Malaysia Airlines will consolidate its network and eliminate service to five cities in India and China as part of an effort "to contain its cost growth and improve performance," the carrier said yesterday. The announcement came nearly two months after Chairman Mohamed Munir Abdul Majid said MAS would "focus on significant short-term improvement initiatives and implement a longer-term plan to improve operating performance as well" in the wake of a MYR280.7 million ($74.5 million) second-period loss ( ATWOnline, Aug. 23)
Virgin Blue delivered a more upbeat earnings forecast for the recently completed financial year as it prepares to introduce a fresh strategy aimed at attracting more business-oriented premium traffic. In a brief statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, the budget airline said it is expecting a net profit of A$105 million ($78.5 million) for the year to last Sept. 30. While that is still A$54 million short of the previous year, it is considerably better than the August forecast of a fuel-based decline of A$90-A$100 million.
Horizon Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alaska Air Group, will add a dozen more 70-seat Q400s to its fleet. The only Regional airline in the US to operate the Q400, the carrier signed a contract with Bombardier that converts existing firm orders for seven CRJ700s to Q400s and adds five new orders. The revised contract is valued at $294 million. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Ryanair lost a key battle in its campaign to remain nonunion after the Irish High Court ruled that the Labor Court should be permitted to hear complaints by pilots about the airline under the Industrial Relations Act.
Continental Airlines overcame soaring fuel prices and back-to-back hurricanes, one of which forced a 36-hr. shutdown of its largest hub, to post a profit of $61 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30.
Qantas is due to make its much-anticipated fleet decision between the 787/777 and A340/A350 on Dec. 7. CEO Geoff Dixon told ATWOnline that the airline will submit on that day a recommendation to the board for the 100-aircraft commitment. Boeing is working with Qantas on an even longer-range 777-200LR to operate nonstop from Sydney to London. It would be configured in an all-business-class arrangement and have a lighter-weight interior.
Indian LCC Go Air will launch its online booking service Friday with the biggest giveaway of seats the region has witnessed. The airline initially will distribute 10,000 free seats and will give away another 10,000 in November and December. MD Jeh Wadia said he wants the carrier to be India's cheapest and plans to have 36 A320s in service within three years. Leases already have been signed for six, with the first service set for Nov. 12 from Mumbai to Goha. Normal fares start at $42 and range up to $120.
Northern Hawk Aviation, a small carrier connecting communities with Vancouver and Calgary, has suspended operations. The two-year-old airline blamed rising fuel costs in a statement on its website.
Lim Chin Beng, who founded Singapore-based LCC Valuair and then sold it to Qantas ( ATWOnline, July 25), is now chairman of newly formed Changi International Airshow & Events, which plans to take over the biennial Singapore show beginning in February 2008 and rename it Changi International Airshow. The new entity is a joint venture between the Singapore CAA and the Defense Science and Technology Agency.
Guggenheim Aviation Partners ordered two 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighters (formerly known as Special Freighters) for delivery in 2008. The aircraft will be Combi-to-freighter conversions. Boeing's Commercial Aviation Services unit will manage the process.
Pegasus Aviation Finance Co. named Toby Bright as its chief marketing officer. Bright spent 28 years at Boeing, rising to the position of executive VP-sales. He left the company following a corporate shakeup last December in which he was replaced as Boeing's top airplane salesman by former Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson ( ATWOnline, Dec. 6). KLM appointed Ben Swagerman deputy chief of KLM Security Services effective Feb. 1. He will succeed Chief of KLM Security Services Teun Platenkamp upon the latter's retirement next autumn.
Hainan Airlines, China's fourth-largest carrier, will merge with three smaller airlines--Xinhua, Changan and Shanxi--to form Grand China Air. A Hainan spokesperson told Bloomberg News that US financier George Soros agreed over the weekend to invest $25 million for approximately 4% of the new carrier. Hainan is trying to raise $1.06 billion to buy aircraft and add routes ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.
Alitalia is seeking a medium-/long-term loan of up to $485 million from a major US bank in order to offset the rise in fuel costs, Reuters reported. The carrier said in a statement that it would offer its planes as a guarantee. As part of a new industrial plan approved Friday, Alitalia will speed up some elements of its restructuring, including the renegotiation of procurement contracts and labor cost reduction ( ATWOnline, Oct. 14). The airline said it expects to receive €85 million ($102.6 million) in government aid next year.
Delta Air Lines will announce a significant international expansion today at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Mayor Shirley Franklin is scheduled to be on hand as the carrier unveils nonstop service from ATL and New York JFK to 11 new markets in Europe and the Middle East. It also will expand service on two existing international routes next spring.
General Electric's Aviation Engine Services unit, in one of the largest such deals it has done, signed an eight-year OnPoint Solutions service agreement valued at $1.5 billion covering maintenance, repair and overhaul of the nearly 600 CFM56-7 engines in service or on order powering Southwest Airlines' 737-700s. According to GE, the new deal is a "hybrid" blending traditional OnPoint time-and-materials and cost-per-flight-hour agreements.
AirTran announced it will launch four daily roundtrips between Chicago Midway and Minneapolis-St. Paul and three daily nonstops between Midway and Boston beginning Dec. 6. All flights will be aboard 106-seat 717s. Sample one-way fares include $109 coach and $299 business to Boston and $89 coach and $249 business to MSP.
Royal Jordanian on Monday announced that it had accepted oneworld's formal invitation to join the alliance. "We are the first alliance to invite a carrier from the entire Levant, Middle East and Gulf region on board," Iberia and oneworld Governing Board Chairman Fernando Conte told ATWOnline in Amman, adding it is the first airline to join "our very select group" in more than five years.
Striking members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. will vote on a contract offer from Northwest Airlines that would allow just 500-539 mechanics to return to the airline, at least initially. More than 4,400 mechanics and aircraft cleaners walked off their jobs Aug. 20. NWA quickly replaced the cleaning positions and used a mix of new hires and third-party shops to handle its MRO needs. Prior to the strike, its final offer envisioned preserving 2,750 union mechanic jobs.
Aviareps announced Thursday it will handle Munich Airport's marketing and sales rights in North America. Munich is Aviareps' first European airport client.
Air New Zealand named Group GM-Airlines Rob Fyfe as CEO succeeding Ralph Norris, who left the company in August to become head of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Fyfe joined ANZ in early 2003 as CIO about a year after Norris was appointed CEO. He was promoted to group GM later that year. Like his predecessor, Fyfe has several years of experience in the banking industry. He also worked briefly in the telecom industry and served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force between 1979 and 1987.
Binter Canarias, which has added seven new ATR 72s to its fleet over the past 15 months, was honored by ERA as its Airline of the Year in ceremonies in Gothenburg at the group's General Assembly. "The airline has overcome challenges and has developed a firm base for a niche business," the judges declared in awarding the honor to the Canary Islands carrier. "They are not afraid to challenge themselves through reinvention, re-branding and a fresh approach." Binter operates a fleet of 13 ATRs, two 1900s and one 737.
SAS said it reached an agreement with Worldspan under which the carrier will obtain "lower distribution costs" while distributing its "full content" to the GDS. SAS reached a similar agreement with Sabre earlier this month ( ATWOnline, Oct. 4), while a deal with Amadeus occurred in August. Calling it "a step in the right direction," Senior VP-Airline Commercial Robin Kamark stated, "SAS wish[es] to give the market full access to our fares and products through the GDS, but while doing so, we also need to reduce our distribution costs to a competitive level."
