American Airlines parent AMR Corp. yesterday announced the closure of a $276 million private placement offering of senior secured notes due 2016 initiated in order to refinance, in part, debt scheduled to repaid in October.
Embraer reported that earnings for the second quarter fell 49.5% to $67.8 million compared to $134.4 million in the year-ago period largely owing to fewer higher-value commercial aircraft deliveries. Total deliveries for the quarter numbered 56, up from 52 last year; however, the number of E-Jet deliveries declined from 41 to 33. It delivered 15 Phenom 100 microjets. Net revenue was $1.46 billion, down 10.9%, also owing to the different product mix between the quarters.
ANA released details of the "emergency income recovery plan" designed to produce an additional ¥30 billion ($316.7 million) in revenue during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, and keep it on course for a full-year profit of ¥3 billion. It reported a ¥29.2 billion net loss in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 3).
US FAA yesterday announced new standards for transport category aircraft requiring either the automatic activation of ice protection systems or a method informing pilots that they should be activated. Rule applies to new aircraft designs and "significant changes" to current designs but may be expanded to cover existing types, the agency said.
China Southern Airlines reached agreement to sell six A300-600Rs, plus five spare PW4158-3 engines and spare parts, for $124 million to Tigris International of the Netherlands Antilles. Hong Kong-based Galink Aviation Technology acted as broker, CZ said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. CZ has been operating the aircraft for 14-16 years, it said, and expects a gain of approximately CNY46.6 million ($6.8 million) from the sale.
Air France started selling seats for its first commercial A380 flight on Nov. 23 from Paris Charles de Gaulle to New York JFK. It will be the first European airline to operate the A380 and the first carrier to fly transatlantic between Europe and the US. It also will operate the aircraft on a westbound flight Nov. 20 and return Nov. 21 and will auction off 380 of the 538 seats to benefit childrens' charities. The Web-based auction is scheduled for October.
Timco Aviation Services announced that its Aerosystems subsidiary was awarded Organization Delegation Authorization from US FAA. Timco said it was "the first major aircraft maintenance and modification provider to be appointed as a Supplemental Type Certificate and Parts Manufacturing Approval ODA." TAP Maintenance and Engineering Brazil was certified by US FAA to perform heavy maintenance on A330 and A340 aircraft. Company also is FAA-certified for the A300-B4, A300-600, and A310. It is a member of the Airbus MRO Network.
United Airlines, the Air Line Pilots Assn. and the International Assn. of Machinists submitted joint letters requesting mediation services from the US National Mediation Board. UA and the unions had agreed to seek mediation if they did not reach new labor agreements by Aug. 1. Similar deals exist with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Professional Airline Flight Control Assn., although those unions have agreed to continue with direct negotiations, UA said. A request for mediation with the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA is expected to be filed Friday.
Boeing moved to water down a Sunday report in The Seattle Times that painted a bleak picture of both the scale and time required to fix the 787's structural delamination problem. Citing two engineers "with knowledge of the problem," the paper claimed that "the wing damage that grounded. . .the 787 occurred under less stress than previously reported--and is more extensive."
Merpati Nusantara Airlines Twin Otter 300 carrying 16 passengers and three crew remained missing yesterday after failing to arrive at Oksibil on a scheduled 50-min. flight originating Sunday morning in Javapura. The aircraft first flew in 1979, according to the Aviation Safety Network.
Ryanair reached agreement with BNP Paribas, Calyon and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. for the financing of 55 737-800s scheduled for delivery between November 2009 and October 2010. Banks were mandated to act as joint arrangers for Ryanair's euro-dominated export credit facility from the US Export-Import Bank.
Continental Airlines 767-200 scheduled to land yesterday morning at Houston Intercontinental after departing Rio de Janeiro Galeao Sunday night diverted to Miami after severe turbulence injured at least 26 occupants, four seriously. Fourteen passengers were hospitalized, according to officials. A Continental spokesperson said the turbulence was "unanticipated" and occurred around 900 mi. from Miami, according to press reports.
A joint venture between two construction firms from Germany and the UAE says it has been awarded a contract to build a 21,600 square metre composites plant at Al Ain's aerospace cluster, reported The National.
Airbus Friday told airlines that Thales pitot probes should be replaced with Goodrich models on all A330s/A340s as a "precautionary measure" and EASA said it will issue an order within two weeks calling for at least two of three Thales speed sensors on those aircraft types to be replaced with the Goodrich versions.
IATA said last week that June international passenger traffic fell 7.2% year-over-year, an improvement on May's 9.3% decline. But it noted that a capacity cut of 4.3% "did not keep pace with the fall in demand, leaving average fares and yields under significant pressure.
European Commission confirmed Friday that it will approve Lufthansa's takeover of Austrian Airlines Group ( ATWOnline, July 31). It did not offer details on its agreement with LH on concessions to alleviate antitrust concerns.
IBS Software Services signed a five-year contract with startup Japanese domestic carrier Fuji Dream Airlines to supply its iFly Res technology to manage the carrier's inventory and reservation system.
SkyEurope Airlines, the financially troubled LCC based in Bratislava, said it has secured a new investor, FOCUS Equity B.V., which it said plans to invest €16.5million ($23.2 million). The carrier also said it will lease two 737-300s from Air Slovakia.
WWF-UK last month launched its "One in Five Challenge" to persuade businesses and governments to reduce their business travel by 20% by 2014. Officially launched on July 20 with five founder members including heavyweight companies such as Capgemini UK, Marks & Spencer and Vodafone UK, the program is highlighting that 25% of businesses in the UK now are measuring their carbon footprint.
