US House Judiciary Committee dealt a blow this week to those seeking repeal of the Wright Amendment with the removal of language in the Wright Amendment Reform Act exempting it from antitrust challenges.
United Airlines and American Airlines said they have reached settlements in lawsuits filed in US courts seeking damages for alleged price-fixing related to air cargo transport, but both carriers claimed no payments will be made. The disclosure comes on the heels of Lufthansa's admission that it agreed to pay $85 million to settle a string of lawsuits filed in US courts ( ATWOnline, Sept.
US Dept. of Transportation approved the transfer of the operating certificate of defunct Independence Air to Northwest Airlines, moving it closer to launching its new Regional subsidiary Compass Airlines ( ATWOnline, March 31). The proposed new service from Washington Dulles could begin as early as October.
Mexican low-fare startup Interjet has captured 8% of total domestic traffic and 14% of traffic in city-pairs in which it competes in just seven months, according to CEO Jose Luis Graza Alvarez, who spoke at the World Low Cost Airlines Conference in London earlier this week.
Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas are bracing for further delays in the delivery of the first batch of A380s. Speaking last week at an Airways dinner at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, ILFC Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy told guests and media that a third A380 delay is likely. According to Udvar-Hazy, the problems with the wiring required for airline customization are worse than expected and another delay may be announced soon. He said ILFC learned of the possibility earlier that day (Sept. 8).
Rolls-Royce announced that Air China signed an $800 million deal for Trent 1000s to power its fleet of 15 787s scheduled to begin delivery in June 2008. The agreement includes a long-term TotalCare maintenance package.
Air Arabia, which celebrates its third anniversary this fall, achieved a breakeven financial result in its first year, made a profit in its second and expects to do so again for its third, CEO Adel Abdulla Ali told the World Low Cost Airlines Conference in London. The Sharjah-based low-fare carrier has a fleet of seven A320s operating around 140 flights per week to more than two dozen cities in the Middle East, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran and India. Ali said Air Arabia will add three aircraft before year end and a similar number in 2007.
Alitalia Group said this week that its full-year net result "should approach the level achieved in 2005," when it lost €167.6 million ($212.9 million).
Air France KLM flew 18.1 billion RPKs in August, up 4.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity increased 4.5% to 21.47 billion ASKs, nudging load factor up 0.2 point to 84.3%. Alaska Airlines flew 1.72 billion RPMs in August, a 4.8% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 6.1% to 2.13 billion ASMs and load factor fell 1 point to 80.8%.
Menzies Aviation announced the acquisition of Catamount Holdings, a cargo services business at Chicago O'Hare, and Integrated Airline Services Alliance, a ground handler specializing in low-cost carriers in Florida, Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Russia appears interested in a playing a significant role in EADS following the recent purchase of a 5% stake in the Airbus parent company by a state-owned bank ( ATWOnline, Sept. 12), and a senior Kremlin official said the nation will consider expanding its holding in the future.
Alitalia Group late yesterday released half-year financial results showing a net loss of €221.5 million in the six months ended June 30, nearly double the €125 million deficit posted in the first half of 2005. Revenues fell 1.6% to €2.24 billion and operating loss widened to €131.8 million from €83.8 million. AZ said it expects nonrecurring items to boost its net and operating results into the black in the second half.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker confirmed the airline has ordered 20 777s. The order has been listed by Boeing for months ( ATWOnline, June 13) and was due to be announced at the Farnborough Airshow in June. The first 777-300ER will be delivered to QR in November next year, according to Al Baker. The order is worth $4.24 billion, according to the Arab Air Carriers Organization.
BAA said August passenger numbers at its seven UK airports fell 5% against forecast with revenue losses and costs for the month reaching £13 million ($24.2 million). The figure includes a number of one-off costs specifically related to the period following the introduction of new security measures. Actual passenger throughput increased 0.3% over August 2005 to 14.3 million passengers despite the heightened security following the terrorist threat of Aug. 10. Its three London airports handled 0.5% more passengers, although Heathrow suffered a decrease of 2.2%.
EasyJet CEO Andrew Harrison threw down the gauntlet yesterday, challenging airports to begin their own low-cost revolution and warning that the growing power of the green movement in Europe threatens the growth and well-being of the low-fare airline sector. Airports and potential environment-related taxes are "the two boundaries closing in on our industries," he declared.
World Airways will operate two MD-11 freighters for Lufthansa Cargo between the US and Europe for one year beginning at the end of next month. World currently operates 17 MD-11s and DC-10s. Separately, parent company World Air Holdings announced it has launched its previously announced tender offer ( ATWOnline, April 14) to purchase up to 2.2 million shares of its common stock at $9-$9.50 per share. The offer expires Oct. 6.
Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber was openly upbeat about "open-minded" European Commission regulators whom he said are displaying new sensitivity to the industry's problems and a willingness to consult with stakeholders. "We are pleased to see that the [Assn. of European Airlines] Action Plan has found its way into the minds and hearts of key EU institutions," the AEA chairman said yesterday in a presentation to the European Aviation Club in Brussels.
Comair pilots who received an updated aeronautical chart of Lexington Blue Grass Airport have been told to exercise "extreme caution" when using the runways and taxiways where a Comair CRJ200 attempted to take off from the incorrect runway before crashing on Aug. 27, killing 49 people. Spokesperson Nick Miller told ATWOnline that the advisory was offered after company officials discovered that an updated chart received Sept.
Jordanian government is pushing ahead with the privatization of Royal Jordanian but said this week that it will retain a 26% stake in the flag carrier in order to "guarantee its right for veto," according to the Arab Air Carriers Organization. The remainder of the airline will be sold, with no more than 49% available to foreign investors. The rest will be sold in a public offering to Jordanian citizens.
Cathay Pacific Airways flew 6.26 billion RPKs in August, up 5.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity increased 3.9% to 7.53 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 1.3 points to 83.1%.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, placed a firm order with Boeing yesterday for 12 GEnx-powered 747-8 freighters valued at $3.4 billion, with deliveries slated for 2010-11. Atlas operates the world's largest fleet of 747Fs with 20 dash 400Fs and 15 dash 200Fs and had been considering replacements for four dash 200Fs, a dash 100F and a dash 300F retired from Polar's fleet earlier this year ( ATWOnline, Aug. 15).
Aer Lingus will list on the Dublin and London stock markets on Oct. 2 and will announce its final share price on Sept. 27, it said yesterday, according to press reports. The Irish government unveiled plans for the IPO late last month ( ATWOnline, Aug. 29). Aer Lingus set an indicative price range of €2.1-€2.7 per share, valuing the airline at €601-€773 million prior to the issuance of 208.4 million new shares.
EADS confirmed Sunday that Vneshtorgbank, a state-owned Russian bank, acquired a 5.02% stake in the aerospace giant. The holding in the Airbus parent company is valued at more than $1.1 billion. The bank acknowledged yesterday that it purchased the EADS stake, first reported late last month ( ATWOnline, Aug. 30), but declined to say why.
BWIA West Indies Airways, the money-losing Trinidad and Tobago carrier that unsuccessfully attempted multiple recoveries over the past decade, will shut down Dec. 31 and be replaced by a new carrier, Caribbean Airlines. CEO Peter Davies, who will continue to serve as the top executive at the new airline, decided that a shutdown and clean start were necessary when BWIA's four labor unions balked at concessions proposed in the carrier's latest restructuring plan.
US Airways Executive VP and CAO Jeffrey McClelland, 47, died Sunday, the airline announced. He had cancer. The carrier will rename its flight center building in Phoenix after McClelland, who was responsible for finance, legal affairs, human resources, labor relations, properties and facilities and subsidiary operations.
