Air China has been beaten out in the battle for control (65%) of Shenzhen Airlines by two "little-known private companies," according to China Daily. Shenzhen-based Huirun Investment Co. and Beijing-based Bright Oceans Corp. outbid nearest rival Air China to take control of the South China-based carrier. The hammer fell at a price of 2.72 billion yuan ($328.5 million). Air China is the second-largest stakeholder in Shenzhen with 25% but said the price was too high.
Iberia told shareholders at its AGM that it intends to pay a "significant" extraordinary dividend out of the capital gains from the sale of its stake in Amadeus, which should bring the airline around €600 million ($750.6 million) ( ATWOnline, April 15). For 2004, Iberia will pay a dividend of 5 euro cents a share as it increased consolidated net income by nearly 51% to €220 million in 2004 from €146 million in 2003.
MAIR Holdings, parent of Mesaba Airlines and Big Sky Airlines, reported a net loss of $1.7 million for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, improved from a net loss of $3.6 million in the prior-year period. "The weather created some operational challenges during January and February, but in the face of those challenges both Mesaba and Big Sky remained focused on executing disciplined processes to achieve these operating results," MAIR President and CEO Paul Foley said.
Darwin Airline increased its capital from CHF4 million ($3.2 million) to CHF10 million earlier this month. The carrier currently operates three daily flights from its Lugano base to Geneva, as well as service to London, Berne and Rome.
PT Lion Mentari Airlines served notice that it intends to be the dominant player in the Indonesian market with an order for up to 60 737s. The order was expected to be signed yesterday in Washington during Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to the US. The airline earlier signed an MOU for 40 737s, which prompted a counteroffer from Airbus ( ATWOnline, March 1).
Wizz Air said that in its first year of operation it transported 1.2 million passengers. The carrier recently said it has a 40% market share of the LCC business in Poland and 25% in Hungary. Wizz Air has bases in Katowice, Warsaw, Gdansk and Budapest and is planning to open a base in Poznan. Currently it operates a fleet of A320s to 17 destinations on 32 routes.
Air Transport Assn. member airlines flew 56.01 billion RPMs in April, up 3.1% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 2.8% to 72.14 billion ASMs and load factor gained 0.2 point to 77.6%. For the four months ended April 30, RPMs increased 6.3% to 215.45 billion, ASMs rose 2.6% to 283.14 billion and load factor jumped 2.7 points to 76.1%.
Although it was affected by high fuel costs, fewer than expected aircraft in operation and the dampening of air travel following the December tsunami, multiple earthquakes off Sumatra and civil unrest in Thailand, AirAsia reported net income of 40.7 million ringgit ($10.7 million) for the fiscal third quarter ended March 31, up significantly over net income of 16.2 million ringgit in the year-ago period.
Boeing and Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise finalized a previously announced sale agreement for 20 CFM56-7B-powered 737s, plus purchase rights for 20 additional aircraft. The order, which was first announced in March ( ATWOnline, March 23), is valued at $1.1 billion at list prices. Deliveries are expected to begin in late 2006 and extend through 2009. Boeing said the 737-800 is the baseline model SALE has specified but the agreement provides for conversions to the 737-700 or the proposed higher-capacity 737-900X.
Sigmar Aviation, an Ireland-based aviation recruitment and services company, is working with Boeing's Alteon training subsidiary to provide Alteon and Boeing customers with "a range of flexible personnel services to support airlines in startup, training, expansion and fleet transition."
SkyTeam offered to make Malev an associate member of the alliance but did not proffer a full partnership because the Hungarian airline had not met its standards, Air France President and COO Pierre-Henri Gourgoun told ATWOnline recently. On Tuesday, oneworld announced an MOU with Malev that should lead to the carrier's entering that alliance next year subject to its meeting membership criteria ( ATWOnline, May 25).
SAS Scandinavian Airlines' credit rating was downgraded yesterday from B1 to B2 for the company's Senior Implied Rating by Moody's Investor's Service. The downgrade is mainly a result of the present overcapacity in the Scandinavian aviation market. Moody's acknowledged that SAS Group has reduced costs successfully through Turnaround 2005 and that yields have stabilized in recent months, but it expects continued yield pressure in the short term. It also has a positive view on SAS Group's continued strong liquidity position and the ongoing program for capital releases.
Air New Zealand officially opened its new pilot training facility, which houses a 777 simulator, classrooms and computerized training equipment. The design of the complex allows for additional simulator halls in the future, one of which is already under construction to house Air Nelson's Q300 simulator. ANZ currently operates four flight simulators within a nearby facility that are used for pilot training on 737-300s/400s/500s, 767-200s, 747-400s and A320s.
Aerosim-Mechtronix in partnership with Clairis Technologies signed an MOU with Airbus covering a license agreement allowing Aerosim-Mechtronix to integrate Airbus simulation software from the A320, A330 and A340 families into elements of its Integrated Training Architecture. Clairis will provide local support and engineering skills.
Eurowings and its low-cost subsidiary Germanwings said results after tax for 2004 grew to €6.4 million ($8.1 million) from €900,000 the year before, while operating results totaled €14.8 million. Combined passenger traffic for the carriers increased around 23% to €6.5 million. CEO Friedrich-Wilhelm Weitholz told ATWOnline that Eurowings is in the middle of its biggest fleet transformation. "All 16 ATR turboprops will leave our fleet during 2005," he said, adding that most of them will be sold to FedEx.
EasyJet's after-tax loss worsened to £22.3 million ($40.7 million) in the six months ended March 31 from a £19.7 million net loss in the year-ago period. The carrier, which traditionally reports a loss in the first half owing to seasonal factors, said its net loss was reduced by a tax credit of £8.9 million but its fuel bill was £18 million higher than last year. In contrast to Europe's full-service carriers, the London Luton-based LCC has not implemented a fuel surcharge.
Malev has taken the first step toward joining oneworld by signing an MOU with the alliance that provides "a framework for continued discussions" aimed at inviting the Hungarian carrier to become a full member in 2006, oneworld said yesterday. The agreement is subject to Malev's meeting a number of requirements, including confirmation that it can comply with the full service delivery specifications of the alliance, full quality and safety audits, and delivery of its new business plan.
Northwest Airlines wants to lay off 2,840 of its 5,294 mechanics and related workers under a new contract proposal designed to achieve $176.2 million in annual savings, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. said in a message to members on its website. According to the union, the airline's latest proposal also calls for pay cuts ranging from 25.7% to 26.1% and reductions in benefits for the remaining 2,454 AMFA-represented employees.
Air China Ltd. and Cathay Pacific Airways signed an MOU to "promote sales and marketing initiatives" between the two airlines, including a new codesharing arrangement. Under the MOU, Air China will codeshare on two Cathay Pacific services from Beijing to Hong Kong, one of which operates daily and the other three times a week. Cathay Pacific in turn will add its code to three of the daily Air China services to and from Beijing. Codeshare flights should begin in the fourth quarter, the airlines said. The partnership will include reciprocal frequent- flier benefits.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings released its preliminary unaudited estimates for the three months ended March 31 and also provided guidance for the current second quarter. The company cautioned that owing to the fact that it emerged from Chapter 11 in July 2004 and at that point applied the provisions of fresh-start accounting, year-over-year comparisons are difficult.
AirTran Airways flight attendants, represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants, overwhelmingly ratified a new collective bargaining agreement reached in April. Terms of the 42-month accord were not released, but the carrier said it includes improved compensation and benefits.
Boeing and Air France reached an agreement to turn three 747-400 Combis into full freighters as part of the 747-400 Special Freighter program. According to Boeing, AF is the first carrier to announce plans to convert its former Combi aircraft, which are currently in all-passenger configuration. For the conversions ordered by AF, Boeing said the aircraft will receive a strengthened main-cabin floor, a full main-deck lining and provisions for a new cargo handling system with an upgraded flightdeck. AF expects to receive its first modified aircraft in June 2007.
US Bankruptcy Court Judge Eugene Wedoff late last week refused to rule on United Airlines' motion to abrogate contracts covering the carrier's International Assn. of Machinists-represented workers, deferring his decision until May 31. Wedoff urged the two sides to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a new deal.
Bmi is introducing at London Heathrow what it calls "Europe's first modular airline service," which will see the carrier switch to a single-class service with paid-for catering onboard and e-enabled ground services. Simultaneously, bmi will launch three fare types--tiny, standard and premium--giving three levels of flexibility and service.
