Aer Lingus presented its unions with a 12-point cost-cutting plan Friday as part of its continuing effort to thwart Ryanair's floundering takeover bid and succeed as an independent carrier. According to press reports, EI has promised not to cut jobs without workers' consent. It also intends to simplify pay grades, enact standard work rules, renegotiate airport and ground handling contracts, introduce a fuel efficiency plan and look into the establishment of overseas bases, according to The Irish Times.
South African Airways said it will lay off 1,000 employees, or approximately 9% of its workforce, next year in a cost-cutting measure, according to widespread South African press reports citing a statement from CEO Khaya Ngqula, who said the airline is enjoying increased traffic and revenue but cannot hold down its expenses. SAA's profit for the fiscal year ended March 31 plunged 90% year-over-year ( ATWOnline, July 7). Separately, SAA announced that it will start serving Chicago in May.
US PASSENGER AIRLINES' SOLID financial year continued in the third quarter as the 10 largest carriers again kept capacity growth to a minimum and strictly controlled nonfuel costs, reporting an aggregate operating profit of $1.64 billion, significantly widened from operating income of $241.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The airlines did report a collective net loss of $737.2 million, but the figure was dragged down by bankrupt Northwest Airlines' heavy restructuring costs. Excluding NWA, the other nine companies reported a collective net profit of $441.8 million.
TALK TO ANYONE IN THE AIR transport industry about legacy airlines versus low-cost carriers and you are likely to hear the word "blending." The LCCs are growing up and looking to adopt some of the same growth strategiescodesharing and interlining, for -exampleas their networked brethren.
IF THERE IS A SILVER LINING TO the pall that high fuel prices have cast over the airline industry during the past three-and-a-half years, it is that it has forced carriers to say a final goodbye to hundreds of old aircraft that have lingered far too long. Absent $70-per-barrel crude that made those metallic fossils economically as well as technologically obsolete, carriers well might have surrendered to the primal urge to add marginal-cost capacity at the first sign of rising travel demand, thereby snatching defeat from the jaws of a still-fragile victory.
THE WORD SCIENCE, WHEN USED TO DESCRIBE the selection of a fleet of transport aircraft, means not only the collection of data and evaluation of guarantees by verifiable methods but also refers to "social science" or the study of human behavior. History shows that decisions involved in aircraft purchases more often have been swayed by the latter.
Galileo International, founded by a consortium of European airlines in 1987, and Apollo (then known as Covia) formed the Galileo Partnership in 1993, but they have remained discrete systems. It is not clear whether Travelport plans to integrate Worldspan into Apollo or Galileo. Some observers predict that Travelport will retain certain elements of Worldspan's technology but jettison the basic platform. "From a technology perspective we see significant synergies in consolidating the infrastructure, application development, etc.," Travelport chief executive Jeff Clarke said.
Pratt & Whitney Canada said yesterday it will open a new parts distribution center in Amsterdam to provide "rapid parts deliveries" for its engine customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The facility will carry "a large inventory of new parts, accessories and line-replaceable units for all P&WC engine models" and will assume responsibility for parts orders previously processed by its Southampton facility.
Mesa Air Group pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., filed a federal lawsuit this week in an effort to force management to follow what the pilots consider to be terms of their collective bargaining agreement. The dispute centers on the awarding of flight schedules and reassigning of flight duties. "Competent pilot scheduling is key to our pilots' quality of life," Mesa ALPA unit chairman James Ackerman said. "It dictates how long you're away from home, how much you're paid and how productive you are while on duty."
Ethiopian Airlines signed an agreement with ILFC to lease a 220-seat, two-class 767-300ER for five years effective Dec. 8. The carrier recently extended its network from Addis Ababa and now offers twice-daily services to Dubai, 11 weekly flights to Lagos, eight weekly flights to Accra, a daily service to Khartoum and Johannesburg, six-times-weekly flights to Dakar, five to N'djamena and four to Lome.
Airlines of Latin America and the Caribbean region are enjoying strong traffic demand and face a bright future, Merrill Lynch airline analyst Michael Linenberg told attendees at the third annual Latin American Airlines Leaders Forum sponsored by ALTA (Asociacion Latinoamericana de Transporte Aereo) yesterday in Cancun.
TAM has changed its approach to ticketing, launching a new "fare profiles" system yesterday that will allow passengers to purchase tickets based on specific needs. For flights to Brazilian destinations, passengers "will be able to choose promotional prices or other benefits pertaining to a given profile," the carrier said in a statement. Each of the five profiles (Promo, Light, Flex, Max and Top) presents "clear characteristics and rules" from which customers can choose.
US Airways presented its case for a takeover of Delta Air Lines yesterday to DL management and representatives of its creditors' committee ( ATWOnline, Nov. 29). US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said, "We reviewed our offer and had a chance to engage in discussions on the many facets of this proposal. While we recognize the steps that Delta management has taken, we are confident that our proposal for a 'New' Delta will create more value than a standalone plan."
Switzerland officially joined EASA yesterday, becoming the fourth non-EU country to adopt EU aviation safety legislation. Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are the others.
Hawaiian Airlines signed a letter of intent to purchase three of seven 767-300ERs currently leased from an affiliate of AWAS Aviation Services. The carrier also amended the leases for the remaining four AWAS aircraft. The purchases are expected to be finalized next month, subject to financing. One of the changes to the AWAS agreement was to remove a provision that would have allowed the lessor to exercise early termination options by the first of the year.
Frontier Airlines said that its flight attendants voted against representation by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Of 887 eligible flight attendants, 334 voted in favor of the IBT and two voted for alternative representation, the airline said. The vote follows four previous rejections of representation by the Assn. of Flight Attendants.
KLM UK Engineering opened an expanded maintenance hangar at Norwich International Airport. KLM invested £1 million in the facility that now will be able to perform work on larger aircraft like 737NGs, and will add approximately 50 new jobs.
Some 200 Austrian Airlines Group pilots will leave the company voluntarily and take advantage of its Golden Hand Shake offer, which expired last weekend. Austrian newspaper Wiener Zeitung reported that some pilots will get up to €650,000 ($854,400) for taking the offer. According to reports, 400-600 flight attendants also face reduction and will receive up to 11 months salary if they leave voluntarily.
Comair received US FAA certification to perform repair station MRO on third-party 50- and 70-seat CRJs. It will do the work at its Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky facility. It plans to achieve certification for its Orlando facility "in the coming months."
Wizz Air completed a sale/leaseback transaction with GECAS for four new A320s, which will be delivered in the first half of 2008. They will be leased on an 11-year term. Wizz has 32 A320s on order plus 12 options and expects to operate 53 by 2012.
Iberia said e-tickets accounted for 95% of all tickets sold in October. For domestic flights the proportion was 97.5% and international was 92%. Only Naples and Pisa, served by franchise partners Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum, still require traditional tickets.
Middle East Airlines is finalizing an agreement to acquire four A330-200s and four A319s. According to the Arab Air Carriers Organization, two aircraft would arrive in 2008 and the other six in 2009. MEA would use the additional aircraft to increase frequencies on popular routes and is considering new destinations in Qatar, Iraq and Russia.
Boeing named Commercial Airplanes VP-Business Strategy and Marketing Nicole Piasecki as the new VP-Boeing International and president of Boeing Japan effective in March.
SR Technics' purchase by a United Arab Emirates consortium led by Mubadala Development, investment vehicle of the Abu Dhabi government, was finalized this week. The acquisition of the Zurich-based MRO provider, valued at $1.3 billion, was announced in September ( ATWOnline, Sept. 8) and cleared by the European Commission last week.
