Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, reported net income of $55.5 million for the second quarter ended June 30, more than triple the net income of $17.4 million in the year-ago quarter, strong results that the company attributed to "a combination of revenue gains and cost improvements." Group operating revenues grew 15.4% to $873 million while expenses climbed 10.1% to $792.9 million. Operating income more than doubled to $80.1 million from $36.6 million last year.
LAN Airlines flew 1.37 billion RPKs in June, a 6.4% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 8.2% to 2 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 1.2 points to 68.6%. TAM flew 1.57 billion domestic RPKs in June, a 45.6% increase over the year-ago month. Domestic capacity rose 21% to 2 billion ASKs and load factor increased 13.2 points to 78.5%. International RPKs grew 51.9% to 540 million as ASKs climbed 40.4% to 718 million and load factor went up 5.7 points to 75.1%.
Delta Air Lines named Atlanta attorney Michael Campbell executive VP-human resources and labor relations. Eastern Caribbean Airlines, a subsidiary of Viva International, named Pedro Maldonado director-operations and Jesus Rodriguez-Pazo chief pilot.
Comair of South Africa said it will sell a 16.1% stake to a consortium of black investors, Thelo Group, for approximately ZAR130 million ($18.5 million) as part of the country's Black Economic Empowerment program, according to press reports. The sale involves both the issuance of a new class of A shares and a cash purchase of existing shares.
After two consecutive quarters in the red, JetBlue Airways announced a return to profitability yesterday with net earnings of $14 million during the three months ended June 30, an increase of just 7.7% over the $13 million profit in the year-ago quarter but a performance that represented "a definite step in the right direction," according to Chairman and CEO David Neeleman. "Our comprehensive and ongoing plan has become a new way of doing business at JetBlue," Neeleman added.
Austrian Airlines Group announced its half-year financial results yesterday and revealed that it will not achieve a balanced adjusted EBIT this year as planned owing to "continued high kerosene prices that exceed our budgetary assumptions, already set high as a precautionary measure, and because of the negative consequences of the capacity bottlenecks that have emerged at Austrian air traffic control since spring," according to CEO Alfred Oetsch.
Swiss International Air Lines and the Aeropers pilots union agreed on the principles of a new three-year labor agreement that will become effective Nov. 1 if approved. The pilots had threatened a strike after the previous accord expired earlier this month ( ATWOnline, July 6). The parties agreed not to reveal details of the deal until it has been submitted to union members for approval.
Republic Airlines reached a purchase agreement for 30 Embraer 175s, expanding its existing service contract with US Airways and making it the US launch customer for the 86-seat jet. The Regional currently operates 28 170s for US Airways. The 175s, which will be delivered in 2007 and 2008, will be operated under a 12-year capacity purchase contract that stipulates US will continue to supply fuel at no cost to its partner. Republic Airlines is a subsidiary of Republic Airways, the US launch customer for the 170 with 106 firm orders and 75 options for 170s/175s.
US air express revenues reached a record $31.3 billion in 2005, a 4.7% increase over 2004, but traffic remained flat, according to an industry study released last week.
S7 Airlines will use an A310-200 on its services to and from Yakutsk following the resolution of operational issues at the airport. It has been using Tu-154s. Also, S7 will place its code on 10-times-weekly flights between Moscow Domodedovo and Chisinau operated by Air Moldova aboard A320s.
Singapore Airlines flew 7.38 billion RPKs in June, an 8.5% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.1% to 9.24 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 4.7 points to 79.9%. Hawaiian Airlines flew 575.5 million RPMs in June, a 1.1% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.2% to 661.4 million ASMs and load factor climbed 0.8 point to 87%. Air Berlin transported 1.5 million passengers in June, a 14.9% increase over the year-ago month. Load factor rose 4.3 points to 84.5%.
SkyEurope Airlines will begin thrice-weekly Salzburg-Paris Orly service on Sept. 15. Innsbruck-Orly service will be discontinued. Also, SkyEurope took delivery of its fifth 737-700 last month. It will be based in Krakow. The airline flew 283,388 passengers in June, a 36.3% increase over the year-ago month. Load factor plunged 9.6 points to 77.6%. The drop "reflects a significant reduction in the proportion of nonscheduled services, which are accounted as fully booked flights," SkyEurope said.
Continental Airlines on Friday officially selected Chautauqua Airlines to provide and operate 44 regional jets as a Continental Express carrier beginning in 2007, filling a void created earlier this year when the Major failed to reach agreement with ExpressJet on a new capacity purchase deal to keep the Regional's 69 aircraft flying under the CO code.
Demand that outpaced capacity, floundering competition and effective cost and fuel management resulted in another good quarter for Gol, which finished the three months ended June 30 with a net income of BRL106.7 million ($48.8 million), an increase of 45.4% over the BRL73.4 million earned in the second quarter of 2005.
Embattled Airbus ended the Farnborough Airshow on a high note, announcing Friday that Singapore Airlines signed a letter of intent for up to 40 A350-900 XWBs and up to 15 A380s, for which SIA is the launch customer. The LOI covers 20 firm plus 20 options for the A350 XWB and nine new orders for the A380 plus six new options. The A350s will be delivered in 2012 and as an interim measure SIA will lease 19 A330-300s for delivery in 2009-10. The first of the newly ordered A380s will be delivered in mid-2008.
SAS Group airlines flew 3.66 billion RPKs in June, a 7.1% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.3% to 4.78 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.7 points to 76.6%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 2.6 billion RPKs, a 0.5% decline, against a 2.4% fall in capacity to 3.26 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 1.5 points to 79.9%.
Caribbean Star Airlines and Caribbean Sun Airlines announced cost-cutting initiatives including the retirement of two leased Dash 8-100s and suspension of Sun service to St. Croix, St. Thomas and Santiago and Star flights to Anguilla as of Sept. 11. Sun will continue to fly to the Dominican Republic with a new four-times-daily San Juan-Santo Domingo service launched last week.
Comair was granted permission Friday by the US Bankruptcy Court to void the labor agreement with its approximately 1,000 cabin staff and impose a reduced $7.9 million in annual concessions. The airline submitted a second request for relief following the breakdown of negotiations last month ( ATWOnline, June 28).
Saab Aerostructures was awarded a renewed, $60 million contract by Airbus UK to supply ailerons for A320 family aircraft. Saab has delivered more than 1,000 units since 2000.
China Eastern Airlines confirmed Friday it is in talks with several potential foreign investors including Singapore Airlines, according to press reports. Reuters reported that the carrier is considering selling at least a 20% stake, which would be worth approximately $260 million.
ST Aerospace completed the transfer of Airline Rotables of the UK to SAS Component for $22.5 million. The consideration comes by way of issuance of new shares in SAS Component to STA. The transaction was announced in December as part of ST's acquisition of 67% of SAS Component ( ATWOnline, Dec. 16, 2005). It now holds 71.3%.
Futura International Airways of Palma de Mallorca ordered three 737-800s plus three purchase rights, Boeing announced Friday. The three firm aircraft are worth about $210 million at list prices and are scheduled for delivery in 2009 and 2010. Futura, owned in part by Spanish equity firm Corpfin Capital (65%) and Aer Lingus (20%), operates 11 dash 800s and 13 other 737 family aircraft.
MAXjet Airways took delivery of its third 767 and reported that it carried around 3,950 passengers from New York JFK to London Stansted in May, achieving a load factor of 72%. The all-business-class carrier will add a fourth aircraft this year and a third US city to its network. It also serves Washington Dulles five times weekly.
