Delta Air Lines posted net earnings of $55 million in February compared to a loss of $209 million in the year-ago month, which Executive VP and CFO Edward Bastian said "demonstrate[s] the significant momentum we have created with our restructuring." However, DL recorded a $43 million loss excluding reorganization items, narrowed from a $138 million deficit in February 2006, and reported a $5 million operating loss owing to a negative impact of fuel hedges. Consolidated passenger unit revenue rose 1.4% year-over-year.
Qantas will boost its domestic operation with nine new A320s to be delivered over a 15-month period from late 2007 and used by Jetstar. The company is girding itself for the arrival of Tiger Airways Australia, which aims to challenge QF with a low-cost product ( ATWOnline, March 16). In addition, Qantas said four 767-300s used in international operations and scheduled to be sold instead will be transferred to domestic routes in the middle of this year.
Avianca Airlines placed a firm order for 10 787s valued at $1.5 billion, becoming the first airline in South America to order the aircraft. The Colombian carrier also holds purchase rights for 10 more 787s. Boeing previously credited the order to an unidentified customer in its listing of orders and deliveries and announced the order late Wednesday.
IATA reported 6.8% industrywide RPK growth in February and a 6.1% year-over-year rise in capacity, which lifted load factor 0.5 point to 73.3%. Highest load factor of 74.4% was in North America, while largest RPK growth was the Middle East's 18%. Next highest was Africa at 9.4%.
47th Paris Air Show June 18-24 will feature as many as 2,000 exhibitors, officials said during a briefing in Washington this week, up from 1,926 in 2005. A total 128,801 sq. m. of static displays, halls and chalets will be occupied at the world's largest aviation exhibition. The 2005 show attracted some 137,000 trade visitors and 257,000 members of the general public, with 238 aircraft displayed. New exhibitors this year include Spirit Aerostructures (formerly Boeing's Wichita division), Dubai Aerospace Enterprise and Cessna.
KLM Engineering & Maintenance appointed former Sabena Technics President and CEO Peter de Swert as senior VP-operations. Lufthansa Technik named Head of EASA Approved Design Organization Bernhard Conrad as Chief Technology Officer.
Malev Hungarian Airlines followed Royal Jordanian into oneworld yesterday ( ATWOnline, March 29), becoming the group's 10th member. "It is vital in today's airline industry for a medium-sized airline like Malev to have the best of the best as partners to achieve long-term efficiencies and sustainable profitability," Chairman Boris Abramovich said. Malev adds 10 cities to oneworld's network, which will include Macedonia and Montenegro for the first time.
JetBlue Airways launched daily White Plains-Orlando International service Wednesday and will start a second daily HPN-MCO flight and daily flights to West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale on April 2, all aboard A320s. HPN is JetBlue's 51st destination and 7th in New York. Separately, the carrier took delivery of its 100th A320 last week. The aircraft will have stylized 100s painted on the tail.
Northwest Airlines announced the withdrawal of a $129 million salaried employee unsecured claim from its reorganization plan. Under a new salaried equity plan covering 5,200 salaried and management employees, those below director level will receive cash and restricted stock worth $77.4 million. "This salaried equity plan will help ensure that Northwest retains a team of experienced salaried employees, and ties the interests of that team to the financial performance of our company," President and CEO Doug Steenland said.
European Commission cleared KarstadtQuelle's acquisition of Lufthansa's 50% share in Thomas Cook. The German retailer, which already owned 50%, reached agreement with Lufthansa to buy its stake for €800 million ($1.07 billion) in December ( ATWOnline, Dec. 25, 2006). LH will raise its stake in Condor Airlines from 10% to 24.9% as part of the deal.
Air Canada President and CEO Montie Brewer said 48% of customers in the 2006 fourth quarter "willingly bought a higher fare" when purchasing tickets through AC's Web-based branded fare domestic pricing structure ( ATW, February 2007). Speaking yesterday at the National Bank Financial Transportation and Logistics Conference in Toronto, available via webcast, Brewer added that 25% of customers buying the lowest fare purchased an additional amenity. "We've found that customers will buy up," he said.
Delta Air Lines, which plans to exit bankruptcy at the end of next month ( ATWOnline, March 28), yesterday announced its application to list its new common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DAL.
Sensis said Continental Airlines has subscribed to its Aerobahn Service of Web-based tools to monitor and manage taxiway and ramp traffic at Houston Intercontinental.
American Airlines yesterday said it will expedite both the delivery of the 47 737-800s it has on order and the replacement of a portion of its MD-80 fleet. It will take three aircraft in early 2009 that originally were scheduled to arrive in 2016 and "intends to continue pulling forward deliveries" from the current 2013-16 timeframe to 2009-12. It said it hopes to improve the entire fleet's fuel efficiency by more than 20% by 2020.
Shenzhen Airlines posted a record profit of CNY360 million ($46.5 million) in 2006, more than triple the previous year's result, on a 40.1% lift in operating revenue to CNY6.45billion.
Gol reached an agreement yesterday to acquire Varig from VarigLog and Volo, the controlling shareholders of the airline that was Brazil's market leader before hitting hard financial times in recent years and barely surviving bankruptcy last summer.
Royal Jordanian officially joined oneworld yesterday, becoming the first Middle East carrier to enter an alliance and oneworld's first new member in six years. Yesterday's ceremony in Amman marked the start of a significant expansion for the alliance that also will include Japan Airlines, Malev Hungarian Airlines, Dragonair, LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador. Aer Lingus will leave the grouping next month.
US Airways named former American Eagle and Polar Air Cargo President Robert Martens as senior VP and president of US Airways Express. Martens, 61, will have direct oversight of US's Piedmont Airlines and PSA Airlines subsidiaries.
Seven months after solidifying its position in Germany with the purchase of dba, Air Berlin established itself as the fourth-largest carrier in Europe with the acquisition of leisure carrier LTU, for which it will pay €140 million. The deal, which is subject to approval from competition authorities, was signed Monday evening and includes a provision requiring Air Berlin to assume €200 million in LTU debts.
In touting its restructuring at yesterday's Investor Day in Atlanta, Delta Air Lines said it expects to be profitable in its first year following emergence from bankruptcy protection, that it has succeeded in delivering on the "three pillars" of its transformation plan and that it remains interested in selling certain assets, including regional subsidiary Comair.
Harmony Airways of Canada announced suspension of its scheduled services. It will fly to Toronto for the last time on March 30 and cease all other flights by April 9. Launched in 2002 and based in Vancouver, the full-service airline operates 757s to six Canadian cities, five Hawaiian destinations, Las Vegas and Palm Springs. It reportedly is exploring continuing to fly as a charter or ACMI provider. "Harmony has always been committed to providing the best inflight service in Canada and we apologize for the inconvenience this causes," it said on its website.
Assn. of European Airlines members flew 736.94 billion RPKs in 2006, up 5.2% from the previous year. Capacity climbed 4.4% to 963.48 billion ASKs and load factor rose 0.6 point to 76.5%. Passenger numbers were ahead 4.5% to 343.6 million. Among 30 members, Spanair enjoyed the largest RPK increase at 20.6%, followed by THY Turkish Airlines at 20%. THY's 25% capacity increase was by far the largest. Adria Airways' 4.5-point improvement in load factor to 63.7% was the organization's biggest. Highest load factor overall was 83.7% at KLM.
Garuda Indonesia yesterday confirmed its widely reported order for 25 737-800s ( ATWOnline, March 27), saying on its website that it will take delivery of eight aircraft in the May-December 2009 period, 10 in 2010, five in the final five months of 2011 and a pair in the first two months of 2012. Boeing did not confirm the order. Garuda also confirmed it will begin taking delivery of 10 787-8s in 2011 ( ATWOnline, Sept. 20, 2005).
British Airways yesterday finalized last month's order for four 777-200ERs valued at more than $800 million plus options for four more of the type. BA has said the compatibility of the 777-200ERs, scheduled for delivery in 2009, with the 43 777s in its existing fleet was the key driver behind the order ( ATWOnline, Feb. 22).
Lineas Aereas Azteca was grounded this week ( ATWOnline, March 27) "due to a series of findings by the [Mexico] Bureau of Civil Aviation, which has determined that this airline has not guaranteed operations within basic security standards, mainly due to problems with maintenance and training," according to airports operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, which issued a statement to assure passengers that other carriers can fill the traffic void.
