China's big three airlines--Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines--expect to post first-half profits thanks largely to "continuous growth of the domestic market" and the appreciation of the yuan. China Southern yesterday said it expected a reversal from its CNY835 million ($110.4 million) loss in the year-ago semester, while earlier this week Air China said in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it expected to report a profit more than 20 times greater than the CNY45.8 million earned in the first six months of 2006.
Northwest Airlines said yesterday that it will reduce domestic mainline capacity by another 1% next month and likely begin hiring new pilots later this year. The carrier previously announced plans to cut domestic mainline capacity by 3% from Aug. 1 ( ATWOnline, July 2) to help mitigate cancellations.
Adria Airways said revenues generated by its MRO center in Ljubljana during the first half of 2007 rose 64% over the year-ago period as it serviced 43 third-party aircraft and added that it will start construction of a third hangar this fall.
Lufthansa Technik signed Total Component Support and Total Engine Support deals with Aegean Airlines covering up to 27 A320 family aircraft and the IAE V2500s being phased into the Greek carrier's fleet. The eight-year deal is worth approximately $100 million, LHT said.
Singapore Airlines announced yesterday that seats on the inaugural A380 flight in October, a Singapore-Sydney return, will be auctioned on eBay with proceeds going to charities including two Sydney hospitals, Singapore's Community Chest and Medecins Sans Frontieres. ExxonMobil Aviation will donate the fuel and eBay will subsidize fees and charges from the auction, details of which have yet to be finalized.
V Australia is the name chosen for Virgin Blue's new long-haul airline that will commence transpacific services to the US late next year with a 777-300ER ( ATWOnline, July 11). Virgin Blue cannot use the Virgin name outside Australia as part of an agreement reached when Singapore Airlines took a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1999. The new name was chosen from among nearly 6,000 entries solicited in a contest.
Asiana Airlines earned a profit of KRW38 billion ($41.5 million) in the second quarter, up from a KRW15 billion profit in the year-ago period, thanks to investment gains and the appreciation of the won, according to a regulatory filing cited by the Antara news agency. Revenue rose 2.1% year-over-year to KRW861 billion but operating profit dropped 7.2% to KRW20 billion. Separately, Asiana increased to daily its four-times-weekly Incheon-Frankfurt service.
Gulf Air COO Bjorn Naf yesterday was named acting president and CEO, replacing Andre Dose, who resigned suddenly Monday ( ATWOnline, July 24). The carrier said the search for a permanent replacement "has begun."
Oneworld partners American Airlines, Iberia, Finnair, Malev Hungarian Airlines and Royal Jordanian filed a request for antitrust immunity with the US Dept. of Transportation effective March 30, 2008, the day the US-EU open skies agreement becomes active. The five carriers said they wish to cooperate on codesharing, loyalty programs, route and schedule planning, advertising and marketing, pricing and yield management, revenue allocation, ground handling, cargo, IT and distribution and other areas.
Qantas unveiled a radical overhaul of its international long-haul inflight product ahead of the delivery of its first A380 in August 2008. A new premium economy class ( ATWOnline, July 24) featuring 42-in. pitch, a new Panasonic IFE system, enhanced connectivity in all cabins and upgraded lie-flat business class beds are the main features of a makeover that will be offered on the A380s and QF's 747-400s starting in February.
Djibouti Airlines An-26 crashed Monday near Shinile, Ethiopia, killing one passenger. There were 13 passengers and six crew onboard the cargo flight, which departed Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, and was on its way to Djibouti City, according to the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. The aircraft reportedly suffered engine problems and was attempting an emergency landing when it crashed.
Canada and Iceland signed an open skies agreement that replaced an MOU signed in 1995 and will allow Icelandair, which currently serves Halifax, to launch a Toronto service next spring. It said flights will operate 5-7 times per week. The carrier said additional Canadian destinations "are under consideration for future development."
UTair Airlines reported a 40% year-over-year increase in revenue to RUB9 billion ($354.3 million) for the first half of 2007, Russia's AK&M reported. Passenger numbers climbed 21% to 1.3 million and traffic was up 25% to 1.93 billion RPKs.
Emirates announced the opening of a $120 million, 526,400-sq.-ft., purpose-built catering facility in Dubai capable of producing 115,000 inflight meals per day. The new kitchen will serve EK exclusively while the existing facility will serve third-party customers. Emirates Flight Catering has a current asset value of $2.45 million, which is expected to rise to $4.36 million over the next seven years.
Amadeus said Qantas became the first airline to roll out the Amadeus-developed "next generation load control system" known as Altea Departure Control. Qantas CIO John Willett said the new system receives data direct from the airline's load planning, freight, fueling and airport information systems, removing existing manual processes.
The EU said its General Affairs and External Relations Council, comprised of member states' foreign ministers, yesterday approved the agreement reached last month with the US covering the transfer of passenger name record data.
International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Assns. said "numerous warning signs, multiple risks and relevant safety reports were ignored" by the Brazilian government prior to last week's TAM A320 crash at Sao Paolo Congonhas ( ATWOnline, July 23) and that air safety in Brazil "is currently compromised and is a danger to the traveling public." Citing ongoing ATC problems leading to extensive flight delays and cancellations, IFATCA President Marc Baumgartner yesterday encouraged civilian authorities to take
SITA and CarTrawler agreed to integrate CarTrawler's car rental distribution platform within the SITA Horizon portfolio of passenger management solutions, allowing SITA to offer it to its airline customers and enabling the customers to increase ancillary revenue through car rental sales, according to SITA.
Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines yesterday jointly launched SkyCorp Direct, an online travel management tool designed to provide companies with a "one-stop solution" for corporate travel needs. "The site allows employees to easily book their own flights, hotels and rental cars while providing corporations with the ability to track and manage employee travel costs," said John Slater, Continental MD-distribution planning and e-commerce.
Qantas plans to unveil a new premium economy class product in Sydney today. The new class will be fitted to the airline's A380s to be delivered next year and also to its 747-400 fleet. QF has been considering the move for some time and the delay in A380 deliveries enabled it to incorporate the new class in its first aircraft to be delivered in August 2008.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. promoted VP-Financial Planning and Analysis Kathryn Mikells to VP-investor relations and named Robert Sahadevan as MD-Mileage Plus. BAA announced that Divisional Director and CEO-London Heathrow Tony Douglas is leaving the company to join Laing O'Rourke Group as COO.
US Transportation Security Administration announced last week that it no longer will ban common lighters from aircraft cabins "in an effort to concentrate resources on detecting explosive threats." Torch lighters will remain prohibited. The change becomes effective Aug. 4.
