Lufthansa flew 9.6 billion RPKs in April, up 6.2% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 5% to 12.72 billion ASKs and load factor improved 0.9 point to 75.5%.
KLM launched a trial on long-haul routes to Singapore, Manila and Curacao to charge passengers for seats with more legroom or on an exit row, Reuters reported. The charge is €50 ($67.71) per "extra," the airline said.
BAA announced the sale of Budapest Airport to a consortium led by Hochtief Airport for £1.31 billion ( ATWOnline, Oct. 23, 2006). The UK airports operator said the decision was driven by parent company Ferrovial's desire to focus on its seven home airports. The sale is expected to be complete at the end of this month. Leeds Bradford International Airport has been sold to Bridgepoint, a private equity firm, for £145.5 million ($289.9 million) following a decision by West Yorkshire officials.
Ryanair yesterday said that "from today, all of Ryanair's fares will be quoted inclusive of taxes" in conjunction with a seat sale that includes a promise to pay passengers double the difference between a Ryanair fare and a cheaper fare on the same route operated by a competing carrier. The LCC transported 4.1 million passengers in April, up 19% from the year-ago month. Load factor fell 2 points to 83%.
Libyan government said it will invest $1.2 billion to modernize the fleets of its two national carriers, Libyan Airlines and Afriqiyah Airways. According to the Arab Air Carriers Organization, Libyan officials plan to buy up to 12 Airbus aircraft and remain in negotiations with Boeing.
British Airways flew 9.46 billion RPKs in April, down 2.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 0.5% to 12.3 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 2.1 points to 76.9%. Continental Airlines flew 7.85 billion consolidated RPMs in April, up 4.8% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 5% to 9.54 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 0.2 point to 82.3%. Domestic traffic grew 5.2% against a 5.8% climb in capacity that cut load factor 0.4 point to 85.5%. International RPMs lifted 6.3%, capacity was up 6.1% and load factor rose 0.1 point to 79.6%.
China's new privately run LCCs are looking to strategic investors as a method of raising capital, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to access traditional sources of bank lending owing to the airlines' less-than-stellar financial performance. Juneyao Group announced that its Juneyao Airlines subsidiary is seeking a strategic investor to aid in the carrier's long-term development. The announcement was made after Juneyao said the airline was profitable in April and expects to post a full-year profit as well. Actual results were not disclosed.
Northwest Airlines labor unions registered strong protest to the carrier's plan of reorganization after it was revealed that top executives will receive 5% of the carrier's new stock when it emerges from bankruptcy, including shares and options reportedly valued at $26.5 million earmarked for President and CEO Doug Steenland. Pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., said in a US Bankruptcy Court filing that employees believe "the principle of shared sacrifice is dead and buried" and that top executives are making an "incredible grab" for valuable stock despite the fact that
American Airlines is reserved on the effect open skies will have on its US-EU traffic. "There has been a lot of excitement over it over the past weeks, but it is too early to tell what will happen," MD-Sales and Marketing-Europe, Middle East and Africa Maria Sebastian told ATWOnline while in Brussels to present the carrier's upgraded 767-300 business class. "I suspect it will lead to a more competitive environment, certainly at London Heathrow.
Kenya Airways said yesterday that the flight data recorder from the 737-800 that crashed after takeoff from Douala on Saturday, killing all 114 on board ( ATWOnline, May 8), was recovered "and appears to be in good condition," adding that "the recovery is still going on under very difficult circumstances" and that the airline is flying victims' relatives to Cameroon while working to "put measures in place to minimize disruptions on our flight schedules."
AerCap Holdings named Willis Lease Finance Senior VP-Worldwide Sales & Marketing Thomas MacAleavey to the new position of chief executive-engine leasing effective June 1.
EasyJet said unit revenues fell in April and it sees "pressure on yields in the summer against high comparatives from last year and due to continued competition." It maintained its projection of 40%-50% in pre-tax profit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. The LCC transported 3.1 million passengers in April, up 10% from the year-ago month. Load factor dropped 3.3 points to 83.1%. US Airways said consolidated passenger RASM fell in April.
The Boyd Group issued a report predicting that "dozens of smaller communities" could face a reduction in or even loss of commercial air service because of evolving airline economics. By May 4, some 75 applications had been filed under the US Dept. of Transportation's Small Community Air Service Development Grant Program, but only about 40 of those have "potential for success," according to the report.
The wreckage of a Kenya Airways 737-800 that was missing for 36 hr. was found in a mangrove swamp approximately 20 km. southeast of Douala in Cameroon, the airline confirmed, and reports suggested that none of the 105 passengers and nine crew survived the accident.
Aviation Partners Australia declared its bid for Qantas dead late yesterday but at the same time said it was leaving the door open for another attempt in four months.
Gulf Air will be fully owned by the government of Bahrain following the withdrawal of Oman, which signed a letter of intent to withdraw from the money-losing carrier, the Arab Air Carriers Organization announced. Oman follows the emirate of Abu Dhabi and Qatar ( ATWOnline, Sept. 14, 2005). AACO said Bahrain and Oman "have agreed to form a joint committee to assess the airline's assets and to appoint auditors and technicians for this purpose, a process expected to be finalized within six months."
JetBlue Airways flew 2.27 billion RPMs in April, up 11.6% from the year-ago month, against a 12.8% rise in capacity to 2.67 billion ASMs that lowered load factor 0.9 point to 84.7%. Gol flew 1.67 billion RPKs in April, up 49.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 63.5% to 2.35 billion ASKs and load factor fell 6.8 points to 70.8%.
News from Travel Technology Update: The European Commission opened a "detailed investigation" under the EU Merger Regulation into Travelport's proposed acquisition of Worldspan, citing concerns over the competitiveness of the deal. The Commission has 90 working days from the investigation's launch to reach a final decision on whether the concentration would significantly impede effective competition within the European Economic Area, which comprises the European Union plus Norway and Iceland, or a significant part of it. The deadline is Sept. 13.
Saudi Arabian Airlines is looking to buy up to 60 new aircraft, the Arab Air Carriers Organization confirmed yesterday ( ATWOnline, Jan. 8), and intends to establish a low-cost subsidiary. SAA also announced a service expansion including an increase in flights to Dubai to 44 weekly from 30 and added frequencies to London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Madrid, Frankfurt, New York JFK and Washington Dulles and new seasonal services to Vienna, Athens and Munich.
SAS reportedly is taking action following last week's three-day wildcat strike by cabin crew ( ATWOnline, April 30), downgrading its Copenhagen operation and using Swedish and Norwegian crews to handle intra-Scandinavian flights, according to press reports. Danish employees may be fired and jobs added in Oslo and Stockholm "because staff there show more commitment to their jobs," CEO Mats Jannson was quoted as saying.
Air France launched a fifth weekly Paris Charles de Gaulle-New York JFK flight aboard an A330. Service will become daily on June 4. Separately, AF KLM flew 17 billion RPKs in April, a 3.1% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 4.1% to 20.67 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 0.8 point to 82.3%.
GE Aviation announced Friday that it completed the $4.8 billion all-cash acquisition of Smiths Aerospace, giving the engine-maker its long-sought role in aviation components and systems ( ATWOnline, Jan. 17). GE's proposed merger with Honeywell was blocked by EU regulators in 2001. Smiths supplies flight management systems, electrical power management, mechanical actuation systems and airborne platform computing systems.
