Mesaba Airlines mechanics, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn., followed the lead of the carrier's pilots union by setting up strike headquarters. Union groups representing pilots, mechanics and flight attendants are at an impasse with the carrier over its effort to cancel labor contracts ( ATWOnline, Feb. 7). A bankruptcy court judge is scheduled to rule May 11.
Northwest Airlines flew 6.04 billion RPMs in April, a 4.6% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 8.8% to 7.12 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 3.7 points to 84.9%. Domestic traffic dropped 5.7% to 3.58 billion RPMs as capacity decreased 12% to 4.25 billion ASMs, sending load factor up 5.6 points to 84.3%. International RPMs lowered 3% to 2.46 billion while capacity fell 3.8% to 2.87 billion ASMs. Load factor inched up 0.7 point to 85.9%. United Airlines flew 9.81 billion RPMs in April, an 8.4% rise over the year-ago month.
ExpressJet announced Friday that it will retain 69 regional jets removed from its capacity purchase agreement with Continental Airlines and use them to "pursue various strategic options outside the...agreement." Continental notified its largest Regional partner in January that the aircraft--25 ERJ-145LRs and 44 ERJ-145XRs--would be taken out of the Continental Express network after the two sides failed to reach a financial agreement on their continued deployment.
TAM's first-quarter net income soared 107.9% compared to the year-ago period to R$111.2 million ($53.6 million) on a 24.6% rise in revenues to R$1.7 billion. Brazil's leading airline said the addition of four A320s and two A330s facilitated an expansion of services that increased revenue-generating opportunities, while costs were lowered by upping fleetwide aircraft utilization from 10.6 to 12.4 average block hr. per day.
Air Berlin late Thursday delayed the launch of its IPO, scheduled for Friday, owing to the market's concern over the share price, according to press reports. AB reportedly was asking for €15-€17.5 ($19-$22.10) per share. The IPO now is planned for May 10 with 42.5 million shares priced at €11.5-€14.5, with AB hoping to generate €489-€616 million.
Armavia said yesterday that the A320 that crashed into the Black Sea off the Russian coast Wednesday had undergone all proper maintenance checks, including an overhaul in Belgium last month ( ATWOnline, May 4). Rescue workers continued to search the sea for debris and clues to the cause of an accident that killed all 113 aboard. The black box has not been retrieved from the aircraft, which sits 500 m. below the water surface, according to Russian media reports. Heavy rain and low visibility have been offered as the accident's cause by the airline and Airbus.
Avion Group said its new Germany-based carrier, Star Europe, will start flying this summer from Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne and Stuttgart to unspecified destinations in Eastern and Southern Europe and the Middle East. It initially will operate three A320s with plans for additional aircraft in the future. Martin Greiffenhagen was appointed CEO. "There are significant opportunities to develop a strong market presence and we look forward to an exciting future for this operation," Avion Executive Chairman Magnus Thorsteinsson said.
FedEx Express unveiled an expansion plan for its Indianapolis hub yesterday that includes construction of up to 14 widebody gates. The project will boost its processing capacity at the airport by 30% to 99,000 packages per hr. and is expected to be completed by late 2008. As part of its agreement with IND, FedEx extended its lease by 12 years to 2028. Indianapolis Airport Authority will fund, construct and lease back to FedEx five widebody gates by December, with options for nine more. Construction on the initial five will begin this month.
SAS Group reported a 2006 first-period loss of SEK1.06 billion ($144.4 million), marginally worse than last year's deficit of SEK971 million in the March 2005 quarter. Group loss before capital gains and nonrecurring items remained virtually flat at SEK1.32 billion. Parent company operating revenues rose 11.1% to SEK14.47 billion while operating loss widened to SEK1.16 billion from SEK1.05 billion. Group airlines transported 8.5 million passengers in the quarter, up 8%, while average load factor for the carriers climbed 5.4 points to 66.6%.
Delta Air Lines flew 9.42 billion consolidated RPMs in April, a 5.9% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 7.3% to 12.15 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1.2 points to 77.6%. Domestic traffic decreased 11.6% to 6.86 billion RPMs against a 13.5% drop in capacity to 8.88 billion ASMs, raising load factor 1.6 points to 77.2%. International traffic rose 13.9% to 2.56 billion RPMs, capacity climbed 15.1% to 3.27 billion ASMs and load factor fell 0.8 point to 78.5%. Ryanair transported 3.4 million passengers in April, a 29% increase over the year-ago month.
Niki plans to start using Vienna Airport as a hub early next year when the Austrian LCC launches daily flights to Moscow. "Air Berlin will feed us with flights from six German destinations to Vienna and on to Moscow. This is just the beginning for us to Eastern Europe," founder Niki Lauda told ATWOnline in Palma de Mallorca. Air Berlin owns a 24% stake in Niki, which soon will decide which Moscow airport it will serve. Lauda said his airline is considering other Eastern European destinations, including St.
Korean Air credited rising passenger and cargo demand and a strong won for an impressive first quarter during which it more than doubled its net profit to KRW127 billion ($134 million) from the KRW59 billion earned in the quarter ended March 31, 2005. "The operating environment in the first quarter of 2006 was not without challenges," President Jong-Hee Lee said. "Fuel costs remained at a high level, yet we were able to offset these and keep the increase in operating expenses at a reasonable level by lowering maintenance and rental expenses."
Northwest Airlines pilots ratified the Restructuring Tentative Agreement reached with the carrier in March by a 63.4% to 36.6% margin, the Air Line Pilots Assn. said yesterday. By the time voting closed at 10 a.m., 4,554 of 4,801 eligible pilots had cast ballots, with 2,888 voting in favor and 1,666 voting in opposition. The 5.5-year deal will reduce NWA's pilot costs by $358 million.
SkyWest, parent of Regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, posted first-quarter net income of $34.6 million, an 84.3% increase over the $18.8 million earned in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenues rose 118.3% to $742.9 million as RPMs jumped 123.4% to 3.65 billion. Capacity increased 110.8% to 4.7 billion ASMs and load factor improved 4.4 points to 77.6%.
EasyJet posted a net loss of £28.9 million ($52.9 million) for the six months ended March 31, widened from the £15.4 million deficit in the year-ago period yet a figure that "encouraged" CEO Andy Harrison, who said "successful cost reduction and revenue improvements, especially in ancillaries, have largely offset the considerable hike in fuel prices and the effect of Easter moving from the first half in 2005 to the second half in 2006."
Continental Airlines and Orlando International Airport successfully completed testing of SITA's AirportConnect Open program, which allows airlines to use the same application software on common-use terminal workstations.
Thai Airways is to launch a new airline to compete with LCCs on regional routes to Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. According to the carrier's new president, Apinan Sumanaseni, who spoke to the Bangkok Post, the airline will be called Euarng Luang, which means Royal Orchid, and will be positioned differently from Nok Air, Thai Airways' own LCC, in that it will target the market between budget and premium.
Armavia A320 carrying 105 passengers and eight crew crashed early yesterday morning into the Black Sea about 3 mi. off the Russian coast near Sochi. All 113 aboard are believed dead as the result of the accident that occurred in what Airbus called "very poor weather conditions." The Armenian airliner coming from Yerevan reportedly missed its first approach into Sochi and was making a second approach when it lost contact with air traffic control and crashed at about 2:15 a.m. local time in a driving rainstorm.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings named William Flynn president and CEO. He will replace retiring Jeffrey Erickson on June 22. Flynn, formerly president and CEO of GeoLogistics, joins the parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo at a time of transition. Spokesperson Alan Caminiti confirmed to ATWOnline that Polar will retire four 747-200Fs, a dash 100F and a dash 300F by July 1, reducing its fleet of 11 freighters to five dash 400Fs that be joined by a sixth from Atlas Air's fleet.
United Airlines consolidated its airport operations and cargo divisions into one unit to be led by Senior VP-Cargo Scott Dolan. Senior VP-Airport Operations Larry De Shon will leave the airline and Alex Marren will assume the role of VP-operational services. Executive VP and COO Pete McDonald said the move will "further streamline United's operations" and drive down costs. Dolan, formerly COO of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, joined UA in 2004 and focused on lowering cargo operating costs as the carrier navigated through bankruptcy reorganization.
April featured record load factors and significant RASM increases for Continental Airlines. The carrier reported that its estimated consolidated RASM increased 12.5%-13.5% over the year-ago month, while mainline unit revenues rose an estimated 11.5%-12.5%. Consolidated March RASM grew 7.4% and mainline RASM was up 5.3%.
Volito Aviation Group purchased an A319-112 from Sachsen Landesbank. Aircraft is on lease to TAP Portugal through March 2012. PK AirFinance provided financing.
Frontier Airlines yesterday finalized its February deal with Airbus for six new A320s and the conversion of eight existing A319 orders into four A318s and four A320s ( ATWOnline, Feb. 24). The carrier also will acquire three additional A319s from leasing companies, Airbus announced.
Goodrich entered into an agreement to sell its Turbomachinery Products business to Turbo Machinery Products, a new company formed by California investment firm Admiralty Partners, for $83 million.
