Frontier Airlines was hit hard by last month's Denver snowstorms and suffered a $14.4 million net loss in its third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, widened from a $10.3 million loss in the year-ago period. The carrier cancelled 875 flights in December due to inclement weather estimated to have reduced revenue by some $12.2 million. President and CEO Jeff Potter admitted it was "the greatest challenge in our history" save for 9/11.
DHL said it will invest an additional $35 million in its Hong Kong operation to increase ground handling capabilities in the growing market, lifting its total investment in the city to $645 million, which includes a $400 million investment in Air Hong Kong made in conjunction with Cathay Pacific Airways.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air parent Alaska Air Group reported a full-year 2006 net loss of $52.6 million, widened from a loss of $5.9 million in 2005, citing charges stemming from Alaska's ongoing transition to an all-737 fleet and voluntary severance programs related to new labor contracts. Excluding the impact of special charges, 2006 net income would have been $137.7 million, more than double the $55 million earned the year before. The company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $11.6 million, narrowed from $33 million in the year-ago quarter.
Silverjet, the London Luton-based all-business-class carrier ( ATWOnline, Oct. 6, 2006), launched operations yesterday with its maiden flight to Newark. It said sales "are comfortably ahead of management's expectations." It will start a second daily LTN-EWR flight in July and is "investigating further long-haul route opportunities."
Adam Air 737-400's flight data recorder was detected yesterday by USNS Mary Sears, an oceanographic survey ship assisting in the search for debris from the aircraft that disappeared off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Jan. 1 with 102 aboard ( ATWOnline, Jan. 12). The US embassy in Jakarta said the ship located signals "on the same frequency of the black boxes associated with the missing airplane."
Expressing "deep regret" that it has been unable to reach an agreement with cabin staff represented by the Transport & General Workers Union, British Airways yesterday said it has cancelled all passenger flights out of London Heathrow and all domestic and European flights out of Gatwick scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday, when T&G plans the first of three walkouts ( ATWOnline, Jan. 25).
ANA will launch a 36-seat, all-business-class 737-700ER on the Tokyo Narita-Mumbai route Sept. 1, a move that underscores a focus on premium traffic that is a highlight of the corporate plan unveiled yesterday in Tokyo. The plan focuses on frequency, yield, capacity decreases and more daily services to China, which will see ANA's first 737-700 BusinessJet enter Nagoya-Guangzhou service on March 1. That aircraft is configured with Club ANA and Premium Economy seats. A320s also are part of the China ramp-up with the introduction of 20 business class seats.
The Transport & General Workers Union agreed to cancel the first 24 hr. of next week's three-day British Airways cabin crew strike ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23) "as a goodwill gesture to allow more time for further negotiations" and "after the personal intervention" of BA CEO Willie Walsh. BA flight attendants still are prepared to walk off the job on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31 and for three-day periods beginning Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 unless a deal is reached.
ExpressJet Holdings, a regional partner of Continental Airlines, yesterday reported full-year net income of $92.5 million, a 5.5% drop from the $97.9 million earned in 2005. At the same time, ExpressJet President and CEO Jim Ream unveiled plans for the 69 Embraer RJs being released from its capacity purchase agreement with Continental.
American Airlines said it will price its public offering of 13 million newly issues shares ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23) at $38.70 per share. It said it expects issuance and delivery of the shares to take place Friday. Separately, AA named Denise Lynn VP-global human resources services, replacing the departed Debra Hunter Johnson.
Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein slammed US Airways' $10.2 billion takeover proposal during testimony before the Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee in Washington yesterday, calling it "the poster child for the worst kind of merger" while also flatly denying that DL is in merger talks with Northwest Airlines.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace said its ST Aerospace Engines subsidiary will provide heavy maintenance and support for Xiamen Airlines' CFM56-7B22s under a maintenance-by-the-hour contract covering 11 737-700s for up to 15 years. The contract was valued at $160 million.
Qantas confirmed to ATWOnline that it is considering an equity stake in Vietnam's Pacific Airlines, which is relaunching as a low-cost carrier with fares as low as $1. Pacific is majority owned by Vietnam's Ministry of Finance, which wants to sell 30% to a foreign airline. Pacific was positioned as a "value airline" with fares 25% below Vietnam Airlines, but the success of LCC competitors like AirAsia has prompted a rethink.
Korean Air said yesterday that it posted a 2006 net profit of KRW344.7 billion ($363.7 million), a 72% increase over the KRW200.4 billion earned in 2005, the Associated Press reported from Seoul. Sales climbed 6.5% to a company-record KRW8.08 trillion and operating profit rose 15% to KRW497.4 billion. "Despite high oil prices, demand for travel to foreign countries increased," KE said in a regulatory filing cited by AP. Foreign exchange gains also were a factor in the result.
Air Arabia applied to UAE economic and regulatory authorities for approval to launch an IPO this quarter, becoming the first airline in the Gulf region to go public, according to the Arab Air Carriers Organization. SHUAA Capital of Dubai was appointed financial adviser.
AirTran Holdings went to court yesterday in an attempt to force Midwest Air Group to release its list of shareholders. AirTran claimed that Midwest management is withholding the list in an attempt to thwart AirTran's effort to present its takeover offer ( ATWOnline, Jan. 19), and it asked the New York State Supreme Court to direct Midwest to show cause as to why it is not complying with state law. A hearing is set for Jan. 30.
Goodrich said it now is capable of offering total nacelle support for the GEnx and that the service will be available to GE OnPoint Solutions customers via a marketing agreement with GE-Aviation.
AeroSvit Airlines named Aron Maiberg DG. He has been with the carrier since 1994, when it launched with one aircraft. AeroSvit now operates 11 737s and two 767s on 12 Ukrainian and 60 international routes. The airline said it intends to triple its fleet by 2011.
Aer Lingus could be facing industrial action after CEO Dermot Mannion warned in a letter to union employees that they must accept new work rules because the airline is facing "commercial challenges and threats that are unprecedented in the history of the company." In the letter, widely reported by the Irish press, Mannion stated that EI's costs are out of line compared to its competitors in "some critical areas," adding, "Given our significant growth and expansion plans, this is no longer sustainable."
Airbus announced yesterday that Spirit Airlines finalized an order for 30 A319s last month that along with a previous order for seven A319s and seven A321s will more than double the budget carrier's fleet. The 144-seat, two-class aircraft will be powered by IAE V2500s and deliver from October 2009 through mid-2013. Rolls-Royce said its share of the engine order is worth $200 million. Spirit currently operates 25 A319s and six A321s from its Fort Lauderdale hub, a mix of purchased and leased aircraft.
MAIR Holdings' deal with Northwest Airlines announced Monday ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23) will see bankrupt Mesaba Airlines become a wholly owned subsidiary of NWA under a stock purchase and reorganization agreement. Mesaba said it intends to emerge from Chapter 11 this spring, having reduced annual costs by $68 million. It will have a $145 million unsecured claim in NWA's bankruptcy case in exchange for the entirety of Mesaba's new common stock.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. reported net income of $25 million for the 11 months after it exited bankruptcy on Feb. 1, 2006, a turnaround from a net loss of $398 million excluding reorganization items for the corresponding 11 months in 2005 when it was operating under Chapter 11 protection.
Finnair will report a negative operating result for 2006 "due to costs from structural arrangements and changes in fuel derivative market value," CEO Jukka Hienonen said yesterday. He cited a €100 million ($129.6 million) year-over-year increase in fuel costs and more than €15 million in one-off costs from Finnair Technical Division, "which had a hard year," he admitted. "The year 2006 will be an interim year in Finnair's result development," he said at an industry forum in Kirkkonummi.
Alaska Airlines flew 1.47 billion RPMs in December, a 2% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.1% to 1.96 billion ASMs and load factor fell 0.8 point to 75.1%. LAN Airlines flew 1.93 billion RPMs in December, a 23.7% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 18.7% to 2.55 billion ASMs and load factor rose 3.1 points to 75.8%. Dragonair flew 560.1 million RPKs in December, down 1% from the year-ago month. Capacity dipped 0.3% to 885.1 million ASKs and passenger numbers dropped 2.1% to 423,036.
The competition for an alliance foothold in India may have started in earnest yesterday with reports that Air France extended an invitation to Indian Airlines to join SkyTeam. According to The Hindu Business Line, AF President and COO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon met with Indian Chairman and MD Vishwapati Trivedi Saturday and tendered the invitation. Indian said its pending merger with Air India ( ATWOnline, Jan. 18) and its ongoing IOSA audit would prevent an immediate decision, The Hindu said.
