Gulf Air's remaining shareholders, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman, have agreed to a recapitalization of the airline that will permit fleet renewal following the withdrawal of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi as an investor ( ATWOnline, Sept. 14, 2005). The announcement was made in Oman yesterday by Gulf Air President and Chief Executive James Hogan at the conclusion of a board of directors meeting.
Former AMR Corp. Chairman and CEO Donald Carty was named chairman of startup Virgin America, which plans to launch US service this year. Carty served as chairman and CEO of AMR Corp. from 1998 to April 2003 before being forced to resign following disclosure of the existence of special compensation packages for top AMR executives at a time when other employees were being asked to take pay and benefit reductions. "I've known Don for many years, and he knows the airline business," said Virgin America CEO Fred Reid. "We feel fortunate to have someone with his expertise as our chairman."
Qantas is considering acquiring a share of Indonesian budget carrier Adam Air to strengthen its position in the high-growth Southeast Asia market. Adam Air CEO Gunawan Suherman confirmed that Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon and CFO Peter Gregg were in Jakarta last Friday to discuss the acquisition of 20%-30% of the operation. According to Gunawan, Qantas is planning to establish Jakarta as a second Asian hub after Singapore. Adam Air began flying in December 2002 with 737s and currently operates 20 aircraft to 39 destinations, including Malaysia and Singapore.
Gulf Air secured a $75 million syndicated loan that it will use to continue funding near-term development following its restructuring in the wake of the withdrawal of Abu Dhabi as a shareholder.
Ryanair posted an adjusted net profit of €36.8 million ($44.2 million) for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, an increase of 6% over the €34.8 million earned in the year-ago period, as passenger boardings grew 26% from 6.9 million to 8.6 million.
Soaring fuel costs, "adverse publicity" over recent safety-related operational events and declining demand on services to China resulting from lingering feelings about anti-Japanese protests in April all factored into another rough quarter for Japan Airlines, which reported an ¥11 billion ($92.5 million) loss for the three-month period ended Dec. 31, up from a loss of ¥3.7 billion in the previous year's third fiscal quarter.
American Airlines reported a 4.4% rise in January RPMs to 11.03 billion and a 1.9% increase in year-over-year capacity to 14.69 billion ASMs. Load factor climbed 1.8 points to 75.1%. Domestic traffic grew 3.5% to 7.19 billion RPMs as capacity dipped 0.1% to 9.48 billion ASMs and load factor rose 2.6 points to 75.8%.
Name and initial plans for a new Saudi Arabian low-fare airline announced last December and backed by Prince Bandar bin Khalid al Faisal as chairman were unveiled Sunday. The carrier, named Sama, will begin flying this summer with 737-300s. It will operate domestically initially and eventually expand to other destinations in the Middle East. CEO is Andrew Cowen, who was finance director of Go Fly prior to its takeover by easyJet and spent 10 years at British Airways before being seconded to Go. He also participated in the management buyout of Go from BA.
After reporting a net earnings decline in its second fiscal quarter, British Airways rebounded in the third quarter ended Dec. 31 thanks to increased premium traffic and a reduction in unit costs, posting a profit after tax of £123 million ($218.4 million), a 4.2% gain over the £118 million earned in the year-ago quarter.
MTU Aero Engines said MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg received EASA and FAA approval to maintain GE CF34-8 engines powering 70-90 Embraer and Bombardier regional jets and larger business jets. MTU already maintains the CF34-3.
The US Dept. of Transportation said in its "Air Travel Consumer Report" that domestic airline operational performance as measured by delays, mishandled baggage and customer complaints worsened in 2005. The 20 reporting US carriers posted an ontime arrival rate of 77.4% last year, down from 78.1% in 2004. Reports of mishandled baggage rose to 6.04 per 1,000 passengers compared to 4.91 in the previous year. Consumer complaints rose 17.2% to 8,735.
Bulgaria's government again approved a plan to privatize flag carrier Bulgaria Air ahead of opening its skies to EU airlines later this year. According to Reuters, the country will offer up to 99.99% of the carrier. The privatization has had a number of false starts. Reuters reported that SAS, Austrian Airlines and Air One expressed interest. However, Austrian CEO Vagn Soerensen previously told ATWOnline that his interest in Bulgaria Air is sinking because talks have gone on for too long and the valuation is too high.
Styrian Spirit will codeshare with Air Berlin on the Graz-Berlin route. "We also plan a new, much simpler fare structure," CEO Andreas Roesslhuber told ATWOnline. Codeshare flights may follow on the Graz-Stuttgart route. Styrian also plans to introduce daily Graz-Paris services. Additionally, the Austrian Regional is looking at renewing its fleet. It currently operates three CRJ200s and one CRJ700 and is looking for a fleet mix of three Q400s and two CRJ700s. It takes delivery of a new CRJ900 in May.
Gol unveiled Brazil's first pre-paid cargo transport service Friday. Gollog Prepaid is accessible online and allows customers to transport shipments weighing up to 1 kg. to any domestic destination at a single price.
Sterling, Europe's fourth-largest LCC, transported 2.7 million passengers in 2005 at a load factor of 77.3%. The carrier's September merger with Maersk Air renders year-over-year comparisons less meaningful. "Sterling's goal for 2006 is to consolidate the route network to strengthen its position. Sterling is also expected to show a profit in 2006 and that will be achieved by the turnaround we are undergoing now in connection with our corporate integration," Communications Manager Niels Brix said.
Northern Air Cargo of Alaska has been sold to Saltchuk Resources, a private US holding company. The purchase includes NAC's subsidiaries and its Fairbanks airport facility, among other items.
Northwest Airlines and its unions sparred in court for an eighth day Friday over the bankrupt carrier's request for permission to terminate labor contracts covering its pilot and flight attendant workforces and impose new terms and conditions. A spokesperson for the Professional Flight Attendants Assn. told the Associated Press that the union offered to reduce its pay by 22.5% and accept the elimination of 1,553 jobs through voluntary severance agreements. NWA wants to hire 800 non-US flight attendants, replacing 30% of cabin staff, to be domiciled in Asia.
Helvetic Airways, a Swiss low-fare airline, named former pilot Bruno Dobler CEO. He succeeds Peter Pfister, who will remain with the company as a member of the board of directors. Helvetic commenced operations in 2003 and operates four F100s.
Continental Airlines flew 6.63 billion RPMs in January, a rise of 13% over the year-ago month. Consolidated capacity climbed 12.2% to 8.72 billion ASMs. Load factor rose just 0.5 point to 75.9% as a 16.1% increase in international capacity, including a 21.4% hike in transatlantic capacity, dropped international load factor 2.2 points to 74.2%. Domestic load factor improved 2.2 points to 78.3%. Cargo traffic fell 1.4% to 80.3 million RTMs. CO's estimated January RASM rose 4.5%-5.5% over the year-ago month.
Qantas opened a new MRO facility at Los Angeles International Airport. The Australian carrier is the largest international operator at LAX. Qantas, which expects to begin the first A380 flights to the US in 2007, will use the facility as a base for full-service maintenance and engineering, including A checks on 747s. It will employ in excess of 80 service technicians.
Engine Lease Finance Corp. and Frankfurt-based DVD Bank agreed to co-invest in a package of 13 commercial aircraft engines acquired from the ELF portfolio through a new venture, Deucalion Engine Leasing (Ireland) Ltd. The portfolio, valued at $50 million, comprises three CF6-80s, three CFM56s, three V2500s, one AE3007, two JT8D-20s and one PW4000. Engines are leased out to 10 different airlines with lease termination dates ranging from 2006 to 2013.
Lufthansa Systems announced that Italian charter airline Eurofly opted for Lido RouteManual electronically generated navigation charts. In addition, it will rely on the Lido Operations Center for route planning and the FMS Flight Management Navigation Database Service LHS.
ANA and Interjet, a Mexican startup, each concluded CFM56-5B deals yesterday. ANA selected the engine to power five A320-200s in an order valued at $60 million. The aircraft, three of which were ordered last year and two of which will be leased ( ATWOnline, Jan. 30) are scheduled for delivery beginning in 2007. ANA already operates 28 CFM-powered A320-200s. Interjet's engine deal for its order of 10 A320s ( ATWOnline, Nov. 8, 2005) is valued at $120 million at list prices. The carrier also holds 10 A320 options.
Air New Zealand is poised to launch an aggressive growth phase as it nears completion of the makeover of its international product. According to CEO Rob Fyfe, the airline's eight 747-400s will be re-configured by June when ANZ will ramp up promotion of its new interior, which will offer 34-in. seat pitch in economy and 39-in. pitch in Premium Economy, along with the industry's longest (6 ft., 7.5 in.) flat bed in Business Premier. A major plank of the growth strategy is the 777-200ER. ANZ has three in service with a further five to be delivered this year.
