TAM reported full-year unit revenues of BRL0.21 ($0.10), a 2.5% improvement over its 2005 performance. Yields fell 1.9% to BRL0.29 and load factor rose 3.3 points to 73.9%. Unit cost dropped 4.3% to BRL0.18, or 5.9% to BRL0.12 excluding fuel. The airline said it exceeded its 2006 guidance in all categories save CASK, which it forecast cutting by 5%. It said the 6.7% year-over-year rise in fuel costs was the cause. Fourth-quarter RASK decreased 6.3% to BRL0.19 against a 9.8% decline in CASK to BRL0.17, or 6.5% to BRL0.11 excluding fuel.
CFM International and Indian Airlines signed an MOU to establish a CFM56 MRO joint venture in India. The shop will perform "the full spectrum of services" for CFM56-5B and -7B engines, CFM said. Indian operates six -5B-powered A319s and has 43 A320 family aircraft on order.
Lufthansa Technik and Croatia Airlines signed agreements under which LHT will subcontract overflow third-party C checks to Croatia and exchange personnel. In addition, Croatia will send landing gear on its four A319-100s and four A320-200s to Hamburg for MRO and exchange. Separately, LHT will overhaul landing gear on 53 Virgin Blue 737NGs over the next eight years.
Air France Industries signed Air Mauritius to a five-year agreement for full component support of seven A340s and two A319s, together with a maintenance base kit to be installed at the airline's Plaisance hub.
Qantas yesterday said the termination of its transtasman agreement with Air New Zealand ( ATWOnline, Nov. 16, 2006) resulted in the convertible notes issued by ANZ to QF in 2002 being converted into 44.2 million new ordinary shares. As a result, Qantas will own approximately 4.2% of ANZ's ordinary shares.
SunExpress, the Lufthansa-Turkish Airlines joint venture, said it will order two more 737-800s, bringing its fleet to 11 -800s and four 757-200s. The new aircraft will be delivered in April and May. "It is the first time that we have bought aircraft and not leased them," MD Paul Schwaiger said at a news conference in Istanbul. He said SunExpress transported around 2.35 million passengers in 2006, up 34% from 2005, with a load factor of 79.4%. Turnover rose 24% to €244 million ($316.9 million).
Continental Airlines completed installation of on-demand entertainment systems and in-seat power ports in the business class cabins of its 41 757s, which are used primarily on transatlantic flights from Newark. AVOD and power ports will be installed in economy class starting this summer.
Amadeus announced the successful implementation of the Amadeus Ticketing Platform for Hahn Air, allowing it to distribute e-tickets worldwide and develop interline e-ticketing.
S7 Airlines flew 4.9 million passengers in 2006, a 16.4% increase over the prior year. Traffic rose 14.2% to 12.5 billion RPKs, of which 60% was domestic and 40% international. The carrier added six A319s, four A310s, two 737-400s and two 737-500s last year, bringing its foreign-built fleet to 25. It also operates 27 Tu-154Ms and nine Il-86s. It became the second Russian airline to pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit. Last week it announced the issue of 2.3 million bonds worth RUB1,000 ($38.05) each.
TAM selected Globe Air Cargo as its GSA in the UK and Ireland. The airline expects to carry 4 million kg. of freight per year on its London Heathrow-Sao Paulo service.
US FAA yesterday unveiled its eagerly awaited Next Generation Air Transportation System Financing Reform Act of 2007, the funding and air traffic control legislative proposal that would eliminate domestic ticket taxes, impose user fees and "make it easier for airports, airlines and controllers to keep pace with the skyrocketing demand for air travel," according to Administrator Marion Blakey.
Midwest Airlines flew 302.4 million RPMs in January, a 15% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 8.5% to 448.6 million ASMs and load factor rose 3.8 points to 67.4%. It estimated a 0.3% increase in yield to 12.1 cents and a 6.2% rise in passenger RASM to 8.16 cents.
Continental Airlines said it will distribute $111 million in profit-sharing to employees today. It marks the carrier's first profit-sharing payment since 2001 and is the highest in its history. CO reported a 2006 net profit of $343 million.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said governments would make a much stronger contribution to the environment by reforming ATC systems rather than taxing airlines and passengers, asserting that fuel consumption and carbon dioxide production could be reduced if aircraft were routed more efficiently.
Infospectrum, a California-based software development company, systems integrator and implementation specialist primarily active in the aerospace and defense sectors, has acquired the Avexus family of IT solutions for asset management including airline maintenance repair and overhaul. Infospectrum, which started in 1993, is very familiar with the Avexus line, President Suresh Radhakrishnan told ATWOnline, because it was part of the implementation team and was providing most of Avexus's global support. "We came to know quite a bit about the products' capabilities," he said.
SIPTU union members voted by an "overwhelming majority" for industrial action against Aer Lingus, the union said this week, citing management's announcement that it would alter agreed-upon work rules in order to remain competitive ( ATWOnline, Jan. 24). SIPTU, which represents approximately 1,800 EI employees, did not detail the nature or extent of the actions under consideration.
Comair pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. reached a tentative agreement shortly after a Feb. 12 midnight deadline that has been accepted by the company. The four-year deal was not what the pilots had hoped for but they felt they had little choice as the carrier's deadline to impose terms had arrived ( ATWOnline, Feb. 13), according to one Comair pilot. "We didn't have the leverage we needed to secure the deal we really aspired to," Paul Denke told ATWOnline.
US Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee yesterday approved legislation to require the screening of all cargo in the bellies of passenger aircraft within three years. The Transportation Security Administration last May approved a rule that did not include such a strict requirement ( ATWOnline, May 22, 2006).
The European Parliament is unhappy with the apparent "arbitrary" nature of new security measures for carry-on luggage introduced last November at European airports. During a debate in Strasbourg, MEPs wondered whether the rules were necessary and criticized their implementation, citing rough behavior of security personnel and random application of the regulations as frequent problems. For example, mozzarella cheese is confiscated in certain airports yet allowed in others.
BCI Aircraft Leasing of Chicago announced the sale and leaseback of two Alitalia A321-100s. It was BCI's first deal with AZ. Other recently concluded deals include the purchase of an A330-300 leased by LTU from Alex Leasing and two A340-300s on lease to Air Namibia from a consortium of European banks. Aircraft were the first Airbus widebodies acquired by BCI.
Italian government has reduced the list of 11 potential bidders for Alitalia to five, according to press reports. Those five each must submit nonbinding offers in early April, Reuters reported. They are Air One Chairman Carlo Toto's AP Holding, Carlo De Benedetti's private equity fund Management & Capitali, MatlinPatterson Global Advisers, Texas Pacific Group and UniCredit. The government is selling a 30.1% stake in the carrier, a holding that requires the owner to bid for the entire company under Italian law.
Germanwings said its 2006 revenues rose 39% year-over-year to €560 million ($727.4 million) and passenger numbers climbed 31% to 7.1 million. It currently operates 24 aircraft and plans to add five A319s this year.
STAR Capital Partners, an independent investment fund manager based in London, said yesterday it has reached agreements to acquire a majority stake in General Electric Commercial Aviation Training and to purchase the entire share capital of SAS Flight Academy and plans to combine the businesses in a deal valued at more than $275 million. SAS said the sale of SAS Flight Academy has a "transaction value and positive effect on net debt" of SEK750 million ($106.8 million) while the capital gain will be approximately SEK380 million.
Airlines must become customer-centered and invest in the "humanization of technology" if they want to participate fully in the predicted growth of international travel, a new report developed by Amadeus and global futures consultancy Henley Centre HeadlightVision concludes. Future Traveller Tribes 2020 identifies four main traveling groups expected to emerge in the next 10-15 years (see related story above). "Each of these key groups have their unique needs, yet they also share some common trends, [such as] the desire for personalization, more control and security.
British Airways' assumption that its pension problems were solved appears to have been premature, as GMB Union members once again rejected the plan approved last week by New Airways Pension Scheme trustees ( ATWOnline, Feb. 8). The union said it will meet with BA CEO Willie Walsh Wednesday.
