Lufthansa CityLine took delivery yesterday of an 84-seat CRJ900, the first of a dozen that will come into the fleet this year. They will be replacing 50-seat CRJs as the company continues reconfiguring its fleet. "With the new aircraft model, Lufthansa CityLine is taking a major step forward economically and technologically and is thus ideally prepared to face up to the future competition," MD Thomas Drager said. First destinations for the new type include Munich, Brussels, Lyon, Munster/Osnabruck, Nice, Oslo and Geneva.
Pinnacle Airlines flew 381.3 million RPMs in July, an 8.1% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 8.7% to 484.2 million ASMs and load factor rose 0.5 point to 78.7%. Frontier Airlines flew 849.3 million RPMs in July, a 16.1% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 11.6% to 996.4 million ASMs and load factor was up 3.3 points to 85.2%.
United Airlines will close its Washington Dulles reservations facility by mid-October, resulting in the loss of 504 jobs, according to a letter sent last week by the airline to the Virginia Employment Commission cited by the Washington Business Journal. UA issued a release last week saying its fall schedule at IAD included a 13% increase in departures over the year-ago period. Separately, UA's Sean Donohue is on the move again. Parent UAL Corp. announced yesterday that he will take on a newly created role as senior VP-Flight Operations and Onboard Service divisions.
Jetstar Airways won approval from the US Dept. of Transportation to begin marketing proposed A330-200 flights from Sydney (thrice-weekly) and Melbourne (twice-weekly) to Honolulu scheduled to commence Nov. 23. While final approval has not been granted, Jetstar CEO Alan Joyce said DOT has "indicated to Qantas that Jetstar is qualified to perform these international operations." Qantas will continue to operate thrice-weekly Sydney-Honolulu service after Jetstar launches. Separately, Jetstar said last week it initially will hire 200 flight attendants.
Korean Air said it will ask Boeing for about $12 million to reimburse it for costs associated with preparing 29 aircraft for the Connexion by Boeing service that was pulled from the market last week ( ATWOnline, Aug. 18). An airline official told The Korea Times that it cost $400,000 to furnish a plane with the Connexion service. The carrier planned to introduce the service in an additional 25 aircraft by 2008.
Delta Air Lines issued an RFP for a portion of its Regional jet service--that currently operated by Delta Connection partners Comair, Chautauqua Airlines, Shuttle America and Freedom Airlines--as part of the restructuring of its network under bankruptcy proceedings. Comair is a wholly owned Delta subsidiary, Chautauqua and Shuttle America are subsidiaries of Republic Airways and Freedom is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. Flying done by SkyWest subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines is not included in the bid.
Saudi Arabian government initiated the privatization process for flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines by formally offering a stake of up to 49% in the company's catering and affiliated inflight sales units. The carrier submitted its plan to the government earlier this month ( ATWOnline, Aug. 4).
AirBridge Cargo signed an interline agreement with Continental Airlines and appointed general sales agent partners in the US as it prepares to launch 747F flights to the US next year. ABC said CO will provide "an important link into its network, notably for the movement of oil and gas equipment from Texas to Sakhalin Island off the coast of Russia." ABC, the scheduled services arm of heavy freight specialist Volga-Dnepr, operates two IL-76 freighters weekly from its Krasnoyarsk hub to Sakhalin.
Air China, Cathay Pacific Airways, China National Aviation Co. and CITIC Pacific shareholders approved the proposed realignment that would establish cross-shareholdings between Air China and Cathay and make Dragonair a CX subsidiary. The long-anticipated deal, announced in June ( ATWOnline, June 12), must receive regulatory approval. Air China Chairman Li Jiaxiang said the realignment will "create a potent new force in the airline industry."
TFC GmbH Kaufer was chosen by CSA Czech Airlines to supply an A320 cabin training simulator. It is scheduled for delivery to CSA's Prague training center in September 2007.
Alaska Airlines will begin San Francisco-San Diego service with four daily weekday flights and a reduced weekend schedule on Oct. 29. It also will add nine weekly flights from Los Angeles and SFO to Mexican resort destinations for its winter timetable. Separately, the carrier extended its Northern Bites $5 meal option, currently available on Mexican services, to nearly all flights longer than 3 hr. Also, Alaska flew 1.75 billion RPMs in July, up 7.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 6.6% and load factor increased 0.6 point to a July-record 82.8%.
Singapore Airlines flew 7.76 billion RPKs in July, a 5.5% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 2.3% to 9.56 billion ASKs, raising load factor 2.5 points to 81.2%. Horizon Air flew 249 million RPMs in July, up 4.8% over the year-ago month, against a 2.9% rise in capacity to 318.8 million ASMs. Load factor rose 1.4 points to 78.1%. Finnair said July RPKs increased 15.6% over the year-ago month, with capacity rising 10.5% and load factor improving 3.6 points to 82.4%.
Assn. of European Airlines members posted a 99% completion rate on short/medium-haul flights in the second quarter with an 81.1% ontime performance, down 2.2 points from the year-ago period, according to data supplied by 26 of the 31 member carriers. Long-haul flights were completed 99.7% of the time with 72.7% punctuality, down 4.2 points. Baggage irregularities rose to 13.3 missing bags per 1,000 passengers from 11.9 in the second quarter of 2005. The reporting carriers flew approximately 93 million passengers during the quarter on 980,000 flights.
Northwest Airlines and Air France, SkyTeam partners who were rebuffed by the US Dept. of Transportation as part of the alliance's bid for transatlantic antitrust immunity last December ( ATWOnline, Jan. 12), opted to move forward with a codeshare agreement announced yesterday.
Ryanair said it intends to operate a full schedule from London Stansted even if the Bank Holiday strikes against Swissport International occur next weekend ( ATWOnline, Aug. 21). The carrier said it will allow all passengers to use Web check-in and may require them to travel without checked luggage.
American Airlines launched a website, www.flytochinaonaa.com, on which passengers and businesses can learn about and register support for the carrier's application to operate nonstop service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Beijing beginning in March. Following Northwest Airlines' announcement last week that it applied to operate Detroit-Shanghai service, there now are four carriers competing for the award of one transpacific route ( ATWOnline, Aug. 21).
Hainan Airlines posted an CNY8.7 million ($1.1 million) profit in the second quarter, a reversal from a CNY3.4 million loss in the year-ago period, the carrier said in a filing with the Shanghai stock exchange cited by press reports. Revenues climbed 26% to CNY2.95 billion. Six-month profits doubled to CNY20.8 million on a 16% increase in passenger volume and 20% growth in freight. Turnover was up 26% to CNY5.75 billion against a 29% surge in costs to CNY4.61 billion.
Avion Group said it formed a joint venture with Australasian airline group Advent Air Ltd. calling for Avion subsidiaries Star Airlines of France and Star Europe of Germany to provide up to four A320s to Advent Air subsidiary Skywest, a Perth-based Regional. Skywest will operate the aircraft from November to April, which is its peak season and Avion's low season.
Virgin America, the proposed LCC startup that is 25% owned by Virgin Group, is being held up by objections over its US citizenship from legacy carriers urging the US Dept. of Transportation to reject its application for an operating certificate.
Monarch Airlines placed an order for six 787-8s with purchase rights on an additional four. The order is worth $916 million at list prices. The UK airline said the Dreamliners will form the core of its future long-haul fleet, which currently comprises A330s, A300s and 767s. The 787s are scheduled for delivery from the end of 2010 though 2013. "Operating successfully in the leisure market requires flexible and innovative products. With the 787's longer-range capabilities, we will be opening up new destinations in the Americas, Asia and Africa," CEO Peter Brown said.
Lufthansa Systems signed a contract with Virgin Atlantic Airways to provide the UK carrier with its ProfitLine/Price IT pricing solution. Separately, Lufthansa said it has developed a new "corporate sound" that will be played for customers holding on the phone and on radio and TV ads, as well as when passengers board aircraft.
Ryanair revealed its intention to take on both "terrorists and extremists" and the UK government in a single press release Friday. Its battle against evil will be waged with the week-long sale of 1 million seats across more than 100 routes for £25 ($47.40) one way including taxes and fees. "Ryanair is releasing these cheap seats to get Britain flying again, which is the best way to defeat terrorists and extremists," the combative airline said.
MAIR Holdings, parent of Mesaba Airlines, filed claims totaling $281 million in bankruptcy court last week charging partner Northwest Airlines with breach of contract and fraud. Mesaba followed NWA into bankruptcy last October. According to an Aug.
