Swiss WorldCargo plans to implement short-time work starting June 1 for around 100 employees. In the first four months of this year, cargo load factor dropped 18.4 points-year-over-year to 66.8%. In April it fell 20.6 points. Separately, Swiss International Air Lines named Holger Hatty to the management board as CCO effective July 1. He previously served on the executive board of Lufthansa Passenger Airline and was in charge of strategy, alliances and holdings, network management, IT and purchasing.
Singapore Airlines reported an 18.2% year-over-year plunge in passenger numbers last month to 1.2 million. Traffic fell 17.7% to 6.27 billion RPKs against just a 12.9% cut in capacity to 8.68 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 4.2 points to 72.2%. On the cargo front, FTKs were down 21.6% and load factor fell 3.7 points to 58%. SIA has cut flights to Los Angeles, Osaka Kansai, Vancouver and Amristar and grounded 17 aircraft.
News from Travel Technology Update: Imagine a business traveler whose flight has been delayed for the third time. She's going to be late to an important meeting, where she is scheduled to give a presentation. The look on her face says it all: She's frustrated and stressed.
Hainan Airlines Group plans to relaunch its Grand China Express Airlines subsidiary as Tianjin Airlines on June 8 after reaching a deal with the local government. Originally started in June 2007, Grand China operated 10 E-190s, 12 ERJ-145s and 29 Do 328-300s in April on more than 80 domestic routes. In December, the Tianjin government agreed to inject CNY200 million ($29.3 million) into Grand China, giving it a 15.4% stake in the reconstituted carrier, which has been approved by CAAC.
Aeroflot declined Alexander Lebedev's offer to purchase his 49% stake in Blue Wings for €1 ($1.35) ( ATWOnline, May 8), Blue Wings Chairman Jorn Hellwig told Der Spiegel. Lebedev now is considering negotiating with S7 Airlines and Rosavia, as well as Arabian investors, in his search for more capital. Discussions with Air Berlin or the German government also may occur, Hellwig said.
Skyways Aviation announced the placement of an ERJ-145 with Andalus of Spain on behalf of Air Vendee Investissement. Aircraft will be based in Gibraltar and operate service to Madrid starting this month and Barcelona from June. Andalus currently has two 145s and plans to operate four by year end. Skyways also said it was selected by Ernst & Young to remarket an ATR 42-500 formerly operated by Macair Airlines, which ceased operations in February.
Spanish government is eliminating airport taxes for all carriers that increase or maintain the level of traffic at the country's "largest airports" during the second half of 2009 compared to the year-ago period, Ryanair said. The LCC again called upon the Irish government to end its €10 ($13.49) air passenger duty ( ATWOnline, March 17), citing recent efforts by Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain to reduce charges "to reverse recent traffic and tourism declines."
The number of premium passengers continued to slump in March, falling 19.2% year-over-year, which IATA said "is consistent with the view that business expectations of recovery remain weak while consumers remain concerned about job security."
Islandbanki, formerly Glitnir, increased its share of Icelandair Group to 47% from 5%, both the bank and the airline announced yesterday. The parties said the move "will not affect the daily operations of the company" and that Islandbanki will sell the stake "in an open and transparent sales process as soon as possible." The shares acquired yesterday were pledged as security for loans to finance other shareholders' investment in Icelandair.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace announced the acquisition of Precision Products Singapore for S$7.7 million ($5.2 million). Shares were purchased from Precision Products Singapore, Nippon Precision Casting, Renaissance Capital Management and Singapore Technologies Industrial Corp. PPS manufactures casting and mold toolings for customers in the aerospace, defense, commercial and oil and gas industries.
Turkish Airlines flew 10.7 billion RPKs during the year's first four months, up 10.7% from the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 17% to 15.9 billion ASKs and load factor fell 3.9 points to 67.2%. Air Canada and Jazz flew a combined 3.83 billion RPMs in April, a 4.1% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 2.2% to 4.73 billion ASMs, lowering load factor 1.6 points to 81.1%. EasyJet transported 3.8 million passengers in April, up 6.3% year-over-year, while load factor rose 4.2 points to 84.2%.
Thales will supply two RealitySeven full flight simulators to Turkish Airlines under a contract announced last week. The FFS features a common core element that allows various aircraft modules to be "swapped out." THY's simulators will be compliant with the A320 and A330/A340.
TUI Travel is expecting annual savings of €40 million ($54 million) thanks to the new alliance between its TUIfly LCC and Air Berlin, TUI CEO Michael Frenzel said last week in Hanover. AB will take over 17 aircraft from TUIfly in order to operate scheduled shuttle services, while TUIfly will operate 21 aircraft on charter routes ( ATWOnline, March 31). Each company took a 19.9% share in the other and the cooperation is set to start on Oct. 1, pending approval from competition authorities.
Emirates said it was "surprised at the revelations" in the EU report last week regarding the online ticket sales "blacklist" on which it was named as one of 12 airlines not fully complying with all transparency and clarity requirements for selling tickets via its website. "As a responsible international company, Emirates adheres to all regulations and requirements of the countries in which we operate," Divisional Senior VP-Commercial Operations Worldwide Richard Vaughan told ATWOnline via e-mail.
Lufthansa Technik and eJet Services said they will expand their existing relationship offering comprehensive maintenance and operating support for private VIP-converted CRJ aircraft to include air transport CRJs operated by smaller airlines. Program will be expanded to other types as well. Launched in 2008, the joint program offers low-utilization and small-fleet operators "a comprehensive, global package of nose-to-tail maintenance and operating support."
OAG Cargo Solutions signed an agreement with IBS Software Services to develop AFRA-2, its next-generation Air Freight Rates application. The application enhances interaction between airlines, GSAs and freight forwarders on the distribution, management and selection of real-time airfreight rates.
US Airways Group said last week that it expects to raise $234 million, up from $150 million, in aggregate net proceeds from the sale of common stock and convertible notes after underwriters exercised in full their options to purchase additional securities to cover overallotments ( ATWOnline,May 7).
US Air Transport Assn. forecast that US airline passenger traffic will decline 7% between June 1 and Aug 31 compared to the 2008 summer, amounting to a drop of about 150,00 passengers daily. It said domestic passengers carried will fall 7% while international passengers will dip 6%. "The main driver behind the anticipated drop in passengers traveling this summer is the ongoing global recession, which continues to crimp demand," President and CEO James May said.
The European Commission last week approved Lufthansa's proposed acquisition of bmi, stating that the transaction would not affect competition between airlines in the European Economic Area or within any substantial part of it. The EC noted that LH and bmi already cooperate on many routes because both are members of Star Alliance. It added that its investigation showed LH would be "unlikely" to start operating flights on those routes on which it currently only markets flights operated by bmi and vice versa.
Comlux The Aviation Group and Private Flight Global Limited have announced a partnership to overhaul Comlux's inflight catering operations for its managed and charter aircraft.
The European Commission yesterday published a "blacklist" of 12 airlines including Aeroflot, Emirates, Northwest Airlines (now a part of Delta Air Lines), Olympic Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Royal Air Maroc that it said failed to address concerns about misleading customers on website ticket prices and breaching EU regulations.
Airbus parent EADS reported first-quarter net income of €170 million ($232 million), down 40% from €285 million last year, as net commercial aircraft orders dropped precipitously year-over-year to eight compared to 395 in last year's first three months.
SR Technics appointed Andre Wall as COO. He also will become a member of the SR Technics Group executive board. SRT said that "the newly formed Operations Division will be home to all operating units within the group." Prior to joining SRT, Wall spent two years as COO of Jet Aviation in Zurich. Before that, he spent three years as president and CEO of MTU Maintenance in Berlin-Brandenburg.
