IATA said 2009, "the worst year the industry has ever seen," according to DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani, concluded with a 3.5% drop in international RPKs and a load factor of 75.6%. "We have permanently lost 2.5 years of growth in passenger markets and 3.5 years of growth in the freight business," Bisignani said.
Aer Lingus reportedly is alliance shopping nearly three years after quitting oneworld ( ATWOnline, May 31, 2006). CEO Christoph Mueller told Bloomberg News that EI "will prepare ourselves for a discussion that the alliances might work on an exclusive basis in the future" and that a decision could come "very soon." He said alliance membership is attractive again because the "Irish market will remain low fare. .
Malev Hungarian Airlines transported 3.3 million passengers in 2009, up 6% from the prior year. It said a new pricing strategy designed to compete with LCCs, group rate guarantees, a fivefold increase in corporate clients, new tourism packages and three new destinations accounted for the increase. CCO Karim Makhlouf said he expects a double-digit gain in first-quarter 2010 passenger numbers.
Oxford Aviation Academy was chosen by LOT Polish Airlines as that carrier's "preferred training provider" for pilot and cabin crew training on 767 and 737 Classic aircraft for the next three years. Training will be performed at OAA's Stockholm Arlanda center.
Jamaica Finance Minister Audley Shaw said the government expects a final decision regarding Caribbean Airlines' potential takeover of Air Jamaica by the end of the month. He said some 70% of JM's staff of 1,200 will be laid off if the deal goes through, The Gleaner reported. "They'll probably need to keep the planes because they will keep the routes," he said. "We are seeking to divest Air Jamaica on the best terms available and to ensure that we have the seat-lift capacity from all those cities for which we have tourism and Jamaican market travelers.
SR Technics announced that Bernd Kessler will step down as CEO on Jan. 31 after just two years at the helm, "having successfully implemented major restructuring initiatives as well as the repositioning of the company in the market." He will be succeeded by CFO James Stewart, who joined SRT in August 2008 from Aerion Corp. Prior to that he spent 16 years at Bombardier Corp. including a stint as CFO of Bombardier Aerospace.
Japan Airlines Group named Japan Air Commuter President Masaru Onishi president of both the Japan Airlines Corp. holding company and the Japan Airlines International operating unit as well as COO for JALS. Onishi, who joined the company in 1978, will join recently appointed CEO Kazuo Inamori in leading it through bankruptcy ( ATWOnline, Jan. 20). The company also named Hisao Taguchi executive VP of both the group and JALI. He has run JAL's Kyushu operation since last April.
AAR signed a two-year deal with Hawaiian Airlines to provide 10-year checks on 12 HA 717s. Work will be peformed at AAR's Miami facility and will include repainting on certain aircraft.
Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines, which lost Qantas and Air New Zealand as members, is courting carriers from mainland China as it looks to compensate. "We welcome China's mainland airlines to become members of AAPA. Although their focus is the domestic market right now, their long-term growth is in the international market," DG Andrew Herdman told ATWOnline this week in Beijing. He revealed that the organization has held informal talks with major Chinese airlines and has maintained regular contact with CAAC and the China Air Transport Assn. regarding membership.
Jazeera Airways announced a $105 million financing agreement with Natixis Transport Finance for three A320s. It currently flies 11 of the type and has 29 more on order and scheduled for delivery through 2016.
American International Group has decided not to divest ILFC after deciding the profit from the sale would be insufficient, sources told the Financial Times. The paper said that Standard & Poor's has cut ILFC's credit rating to the lowest investment-grade level. Sources told FT that founder and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy has not decided whether to leave ILFC. He was replaced as chairman by Doug Steenland last month ( ATWOnline, Jan. 26).
Baboo reported revenue of CHF73 million ($70.2 million) in 2009, up 30% from the prior year, on a 38% rise in passenger numbers to 406,000. The Geneva-based carrier called 2009 "above all a year of consolidation and of establishing a coherent network based on partnerships." It currently operates three E-190s and two Q400s to 19 destinations. Last year it signed codeshare agreements with Air France, Tarom and Alitalia and linked to AF's loyalty program.
FAA expects to have a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking covering new flight/duty-time regulations for commercial airline pilots out this spring, Administrator Randy Babbitt said yesterday. Speaking to the Aero Club of Washington, he acknowledged he had missed his target of a new rule by year end 2009 but compared the rulemaking to running a "3-minute mile" compared to the normal regulatory process. He also said that the agency is "on track" with plans to update pilot training and qualification requirements, a step also arising from last year's Colgan Air crash.
US Air Transport Assn., Regional Airline Assn. and Air Carrier Assn. of America requested a 90-day extension of the US Dept. of Transportation mandate requiring airlines to publish flight delay information on their websites by April 29 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 22, 2009).
Lebanese Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said yesterday that the Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 that crashed Monday into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut failed to follow the flight path established by ATC. All 90 passengers and crew are believed to be dead ( ATWOnline, Jan. 26). The control tower told the pilot "to correct his path, but he did a very fast and strange turn before disappearing completely from the radar," Aridi told the Associated Press.
Delta Air Lines intends to invest $1 billion over the next three years on a wide range of measures designed "to improve the customer experience in the air and on the ground," including new business class seats on 90 Boeing widebodies. The company did not directly address plans for the order for 18 787s inherited in its acquisition of Northwest Airlines, but President Ed Bastian said, "Rather than invest in new aircraft, Delta will be spending its capital to improve the quality and consistency of the onboard product and efficiency of the aircraft we already own."
China Eastern Airlines remains committed to choosing an alliance by the Feb. 14 New Year holiday and is scheduled to negotiate with each of the three global groupings this week, an internal source told ATWOnline. "We are still evaluating the decision on which airline alliance to join, which will depend on our negotiations with the three alliances regarding route network, frequent-flyer program, codesharing, etc.," CEA MD Ma Xulun said ( ATWOnline, Dec. 10, 2009).
The US National Transportation Safety Board said it is dispatching an investigator to Beirut to assist the Lebanese government with its inquiry into Monday morning's crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 that is believed to have killed all 90 aboard.
UK CAA approved British Airways' plan to train pilots and ground staff as cabin crew to be employed in the event of a strike by cabin attendants and will work with the airline and conduct inspections to ensure safety, BA said in its weekly in-house newsletter. The carrier planned to launch the first of nine training courses yesterday, when the Unite union started balloting its 12,000 BA cabin crew members on industrial action. The vote closes Feb. 22.
Air New Zealand, ATW's Airline of the Year, unveiled new economy and premium economy seats as part of a major cabin makeover ( ATW, February 2010). The economy seat features a unique swing-up, fully padded section that converts a triple seat into a bed. A single passenger can buy a set of three seats for little more than the cost of a premium economy seat.
ACE Air Cargo of Anchorage confirmed the loss of a Beech 1900C-1 on the evening of Jan. 22, killing both pilots. Aircraft crashed into the water shortly after takeoff from Sand Point en route to ANC, according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. Weather was described as overcast with wind at 19-26 kt. ACE operates scheduled cargo flights as well as passenger and cargo charters to 22 destinations.
Highland Airways, an Inverness-based regional, said it is "currently facing difficult trading" but that it is in advanced negotiations with a "potential investor that provides an excellent way forward" and should have an announcement in the coming days. It was not taking bookings on its website yesterday. Highland operates eight Jetstream 31s, two Jetstream 41s and one BN-2 Islander to nine Scottish and Welsh destinations.
Taban Air Tu-154 caught fire during landing at Mashhad Sunday morning, destroying the tail and rear section and injuring 42. Iranian officials said there were no fatalities and the government subsequently stripped Taban of its operating certificate. The flight originated in Abadan Saturday and diverted to Isfahan owing to poor weather in Mashhad, according to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. It departed Isfahan for Mashhad early Sunday. ASN said the aircraft's first flight was in 1993.
Malaysia Airlines received shareholder approval for a MYR2.67 billion ($784.6 million) rights issue designed to fund future fleet growth and expansion. It said the rights shares priced at MYR1.6 each will be offered to current shareholders on a one-for-one basis. No date for the issue was announced. MAS is aiming to own at least a third of its fleet and is purchasing six yet-to-be-delivered A380s, two 747s and two 777s from state-owned Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad for INR3.19 billion. The airline expects to take delivery of three new 737-800s this year.
