Northwest Airlines flew 6.52 billion consolidated RPMs in April, a 0.1% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.5% to 7.8 billion ASMs and load factor fell 0.5 point to 83.7%. Domestic traffic lifted 0.8%, capacity climbed 0.7% and load factor remained at 84.3%. International traffic grew 0.9%, capacity was up 2.8% and load factor was down 1.6 points to 84.3%. AirTran Airways flew 1.43 billion RPMs in April, up 18.5% on the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 21.5% to 1.86 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 2 points to 76.8%.
The Qantas board announced Sunday that the five-month, A$11.1 billion ($9.11 billion) takeover bid by Airline Partners Australia had failed despite a weekend of frantic appeals by the consortium to Australian regulators.
The European Commission extended its investigation into Ryanair's proposed acquisition of Aer Lingus Group by another 15 working days to July 4 from June 13, itself an extension from the original deadline of May 11 ( ATWOnline, Feb. 23). The extension followed Ryanair's submission of new commitments to address competition concerns raised by the European regulator. An EC spokesperson confirmed that the LCC offered extra remedies.
Malev Hungarian Airlines announced last week that its sale to AirBridge, a consortium led by KrasAir CEO Boris Abramovich, was completed with the transfer of shares from the Hungarian government ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27). The transaction includes AirBridge's assumption of Malev's loans and is part of the consortium's €102 million ($138.6 million) investment in the carrier.
Airbus workers at two French plants temporarily walked off the job last week over the company's proposal for worker bonuses that one union leader called "shocking." Airbus and parent EADS executives, meanwhile, reportedly got a hostile reception during an EADS shareholder meeting Friday, with shareholders shouting at them about Airbus's financial troubles as they made presentations on the manufacturer's restructuring program.
American Airlines pilots, represented by the Allied Pilots Assn., last week presented a proposal to management asking for a 30.5% pay rate increase on the date a new labor agreement is signed retroactive to May 1, 2008, a 15% signing bonus and 5% annual raises in following years. APA President Ralph Hunter said other stakeholders "have already recovered their investment in our airline's turnaround. .
Austria's regional market is getting two new carriers and losing another. Robin Hood Aviation will launch 10-times-weekly Graz-Zurich service May 29 using Saab 340s and said it has two more of the type on order. Another new regional, Salzburg-based Austrojet, said it will take delivery of its first aircraft, a Dash 8-300, this month. Meanwhile, startup Smartline ceased operations after just three weeks. It operated flights between St. Gallen/Altenrhein and Monchengladbach with Beech 1900s.
Australian government ruled out granting transpacific access to Singapore Airlines for "some time." An SIA spokesperson used the latest quarterly figures from IATA showing demand outstripping supply to highlight the need for additional capacity, but a spokesperson for Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport Mark Vaile told media that Virgin Blue's recent order for seven 777-300ERs would help alleviate demand from next year ( ATWOnline, March 22).
Airline Partners Australia's five-month race to acquire Qantas will reach the finish line today at 4 p.m. Australian Eastern Time, by which time the consortium must have 50% acceptance ( ATWOnline, May 1). It has gained some ground, announcing yesterday that it has secured 32.96%, up from just 25.94% 24 hr. earlier, while its voting power has risen to 27.78% from 17.63%.
New entrants in Australia and New Zealand, including Tiger Airways' foray into the market, are triggering a wave of deep discounting, according to the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Qantas subsidiary Jetstar Airways, which celebrated its third anniversary yesterday, had 130,000 seats for sale with companion fares as low as A$2.50 ($2.06) on many domestic, transtasman and international routes.
AiRUnion, the alliance of Russian carriers KrasAir, Domodedovo Airlines, Sibaviatrans, Samara Airlines and Omskavia, received final approval from the government and President Vladimir Putin Wednesday to complete the merger, which should take place within six months and would be the biggest of its kind in Russia ( ATWOnline, Feb. 26). Interfax reported that the government intends to hold at least 45% of the new company.
Air France KLM will be changing its top management structure in line with increasing integration between the two airlines and marking the conclusion of the three-year phase-in period following their merger in May 2004.
Alitalia cabin crew concluded a 24-hr. strike yesterday, forcing the embattled carrier to cancel 356 of approximately 800 flights. Flight attendants are in contract renewal negotiations. The airline said the strike went forward "in spite of the efforts and the willingness shown towards the unions involved."
Southwest Airlines flew 5.92 billion RPMs in April, up 3.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 9.6% to 8.19 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 4.4 points to 72.3%.
PAR Capital Management, which played a key role in US Airways' emergence from bankruptcy and had been its largest shareholder when it sold 6.5 million shares to Goldman, Sachs & Co. in February, ( ATWOnline, Feb. 16), sold off nearly all its remaining shares Tuesday to UBS Securities. The 6.75-million-share transaction leaves PAR with just a 0.29% stake in US, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sabre Travel Network signed an agreement with Interguide Air Ltd. of Nigeria under which the Sabre GDS will be marketed to more than 800 travel agencies across the country. Interguide expects 25% of Nigerian bookings to be on Sabre by year end.
Compass Airlines, Northwest Airlines' new regional subsidiary, launched its maiden flight yesterday out of Washington Dulles. For now, Compass will be operating a single CRJ200 on two daily roundtrips between IAD and Minneapolis/St. Paul. It expects to put the first of 36 E-175s into service by the third quarter.
Volga-Dnepr Group reported sales of $725 million in 2006, up 55% from 2005, and is projecting $1 billion in revenue this year. It said rising turnover resulted from development in its An-124-100 (revenue up 26%) and IL-76 (up 114%) charter freight businesses and expansion at AirBridge Cargo (up 96%), which operates four 747Fs. V-D transported more than 155,000 tonnes of freight last year, 98% of which was flown internationally. AirBridge reported revenues of $227.4 million and transported 78,400 tonnes of cargo, up 79% on the prior year.
Indian government yesterday made seat assignments compulsory for all domestic airlines. The Office of the Director General of Civil Aviation said it was imposing the regulation "in order to ensure correct loading of aircraft and keeping the center of gravity of the aircraft within limits at all times during flight."
Alitalia Group's net debt as of March 31 was €1.07 billion ($1.46 billion), down 2.7% from Feb. 28. During March the company repaid €14 million of medium/long-term financing.
OVER THE PAST YEAR, COMMERCIAL aviation suddenly has become serious about alternative fuels. Once pie-in-the-sky popular science, the subject now is manifestly mainstream. From January 2004 through July 2006, jet fuel prices skyrocketed $1.16 per gal., according to the Air Transport Assn., and fuel has leapfrogged labor at most airlines as the largest operating expense. But "this is not just about price," says ATA Chief Economist John Heimlich, "it's about supply integrity. We want to make sure we have fuel around at any price, [not just] a good price."
WITH A HISTORY OF 86 YEARS of operation and bragging rights as the fourth-oldest airline in the world, Compania Mexicana de Aviacion is about as "legacy" as a carrier can get. It played a crucial role in building Mexico's airport and airways system, was at one time owned by Pan American World Airways and even can boast that a certain Charles Lindbergh piloted one of its flights. It is a heritage that no one at Mexicana cares to forget, leastwise CEO Emilio Romano, who has led the airline since March 2004.
BOMBARDIER SURVEYED THE regional aircraft market and made a bold decision: Stretch its 86-seat CRJ900 to 100 seats, establishing the CRJ1000, which was launched in February with 38 firm orders valued at $1.2 billion from three customers. The move was not a blind stab at attracting orders from airlines that appear to have grown wearyat least for now and the foreseeable futureof new-build 50-seat regional jets. Rather, Bombardier said customers pushed it to build a newer, bigger CRJ.
