KLM last week signed an agreement with Wereld Natuur Fonds (the Dutch branch of the World Wildlife Fund) to "achieve CO2-neutral growth in comparison with 2007" by offsetting approximately 4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the next four years through "emission reduction and compensation."
Iberia said it signed a labor agreement covering approximately 18,000 ground staff represented by the CC.OO, UGT and ASETMA unions. The deal is valid for 2007 and stipulates a 2% wage increase, with an additional increase if needed to offset real inflation. It also calls for changes in 1,177 contracts, including new permanent status for 745 employees, and new productivity standards in IB's Maintenance and Engineering Division.
France's Conseil d'Etat last week ruled that easyJet and Ryanair each must apply French labor laws for staff operating in the country. Both LCCs had appealed against last year's decree that obliged foreign airlines to apply domestic labor laws to aircraft crews based in France. Ryanair argued that the decree contravened European laws on free movement of labor and services, freedom of establishment and the liberalized air transport market.
Eurocontrol appointed David McMillan as its next DG. Currently DG of civil aviation at the UK Dept. for Transport, McMillan will succeed Victor Aguado, whose seven-year term ends Jan. 1.
Shanghai SR Aircraft Technics, the joint venture between SR Technics and Shanghai Foreign Aviation Service Corp., signed a contract to provide line maintenance services for Singapore Airlines 777s and 747s during their transit stops at Shanghai Pudong. Services commenced on July 1. Additionally, it will provide line maintenance services for SIA's 747F cargo operations at the airport.
Air France and Aeroports de Paris have begun the progressive opening of AF's new boarding facility at Charles de Gaulle, which is scheduled to be fully operational by year end with annual capacity of 8.5 million passengers. Planned for next year is the April reopening of CDG's Terminal 2E and the fall inauguration of a regional terminal. A second boarding facility is slated to be built by 2012. Separately, AF unveiled its new Tokyo Narita lounge, which is 400 sq. m. and has seating capacity for 140 passengers.
Continental Airlines said it contributed an additional $75 million in cash to its defined benefit pension plans, bringing its year-to-date contribution to $211 million. It expects to put in $328 million this year.
United Airlines flew 10.73 billion system RPMs in June, a 0.3% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 1.2% to 12.03 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.8 point to 89.1%. Iberia flew 4.69 billion RPKs in June, up 4.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed just 0.6% to 5.59 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 2.8 points to 83.8%. China Southern Airlines flew 6.19 billion RPKs in June, up 14.5% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 11.3% to 8.66 billion ASKs and load factor increased 2 points to 71.5%.
Macquarie AirFinance leased a new IAE V2500-powered A320 to TAM. Macquarie said it recently completed acquisition of all third-party interests in 25 aircraft owned by five joint venture companies originally established by GATX Corp. In January it acquired third-party interests in another former GATX JV owning four aircraft. The aircraft involved in the recent transaction include 19 737-800s, five A320-200s and one 757.
Vietnam Airlines reported a pre-tax profit of $13.3 million for the first half of 2007, down from approximately $19 million in the year-ago period, AFX News reported from Hanoi. The earnings for the recently completed semester constituted 56.4% of its full-year target, VN said. Revenue rose 11.9% year-over-year to around $580 million while six-month passenger numbers climbed 16.5% to 3.8 million, AFX said.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair flew 6.67 billion RPKs in June, up 1.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 1.5% to 8.23 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 0.1 point to 81%. TAM flew 1.79 billion domestic RPKs in June, up 15.2% from the year-ago month. Domestic capacity rose 24.4% to 2.47 billion ASKs and load factor fell 5.8 points to 72.6%. International RPKs grew 66.5% to 905 million against an 80.3% climb in ASKs to 1.3 billion, dropping load factor 5.8 points to 69.4%.
European Parliament yesterday backed a European Commission proposal requiring that carriers operating within the EU advertise fares with all taxes, nonavoidable charges, surcharges and fees known at the time of publication included ( ATWOnline, July 19, 2006).
Virgin America yesterday received approval from the US Dept. of Transportation to begin selling tickets in advance of its launch, which is planned for next month. The San Francisco-based startup said it is fully staffed, has taken delivery of 10 new A319s/A320s and is "ready to advertise, sell tickets and operate the airline." It did not disclose a specific launch date. After a lengthy and somewhat controversial application process, it received DOT approval in May ( ATWOnline, May 21).
Pemco Aviation Group entered into a definitive agreement to sell its commercial MRO and modification subsidiary, Pemco World Air Services, to private investment firm Sun Capital Partners for $43 million. PAG Chairman Michael Tennenbaum said the transaction "permits [PAG] to pay off all of its bank debt, fund pension plan liabilities and still have a cash balance of approximately $10 million." The transaction is subject to the approval of PAG stockholders.
Aeroflot announced a deal with Rosneft, a Russian oil company, under which the carrier will purchase "petroleum derivatives and oil chemistry products," transport Rosneft employees and exchange infrastructural assets, technical expertise and marketing, among other elements. The parties also will cooperate on establishing storage and fueling facilities at domestic airports. Rosneft posted a $3.5 billion profit in 2006, according to SU. Separately, SU said it appointed Natalya Goncharova to direct the company's "interaction with the investment community."
Swissport International appointed Per Utnegaard president and CEO of Swissport Group. He replaces Santiago Olivares, who recently was named CEO of Ferrovial Servicios.
Precision Conversions announced the delivery of a fifth 757-200PCF to VarigLog. Modifications were performed at Flightstar Aircraft Services in Jacksonville. VarigLog's deal with PC is for seven full-15-pallet aircraft.
AiRUnion is planning to apply for IOSA certification once the merger of the five constituent carriers is complete, a source close to the airline told ATWOnline in Moscow. That is expected to occur in November. The companies won government approval two months ago ( ATWOnline, May 4). None of the five airlines--KrasAir, Domodedovo Airlines, Sibaviatrans, Samara Airlines and Omskavia--is an IATA member.
Southwest Airlines said it will accept PayPal payments for tickets purchased on its website. PayPal is an eBay subsidiary that allows account-holding customers to pay for online transactions through various means without submitting financial information to the vendor.
Ryanair said it intends to sue the European Commission for what it called the body's "repeated failure" to take action on a number of state aid complaints involving Air France, Lufthansa, Alitalia and Olympic Airways and their respective national governments that the LCC submitted more than a year ago. Separately, the EC announced investigations into whether some airports served by Ryanair and easyJet received illegal state aid (see next item).
Qantas plans to add a fourth class--premium economy--on its A380s, CEO Geoff Dixon told The Australian. The new seat may be introduced on other aircraft types in the QF fleet, he added.
L'Avion is speeding up its expansion, citing "better than forecasted" results for the first six months of operation. The Paris Orly-based all-business-class carrier said it will add a second 90-seat 757-200 at the end of October and a second daily frequency on its ORY-Newark service. It reported a 78% June load factor.
A J Walter Aviation said that Essential (EAMS), the Denmark-based MRO specialist formed from the technical department of Sterling Airlines, awarded AJW a five-year power-by-the-hour support agreement for two 737-300s owned by Jet Time.
