Austrian Airlines Group board members Andreas Bierwirth and Peter Malanik told journalists in Vienna last night that the company lost at least €131.5 million ($165.5 million) in 2008 and January 2009, or half of the total value of its shares. It now expects to release full-year financial results on March 13.
AirTran Airways flew 1.27 billion RPMs in January, up 4.5% on the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 3.8% to 1.74 billion ASMs and load factor rose 5.8 points to 73.2%. Frontier Airlines flew 632.9 million RPMs in January, down 16% year-over-year. Capacity dropped 13.3% to 901.4 million ASMs and load factor fell 2.3 points to 70.2%. Passenger yield climbed 1.6% to 10.44 cents and RASM was down 1.7% to 7.33 cents.
Ryanair yesterday launched OnAir's inflight mobile phone service onboard 20 Dublin-based aircraft. Technology enables passengers to use mobile phones and PDAs to make and receive calls at international roaming rates as well as SMS and e-mail. Service will be available initially to customers of O2 and some 50 other mobile operators across Europe before being installed across the carrier's fleet of more than 170 aircraft. Prices depend on individual billing plans.
JAL Group will integrate four subsidiary aircraft maintenance companies on Oct. 1, forming JAL Engineering Co. in a move intended to enhance productivity "and further strengthen the quality of aircraft maintenance services through the consolidation of expertise and technological know-how," according to the airline. The four companies are JAL Narita Aircraft Maintenance Co., JAL Tokyo Aircraft Maintenance Co., JAL Engine Technologies Co., and JAL Aviation Technologies Co.
Clickair board approved the merger with Vueling Airlines Wednesday and said CEO Alex Cruz will hold the same position at the merged carrier that will keep the Vueling name. Current Vueling Chairman Josep Pique will be chairman of the new entity, according to a statement cited by Reuters. The Spanish stock market regulator still must sign off on the tie-up ( ATWOnline, Feb. 16).
CFM International and Saudi Arabian Airlines finalized a $300 million order for CFM56-5Bs to power 22 new A320s with deliveries beginning this year. Order was announced at last year's Farnborough Air Show ( ATWOnline, July 15, 2008). SV also plans to lease an additional 28 CFM56-5B-powered A320s. CFM said that all of Saudi Arabian's CFM56-5B engines are the Tech Insertion configuration.
Pratt & Whitney's Columbus Engine Center retrofitted an IAE V2500-A5 owned by US Airways to a V2500 SelectOne. The V2500-A5 has been in service since Feb. 16, 1998, and has more than 38,000 hr. on wing with nearly 15,000 cycles. Pratt said it is "the first" to do this and, according to VP-Global Engine Centers Tom Mayes, "it is important because it shows airlines that it is possible to get even greater performance from one of their existing assets."
Republic Airways Holdings may take control of Mokulele Airlines after the Hawaiian carrier defaulted on an $8 million loan issued by the Indianapolis-based regional operator.
With nearly 250 industry leaders and participants in attendance, ATW's 35th Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards Dinner and Gala Celebration held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington Tuesday night was an evening to remember.
Lufthansa could face yet another cabin crew strike following the failure of a fourth round of wage negotiations, the UFO trade union said Tuesday ( ATWOnline, Jan. 29). LH has offered a pay increase of up to 10%, improved work rules and profit sharing ( ATWOnline, Jan. 26).
Sabre scored another win in the North American market with JetBlue Airways' selection of its SabreSonic CSS, comprising reservations, departure control functions, inventory and website booking engine capabilities. The announcement followed WestJet's decision to opt for the new system, which Sabre describes as a "build-out" of its passenger services system rather than a rewrite ( ATWOnline, Jan. 30). Like WestJet, JetBlue was using Navitaire's Open Skies.
SAS Group airlines flew 1.72 billion RPKs in January, down 14.8% year-over-year. Capacity fell 9.8% to 2.84 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 3.6 points to 60.7%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 1.6 billion RPKs, down 15.3%, against a 10.1% fall in capacity to 2.62 billion ASKs. Load factor declined 3.8 points to 61.3%. Finnair flew 1.96 billion RPKs in January, a 6.3% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.3% to 2.52 billion ASKs and load factor was up 4.4 points to 77.8%.
AAR Corp. announced an agreement with US FAA that "terminates" the agency's emergency order of suspension that forced the company to shut down its Miami landing gear facility ( ATWOnline, Feb. 12). AAR Landing Gear Services "agreed to a variety of revisions to its maintenance procedures and manuals, enhanced training," and will revise its method of documentation for maintenance performed, AAR said. Operations will restart "no later than Feb.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said that its investigation into last week's fatal Colgan Air/Continental Connection Q400 crash has yet to uncover a mechanical failure and is focused on determining the severity of the icing on the aircraft.
Assn. of European Airlines' 32 members transported 355.7 million passengers in 2008, a 1.5% decrease from 2007. Traffic measured in RPKs rose 1.2% to 791.78 billion against a 3% climb in capacity to 1.04 trillion ASKs. Load factor was down 1.3 points to 76%. AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said, "We have seen figures as weak as these on only three occasions in the last 25 years," comparing the current downturn to the impact of the Chernobyl accident and bombing of Libya in 1986, the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and 9/11.
Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines announced reciprocal lounge access and baggage check-through. The carriers said a codeshare agreement covering "large parts" of their networks "is also envisaged," in addition to the pooling of LH, SN and Swiss International Air Lines loyalty programs ( ATWOnline, Jan. 27).
Alaska Airlines flew 1.35 billion RPMs in January, down 4.7% year-over-year. Capacity fell 8.4% to 1.88 billion ASMs and load factor rose 2.9 points to 71.7%. Republic Airways Holdings airlines flew 691.9 million RPMs in January, down 2.6% year-over-year, against a 1.7% climb in capacity to 1.1 billion ASMs. Load factor dropped 2.8 points to 62.8%. Allegiant Air flew 320.6 million system RPMs in January, up 5.4% year-over-year. Capacity fell 2.6% to 373.6 million ASMs and load factor rose 6.5 points to 85.8%.
Oxford Aviation Academy reached a five-year deal with Jet2.com covering full flight simulator provision and ab initio training. Agreement calls for OAA to relocate a 737 FFS to its Manchester Training Center at Woodford where operations are scheduled to begin in August. Jet2.com agreed to source future cadet pilots from Oxford's training program.
AerData agreed to acquire Aircraft Management Solutions, a developer and supplier of an aviation lease and asset management application called ALCA Software. Transaction hinges on execution of a purchase agreement and closing.
WestJet and Canadian tourism company Transat AT, which operates Air Transat, announced the May 10 termination of a transport agreement originally scheduled to expire next year. Deal allowed Transat Tours Canada to charter WestJet aircraft. The parties said they "may enter into an ad-hoc charter agreement" in the future. Transat will replace WestJet with CanJet Airlines, with which it signed a five-year deal to April 30, 2014, with two one-year options. CanJet operates 737-800s.
Vueling Airlines board approved the merger with Clickair Friday ( ATWOnline, Jan. 12). The latter will increase its share capital to 5 million shares and will exchange each one for three Vueling shares, according to a regulatory filing cited by Dow Jones. Vueling and Clickair will hold an equal number of shares in the new company that will keep the Vueling name. Clickair's board, controlled by Iberia, still must approve the deal.
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore will distribute S$200 million ($132.5 million) this year "to help airlines and airport partners tide over the current economic downturn," comprising S$50 million in rental rebates, a S$20 million fund for concessionaires at Changi and a S$130 million Air Hub Development Fund "extended to airlines and airport partners."
