Although Ryanair and other low-cost carriers generate large amounts of revenue from "nonticket sources," legacy airlines derive significantly more by selling frequent-flier miles to partners, typically via co-branded credit cards, says a recent study by IdeaWorks Co.
United Airlines flew 9.25 billion system RPMs in September, an increase of 1.3% over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 2.3% to 11.64 billion ASMs and load factor dropped 0.7 point to 79.5%. Finnair flew 1.55 billion RPKs in September, a 12.3% rise from the year-ago month. Capacity grew 8% to 2.05 billion ASKs and load factor was up 2.9 points to 75.5%. Gol flew 1.31 billion RPKs in September, an increase of 46.7% over the year-ago month. Capacity increased at the same rate to 1.73 billion ASKs, leaving load factor at 75.5%.
US legacy carriers have made substantial progress in becoming more competitive but still trail low-cost carriers in a number of areas related to labor efficiency, a new analysis by the US Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics confirms.
Singapore Airlines reduced its fuel surcharges Saturday to $18 from $20 on flights to Southeast Asia, to $82 from $90 on flights to North America and to $54 from $60 on all other sectors.
China Eastern Airlines replaced President Luo Chaogeng with Cao Jianxiong, an executive director at the airline, according to a company statement cited by Reuters that offered no explanation for the move. Luo will remain as a director. SITA named Jean-Pascal Aubert as its chief information officer. He comes from SFR Cegetel Group. Alteon Training named Sherry Carbary president. She formerly was VP-strategic management for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and replaces Patrick Gaines, who is Boeing's new VP-customer support for the Asia-Pacific region.
Continental Airlines said its ramp, operations and cargo agents rejected representation by the Transport Workers Union. "We are pleased that our employees recognized the value of our direct working relationship," CO Senior VP-Airport Services Bill Meehan said.
Jazeera Airways shareholders approved the listing of the airline's shares as well as a doubling of the company's capital to $69 million, the Arab Air Carriers Organization is reporting. Jazeera intends to list on the Kuwaiti exchange in the first quarter.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel revealed yesterday that Berlin is considering buying a stake in Airbus parent EADS, while French President Jacques Chirac insisted that the aircraft manufacturer's Power8 cost-cutting plan must be "harmoniously divided" between France and Germany.
European Commission sent a reasoned opinion, the last step before a formal complaint to the European Court of Justice is lodged, to Luxembourg for failing to implement the 2003 legislation that calls for common basic standards on aviation security measures at EU airports.
European Commission updated its list of airlines banned in the EU, adding Kenya's DAS Air Cargo and Uganda's Dairo Air Services due to "the serious safety deficiencies identified in these twin airlines in the last few months," as well as Ariana Afghan Airlines.
Malev Hungarian Airlines said it will add 10 new e-ticket destinations in the US as part of an agreement with future oneworld partner American Airlines. At present, Malev e-ticketing is available to 28 cities from Budapest. CSA Czech Airlines will reduce its fuel surcharge effective Oct. 16 by $2 per segment on European routes and by $7 on long-haul flights.
LTU German Airlines said it is expecting its annual loss to be €25 million ($31.3 million) in 2006, higher than the €10-€15 million forecast by majority owner Hans Rudolf Woehrl this summer ( ATWOnline, Aug. 23) but still an improvement over the €40 million lost in 2005.
Airbus's management changes and restructuring program are expected to be a prime topic at today's Franco-German summit in Paris, with French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and their economic advisers discussing what role the respective governments should play in monitoring the aircraft manufacturer's Power8 cost-cutting plan. Both governments have signaled that job cuts and facility closures will be scrutinized carefully. France owns a 15% stake in Airbus parent EADS, while German company DaimlerChrysler controls 22.5%.
Triumph Group said its Triumph Composite Systems subsidiary located in Spokane was awarded a $49 million contract to provide the composite floor panel system for the 787.
International Air Carrier Assn. is calling on the European Commission to adopt "a more business-oriented approach" when regulating the air transport industry. "IACA carriers are seeking guarantees from DG Enterprise and Industry that the impact of all legislation, in particular competition between EU and non-EU airlines, will be thoroughly assessed.
Caribbean Star Airlines and LIAT said this week that they plan to "commence formal negotiations toward the merger of the two carriers" following a decision by the LIAT board. Caribbean Star Chairman R.
Frontier Airlines said its fiscal second quarter earnings will be lower than forecast as a result of the August terrorist threat. The company earned $4 million in the quarter ended June 30 ( ATWOnline, July 31).
Flight Safety Foundation President and CEO Bill Voss said yesterday that he is concerned about the increasing "criminalization" of aircraft accident investigations, warning that politics can interfere with finding the true causes of crashes.
CFM International signed a deal with Willis Lease Finance Corp. of California for the purchase of up to 45 CFM56-7B and CFM56-5B spare engines plus 30 options. Deliveries will begin next year and run through 2011. The order is worth about $540 million if all options are exercised, CFMI said.
Southwest Airlines promoted Senior VP-Enterprise Spend Management Bob Jordan to executive VP-strategy, procurement and technology and named Senior Management Committee and Executive Planning Committee member Ron Ricks as the new executive VP-law, airports and public affairs. Both will report to CEO Gary Kelly. It also promoted Chief Development Officer Jan Marshall to VP-technology and Chief Information Officer and Director of Application Architecture Kerry Schwab to VP and chief technology officer. It named Lori Rainwater the new VP-internal audit.
Continental Airlines said it is contributing an additional $70 million to its pension plans, bringing its 2006 contributions to $246 million, a total it said exceeded the minimum funding requirement. "I'm pleased that we have achieved a solid record for making our required contributions, plus some," Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner said. Air Line Pilots Assn. President Duane Woerth requested that the National Mediation Board send the stalemate between pilots at Atlantic Southeast Airlines and parent SkyWest Holdings to arbitration.
ACE Aviation Holdings, parent of Air Canada, said its shareholders overwhelmingly approved a statutory arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act giving ACE's board the authority to make "one or more special distributions to shareholders" of up to C$2 billion in capital, including units of its Aeroplan Income Fund subsidiary. It is expected to be completed by year end. The measure passed with 95.5% approval and was approved by Quebec Superior Court. The Air Canada Pilots Assn.
Transaero will introduce SITA's PassengerWeb Check-in application next month. Initial deployment will be available from the airline's home base at Moscow Domodedovo, first within Russia and then abroad. From Russian and English, the service gradually will be made available in Chinese, French and Spanish. Transaero also intends to work with SITA on introduction of check-in kiosks in the near future.
Greece's Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board said yesterday that the August 2005 Helios Airlines 737-300 crash was caused primarily by the pilots' "nonrecognition" that the cabin pressurization mode selector was switched to "manual" and their subsequent misreading of warning signs.
