SAS Group announced that Gunnar Reitan assumed the post of acting president and CEO on Aug. 1. He fills the position vacated by Jorgen Lindegaard, who resigned in May ( ATWOnline, May 17). The company said Reitan has been a member of SAS Group management since 2001, responsible for the Subsidiary & Affiliated Airlines and Hotels and the Alliances & Partnerships divisions. He joined SAS in 1988 as director-station services in Oslo.
Saudi Arabian Airlines finalized a privatization program for five of its units--catering, cargo, ground handling, pilot training and technical services--and is preparing to submit its plan to national authorities for certification. According to the Arab Air Carriers Organization, the airline said the new units will be financially and managerially independent and sold through a public offering.
Bmi mainline and regional pilots represented by the British Airline Pilots' Assn. began voting yesterday on whether to authorize a strike action. Balloting at bmibaby started last week. The result of the former will be released on Aug. 24 and that of the latter on Aug. 16. The union said there are different issues facing pilots at each of the divisions but that they are united against the "imposition" of a 2.4% pay increase.
AirAsia's shares have been sold down by 21% in the past month following the Malaysian government's decision to give Malaysia Airlines the green light to exercise pricing freedom on its domestic routes ( ATWOnline, July 12), allowing it to compete with AirAsia with cheaper fares.
American Airlines flew 13.3 billion system RPMs in July, a 2.3% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 4.5% to 15.28 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1.9 points to 87%. Domestic RPMs dropped 4.9% to 8.5 billion against a 7.6% fall in ASMs to 9.63 billion, raising load factor 2.4 points to 88.2%. International traffic grew 2.7% to 4.81 billion RPMs, capacity increased 1.3% to 5.66 billion ASMs and load factor was up 1.2 points to 85%. Ryanair transported 3.9 million passengers in July, a 23.2% increase over the year-ago month. Load factor remained at 90%.
Lufthansa said yesterday that it has no plans to exercise its right to buy back shares as foreign control of the German flag carrier exceeded 40% for the first time. Under European law, a company would forfeit its operating license and rights to fly to destinations outside Europe if foreign shareholders hold the majority of its capital, Lufthansa said.
Boeing and SIA Engineering Co. said this week they have reached an agreement under which the MRO operator will participate in the manufacturer's Integrated Materials Management program. Using IMM, Boeing and other suppliers will own aircraft parts that will be stored at SIAEC's main maintenance base until needed. SIAEC will pay for the parts as it uses them, reducing inventory holding costs.
Swissport International acquired Japanese ground handling company ShinMaywa Ground Services from ShinMaywa Industries for an undisclosed price. SGS provides handling and line maintenance at Osaka Kansai, Tokyo Narita, Fukuoka and Nagoya, employing approximately 170 and generating some CHF11 million ($9 million) in annual operating revenue.
HNA Group, parent of Hainan Airlines, is negotiating to buy a stake in Hong Kong Express Airways, according to press reports. HKE, formerly Helicopters Hong Kong, was launched in 1997 and provided regular helicopter services between Hong Kong, Macao and the Pearl River Delta region. Last year it re-launched as Hong Kong Express with four Embraer 170s operating to five Chinese mainland cities. The move by HNA follows its ongoing negotiations to acquire up to 60% of Hong Kong's CR Airways.
Continental Airlines yesterday converted 12 existing firm orders for 737NGs to 737-900ERs, becoming the first US carrier to order the type. The aircraft are slated for delivery in 2008. "These new planes will have among the lowest operating costs in our fleet, allowing us to serve high-demand markets more efficiently," Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner said.
SkyWest Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $39.3 million, up 58.5% compared to $24.8 million in the same period a year ago. Operating revenues increased a whopping 105.8% to $790.4 million and operating income doubled to $89.6 million from $44.5 million during the second quarter of 2005.
Revenues, traffic, yields and load factor all rose at Iberia in the second quarter but not as fast as costs, which outstripped the carrier's operational progress and reduced its three-month profit to €35.7 million ($45.6 million), down 21.2% from earnings of €45.3 million in the year-ago quarter.
Continental Airlines said its June consolidated RASM increased 11% year-over-year and that it estimated the July figure to rise 9%-10% over the year-ago month. CO flew 8.74 billion RPMs in July, up 10.8%. Capacity increased 8.9% to 10.24 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1.5 points to 85.4%, matching its July record. Domestic RPMs were up 6.9% to 4.06 billion against a 5.9% gain in ASMs to 4.65 billion, lifting load factor 0.8 point to 87.3%.
World Air Holdings, parent of World Airways and North American Airlines, reported first-quarter net income of $3.5 million, a drop from net income of $9.9 million in the first quarter of 2005. The company, which finally reported its full-year 2005 earnings last month ( ATWOnline, July 11), continues to play catch-up with its financial reporting. Delays in filing required financial reports led to its de-listing by Nasdaq.
WestJet reported second-quarter net income of C$22.4 million ($19.8 million), widened from net income of C$2.3 million in the year-ago quarter, on a 30.3% rise in revenues to C$425 million.
Republic Airways Holdings, parent of Republic Airlines, Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America, enjoyed a 51.2% surge in net income during the second quarter to $20.3 million compared to a profit of $13.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The company said significant capacity increases helped drive a 33.3% gain in revenue to $284.3 million. Expenses rose 30% to $231.8 million and operating profit jumped 50.3% to $52.6 million. Since June 30, 2005, Republic has placed 48 Embraer 170s into service and removed seven ERJ-145s and 10 Saab turboprops.
ExpressJet Airlines reported second-quarter income of $23.3 million, a 4% drop from the year-ago period. Revenue increased nearly 8% to $419.4 million, expenses were up 10.2% to $383.8 million and operating income was $35.6 million, an 11.5% decrease. CEO Jim Ream attributed the decline to expenses related to the redeployment of 69 Embraer RJs dropped by Continental Airlines ( ATWOnline, May 8) and "challenging weather" in the Northeast.
ICAO Council President Assad Kotaite retired Monday and was replaced by Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez of Mexico, who will finish the final year of Kotaite's three-year term ( ATWOnline, March 6). ICAO Secretary General Taieb Cherif also started his second three-year term.
Latin American Air Transport Assn. said yesterday that its member airlines reported a combined net loss of $141 million for full-year 2005. Consolidated revenues increased 20.4% to $16 billion as overall RPKs grew 12.1% on an 8.1% rise in capacity. Load factor increased 2.5 points to 70%.
FedEx yesterday extended its contract with the US Postal Service to provide domestic airport-to-airport carriage of mail aboard its aircraft. The new seven-year deal replaces the last two years of a seven-year agreement reached in 2001 and runs through 2013. FedEx predicted the contract, which calls for it to fly more than 4 million lb. of mail daily, will generate $8 billion in revenue over the seven-year period.
A one-time gain from the sale of property in Singapore and record traffic helped lift Singapore Airlines Group to a S$575.1 million ($364.3 million) profit in the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, more than double the S$234.6 million earned in the year-ago period.
CSA Czech Airlines flew 2.5 million passengers in the first six months of 2006, an increase of 6% over the year-ago period. The carrier credited increased service to Russia.
Air China secured approval last week from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for the sale of up to 2.7 billion shares, or 28.6% of its existing share capital, on the Shanghai stock exchange. The airline said it is in the process of conducting a required preliminary price consultation to determine the exact number of shares to be issued as well as an offer price. An Air China official previously told reporters the carrier plans to raise CNY8 billion ($1 billion) through the sale ( ATWOnline, June 15).
Austrian Airlines Group will launch a wholly owned subsidiary that will offer third-party MRO work at its 1,200-employee maintenance facility. "Our primary goal is to make better use of our quite expensive resources at the base in Vienna," CEO Alfred Oetsch told ATWOnline. Currently, AAG is doing work for Lufthansa and a few other carriers. Oetsch said Austrian Technik can compete in the tough MRO business. Further details about the project will be available in September.
