AirTran Airways announced the promotion of Director-Corporate Finance Arne Haak to VP-finance and treasurer and Director-Engineering Kirk Thornburg to VP-maintenance and engineering. Gulf Air named Rajeev Nambiar GM for India operations.
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft said it had "done well" in 2005 as it secured new business worth more than $320 million despite a highly competitive regional aircraft marketplace. The company concluded lease transactions in its BAe 146/Avro RJ and ATP portfolios for 68 aircraft, business worth just under $230 million. A further 28 aircraft were the subject of other financial transactions. The Jetstream 32 and 41 portfolios resulted in $12 million in business.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Alitalia each began returning to normal operations yesterday following several days of strikes. An SAS spokesperson told ATWOnline that the airline cancelled 500 flights between Monday and Wednesday when 200 pilots from SAS Denmark staged a strike and 80 pilots from SAS Braathens in Norway called in sick. Although the Norway group remained sick on Thursday, SAS was operating most of its schedule; through mid-afternoon it had cancelled 26 flights in Denmark and 47 in Norway.
WestJet is investing up to $30 million to develop a reservation system and other new technology that will enable it to begin codeshare operations with other carriers as early as 2007, CEO Clive Beddoe said yesterday at the Raymond James Growth Airline Conference in New York. "We see it as a growth opportunity for us," Beddoe told ATWOnline. Air Canada "has abandoned" a large numbers of carriers because of its relationship with Star Alliance, he added. Several airlines, including legacy carriers and LCCs, have expressed interest in a codeshare partnership with WestJet.
Ryanair yesterday said it will begin charging for checked baggage but that a 9% across-the-board fare reduction will offset the new fee for many customers who avail themselves of the ability to check in for their flights online. Although the carrier long has talked about charging passengers to check luggage, FlyBE beat it to the punch last month ( ATWOnline, Dec. 20).
Alitalia suffered a sixth day of strikes Wednesday as unrest continued over its restructuring and the sale of the majority of ground services arm AZ Services to Fintecna. Union leaders met with government ministers yesterday afternoon and presented a document claiming Alitalia is uncompetitive, does not possess a strategic industrial plan and is under poor management, according to La Stampa.
Mesa Air Group posted a $13 million net profit in the first fiscal quarter ending Dec. 31, a 6.4% decline from $13.9 million earned in the year-ago quarter. The drop occurred despite a 22.2% rise in operating revenue to $323.6 million, which the carrier attributed to the addition of 13 regional jets to its fleet during calendar 2005. Expenses climbed 24.6% to $294.8 million, driven by a 56.2% hike in fuel costs to $104.8 million. Operating income rose just 1.8% to $28.8 million.
Three unions representing American Airlines employees--the Allied Pilots Assn., the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants and the Transport Workers Union--each filed presidential grievances yesterday protesting the cash bonuses that around 1,000 members of management are set to receive in April under the carrier's Performance Unite Plan, which links the payments to stock performance. The unions contend the bonuses are a violation of their collective bargaining agreements and also occurred despite that fact that American parent AMR Corp. lost $861 million last year.
ACE Aviation Holdings, parent of Air Canada and Jazz, moved forward Tuesday with previously announced plans for a partial sale of its Regional airline subsidiary ( ATWOnline, Nov. 29). Under an agreement between Jazz Air Income Fund and a group of underwriters, 23.5 million units of the fund will be sold at a price of $10 per unit, representing 19.1% of the airline. Based on the unit price, gross proceeds to ACE will total C$235 million before overallotments.
Garuda Indonesia told a parliamentary commission it lost IDR672 billion ($70.7 million) in 2005, a narrowing of 17.1% from its 2004 losses, according to AFP. The carrier said the slight improvement came as cost cuts were offset by rising fuel prices and continued fallout from the Bali terrorist bombings, which ate into earnings by an estimated $14.7 million, according to an airline spokesperson cited by AFP. Garuda reportedly missed a $55 million debt repayment in December and remains $1.2 billion in the red.
Scandinavian Airlines Group said recently discovered financial reporting errors at its Spanair subsidiary related to improper accounting of certain revenues and costs will result in a charge against earnings at Spanair of SEK80 million ($10.6 million) for the 2005 fourth quarter. The SAS subsidiary still is expected to show a profit for the quarter and the corrections will not affect SAS Group's full-year outlook, the company stated. SAS also will restate results for the 2002-04 period with a negative impact of SEK340 million.
ExpressJet Holdings, a Regional partner of Continental Airlines, reported yesterday a 20.2% drop in annual net profit from $122.8 million in 2004 to $98 million in 2005, a year that concluded with CO's unexpected December decision to eliminate 44 ERJ-145XRs and 25 ERJ-145LRs--25% of the ExpressJet fleet--from its capacity purchase agreement ( ATWOnline, Jan. 4).
Eos, a New York-based all-premium airline, is participating in the Sabre GDS. Eos operates 757s configured for 48 seats on services between New York JFK and London Stansted.
AirTran Airways posted a narrow fourth-quarter loss of $0.4 million but managed to stay in the black for the seventh consecutive year, earning $2.7 million in 2005 in spite of a 91% rise in fuel expenses. The carrier earned $1.13 million in the fourth quarter of 2004 and posted full-year earnings of $12.3 million.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. will list its new stock issue on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol UAUA beginning in early February. The company will begin issuing up to 125 million shares of common stock as part of its reorganization plan, most of which will go to creditors.
Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp. said Malaysia Airlines will equip its Thales A380 simulators with E&S's EP-1000CT visual system. Emirates, Qantas and Singapore Airlines also recently placed orders for the system. E&S signed a deal with CAE to produce an EP-1000CT/ESCP-2000 system for an Embraer 170 simulator ordered by Saudi Arabian Airlines.
FedEx Express signed an agreement to acquire Tianjin Datian W. Group's 50% stake in the FedEx-DTW International Priority express joint venture plus DTW's Chinese express network comprising 89 locations for $400 million. The JV, launched in 1999, now will be a wholly owned FedEx subsidiary. The deal also includes DTW assets used to perform IP services. DTW will continue to operate international freight forwarding, general cargo transport and merchandise distribution businesses.
Unionized employees at Mesaba Airlines, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, are protesting the bankrupt company's proposal to reward its management team with some $2.2 million in bonuses. The carrier filed a motion in bankruptcy court seeking permission to pay bonuses worth up to 60% of executive base pay and to issue stock appreciation rights to top officers and directors. Mesaba, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in October, operates as a Regional codeshare partner of Northwest Airlines.
China Airlines will retrofit Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets to 11 737-800s. Work at the carrier's MRO facility in Taipei will commence in March and be completed by year end.
News from Travel Technology Update: AirTran, which dropped out of Worldspan in November because the two companies could not come to terms on the cost of participation, is back in the GDS with a new multiyear, full content agreement, effect Jan. 24. The carrier is distributing inventory, availability and fares through Worldspan at a level of participation called Limited Connect, which is below Worldspan's Full Service level. Worldspan said Limited Connect is designed to meet the distribution needs of carriers that require limited functionality
Royal Air Maroc announced creation of an A320 and 737 MRO subsidiary called Aerotechnic Industries to be based at Marrakech-Menara. RAM's initial investment of MAD70 million ($7.5 million) will be directed largely toward the construction of an 11,000-sq.-m. hangar with room for two aircraft.
Aer Lingus will order four A330s for delivery beginning later this year, according to sources at the carrier, possibly indicating it will favor the A350 over the 787 for its upcoming fleet expansion. It has a need for up to 12 A350-type aircraft. The deal is worth $400 million, according to media reports.
Chinese airlines reported robust growth in passengers and cargo for 2005 thanks to surging traffic, and in the case of China Eastern and China Southern the gains from mergers completed last year. Air China reported a 13% increase in passengers to 27.7 million while cargo jumped 10.2% to 732,818 tonnes. China Eastern saw a 37% leap in passengers to 24.3 million and a 14% rise in cargo to 755,010 tonnes. China Southern also had impressive numbers as passenger totals jumped 56.4% to 44.10 million and cargo climbed 42.1% to 774,550 tonnes.
Murray Air Certifications announced it completed Virgin America's operating manuals process and assisted it in its effort to become a US FAA-certified FAR 121 carrier.
