Airlines & Lessors

Korean low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Busan is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in March 2015 to fund more growth.

Cyprus Airways will move out of London Heathrow Airport after selling its remaining slot pair to American Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines and Etihad Airways have both denied they are in talks about an equity sharing deal, despite recent rumors that one was imminent.

Four domestic Indian carriers have objected to the Tata-Singapore Airlines (SIA) full-service airline venture, slated to launch end of this year.

Indonesian low-cost carrier (LCC) Tigerair Mandala has given its customers two weeks’ notice to shut down operations, despite negotiations with AirAsia for a last minute rescue deal.

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA)—which faces massive challenges due to political crises and instability in the region—is “working hard to cope and survive,” president and CEO Yuri Miroshnikov told ATW.

Central and Eastern Europe-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Wizz Air has opened its 17th base in Riga and is initially deploying one Airbus A320.

Air Canada moved to London Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2, which opened June 4 following a £2.5 billion ($3.8 billion) upgrade.

Russia’s Transaero Airlines is set to launch electronic flight bag (EFB) Class 2, enabling the use of electronic documents on portable devices during all phases of flight.

Airline News

Worldwide airlines ranked by available current-month Passenger Load Factor percentage, high-to-low, year-to-date.

Top 25 Airlines, calculated and ranked by RPK figures, year-to-date 2014

This chart represents the most recent 13 months, displayed as percent changes from the previous year, for Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Airline Group. Source: US Dept. of Transportation Footnotes: * Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee. ** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers. Other carriers generally operate within specific niche markets, i.e. Hawaiian Airlines and Sun Country Airlines.

American Airlines has decided to place 20 Embraer E-175 aircraft with Minneapolis-based regional carrier Compass Airlines, which will fly the 76-seat jets under the American Eagle brand starting in the 2015 first quarter.

Following a “long search and evaluation” of the Tigerair Mandala subsidiary of Singapore-based Tigerair, AirAsia said it has decided to pull back from any potential purchase of the Indonesian low-cost carrier (LCC).

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has announced plans to slash nearly 300 positions following the company’s second-quarter net loss of SEK800 million ($120 million), widened from a SEK405 million loss in the year-ago period.

Air France-KLM has launched a seven-year bond for €600 million ($813 million) as the carrier continues to actively manage its debt.

Global airport passenger traffic increased 6.7% year-over-year in April, gaining 4.3 points on March’s 2.4% performance, and improving on April 2013’s growth by 4.9 points.

Worldwide commercial airline passenger traffic, RPKs, load factors, and FTKs year-to-date.

UK regional carrier Flybe has hinted it is on the brink of announcing new codeshare deals and further network expansion after overhauling its network planning process.

Connections between Greece and the Gulf have increased noticeably after two carriers—Gulf Air and Aegean Airlines—have launched services between the region and Athens.

China Southern Airlines has launched a branch company in Shanghai to further explore China’s business capital market.

Russia’s Transaero Airlines is set to reopen Moscow-Taipei flights. From July, 3, the carrier will operate weekly Boeing 767-300 service between the cities.

Iberia and Interjet have signed a codeshare agreement linking 80 Iberia European cities with 24 Mexican cities on Interjet map.

United Airlines dispatchers have ratified a new joint labor agreement.