Menzies Aviation announced the acquisition of Catamount Holdings, a cargo services business at Chicago O'Hare, and Integrated Airline Services Alliance, a ground handler specializing in low-cost carriers in Florida, Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Russia appears interested in a playing a significant role in EADS following the recent purchase of a 5% stake in the Airbus parent company by a state-owned bank ( ATWOnline, Sept. 12), and a senior Kremlin official said the nation will consider expanding its holding in the future.
BAA said August passenger numbers at its seven UK airports fell 5% against forecast with revenue losses and costs for the month reaching £13 million ($24.2 million). The figure includes a number of one-off costs specifically related to the period following the introduction of new security measures. Actual passenger throughput increased 0.3% over August 2005 to 14.3 million passengers despite the heightened security following the terrorist threat of Aug. 10. Its three London airports handled 0.5% more passengers, although Heathrow suffered a decrease of 2.2%.
World Airways will operate two MD-11 freighters for Lufthansa Cargo between the US and Europe for one year beginning at the end of next month. World currently operates 17 MD-11s and DC-10s. Separately, parent company World Air Holdings announced it has launched its previously announced tender offer ( ATWOnline, April 14) to purchase up to 2.2 million shares of its common stock at $9-$9.50 per share. The offer expires Oct. 6.
Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber was openly upbeat about "open-minded" European Commission regulators whom he said are displaying new sensitivity to the industry's problems and a willingness to consult with stakeholders. "We are pleased to see that the [Assn. of European Airlines] Action Plan has found its way into the minds and hearts of key EU institutions," the AEA chairman said yesterday in a presentation to the European Aviation Club in Brussels.
Jordanian government is pushing ahead with the privatization of Royal Jordanian but said this week that it will retain a 26% stake in the flag carrier in order to "guarantee its right for veto," according to the Arab Air Carriers Organization. The remainder of the airline will be sold, with no more than 49% available to foreign investors. The rest will be sold in a public offering to Jordanian citizens.
Cathay Pacific Airways flew 6.26 billion RPKs in August, up 5.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity increased 3.9% to 7.53 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 1.3 points to 83.1%.
Aer Lingus will list on the Dublin and London stock markets on Oct. 2 and will announce its final share price on Sept. 27, it said yesterday, according to press reports. The Irish government unveiled plans for the IPO late last month ( ATWOnline, Aug. 29). Aer Lingus set an indicative price range of €2.1-€2.7 per share, valuing the airline at €601-€773 million prior to the issuance of 208.4 million new shares.
EADS confirmed Sunday that Vneshtorgbank, a state-owned Russian bank, acquired a 5.02% stake in the aerospace giant. The holding in the Airbus parent company is valued at more than $1.1 billion. The bank acknowledged yesterday that it purchased the EADS stake, first reported late last month ( ATWOnline, Aug. 30), but declined to say why.
US Airways Executive VP and CAO Jeffrey McClelland, 47, died Sunday, the airline announced. He had cancer. The carrier will rename its flight center building in Phoenix after McClelland, who was responsible for finance, legal affairs, human resources, labor relations, properties and facilities and subsidiary operations.
Delta Air Lines last week announced the recall of up to 65 pilots and around 200 flight attendants "to support changes the company is making to build a profitable network." The airline has added more than 50 international routes in the past year alone. Recalled pilots will begin training next month and return to flying "shortly thereafter." DL recalled 64 pilots in June ( ATWOnline, June 12) and said it is in the process of bringing back 100 maintenance personnel.
FedEx pilots union leadership approved the four-year tentative contract reached with management two weeks ago ( ATWOnline, Aug. 29) and unanimously recommended ratification when more than 4,000 eligible pilots cast ballots in voting scheduled for Sept. 18-Oct. 17. FedEx and its pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. reached the deal after more than two years of often-contentious negotiations.
US Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) officially introduced the Air Travel Delay Awareness Act of 2006 last week ( ATW, September 2006). The bill, an amendment to existing code, says the Secretary of Transportation shall require all airlines, foreign and domestic, "to make available to the public information regarding the delay of a scheduled passenger flight not later than 10 minutes after such information is available." It allows carriers to transmit that information on the Web, through automated recordings, airport announcements or information screens.
Mexicana de Aviacion struck a deal with ground workers to cut labor costs by 26%, according to a release cited by Dow Jones. The carrier is attempting to cut its overall expenses by 25% and also is negotiating with its pilots and flight attendants. The union representing the latter reportedly threatened to strike if there is no agreement by Sept. 15.
Alitalia initiated an appeal with a regional administrative court against the conditions imposed by the Italian competition regulator on its acquisition of Volare, La Stampa reported. In July, AZ received conditional approval for its €38 million ($48.1 million) bid to acquire Volare. The conditions included the surrender of four slots at Milan Linate--two of Volare's domestic slots to Bari and Lamezia Terme and two pairs of slots for flights to Paris Orly.
Lufthansa flew 10.08 billion RPKs in August, down 0.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.5% to 13.18 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 1.1 points to 76.5%.
SunExpress, the joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Condor Airlines, said turnover through the first seven months of 2006 increased 26% to €128 million ($163.6 million). Passenger numbers were up 33% to 1.2 million. Separately, SunExpress announced the launch of an Izmir-Gaziantep service and said that InterCockpit, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Flight Training, will handle student pilot training.
Pemco Aviation Group signed an agreement yesterday with ILFC for one passenger-to-freighter 737-300 conversion for delivery later this year, with options for three more conversions in 2007.
Smokers International Airways, or Smintair, plans to operate its first commercial flight on March 26 from Dusseldorf to Tokyo Narita aboard one of two 138-seat 747-400s. The carrier catering to smokers said it will offer 30 first class and 108 business class seats. It also set a deadline of Sept. 30 for investors to purchase shares in the company at €500,000 ($639,000) each. It said it has "a very conservative business plan" and forecasts a yearly profit margin in excess €50 million per aircraft if fully booked.
SkyEurope Holding AG announced the launch of its €17.5 million rights issue Friday via the sale of 10 million shares arranged by UBS Investment Bank and CA IB. The flotation was announced late last month ( ATWOnline, Aug. 30). The subscription period will close Sept. 22.
US Airways Group said its consolidated passenger RASM in August rose 15% over the year-ago month, an increase 3-4 points lower than forecast due to the terrorist alert. The company is revising its third-quarter unit revenue guidance to an increase in the "mid teens" from one in the "high teens." The group flew a combined 5.73 billion RPMs in August, down 5.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 7.6% to 7.2 billion ASMs and load factor gained 1.9 points to 79.5%. Domestic RPMs dropped 6.1% to 4.6 billion against a 9.6% decline in ASMs to 5.77 billion.
While EU and US officials will continue negotiating this week as the Sept. 30 deadline to reach a new agreement on sharing of PNR data nears, tension between the European Parliament and European Commission appears to be rising once again.
Airbus operated its fourth A380 passenger test flight Friday, completing a week in which a total of 1,900 company employees acting as passengers tested cabin features and systems ( ATWOnline, Sept. 6). The final flight lasted 15 hr. "The flights have gone very well," Senior VP-Flight Division Claude Lelaie said. "Despite the cabins being almost totally full, what was most striking was the impression of spaciousness." The test aircraft were configured for three classes.
American Airlines reached agreement with the Transport Workers Union to work toward a "breakthrough goal" of achieving $95 million in "annual value creation" at its 10 line maintenance bases by the end of 2008. AA said the target will be reached "through cost reductions, additional third-party work, improved dependability by reducing delays and reducing the amount of spare aircraft for maintenance needs."
WestJet Executive VP-Guest Services and EVP-IT Russ Hall resigned on Sept. 8. Hall's departure came a day after the company promoted Executive VP-Sales and Marketing and Airports Sean Durfy to president, succeeding airline co-founder Clive Beddoe ( ATWOnline, Sept. 8).
