Lufthansa Systems said it received EASA's Letter of Acceptance enabling more than 110 customers of its Lido FMS database to apply for use of new precision area navigation procedures at their aviation authorities. The P-RNAV procedures will be permitted from October provided they are based on certified navigation data as is the case with LHS.
US carriers' ontime performance improved in June compared to the same month last year, but fell slightly against May 2005 figures. According to US Dept. of Transportation statistics, the 20 reporting airlines recorded an overall ontime arrival rate of 75.2% in June, better than June 2004's 73% but below May 2005's 83.7%. Hawaiian Airlines at 94.1% posted the highest rate. Of mainland airlines, SkyWest Airlines was best at 83.1% with Comair at 81.2% finishing second. Alaska Airlines had the lowest rate at 49.8%.
US National Transportation Safety Board said yesterday that it sent a team of specialists to assist in the investigation of the Air France A340 accident in Toronto that occurred Aug. 2 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 3). The team is led by senior NTSB investigator Robert Benzon.
In a direct challenge to Northwest Airlines, AirTran Airways will begin new daily nonstop service from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to both Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and Orlando International airports on Nov. 8. Daily service to Sarasota-Bradenton will be added from Detroit starting Feb. 15. Detroit is AirTran's 48th city and the largest market in the country not served directly by the Orlando-based low-cost carrier, according to VP-Planning and Scheduling Kevin Healy. All new flights will use 717s configured for 117 passengers in two classes.
ACE Aviation Holdings, parent of Air Canada, yesterday reported net income of C$168 million ($138.5 million) for the second quarter ended June 30, which included a dilution gain of C$190 million and a tax provision of C$28 million related to an Aeroplan transaction offset by a $29 million charge related to the extinguishment of its credit facility with GE Capital Corp. This compares to a C$510 million net loss in the prior-year period, which included reorganization and restructuring items of C$426 million.
Gol flew 959.7 million RPKs in July, up 62.1% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 55.5% to 1.2 billion ASKs and load factor was up 3.3 points to 80%. Year-to-date figures were not provided.
United Airlines flew 10.7 billion RPMs in July, down 2.4% compared to the year-ago period. Capacity dropped 4.2% to 12.38 billion ASMs and load factor was up 1.6 points to 86.4%. For the seven months ended July 31, RPMs dipped 0.2% to 66.51 billion, ASMs declined 2.7% to 81.43 billion and load factor gained 2.1 points to 81.7%. Northwest Airlines flew 7.47 billion RPMs in July, up 5.4% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 3.4% to 8.54 billion ASMs and load factor was up 1.2 points to 87.5%.
LAN Airlines, two days after Boeing revealed that it is the customer for six 767s carried on the order book as having been sold to an unidentified carrier ( ATWOnline, Aug. 3), confirmed the order. In a statement released Thursday, LAN and LAN Cargo said they will acquire 12 767-300 passenger and cargo aircraft valued at $1.1 billion. The buy is believed to include six new orders as well as orders for six 767s placed in 2004.
In what SITA INC called "the first ever deal of its kind at a European airport," Dusseldorf outsourced its IT support in a contract worth $200 million over 10 years. SITA said it won the contract "with the strong support of its partners, EADS Telecom Deutschland GmbH and Siemens AG." There will be no redundancies among the existing 63 IT staff at the airport, SITA added.
In what is seasonally its weakest quarter, LAN Airlines reported a $26.6 million profit for the three months ended June 30, down 15.6% compared to net income of $31.5 million in the 2004 period. Operating income plunged 53.4% to $15.8 million versus $33.9 million last year. "LAN was impacted by record fuel prices--which led to $46.9 million in additional expanses," the carrier said. "However, the company overcame this incremental cost and posted its second-best result ever for the second quarter and 12th consecutive quarterly profit."
Qantas announced that its low-fare airline Jetstar will operate new Tasman services from Dec. 1, complementing Qantas services to Christchurch and opening up a new route between New Zealand and the Gold Coast. "The new schedule will enable the Qantas Group to offer the best possible mix of services for business and leisure markets," Executive GM John Borghetti said.
Mediated negotiations between Northwest Airlines and its Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn.-represented employees broke down Wednesday after the carrier "refused to move beyond unacceptable demands," the union said. "Northwest's continued refusal to engage in meaningful negotiations destroyed yesterday's session and left little hope for a consensual agreement needed to avert a strike," AMFA National Director O.V. Delle-Femine said. "There is no use scheduling another negotiating session unless both parties come prepared to negotiate."
Frontier Airlines named former ATA Senior VP John Happ as its new senior VP-marketing and planning and Bill Schuyler as its new director-schedules. It promoted Anne McCollum to senior director-reservations and customer support.
Southwest Airlines flew 5.96 billion RPMs in July, up 14.7% over same month last year. Capacity climbed 12.7% to 7.28 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1.4 points to 80.8%. For the seven months ended July 31, RPMs increased 10.7% to 34.68 billion, ASMs rose 12% to 48.95 billion and load factor dipped 0.9 point to 70.8%.
American Airlines flew 13.62 billion RPMs in July, up 8.1% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 3% to 16 billion ASMs and load factor was up 4.1 points to 85.1%. For the seven months ended July 31, RPMs increased 7.2% to 81.64 billion, ASMs rose 1.7% to 103.75 billion and load factor gained 4 points to 78.6%. Delta Air Lines flew 11.83 billion RPMs in July, up 6.1% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 5% to 14.07 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.8 point to 84.1%.
AirTran Airways will launch daily nonstop flights from Flint to Ft. Myers Nov. 8 using 717s. Separately, AirTran flew 1.1 billion RPMs in July, up 39.4% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 32.6% to 1.36 billion ASMs and load factor was up 3.9 points to 80.8%. For the seven months ended July 31, RPMs rose 32.3% to 6.45 billion, ASMs increased 29.4% to 8.67 billion and load factor gained 1.6 points to 74.4%.
Rockwell Collins was selected by Hapagfly (formerly Hapag-Lloyd Flug) to provide its Programmable Audio Video Entertainment System on 10 new 737-800s with an option for 10 additional aircraft. Deliveries are expected to begin in January.
LAN Airlines is the customer for six 767-300s, Boeing confirmed yesterday. The aircraft, a mix of 767-300Fs and 767-300ERs, previously were listed on the Boeing website as having been sold to an unidentified customer. The orders are in addition to six 767s ordered by LAN in 2004.
An Air France A340-300 skidded off the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport during a thunderstorm yesterday and broke into pieces, but there were only minor to moderate injuries among the 297 passengers and 12 crewmembers onboard, all of whom were evacuated safely before the aircraft wreckage caught fire.
Pinnacle Airlines reported net income of $13.8 million for the second quarter ended June 30, a 42.3% increase over net income of $9.7 million in the year-ago period. Total operating revenue rose 39.9% to $212.9 million while total operating expenses climbed 40.6% to $190.1 million, producing an operating income of $22.8 million, up 34.7% over operating income of $16.9 million in the year-ago period. "This quarter marks our tenth consecutive quarter of strong financial performance under our Airline Services Agreement with Northwest [Airlines]," President and CEO Phil Trenary said.
Austrian Airlines Group, in a strategy that complements its expanding network to Central and Eastern Europe, plans to boost its extensive presence in the Near East/Middle East and North Africa regions, adding up to five new destinations and increasing frequencies on established routes. "A good time to start new services to the Middle East will be in March/April next year.
Barely a month after laying out a timetable leading to an exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year ( ATWOnline, July 4), United Airlines again is seeking more time to reorganize. This time, however, the delay comes not from airline management but at the request of the carrier's creditors.
Gol reported a 73.4 million reais ($31.2 million) net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, barely up on income of R$73.2 million in the year-ago period. Operating income, however, dropped 8.4% to R$85 million from R$92.8 million. "Gol remains committed to its virtuous cycle of maintaining low costs, allowing us to offer the lowest fares and achieve the highest load factors in the Brazilian market, thereby driving industry-leading profitability," CEO Constantino de Oliveira Jr. said.
Ryanair shrugged off a doubling of its fuel bill to report a 31.2% profit rise to €69.9 million ($69.6 million) for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 compared to net income of €53.1 million in the year-ago period. Current-period results include a gain of €5.2 million (net of tax) from the settlement of an insurance claim covering six 737-200s damaged during an overhaul. Operating profit also increased, jumping 23.4% to €79.9 million from €64.7 million in the 2004 period, although operating margin dipped from 21.6% to 19.7%.
Continental Airlines flew 7.88 billion RPMs in July, up 7.8% over the year-ago period. Capacity rose 9.6% to 9.4 billion ASMs and load factor was down 1.5 points to 83.9%. For the seven months ended July 31, RPMs increased 9.4% to 46.29 billion, ASMs climbed 5.5% to 58.47 billion and load factor gained 2.8 points to 79.2%. For July, Continental said both consolidated and mainline passenger RASM are estimated to have increased 4.5%-5.5% compared to July 2004.
