Ryanair called its growth "inexorable" as it reported a record €302 million ($390.9 million) after-tax profit for the financial year ended March 31, a figure approximately €7 million above forecast and 12% higher than the €268 million earned in the previous fiscal year. It did issue a "cautious" outlook for the coming term, predicting that traffic will climb 20%, yields will remain flat and profit will grow by a more "modest" 5%-10%.
Mettis Aerospace was selected by Teleflex Aerospace Manufacturing Group to be an exclusive supplier of aluminum outlet guide vanes in a deal with GE Aircraft Engines. The five-year deal includes a newly designed vane for the GEnx.
In a rare commitment by a US Major for widebody aircraft, Continental Airlines yesterday announced an order for 10 additional 787s, doubling the order it placed in December 2004 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 4, 2005) and making it the largest US customer for the Dreamliner. CO also said it will acquire 24 more 737NGs, bringing the number of firm orders for the type to 66. The 20 787s begin delivery in 2009, with the first additional 737 arriving in 2008.
Rolls-Royce signed a 15-year Total Care engine services agreement with UPS covering 40 RB211-535s powering 757 freighters. The pact "covers work which would not be performed by UPS's own maintenance program," according to Rolls.
Malev Hungarian Airlines, scheduled to become a oneworld member early next year, expects to report breakeven results for 2006. "We are expecting a drastic growth in terms of passengers thanks to the oneworld membership, which should double passenger figures from the 3 million of today," CCO Andras Zboray, told ATWOnline at the IATA AGM in Paris. Malev is planning to extend its network to more destinations in Eastern Europe starting with the Balkans, cities in the southeastern Mediterranean and other markets within 3 hr. of Budapest.
Varig announced that the auction of its aircraft and routes in Rio de Janeiro has been postponed until Thursday by a bankruptcy court judge. It had been scheduled for yesterday ( ATWOnline, June 5) but was moved at investors' request, the airline said. So far Gol, TAM, TAP Portugal, OceanAir and Brookefield, a US investment firm, have paid to have access to Varig's books, Reuters reported.
Israel Aircraft Industries said its Bedek Aviation division received an FAA STC for conversion of a 747-400 Combi into a pure freighter. The aircraft used for the certification process is owned by Guggenheim Aviation and will be operated by Air China. IAI said certification also was received from the Israeli CAA and certification from EASA and CAAC are expected shortly.
Iberia is only "cutting nonprofitable routes" at Barcelona International, Chairman and CEO Fernando Conte stressed to ATWOnline at the IATA AGM in Paris ( ATWOnline, June 2). "There is a lot of misunderstanding on this matter. We are not leaving BCN.
Texas Pacific Group Founding Partner David Bonderman warned of the "deeply cyclical" nature of the airline business during the CEO Forum on Shaping the Air Transport Industry at the IATA AGM in Paris yesterday. "Although disguised by high fuel prices, this is about as good as it gets," he said, predicting that in two years time "we will see everybody cancel orders for over 1,000 new aircraft." Ironically, Bonderman also is chairman of Ryanair, which has outstanding firm orders for 143 737-800s and 193 options.
US Federal Communications Commission said AirCell of Colorado and LiveTV, a JetBlue Airways subsidiary, won the 144-round auction concluded June 2 for two air-ground spectrum licenses in the 800MHz band ( ATWOnline, Jan. 16). Verizon Airfone's license to use the spectrum expires in May 2010 and it must relinquish three of the four MHz bands on which it operates within the next two years. AirCell bid $31.3 million for a 3-MHz block and LiveTV will pay $7 million for a 1-MHz block.
Southwest Airlines will launch a daily Denver-Houston Hobby flight on July 17 (increasing to twice-daily on Aug. 4), a four-times-daily DEN-Kansas City service and daily flights from DEN to Orlando International and Nashville, all on Aug. 4, and a daily Baltimore/Washington International-Oakland service from Aug. 17. It also will add one more daily flight from DEN to BWI, Chicago Midway and Phoenix on July 17 and to Las Vegas on Aug. 4. Frequencies will be added between HOU and Tampa on July 17 and between Boise and Oakland on Aug. 17.
Continental Airlines estimated an 8.5%-9.5% year-over-year rise in consolidated May RASM and a 7%-8% increase in mainline RASM as May system traffic increased 14.6% to 7.65 billion RPMs. Capacity rose 11.9% to 9.44 billion ASMs and load factor climbed 1.9 points to a May-record 81%. Domestic RPMs increased 7.9% to 3.63 billion as capacity grew 4.6% to 4.33 billion ASMs and load factor went up 2.7 points to 83.9%. International traffic jumped 20.9% to 3.12 billion RPMs on a 20.9% climb in capacity to 3.99 billion ASMs, leaving load factor steady at 78%.
Royal Jordanian took delivery of an IAE V2500-powered A321 last month. The 167-seat aircraft is the fourth of a group of six new A320s/A321s acquired to replace older A310s and A320s. Separately, RJ licensed the PROS Airline Solutions Suite, which includes the PROS 6 Revenue Management System, the PROS Group System and the PROS Network Revenue Planning System.
SkyTeam said at Friday's Governing Board meeting in Paris that Portugalia Airlines now is a candidate to join the alliance's Associate Airline Program and China Southern Airlines "continues to make progress on fulfilling alliance joining requirements" that should be finalized next year. Air France will sponsor Portugalia's effort to join SkyTeam by 2008. It serves nearly 1 million passengers per year operating to 20 destinations in six countries in Europe and North Africa with a fleet of 17 aircraft that include eight Embraer 145s and six F100s.
Opening of the fourth runway at Tokyo Haneda in late 2009 will present ANA with new growth opportunities but also increased challenges, including the arrival of low-fare airlines, President and CEO Mineo Yamamoto said. "We think we will see LCCs in Haneda in 2009," he told journalists in Tokyo last Thursday at an event organized by Star Alliance. Speaking through a translator, he noted that current plans call for the number of operational slots at the airport to increase by 40% vis-a-vis the current level to 407,000 annually.
Continental Airlines confirmed to ATWOnline that it issued an RFP for up to 24 70-seat turboprop aircraft to be operated by a Regional partner. "We are examining options for replacing part or all of the capacity provided by the 69 aircraft which are being withdrawn from our capacity purchase agreement with ExpressJet," said spokesperson Sarah Anthony. "A number of airlines have been invited to submit proposals.
The auction of Varig's assets ( ATWOnline, May 22) has been moved forward from July 9 to today in what JP Morgan considers "a last-ditch attempt to raise cash to avoid further aircraft confiscation." Separately, a judge presiding over the airline's US bankruptcy reorganization "extended his injunction barring seizure of company aircraft until June 13," according to Merrill Lynch.
US Air Transportation Stabilization Board last week announced the sale of the 3.4 million warrants it received in connection with the issuance of a loan guarantee to Frontier Airlines in 2003. Warrants were sold at auction to seven institutional investors for $6.6 million. ATSB has no current outstanding loan guarantees but does hold warrants in World Airways and has an $86 million direct loan to ATA Airlines.
Northwest Airlines lost $295 million in April, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but was profitable on the operational level, reporting a $53 million operating profit on $1.04 billion in revenues and $987 million in expenses. The bottom line was affected by $309 million in reorganization items related to restructured aircraft lease and debt charges.
Ural Airlines, based at Koltsovo International Airport in Ekaterinburg, signed a letter of intent with Aughras Trading of Ireland for the lease of two A320-211s scheduled for delivery in August and September. They will be the carrier's first Western aircraft. Ural said it would have preferred to purchase the aircraft but could not secure a delivery slot prior to 2009.
American Airlines flew 12.25 billion system RPMs in May, a 3.7% rise over the year-ago month. Capacity increased just 0.3% to 15.16 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 2.6 points to 80.7%. Domestic traffic rose 2.1% to 8.02 billion RPMs against a 1.9% drop in capacity to 9.66 billion ASMs, sending load factor up 3.3 points to 83%. International RPMs climbed 6.9% to 4.22 billion, ASMs rose 4.6% to 5.49 billion and load factor increased 1.6 points to 76.8%. ExpressJet Airlines flew 909.7 million RPMs in May, a 23.1% increase over the year-ago month.
SkyEurope Airlines said Bank of Scotland will provide pre-delivery payments and long-term loan financing on the four new 737-700s scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2007. The airline last year placed an order for 16 firm aircraft and 16 options ( ATWOnline, May 11, 2005) and already has taken delivery of four. Twelve dash 700s, including those four, are to be financed under operating leases from GECAS. The aircraft financed with Bank of Scotland will be SkyEurope's first owned airplanes.
Kuwait Airways reported a loss of KWD23.8 million ($82 million) for the year ended March 31, narrowed more than 40% from a KWD39.9 million loss in the 2004-05 financial year, the state Kuwait News Agency reported.
TAP Portugal is searching for solutions to improve services at its overcrowded Lisbon Portela base but said the situation will remain problematic until 2009, when a new terminal extension is scheduled to open. "There is no space for us in Lisbon available [for further expansion], so we have to divert traffic to Porto," VP-External Relations & Alliances Jose Guedes Dias told ATWOnline last week in Tokyo. In so doing, TAP will take advantage of the recently renovated infrastructure at Porto, which could be developed into a minihub.
