Kenya Airways added a seventh 767-300 to its fleet last week to meet rapidly growing demand on its network from West, East and Central Africa to Dubai, Guangzhou, Thailand and Mumbai. The new aircraft is on lease. KQ is looking to expand its Nairobi hub this year and aims to operate daily flights to most of its African destinations. Recently it started daily service to Douala and increased frequencies to Entebbe and Dar es Salaam. It also will start flights to Brazzaville and Cotonou by September.
ANA is moving forward with plans to build its fleet around twin-engine aircraft with the sale of six of its 23 747-400s to Avion Aircraft Trading of Iceland. The aircraft are configured for both domestic routes (569 passengers) and international operations (from 287 passengers). ANA has been replacing the dash 400s on domestic routes with 777-300s seating 477 passengers. It is moving to smaller types such as the 777, 767 and 787 because of the addition of a second runway at Tokyo Narita and a planned fourth runway at Tokyo Haneda, which has reduced the requirement for larger types.
Iberia pilots agreed yesterday to end their strike, which started Monday and was to have lasted through Sunday, after winning guarantees from the carrier that new LCC Catair, in which Iberia is one of five shareholders, will not lead to job losses. The agreement among Iberia, the SEPLA union and the Spanish Development Ministry ensures that no Iberia pilots will be laid off through 2010 because of Catair operations. The government will act as guarantor of the deal, which does not include salary hikes or guarantees, according to reports.
Air New Zealand announced a series of changes to its international route network with an increased focus on profitability. The airline will suspend its daily 777-200ER service to Singapore and will not relaunch its twice-weekly 747 summer flights from Christchurch to Los Angeles. ANZ said O&D traffic to Singapore accounted for just 5% of passengers on the service, with most flying on to Europe, which can be served just as well through Hong Kong. Its market share is less than 30%.
Outsize-freight specialist carriers Volga-Dnepr Airlines and Antonov Airlines, which operate a combined 17 of the 23 massive An-124s in commercial service worldwide, are teaming to launch a joint-venture marketing company aimed at streamlining management of their respective fleets. Both carriers "will continue to operate as separate and distinct," according to Volga-Dnepr, but JV Ruslan International will provide more flexibility for the airlines' often-pressed An-124s.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines pilots voted to authorize a strike if negotiations for a new labor contract fail. The Air Line Pilots Assn. said in a statement yesterday that 92% of ASA pilots casting ballots favored giving union leaders authority to pursue a work stoppage.
Lufthansa flew 9.83 billion RPKs in June, a 0.5% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 0.7% to 12.6 billion ASKs and load factor rose 0.2 point to 78%. Continental Airlines said its June mainline RASM rose by an estimated 9%-10% and consolidated RASM by 10.5%-11.5% compared to June 2006. Consolidated RASM grew 9.3% in May.
Brazilian freight and logistics company VarigLog, a former subsidiary of its namesake airline, boosted its bid for the bankrupt carrier after a Rio de Janeiro bankruptcy court judge reversed his decision last week to present the approximately $500 million bid to creditors, who may be better off if Varig is liquidated, Bloomberg News reported. The judge will ask creditors to review the higher offer at a July 17 meeting. If it is approved, VarigLog could win the carrier's operating assets at an auction scheduled for the following day.
Malaysia Airlines received government authority to increase its revised domestic network by three cities--Kuching, Tawau and Sandakan--and to price tickets on the routes as it chooses.
Resolution to the Iberia pilots' strike remained elusive yesterday as the carrier cancelled more than 200 flights for a second straight day and hinted it will seek to have the work action declared illegal. The airline said it attempted to present pilots with a letter guaranteeing their job security but the SEPLA pilots union refused to accept the document. The pilots began a weeklong strike Monday to protest Iberia's plans to launch an LCC, which the pilots say would threaten their jobs ( ATWOnline, July 11).
Ryanair will cut its services to and from Sweden by more than half following proposals by the Swedish government to introduce a SEK94 ($13.10) ticket tax on European flights and a SEK188 levy on long-haul flights beginning Aug. 1.
Transaero Airlines wants the Russian government to lift duties on imported aircraft in order to spur fleet renewal. DG Olga Pleshakova said in Toulouse that the A330, A340 and A350 "perfectly suit Transaero's development strategy in the field of servicing long-haul routes from Moscow and St.
Aviareto announced that the International Registry of Mobile Assets, which it manages on behalf of ICAO, has surpassed expectations in its first three months of operation with more than 3,500 users registered, four times the number forecast for the first year. The number of aircraft and engines recorded by Dublin-based IRMA has exceeded forecasts by more than 25%.
Cyprus Airways finalized the sale of charter subsidiary Eurocypria to the government, according to press reports. The deal, worth CYP13.5 million ($29.9 million), is part of the carrier's restructuring ( ATWOnline, March 1). The government said that the acquisition and spinoff of Eurocypria were designed to create a second, debt-free scheduled carrier. Eurocypria took delivery of its fifth 737-800 last month.
Air Wisconsin yesterday named Skyway Airlines President and CEO James Rankin as its new president and CEO effective Aug. 1. Rankin, who also is senior VP and GM of Midwest Airlines Saver Service, joined Skyway as a pilot in 1990 before moving to Midwest Express Airlines five years later. He succeeds interim CEO Patrick Thompson, who has been filling the role since Geoffrey Crowley's departure in April. Thompson will remain vice chairman. "Jim is a strong leader with great operational and business acumen," Thompson said.
Goodrich said yesterday that it shipped proximity sensors from its Vermont fuel and utility systems facility to Boeing last month for installation on 787s, becoming the first Dreamliner supplier to ship production components.
Ferrovial Group, the new owner of BAA, said it remains committed to constructing a second runway at London Stansted but will reevaluate the project's estimated £4 billion ($7.4 billion) price tag.
Gulf Air announced President and CEO James Hogan will leave the carrier later this year. Hogan, who joined the airline in May 2002, said it was his decision. Two months ago, he reported that Gulf Air faced an BHD80 million ($204.5 million) deficit as fuel costs outstripped revenue ( ATWOnline, May 10).
Iberia cancelled some 220 flights yesterday on the first day of an expected weeklong strike by pilots who are protesting the carrier's plans to establish a low-cost airline at Barcelona International later this year ( ATWOnline, July 10). The airline claimed the strike will cost about €35 million ($44.8 million) in lost revenue, representing about one-third of its 2005 operating profit. Most of the flight cancellations were on domestic routes.
WestJet flew 774.5 million RPMs in June, up 26% over the year-ago month. Capacity increased 20% to 1 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 3.6 points to 77.1%.
Norman Mineta, the former US transportation secretary who ended a 5.5-year tenure last week, will join communications consultancy Hill & Knowlton as vice chairman effective July 24. He will be based in Washington.
Taiwan's Mandarin Airlines will lease three Embraer 190s and five 195s from GE Commercial Aviation Services. The aircraft come from the existing GECAS backlog and are scheduled to begin delivering in the second quarter of 2007. Configured in a single seating class, they will replace Mandarin's existing fleet of F100s and F50s on domestic routes and eventually will help develop short-haul international markets.
World Air Holdings finally reported its 2005 fourth-quarter and full-year financial results Friday, posting net income of $31.6 million for the year, increased 23.4% from $25.6 million in 2004. WAH, parent of wet-lease specialist World Airways and charter carrier North American Airlines, missed several reporting deadlines and was de-listed by Nasdaq as a result ( ATWOnline, May 22).
In the second fatal airplane crash in Asia in as many days (see item below), a Pakistan International Airlines F27 turboprop departing Multan en route to Lahore crashed minutes after takeoff yesterday, killing all 41 passengers and four crew onboard.
