Saab Aircraft Leasing completed 17 aircraft transactions in 2008, allocating its entire portfolio to customers. Company officials said business was limited only by the number of aircraft available. At year end, SAL's portfolio comprised 125 aircraft leased to 17 clients in 11 countries.
United Airlines pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. and Aer Lingus pilots represented by the Irish Air Line Pilots Assn. announced a protocol agreement designed to "protect the interests" of pilots from both carriers ahead of the transatlantic partnership scheduled to take effect in March 2010 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23). Pilots said the initial Washington Dulles-Madrid route will be operated under EI's certificate but will not be flown by either UA or EI crew. "This partnership. .
United Airlines flew 8.58 billion consolidated RPMs in January, a 10.9% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 10.5% to 11.41 billion ASMs and load factor was down 0.3 point to 75.2%. US Airways said January consolidated passenger RASM fell 2%-4% year-over-year. Traffic was down 6.2% to 4.5 billion RPMs against a 6.8% decline in capacity to 6 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 0.5 point to 75%.
Oneworld member carriers will adopt an alliance livery on a portion of their fleets "as a symbol of their renewed commitment to the alliance," Governing Board Chairman and American Airlines Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey announced this week at the alliance's 10th anniversary event in Madrid. Star Alliance runs a similar program ( ATW, February 2008). Around 40 aircraft will bear the new livery, which features the oneworld name and logo on the fuselage against a white or a polished metal background.
JetBlue Airways pilots failed to form a union this week, with only 33.4% of the approximately 1,937 pilots voting in favor of empowering the JetBlue Pilots Assn. A majority vote was required.
US Depts. of Energy and Agriculture will release up to $25 million in funding for research and development of biofuels, including aviation biofuels, the Air Transport Assn. announced.
Oneworld has no plans to change its strategy and remains interested in adding new members only in Brazil, Russia, India and mainland China, Governing Board Chairman and American Airlines Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey said yesterday at a Madrid marking the alliance's 10th anniversary.
Fraport announced the sale of its 65% stake in Frankfurt-Hahn to the State of Rhineland-Palatinate for €1 ($1.28). The state now holds 82.5% of HHN, with eastern neighbor Hesse holding the remainder. Fraport said its divestment largely was related to Ryanair's threat to reduce its operation at HHN if the operator successfully imposed a per-passenger "airport development fee." It said the fee "was an essential prerequisite. . .to make Hahn profitable."
Travelport GDS reached content distribution agreements with Xiamen Airlines, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines to provide Galileo, Apollo and Worldspan subscribers with access to international fares and inventory via its GDS technology.
Oneworld Governing Board Chairman and American Airlines Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey dismissed suggestions that the alliance might fall apart if the application for antitrust immunity for AA, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Royal Jordanian or the proposed merger between BA and IB fails. "We are not contemplating anything else than getting immunity, which will enable us to compete on more equal terms with the other alliances," Arpey told ATWOnline at the group's 10th anniversary event in Madrid.
Finnair CEO Jukka Hienonen told ATWOnline at this week's oneworld meeting in Madrid that the airline does not have the flexibility to remain stable during the current market downturn. Finnair was €2.1 million ($2.7 million) in the black through the first nine months of 2008, but it does not expect a positive full-year result.
Continental Airlines said January consolidated RASM fell 5%-6% year-over-year. Traffic dropped 11% to 6.43 billion RPMs against a 6.5% decline in capacity to 8.79 billion ASMs. Load factor was down 3.6 points to 73.2%.
Aeroflot said "preliminary analysis" of its 2008 financial performance indicated a 26.2% year-over-year growth in revenue based on Russian accounting standards. "This gives ground for us to expect a positive financial result for 2008, close to the 2007 level," SU said. It reported a $313.4 million profit under IFRS in 2007. It transported 9.3 million passengers in 2008, up approximately 13.4%, but load factor fell 0.3 point to 70.9%. Separately, the airline launched twice-weekly Moscow Sheremetyevo-Eilat Ovda flights aboard an A320.
Pratt & Whitney reached a four-year deal with Evergreen International Airlines to provide line maintenance services for PW4000, JT9D and CF6 engines. Agreement includes engine changes and is renewable up to 20 additional years.
Airbus signed a cooperation agreement with Xian Aircraft Industry Co. stipulating that wings for A320 family aircraft assembled at the Tianjin FAL will be fully completed and tested in Tianjin. XAC will build an equipping and testing facility near the FAL, with operations expected to start by year end. First delivery of fully equipped wings is scheduled for the 2010 first quarter. Production rates by the end of 2010 are projected at two units per month and by the close of the following year at four units per month.
The Air Line Pilots Assn. asked for US FAA to develop more stringent flight- and duty-time rules to prevent pilot fatigue and called on Congress to pass legislation protecting pilots who report safety concerns. The world's largest pilots' union, comprising 53,000 members in North America, outlined its 2009 agenda at a Washington briefing yesterday, claiming that the US regulatory and legal framework regarding pilots is weak and open to disparate interpretations. It also warned that freighter aircraft are vulnerable to hijackings.
Malaysian government's position on AirAsia's ambitious standalone airport project, which was floated last month ( ATWOnline, Jan. 12), now is the subject of some confusion. AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes made a presentation to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and senior officials from the Finance Ministry and airports authority late last week.
Air Canada and Jazz Air said yesterday that they reached agreement on "new rates for controllable costs" to be paid by AC to Jazz as part of the capacity purchase accord under which the regional operates flights on behalf of the flag carrier. The rates, which were not disclosed, are retroactive to Jan. 1 and will extend to the end of 2011. Additionally, AC announced that it concluded a secured financing transaction valued at $37 million with Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale that increases a previously announced facility for $78 million with Calyon New York Branch and NLG.
Southwest Airlines announced a tentative five-year deal with the Southwest Airlines Pilot Assn. that will run through Aug. 31, 2011, if approved by the union's board and membership. SWA has been negotiating with the pilots since September 2006. According to a statement from the airline, the agreement "delivers raises and increased benefits" to its pilots. It is subject to approval by the SWAPA board after which it will be submitted to union membership for ratification. WN also announced that 2,500 mechanics represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn.
Boeing resumed production on the fifth 787 flight test aircraft, ZA005, joining the fuselage and wings on Jan. 29 ( ATWOnline, Jan. 28). It is the first GEnx-powered 787. VP-787 Final Assembly and Change Incorporation Jack Jones said the join marked the company's "return to a steady production rhythm." Five of the six flight test aircraft now are in production, with first flight scheduled for the second quarter. Assemblies for 30 787s, including the sixth test aircraft, currently are in production.
EASA awarded type certification to the Tu-204-120CE, a dedicated cargo version of the aircraft powered by two RB211-535E4s. It also offers an "English-language cockpit" with operations documentation in English. The certificate is valid in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, where the aircraft now can be registered and operated legally. It is the first EASA approval for a transport aircraft designed by an organization from Russia/CIS. EASA Executive Director Patrick Goudou said he was "confident it will serve as a model for future projects."
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft said its lease portfolio and support business remained strong in 2008 despite the increasingly difficult economic climate. "The Regional Aircraft team has performed well, winning significant new business across all sectors despite a worsening trading environment," MD Alan Fraser said. Last year 75 aircraft were placed through new leases, extensions and sales. There were 41 separate BAe 146/Avro RJ transactions in 2008. BAE ended production of its line of regional jets in November 2001 but has remarketed aircraft and support services actively since then.
Full-year 2008 traffic figures released by IATA confirmed that passenger demand growth is slowing considerably while cargo traffic is contracting significantly. Passenger traffic grew just 1.6% in 2008, a major slowdown compared to 7.4% growth in 2007. Capacity rose 3.5% and load factor was 75.9%, down 1.4 points from a year earlier. Passenger demand fell 4.6% year-over-year in December.
