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.
Austrian Airlines Group transported a record 10.1 million passengers in 2005, 7.6% more than in 2004. Yearly traffic in RPKs increased 7.6% to 22.8 billion, ASKs rose 5.7% to 30.8 billion and load factor improved 1.3 points to 74.1%.
Jet Airways' net profits fell 53% to INR610 million ($13.8 million) in the third fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, a "positive result," according to Executive Director Saroj Datta, who cited "industrywide capacity addition that was far in excess of demand growth," surging fuel costs that outstripped fare increases and operating losses on Jet's new international routes. The report came on the heels of the carrier's $500 million acquisition of Air Sahara, which will create the country's largest domestic airline ( ATWOnline, Jan. 20).
China Eastern Airlines will acquire five 50-seat ERJ-145LRs from Harbin Embraer to be delivered between November 2006 and June 2007. Harbin Embraer is a joint venture between Embraer and China Aviation Industry Corp. II.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines said it was forced to cancel hundreds of domestic and European flights from Copenhagen and Norway yesterday and this morning due to a strike by its Denmark-based pilots and a sickout by pilots at its SAS Braathens subsidiary. An announcement on Copenhagen Airport's website said "most flights" were called off and that passengers holding tickets for all but the "few flights" unaffected by the work stoppage were "advised not to come to the airport."
UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, received from the US Bankruptcy Court in Chicago the expected approval of its reorganization plan on Friday, positioning the company to emerge from more than three years of Chapter 11 protection early next month. UAL did not provide a specific exit date. Creditor distributions will commence shortly afterward, it said. The airline sought bankruptcy protection on Dec. 9, 2002, after it was turned down for a federally guaranteed loan by the Air Transportation Stabilization Board.
Qantas confirmed to ATWOnline last week that its evaluation of the 777-200LR is ongoing despite local media reports indicating it had been shelved. Qantas CFO Peter Gregg told this website that the 777-200LR is "definitely under serious evaluation," although he was coy on the finer details of the operational options under examination.
Southwest Airlines' board of directors authorized last week the repurchase of up to $300 million worth of common stock, which the carrier said represented approximately 17.9 million shares as of Jan. 18. It has about 804 million shares outstanding. Repurchased shares may be retired or used to fund the carrier's employee stock plans.
EasyJet's net profit for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 increased 38.5% to £59 million ($103.82 million) based on International Financial Reporting Standards, according to its annual report released Friday. In November, the airline reported a year-end profit of £42.6 million according to UK GAAP standards ( ATWOnline, Nov. 23). Turnover remained static at £1.34 billion. IFRS operating profit climbed 35.9% over the GAAP number to £66.2 million. Group Finance Director Jeff Carr called the changes "relatively minor in the current fiscal year and going forward."
Lufthansa said Friday that AirTrust AG, a joint venture between LH (49%) and the Almea Foundation of Switzerland (51%), completed its acquisition of Swiss International Air Lines ( ATWOnline, June 6, 2005) in a deal reportedly worth €310 million ($374.9 million). The delisting of Swiss shares will occur Jan. 27. Shareholders keeping Swiss shares in bank safe-custody accounts automatically will be compensated CHF8.96 ($6.98) per share, the same amount offered during the public purchase offer period.
Aeroflot reported 2005 traffic of 20.75 billion RPKs, an "average 1%-2% decline" from 2004 "mainly due to reducing passenger load as prices rose as a result of rocketing fuel prices." Passenger load factor was 69.1%. Cargo volume grew 1.4% to 2.74 billion RTKs. Separately, Aeroflot transferred its Paris CDG flights from Terminal 2B to Terminal 2C on Tuesday. Departure and arrival times are unchanged.
