IATA yesterday identified 11 additional countries as "ready for e-freight," signaling a potential major expansion of trials that aim to demonstrate the feasibility of "paperless" air cargo. New nations are US, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, UAE (Dubai), Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark and Norway. Current e-freight trials, in which a portion of airfreight on key trade lanes travels without much of the paper documentation usually accompanying cargo, are taking place at airports in Canada, Sweden, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Netherlands.
Air Berlin is reconsidering its acquisition of Condor Airlines from Thomas Cook, CEO Joachim Hunold said at AB's annual shareholder meeting this week, according to Reuters. The deal was announced last fall. "Because of the significant delays in the approval process and the changing economic circumstances, we are currently examining whether the Condor transaction is still sensible," Hunold said. AB was scheduled to acquire 75.1% of Condor next February and the remaining share in February 2010.
Lufthansa Technik and EADS EFW signed a two-year agreement to expand cooperation in conversion and modification of Airbus aircraft. Closer collaboration with cockpit upgrades and freighter conversion is aimed at new markets.
Lufthansa Systems will provide its NetLine technology to Braathens Aviation subsidiaries Transwede Airways and Malmo Aviation under a five-year deal. Technology is expected to accelerate fleet and crew planning processes and boost revenue.
United Airlines flew 9.8 billion RPMs in May, down 4.1% year-over-year, against a 1.7% decline in capacity to 11.87 billion ASMs. Load factor slipped 2 points to 82.6%. US Airways Group consolidated passenger RASM rose 2%-4% in May compared to the year-ago month. Consolidated traffic grew 0.3% to 5.58 billion against a 0.1% fall in ASMs to 6.83 billion. Load factor was up 0.3 point to 81.8%.
The European Commission yesterday adopted the second package of legislation for a Single European Sky, which it said would eliminate up to 16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions (a 10% improvement per flight) and save airlines approximately €2.4 million per year.
Qantas engineers are expected to take further industrial action Friday after rolling stoppages across Australia caused the cancellation of 34 of the approximately 350 flights QF operates each day. The cancellations affected the major markets of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers' Assn. challenged Qantas management by stating that the next move belonged to the airline. Union President Paul Cousins told media he hoped the pay dispute standoff would end soon.
Chinese airlines carried 15.4 million passengers in May, down 1.1% year-over-year, as the devastating Sichuan Province earthquake and surging oil prices impacted demand, according to CAAC. Air China passenger boardings dropped 10.7% to 2.7 million and load factor fell 4.5 points to 71.3%, which CA attributed to the earthquake and the dedication of some capacity to relief efforts. China Eastern Airlines saw passenger numbers plunge 8% to 3 million. Operating expenses rose with fuel prices.
Aer Lingus flew 1.53 billion RPKs in May, up 18.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 25.3% to 2.01 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 4.2 points to 76.1%.
Alaska Airlines flew 1.62 billion RPMs in May, up 2.2% year-over-year, against a 1.3% increase in capacity to 2.08 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 0.7 point to 77.8%. Unit revenue climbed 1.7% to 11.64 cents. It is forecasting a 1.2% year-over-year increase in second-quarter capacity to 6.2 billion ASMs and a 1.2% hike in full-year capacity to 24.5 billion ASMs. Second-quarter unit cost is expected to rise 11%-12% to 11.5-11.6 cents. It also said it expects to incur a charge of approximately $30 million this quarter related to the retirement of two leased MD-80s.
United Airlines said it will furlough 950 pilots, about 14% of its flight deck workforce, blaming "high oil prices and a softening US economy." In a message to workers, UA management explained that its previously announced plan to cut 100 aircraft from its mainline fleet by the end of 2009 ( ATWOnline, June 5) led to the decision to eliminate 950 pilot positions, which are in addition to 1,400-1,600 salaried and management positions that it also has said it will cut.
Chinese government last week raised the domestic fuel price more than 25% to CNY7,450 ($1,082) per ton, which China Securities aviation analyst Li Lei reported would lead to a CNY3.6 billion increase in annual expenses for China Southern Airlines--which operates the largest domestic network--a CNY1.8 billion rise for Air China, CNY2.2 billion for China Eastern Airlines and CNY700 million for Hainan Airlines. However, Li said the increase will not have a significant influence on second-quarter financial performance, as yuan appreciation will continue to drive profits.
Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey decided that the best form of defense is attack and warned that some airlines face imminent shutdown because of soaring fuel prices. Three weeks ago Godfrey was forced to defend Blue from reports that it risked bankruptcy ( ATWOnline, June 6). JP Morgan, author of the possible scenarios that prompted the press speculation, later clarified that it did not believe Blue faced bankruptcy.
Motorola will provide Lufthansa Technik with its RFID solution for tracking components. Technology reads EPC UHF tags and is expected to reduce manual data entry and accelerate the repair process.
Airbus began transporting A320 segments from Hamburg to the new Tianjin FAL, where the first aircraft (headed for Sichuan Airlines) will be assembled starting in August for delivery in the first half of next year. Airbus will hold 51% of the Tianjin joint venture with the Chinese Industry Consortium comprising the Tianjin Free Trade Zone, AVIC I and AVIC II holding the remainder.
Malaysia Airlines will reduce capacity by 6% and enact other cost-saving measures, according to MD Idris Jala, who said MAS will "freeze. . .recruitment, defer spending, adjust fares and review routes and flights which are losing money," Thomson Financial reported from Kuala Lumpur. He said MAS also may decline to exercise its option for 20 737-800s that accompanied its firm order for 35 in March ( ATWOnline, April 1).
Cargo carrier MK Airlines recommenced flight operations after administrators secured funding last Friday from Transatlantic Aviation Ltd., part of The Belfairs Management Group. MK suspended service June 10 and was in discussions with several parties regarding investment that would help it renew its fleet of 747-200Fs and DC-8Fs.
It's not too late for struggling airlines to shift to new technology and cut costs, according to Paul Coby, chief information officer of British Airways. Coby, who also is chairman of the board of SITA, told delegates to SITA's Air Transport IT Summit in Brussels to take advantage of the "community model" that allows carriers to use new technologies on a per-transaction basis rather than requiring a large upfront investment.
Lufthansa suffered a 4-hr. wildcat strike by 250 ground workers yesterday in Dusseldorf that resulted in the cancellation or delay of 30 flights, the ver.di union said. It staged a similar walkout last week and said it is seeking a 9.8% pay increase over a one-year period for ground and cabin crew, while LH offered increases of 3.4% and 2.1% over 19 months.
Sudan government grounded flag carrier Sudan Airways and suspended its operating certificate yesterday for breaching unidentified rules and noncompliance, according to widespread press reports from Khartoum. A civil aviation authority official was quoted as saying the grounding was for "an undefined period" and was unrelated to the A310 accident that killed at least 30 two weeks ago ( ATWOnline, June 12).
Condor Technik will launch line maintenance operations on Condor Airlines' 757s in November and on its nine 767-300s and 13 757-300s next spring. Staffing is expected to reach 170 by next year.
Japan Airlines, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney will team up to conduct a demonstration flight "to accelerate current research and development into the creation of a second-generation biofuel," JAL announced yesterday. A JT9D-powered JAL 747-300 will fly for 1 hr. with one of its four engines partially powered by a yet-to-be-determined biofuel sometime toward the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009 ( ATWOnline, June 23).
