"Robust" passenger and revenue growth lifted Emirates' half-year profit to $251 million, a 7% rise over the $236 million earned in the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2004. "Emirates has delivered an excellent half-year result despite the fact that fuel cost rose 84%," Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said in a statement. "This robust half-year performance reflects strong revenue growth and it also demonstrates the company's resilience and adaptability to new challenges in the operating environment."
ATA Holdings filed a motion in bankruptcy court last week seeking approval of an agreement with private equity fund MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities Partners II for debtor-in-possession financing of $30 million and an additional $70 million in equity upon ATA's emergence from Chapter 11. The carrier also is reviewing its codeshare agreements with Southwest Airlines.
ABX Air reported net earnings of $7.4 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, an improvement of 4.1% from $7.1 million in the year-ago period. The Ohio-based cargo airline, whose biggest customer is DHL, saw revenue increase 27.6% to $369.9 million and expenses climb 28.4% to $360.5 million. Year-to-date profit was $21.2 million, up from $18.9 million last year.
Lufthansa notified EU competition authorities of its agreement to acquire controlling voting interest in Eurowings, the carrier that includes LCC Germanwings. LH holds 49% of Eurowings and Albrecht Knauf, the airline's chairman, owns 51%. Under the agreement, an additional 1% plus one share would vote with Lufthansa.
OzJet, Australia's fourth domestic carrier, has begun selling tickets ahead of its Nov. 29 launch. The startup plans to operate an all-premium product using three 737-200s configured with only 60 seats with 40-in. pitch and fares lower than its rivals' economy rate. The launch price of A$325 ($238) each way undercuts Qantas's fully flexible economy rate by 10%-15% but it is higher than that of Virgin Blue. Flights from other cities, including Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth, will be added as OzJet builds its fleet to 10 aircraft.
News from Travel Technology Update: Two issues must be resolved before China can experience explosive growth in online travel, and neither is insurmountable, according to participants at TravelSky Technology Ltd.'s China Travel Distribution Future Forum 2005 in Beijing. The first is widespread implementation of electronic ticketing in what is expected to become the world's largest travel market. The second issue may prove more challenging: facilitating online payment for online purchases in a country in which credit cards are relatively scarce.
Finnair reported a net profit of €26.4 million ($30.86 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, an impressive 193.3% rise over year-ago profits of €9 million. The carrier was able to keep expenses in check--they rose just 9%--as turnover increased 13.4% from €415.6 million to €471.2 million. Operating profit doubled from €16.1 million to €32.1 million.
SpiceJet intends to go in for an $80 million foreign currency convertible bond issue in the coming days as it aims to raise funds to finance fleet expansion plans, Business Standard reported.
Timco Aviation Services selected Pittsburgh as the site for its new CFM56 engine maintenance center. The 75,000-sq.-ft. center is scheduled to commence operations in early 2006. It will offer off-wing MRO services on CFM56-3 series engines as well as on-wing support services for all CFM56 series.
Malaysia Airlines is in a difficult financial situation and will be cutting costs further, according to a staff memo sent by Chairman Munior Majid last week. "Our financial performance is precarious and has increasingly become a source for concern," Majid wrote, according to Reuters. "There is now a need to extend the scope of the cost reduction focus and put in place more aggressive measures." Senior managers will take a voluntary pay cut of 15%-30% beginning Dec. 1. In addition, MAS raised its fuel surcharge on long-haul routes by 38.9% to $50 one way effective today.
Three of JetBlue's four Embraer 190s are in service after a halting start last week, operating eight daily flights between Boston and New York. Initial service was provided by an A320 on Nov. 8 when certain parts were not where they needed to be, according to the carrier. By Nov. 10, service was provided exclusively by the 190s. "It wasn't a mechanical issue but having the right parts in the right places," said spokesperson Jenny Dervin. "It's a brand new aircraft. This is the very first time it was going into revenue service.
Delta Air Lines reported a net loss to common stockholders of $1.13 billion for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 compared to a loss of $651 million in the year-ago period. Current-period results are net of $607 million in reorganization items related to the carrier's Sept. 14 bankruptcy filing. Delta said that if special items are excluded from both periods, the 2005 loss was $438 million, narrowed from $592 million in 2004. "Our results for the third quarter show the challenges we continue to face," said CEO Gerald Grinstein.
Korean Air's third-quarter profit rose 80.6% to KRW154.2 billion ($148.1 million) compared to KRW85.4 billion in the year-ago period. Growth was driven partly by fuel surcharges that lifted domestic and international yield 15% and 17% respectively. "Despite increasing fuel costs, we were able to contain our overall operating expenses. In fact, we saw lower rent, labor and maintenance costs and were therefore able to report an improved profit margin," President Jonghee Lee said.
United Airlines will hire new flight attendants for the first time since 2001, the carrier said last week. It began accepting applications Sunday for 2,000 positions to be based in Chicago and Washington and will begin training in January. The openings are a result of a decision not to return by approximately half of the 5,500 voluntarily furloughed flight attendants. All of those who chose to return were back as of Oct. 31, a United spokesperson told ATWOnline.
Norwegian reported a third-quarter net profit of NOK43.8 million ($6.6 million), a reversal of fortune from the year-ago quarter when the Scandinavian LCC lost NOK11.2 million. Operating revenue surged 77.8% to NOK589.9 million as the carrier added two aircraft to its fleet and saw a 91% increase in RPKs year over year, a 51% capacity increase to 1.033 billion ASKs and a record 86% load factor, up 17 points. Operating expenses rose 53.4% to NOK526 million compared to NOK342.9 million in the 2004 quarter.
Alitalia's long-awaited rights issue aimed at financing its restructuring plan and saving it from bankruptcy will be launched today and run in stages through Dec. 2 ( ATWOnline, Nov. 9). The share issue is expected to raise €1.01 billion ($1.18 billion), around 17% below the carrier's original goal of €1.2 billion. The Italian state will subscribe to just under half the shares issued, worth €489.2 million, diluting its stake to below 50% from the current 62.3%.
Ryanair announced Friday a $1 billion commitment to its operations at Frankfurt Hahn, which will become the carrier's second-largest base behind London Stansted by 2012 at which point the Irish LCC said it expects to have 18 aircraft operating more than 50 routes from Hahn carrying 8 million passengers annually and creating more than 8,000 jobs. Ryanair will have a maintenance facility at the airport and also plans to provide a €12.5 million ($14.6 million) loan toward a new passenger terminal.
FLYi, parent of Independence Air, reached tentative agreements on labor cost reductions with its flight attendants, represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants, and its mechanics, represented by Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn., as the carrier worked through its first week of bankruptcy ( ATWOnline, Nov. 8).
SAS is eager to sell its 20% stake in bmi and pull out of the loss-making joint venture with the British carrier and Lufthansa on European routes, the Financial Times reported. In an interview with the newspaper, SAS Chief Executive Joergen Lindegaard conceded that the JV cost the carrier SEK1.5 billion (£182.1 million) in losses between 2000 and September this year. It expects a further loss from the venture of SEK450 million for the current year.
Delta Air Lines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., offered a set of "comprehensive" concessions Wednesday in anticipation of a Nov. 16 hearing on the carrier's request to void its 11-month-old contract. ALPA formed a strike committee last week in response to the airline's Section 1113 filing ( ATWOnline, Nov. 4). Details of the concessions were not disclosed. Delta asked the court to permit it impose pay and benefit cuts and work rule changes worth $325 million annually. Delta pilots took a 32% pay cut last year that is saving the company $1 billion.
BAE Systems' Jeteye commercial airliner anti-Manpads system made its first flight on an American Airlines 767 yesterday. BAE is participating in the US Dept. of Homeland Security's Counter-Manpads Program. Installation of the laser-based infrared countermeasures system was done in partnership with American Airlines Maintenance and Engineering Services. Global Security Associates was selected by MAXJet Airways to provide ground aircraft security at New York JFK.
Air Canada will introduce new seats across its entire fleet including installing lie-flat seatbeds in its international Executive First premium cabins beginning next spring. Seats, designed and manufactured by Contour Premium Aircraft Seating, will offer 6 ft. 3 in. of length in bed configuration and provide up to 31 in. of width at the shoulders. They will be separated by 43-in.-high privacy screens. Cabins will feature individual IFE units, in-seat power supplies and multiple storage areas.
Lufthansa Group yesterday confirmed third-quarter net earnings of €416 million ($490 million) after a breakeven first half ( ATWOnline, Nov. 10). Results were boosted by pre-tax gains of €180 million from the sale of LH's remaining shareholding in Amadeus and €107 million from the sale of its interest in Loyalty Partner. It earned €125 million in the third quarter of 2004.
British Airways signed an MOU with Tussauds Group for the sale of its entire interest in the British Airways London Eye including its one-third share and its outstanding loan for £95 million ($165.63 million). BA plans to continue its brand association with the attraction by extending its franchise agreement.
Cathay Pacific Airways reported October RPKs of 5.52 billion, a 10.8% rise over the year-ago month, and 7.23 billion ASKs, a 12.7% increase. Load factor dropped 1.3 points to 76.3%. The carrier said it hopes to launch daily service to Rome following the Hong Kong government's announcement that it has secured additional rights. Cathay currently flies to Rome five times weekly.
