TAM on Friday concluded the public distribution of R$500 million ($231.3 million) worth of nonconvertible debentures. The three banks coordinating the operation, the first public offer of debentures of an airline company in Brazil, reported that the 50,000 debentures offered were subscribed and integrated by a total of 140 investors. "The purpose of the issue is to use the resources to finance aircraft components for future fleet expansion," TAM said. "As previously announced, the expectation is to end 2006 with at least 96 aircraft, reaching 127 aircraft at the end of 2010."
Air Canada launched twice-weekly flights to Las Vegas from Edmonton aboard an A319 and from Winnipeg aboard a CRJ705 operated by Jazz. Also, AC signed a deal with ITA Software to develop a new reservation management system for deployment late next year.
Air France KLM CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta said yesterday that "KLM has started to discuss a cargo joint venture with China Southern" but cautioned that "the talks are in the initial stage," according to Reuters. Beijing is encouraging foreign airlines to set up cargo JVs with Chinese companies in order to meet the nation's explosive growth in airfreight demand.
Hainan Airlines ordered 15 additional 737-800s, completing the distribution of the 150-aircraft order placed by China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group ( ATWOnline, April 12), Boeing announced yesterday. The 150 737-700s/-800s are worth approximately $10 billion at list prices and will delivered to Air China (25), China Eastern Airlines (20), China Southern Airlines (30), Shandong Airlines (12), Shanghai Airlines (13), Shenzhen Airlines (10), Xiamen Airlines (15) and Hainan (25) between this year and 2010.
Mesaba Airlines was dealt a setback by a US District Court judge in Minneapolis who determined the company could not reject its collective bargaining agreements with union employees as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. In July, a bankruptcy court judge granted Mesaba authority to reject the deals as part of its effort to reduce labor costs by 10.4% over a six-year period ( ATWOnline, July 17).
Delta Air Lines this week unveiled "the industry's first two-class domestic flight experience to feature [on-demand] digital entertainment," a result of the carrier's decision to fold its low-cost Song subsidiary and reintegrate the 48 757s and portions of the Song inflight product into the mainline fleet ( ATWOnline, April 6).
Aerospace Products International announced that JetBlue Airways selected API's Electronic Supply Program to manage the inventory of shelf-life-limited chemicals and other products at the carrier's line stations.
Qantas has been given the green light by Australia's competition regulator to work closely with its offshore low-cost subsidaries based in Singapore. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a ruling authorizing Qantas to enter into a cooperation agreement with Orangestar Investment Holdings, the holding company for Jetstar Asia and Valuair. The decision follows preliminary approval granted in May ( ATWOnline, June 1).
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.
