AirAsia secured a $230 million loan to be used to finance the acquisition of six A320s, according to press reports citing Deputy CEO Kamarudin Meranum. The carrier increased its commitment to the type last month with an order for 40 firm and 30 options ( ATWOnline, July 20). The loan was arranged largely by Kuwait Finance House and adheres to Islamic financing principles. AirAsia will lease the aircraft from the lender for 12 years, at which time it will purchase them.
Dragonair flew an all-time record 519,449 passengers in July but said its "bottom line continued to suffer" due to high fuel costs and low yields, which are expected to continue. "The low yields are the result of a more competitive market due to airlines putting on more capacity, both passenger and all-cargo, on China Mainland routes," CEO Stanley Hui said. Dragonair flew 666.6 million RPKs in July, up 14.5% over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.7% to 929.5 million ASKs. Iberia flew 4.63 billion RPKs in July, up 0.6% from the year-ago month.
Regional Express Airlines of Australia said it has "fast tracked" merger discussions with Sunshine Express Airlines. Under the proposed transaction, all Sunshine shares will be transferred to Rex "for a nominal consideration." Rex MD Geoff Breust said the deal is in line with its "mission of connecting regional Australia" but cautioned that Sunshine is in a tenuous position and likely won't survive absent the proposed merger.
Jet Airways and Air Sahara planned merger, which collapsed in June ( ATWOnline, June 30), appears to be back on the runway, according to India's Economic Times. The newspaper reported that sources at both airlines maintain the deal is making progress. The carriers have sparred in court over the fate of a INR5 billion ($107.2 million) escrow account tied to Jet's aborted acquisition of its rival.
US Joint Planning and Development Office, the multiagency body charged with developing the Next Generation Air Transportation System, will be headed by Charles Leader, formerly of Hughes Aircraft, the Dept. of Transportation announced.
UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, named former VP and Treasurer Kathryn Mikells as VP-financial planning and analysis replacing Amos Kazzaz, who becomes VP-cost management. Mikells will be replaced by Stephen Lieberman, formerly of General Motors.
Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, a joint venture between China Southern Airlines and Hutchinson Whampoa, became the 15th member of the Airbus MRO Network.
ABX Air last week reported second-quarter net income of $6.5 million, down slightly from $6.8 million in the year-ago quarter, on a 13.6% decline in revenues to $303.6 million. The cargo carrier attributed much of the revenue drop to the May 1 transfer of its line-haul truck operations to DHL, the express delivery giant for which ABX provides US air service. DHL still accounts for the vast majority of ABX's business, but non-DHL charter operations did generate $5.4 million in revenues during the quarter, a 69% increase.
Cathay Pacific Airways flew 6.43 billion RPKs in July, a 7.4% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 6.6% to 7.59 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 0.6 point to 84.6%.
Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Airways launched interline e-ticketing last week. The airlines already codeshare and have linked loyalty programs and a joint lounge arrangement. Separately, Virgin launched a route-specific inflight magazine called DXB available to passengers on flights between London Heathrow and Dubai.
Zoom Airlines last week signed a five-year, €5 million ($6.4 million) contract with KLM Engineering and Maintenance for the performance of C checks on its 767s. The Canadian carrier has four 767s with two more scheduled for delivery next year.
United Airlines flew 11.07 billion system RPMs in July, a 3.4% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 1.9% to 12.62 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1.3 points to 87.7%. Copa Airlines flew 372.9 million RPMs in July, a 14.2% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 12.1% to 449.3 million ASMs and load factor was up 1.5 points to 83%. LAN Airlines reported a 4.7% increase in July system traffic and a 6.9% rise in capacity that dropped load factor 1.6 points to 77.5%.
Relief that a major terrorist plot had been foiled tempered passenger irritation with delays lasting as long as 3 hr. at check-in and security screening locations around Asia and Australia. Flights to the US were the most affected because of bans on fluids and gels, while flights to the UK suffered less as the basic ban on carry-on luggage did not apply to inbound flights. However, security for all flights including domestic was stepped up, with a much greater presence of police, military personnel and sniffer dogs at major airports.
Sabre Holdings signed a five-year, full-content distribution agreement with JetBlue Airways. Expedia signed a five-year contract with US Airways, making the carrier's inventory and services available on Expedia.com and its affiliated sites.
Boeing announced a 50/50 joint-venture agreement with VSMPO-AVISMA of Russia for the machining of titanium forgings for the 787. The companies have been working together since 1997 and signed an MOU on the titanium JV in April. VSMPO-AVISMA will perform rough machining in Verkhnaya Salda before final machining and processing is completed by Boeing in Portland, Ore.
Northwest Airlines flight attendants announced Friday that the deadline for commencement of targeted unannounced work actions against the carrier was extended to Aug. 25 from Aug. 15 as a result of last week's terrorist threat. "In order to devote our full attention to the immediate security situation and to reduce the stress level for flight attendants until the initial reaction of the security news subsides, we have decided to extend our strike deadline by 10 days," Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA Interim Master Executive Council President Mollie Reiley said. The union set the Aug.
Quali-audit, an Air France Consulting subsidiary, launched operation as an IATA Operational Safety Audit Organization. It will employ 18 auditors from major airlines.
UK officials late yesterday raised the number of arrests in the airline terror bombing conspiracy to 24 from 21 reported early in the day. Official statements remained sketchy amid reports that the plotters intended to blow up as many as 10 US commercial aircraft en route from the UK to the US. ( ATWOnline, Aug. 10). Authorities added that all those arrested were UK citizens and said most were of South Asian descent and several of the suspects reportedly traveled to Pakistan recently.
Aviapartner signed a joint venture agreement with Are Handling of Italy to offer handling operations under the Aviapartner name at Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa. The new company, in which Aviapartner will hold a majority share, represents an annual turnover of €24 million ($30.8 million).
B/E Aerospace announced the acquisition of Draeger Aerospace of England for approximately $80 million. Draeger supplies components and systems for oxygen systems in civil and military aircraft.
Spanair flew 743 million RPKs in July, up 19.1% over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 6.2% to 966 million ASKs and load factor increased 8.3 points to 77%. AirBaltic flew 163 million RPKs in July, up 28.5% over the year-ago month. Capacity increased 27.7% to 239 million ASKs, lifting load factor 0.4 point to 68.2%.
