US Bureau of Transportation Statistics said the 20 reporting US carriers posted and ontime arrival rate of 75.4% in 2006, down from 77.4% in 2005. Reports of mishandled baggage per 1,000 passengers rose to 6.73 from 6.64 while complaints about service fell 4.8%.
UTair Airlines' 2006 profit more than doubled to RUB263.9 million ($10.2 million) from RUB128 million in 2005, Russia's AK&M reported. The company anticipates a RUB645 million profit in 2007.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said the US and Europe have "lost the vision" that made them the world's top air transport markets and it is now "Asia's turn" to lead the industry. Speaking this week to the Asia Pacific Aviation Media Assn. in Singapore, he noted that intra-Asia traffic will be "the largest market in the world, accounting for one-third of the world's traffic" by 2010 and pushed Asian nations to meet international safety standards and liberalize traffic rights. "Not all governments in Asia are at the same level in safety oversight," he said.
Delta Air Lines flew 10.42 billion system RPMs in March, a 3.5% increase from the year-ago month, as domestic traffic fell 3.2% and international RPMs climbed 23.1%. Capacity rose 0.4% to 12.55 billion ASMs on a 6% domestic decline and an 18.7% international increase. Load factor improved 2.5 points to 83%. Domestic load factor was up 2.5 points to 83.6% and international load factor rose 2.9 points to 81.6%. Southwest Airlines flew 6.08 billion RPMs in March, up 4.3% from the year-ago month.
Qantas won a A$900 million ($732.1 million), five-year contract from the Australian Dept. of Defense that has caused some controversy because there was no competitive tender for the deal, according to widespread press reports from Australia. The government reportedly blocked potential competitors because Qantas was seen as the only company capable of handling the department's needs.
Northwest Airlines' new regional subsidiary, Compass Airlines, yesterday announced the receipt of US FAA certification to launch CRJ200 operations. It expects to start flying next month between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Washington Dulles. It will be based in nearby Chantilly, Va., and will operate out of NWA's hubs at MSP, Detroit and Memphis as Northwest Airlink. During the third quarter, it expects to put the first of 36 76-seat, two-class E-175s into service ( ATWOnline, Oct. 6, 2006).
The transition to a satellite-based NextGen ATC system in the US will hinge on politics and financing rather than technological issues, according to industry players. "Technology, in my view, is not the restraint," Lockheed Martin VP-Transportation System Solutions Monte Belger, who formerly served as US FAA's acting deputy administrator, said at this week's US Chamber of Commerce Aviation 2007 conference, available via webcast. "But there are enormous public policy decisions to be made. The industry costs to equip [aircraft] with ADS-B are huge."
US National Transportation Safety Board released documents in which Comair conceded that the pilots of the CRJ200 that crashed last August after attempting to take off from the wrong runway at Lexington Blue Grass Airport ( ATWOnline, Oct. 16, 2006) violated sterile cockpit guidelines. The airline added that "it would be simple but inaccurate to conclude that the only cause of this tragic accident was a mistake by Comair's well-trained and experienced flight crew," the Associated Press reported.
Ural Airlines reported 2006 net income of RUB27.1 million ($1 million), up from a RUB4.5 million profit in 2005, Russia's AK&M reported. Passenger traffic rose 11% to 1 million. The company flies mainly Russian-built aircraft but leased its first A320s last year.
Swissport International said Air New Zealand has reversed course and opted not to outsource ground handling in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to a Swissport-Transfield Services New Zealand joint venture. The proposed contract, reached last October, was for 10 years.
Gulf Air CEO Andre Dose, who took charge this week ( ATWOnline, April 4), announced a reduction of his senior staff in order to "drive the necessary efficiencies and to allow our management to focus on our customers." VP-Finance Ahmed Al Hammadi, VP-Services Tariq Sultan and VP-Business Units Ali Murtada will be leaving the airline.
Lufthansa will install a new first class cabin on one of its long-haul aircraft for a test run this year. "Even though the A380 is delayed for Lufthansa, we will introduce our new first class on time on our A340 fleet, starting the reconfiguration process with the 2008 winter schedule," Executive VP-Marketing and Sales Thierry Antinori told ATWOnline. LH will complete the retrofit of its 83 long-haul aircraft with its new business class next month. Economy passengers should benefit from the installation of individual video screens starting this fall.
IATA raised its 2007 global airline net profit forecast to $3.8 billion from $2.5 billion and projected a 2008 collective industry net of $7.6 billion, pointing to "better than expected traffic coupled with careful control of capacity."
Mishandled baggage costs continue to grow but can be mitigated through adoption of new technologies, particularly RFID baggage tags and sensors, experts said yesterday in the ATWOnline webcast "Innovations in Baggage and Aircraft Turnaround." The webcast, sponsored by SITA and available for replay here, examined ways carriers can handle baggage more efficiently and cost-effectively.
British Airways flew 9.67 billion RPKs in March, up 3.3% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 2.3% to 12.67 billion ASKs and load factor lifted 0.7 point to 76.3%. Ryanair transported 3.8 million passengers in March, up 26% on the year-ago month. Load factor fell 1 point to 79%. WestJet flew 1.02 billion RPMs in March, a 23% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 18% to 1.2 billion ASMs and load factor was up 3.3 points to 85.2%.
Garuda Indonesia said it posted a IDR131 billion ($14.4 million) profit in the first two months of 2007, a period in which it has lost money each of the past three years. It suffered a IDR173.9 billion loss in the first two months of 2006. It cited a 9-point increase in load factor to 76% and an 8% lift in yield to $0.074 as key factors in the result. Passenger numbers rose 9% to 1.4 million. "Enhanced efficiency and consolidations" pushed the number of profitable domestic routes to 24 from three in the first two months of last year, it said.
The European Commission yesterday expressed dissatisfaction with the application of its air passenger rights regulation, saying that customers confronted with denied boarding, delays or cancellations remain "in a weaker position compared to airlines" and that carriers and member states now have six months effectively to implement the two-year-old rule or face sanctions.
Gol received approval yesterday from Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency for its planned acquisition of Varig ( ATWOnline, March 29). "Varig will incorporate modern concepts of efficient administration and reduce operating costs to become a competitive company," Gol CEO Constantino de Oliveira Jr. said. The transaction, valued at $320 million, still requires approval from the Brazilian antitrust authority.
Mobiqa and Nok Air are partnering to make tickets available for download on customers' mobile phones via an SMS containing a barcode that can be scanned at check-in. Separately, Nok launched twice-daily Bangkok-Krabi service aboard a 737-400.
ARINC Engineering Services opened an 81,000-sq.-ft. aircraft modification and operations facility at Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport yesterday. Certified as an FAA Part 145 Repair Station, the facility can provide heavy aircraft modifications, upgrades and maintenance and offers avionics installation, aircraft systems integration and engineering design.
Those hoping to use their mobile phones or PEDs onboard US aircraft will have to wait awhile longer following yesterday's announcement that the Federal Communications Commission is terminating its review of the December 2004 NPRM proposing a relaxation or replacement of the regulations banning the devices.
Amadeus said KLM, Kenya Airways and Martinair successfully switched to Altea Reservation. More than 1.4 million PNRs migrated to Amadeus and 22 applications were adapted as part of the cutover. "By now using the same reservation system as Air France, this migration represents an important step in realizing common IT platforms and applications between Air France and KLM," KLM Executive VP and CIO Boet Kreiken said.
