Officials of a startup airline that hopes to launch transatlantic service later this year yesterday said they had secured $185 million in financing to give lift to the project. The carrier, which will use the name Eos, will feature 757s with premium service for 48 business travelers. The New York-based startup has taken possession of its first three 757s and is proceeding with regulatory filings with FAA.
US Airways flew 3.53 billion RPMs in May, up 2% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 1.4% to 4.65 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.4 points to 75.9%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 3.7% to 16.65 billion, ASMs rose 2.2% to 22.41 billion and load factor was up 1.1 points to 74.3%.
South Korea-based Jeju Air yesterday placed a firm order for five 74-seat Bombardier Q400s and took options on a further three. The firm order contract is valued at roughly $120 million, but it could rise to $196 million if all options are exercised. According to Bombardier, the carrier is its first South Korean Regional airline customer. The company now has 147 firm orders for the Q400.
Air France-KLM Group said it recorded a strong level of activity in May driven by buoyant traffic on both long-haul and European routes. Overall, traffic grew 6.9% to 15.24 billion RPKs on increases of 6.7% and 7.5% respectively on long-haul and European routes. Capacity climbed 4.9% to 19.6 billion ASKs and load factor was up 1.4 points to 77.7%. In May, Air France-KLM carried more than 5.9 million passengers, up 6.7%. Cargo traffic posted a 1.3% decrease while capacity was up 6.6%. As a result, cargo load factor fell 5.1 points to 63.8%.
World Airways reached agreement on a multiyear ACMI contract with Air Canada to operate an additional MD-11F for international cargo service. Under the accord, World will operate two MD-11Fs for AC through August 2007 between Toronto, China and other points in North America. The amended contract has a value of $101 million.
German leisure and holiday airline LTU will enter the already crowded market for low-cost carriers in November. "We have to look for new business opportunities in Europe," a spokesperson explained to ATWOnline. Operating under the brand name City Quickies, LTU will offer services from Dusseldorf to Vienna, Lisbon, Rome and Madrid with fares starting at €29 ($36). In addition, it plans to offer six weekly nonstop flights from Dusseldorf to New York, also this winter, with fares starting at €149. A new weekly service to Dubai will be established as well.
Qantas fired a second baggage handler at Sydney Airport and announced a series of security enhancements as the furor escalated over alleged drug smuggling and crime links in the ranks of the airline's employees. CEO Geoff Dixon said the decision to sack the handler followed further investigation into claims that an international cocaine importing ring was operating at the airport. He said surveillance was maintained over a "small number" of handlers after the initial swoop by police that led to 14 arrests last month.
Southwest Airlines flew 5.24 billion RPMs in May, up 12% over the year-ago period. Capacity rose 14.3% to 7.24 billion ASMs and load factor declined 1.5 points to 72.4%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 10% to 23.29 billion, ASMs grew 11.6% to 34.44 billion and load factor dropped 1 point to 67.6%.
American Airlines flew 11.81 billion RPMs in May, up 10% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 3% to 15.11 billion ASMs and load factor increased 5 points to 78.1%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs rose 6.9% to 55.36 billion, ASMs inched up 1.2% to 72.46 billion and load factor gained 4.1 points to 76.4%.
JetBlue Airways officially opened JetBlue University's new support campus at Orlando International Airport, which will offer recurrent training for its pilots, flight attendants, technical operations and customer service crewmembers. The facility covers some 107,000 sq. ft. and includes an auditorium, classrooms, briefing rooms, offices and an outdoor training pool. Additionally, it currently holds four A320 full flight simulators and one Embraer 190 simulator. A second 190 simulator will be installed in August and future growth could provide for up to 16 full flight simulators.
Malev Hungarian Airlines, which recently signed an MOU to join oneworld, expects to post an operating loss this year on flat revenues but anticipates an operating profit in 2006. "In the last three months we saw financial stablizisation," CEO Janos Goenci told ATWOnline during the IATA AGM in Tokyo last week. One of Malev's highest priorities is reducing the number of aircraft types in its fleet from four to three, possibly by phasing out four CRJs and replacing them with F70s/F100s.
The world's scheduled airlines in aggregate posted an operating profit last year of $3.5 billion on revenues of $374 billion, according to preliminary estimates from ICAO, which said the positive operating results--after three consecutive years of operating losses--were owing mainly to a 13% growth in traffic combined with a lesser 10% increase in capacity.
Delta Air Lines flew 10.53 billion RPMs in May, up 9.4% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 4.2% to 10.65 billion ASMs and load factor rose 2.5 points to 76.3%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 10.3% to 48.72 billion, ASMs jumped 5.6% to 64.79 billion and load factor was up 3.2 points to 75.2%.
Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein warned Congress yesterday that without fast federal action on their pension liabilities, "airlines will almost certainly be forced into bankruptcy and have to transfer additional pension liabilities to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation." Grinstein and NWA President and CEO Doug Steenland were in Washington to testify in support of S.861, the "Employee Pension Preservation Act of 2005," which would give companies more time to make overdue payments to their pension plans while requiring them to cap existing liabilities at their current level of
Continental Airlines moved yesterday to dampen speculation about an improving outlook after it reported stronger than anticipated unit revenue growth in May that caused some analysts to raise their outlook for the carrier this year. In an investor update, the company said that "while revenue trends have been improving, with current high fuel prices and refining margins, [it] continues to expect a significant loss for the year."
EasyJet said it flew 2.6 million earned seats in May, up 21.9% from the year-ago period. Load factor gained 3 points to 81.1%. For the rolling 12 months ended May 31, the LCC flew 28 million earned seats, a 24.8% increase on the prior-year period, and revenue was up 22.1% to £1.24 billion ($2.27 billion). Load factor improved 1.2 points to an average of 85.1%.
Northwest Airlines flew 6.57 billion RPMs in May, up 6.3% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 2.5% to 7.86 billion ASMs and load factor gained 2.9 points to 83.6%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 8.1% to 31.08 billion, ASMs rose 4.4% to 38.43 billion and load factor was up 2.8 points to 80.9%.
Swiss International Air Lines CEO Christoph Franz told ATWOnline that he expects Lufthansa's acquisition of Swiss to receive a green light from the EC this summer. The carriers have created working groups to smooth the merger. Franz added that in terms of joining the Star Alliance, Swiss has to identify a geographical role for itself. He said the LH hubs at Frankfurt and Munich need to be connected strongly to Zurich, which "offers space to grow" while Munich will be running out of capacity "in about two years time."
United Airlines and Verizon Airfone, in what they claim is a first, received FAA certification to install the necessary cabin equipment to enable passenger and crew use of wireless technology devices to send and receive e-mail and surf the Internet onboard domestic commercial aircraft.
Focus Aviation delivered the third of four converted MD-11Fs to Transmile Air on behalf of Central Air Leasing. The conversion was done by SASCO in Singapore, where a fourth aircraft is currently in conversion.
JetBlue Airways flew 1.7 billion RPMs in May, up 32.9% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 25.6% to 1.97 billion ASMs and load factor jumped 4.8 points to 86.6%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 30.7% to 7.77 billion, ASMs rose 23.7% to 9 billion and load factor grew 4.7 points to 86.3%.
As predicted ( ATWOnline, June 6), FlyBE placed an order to purchase up to 26 GE CF34-powered Embraer 195s, comprising 14 firm orders and 12 options with deliveries beginning in August 2006 and continuing to November 2007. According to Embraer, total value of the firm contract at list prices is $470 million with a potential of up to $870 million if all options are converted.
Pemco World Air Services converted and delivered a 737-300 Quick Change aircraft to CIT Aerospace in New York for onward lease to Titan Aerospace, a European charter airline that already operates four BAe 146 freighters and a 737-300 converted by the Dothan, Ala.-based company.
United Airlines flew 9.72 billion RPMs in May, up 0.9% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 1.2% to 11.88 billion ASMs and load factor was ahead 1.7 points to 81.8%. For the five months ended May 31, RPMs increased 0.5% to 45.3 billion, ASMs rose 2.2% to 57.12 billion and load factor gained 2.1 points to 79.3%.
Alteon Training will place a 737-700/-800 full flight simulator and 737-700/-800/777 flat panel trainer in AeroMexico's facility at Mexico City International Airport to support the airline's growing fleet.
