. In 2000 it announced plans to acquire US Airways, but the Dept. of Justice disallowed the merger.
Ryanair is offering to build a €250 million ($319.5 million) "low-cost, efficient" new terminal at Dublin Airport, operated by itself or an independent operator, and is calling on the Dublin Airport Authority to "scrap" its proposal to build a €760 million terminal that would increase passenger ticket taxes by as much as 25%.
All Nippon Airways recently took delivery of its fourth 767-300F and plans to use it to launch a six-times-weekly Nagoya-Chicago cargo service via Anchorage.
Alitalia trade unions have called for 24-hr. strikes on both Sept. 29 and Oct. 9, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. The announced work stoppages follow a 4-hr. strike by unions representing pilots, flight attendants and ground staff on Sept. 18 and will add further pressure on the carrier, which remains in a precarious financial situation. It reported a loss of €221 million ($282.4 million) in the first half of 2006, widened from a loss of €125 million in the year-ago period.
Gulf Air confirmed that President and CEO James Hogan will complete his tenure at the carrier Sept. 30, earlier than anticipated, fueling speculation he will move to another airline in the Middle East. VP-Finance Ahmed Al Hammadi will take over as acting president and CEO from Oct. 1.
