Scandinavian Airlines Group said recently discovered financial reporting errors at its Spanair subsidiary related to improper accounting of certain revenues and costs will result in a charge against earnings at Spanair of SEK80 million ($10.6 million) for the 2005 fourth quarter. The SAS subsidiary still is expected to show a profit for the quarter and the corrections will not affect SAS Group's full-year outlook, the company stated. SAS also will restate results for the 2002-04 period with a negative impact of SEK340 million.
Eos, a New York-based all-premium airline, is participating in the Sabre GDS. Eos operates 757s configured for 48 seats on services between New York JFK and London Stansted.
EADS Revima said the first 777 landing gear shipset arrived at its workshop in Caudebec-en-Caux, France, for scheduled overhaul, with completion scheduled for the beginning of next month. The landing gear belongs to Cathay Pacific, which recently signed a long-term contract with EADS Revima for gear exchanges and MRO of its fleet of 777-200s/-300s. PSA Airlines renewed its avionics MRO contract with Rockwell Collins, which will provide support and maintenance of avionics on CRJ200s and CRJ700s for the next 10 years.
Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp. said Malaysia Airlines will equip its Thales A380 simulators with E&S's EP-1000CT visual system. Emirates, Qantas and Singapore Airlines also recently placed orders for the system. E&S signed a deal with CAE to produce an EP-1000CT/ESCP-2000 system for an Embraer 170 simulator ordered by Saudi Arabian Airlines.
Fatal crash of a Corporate Airlines Jetstream 32 on Oct. 19, 2004, outside Kirksville, Mo., was owing to "the pilots' failure to follow established procedures and properly conduct a nonprecision instrument approach at night in instrument meteorological conditions," the US National Transportation Safety Board said yesterday.
FedEx Express signed an agreement to acquire Tianjin Datian W. Group's 50% stake in the FedEx-DTW International Priority express joint venture plus DTW's Chinese express network comprising 89 locations for $400 million. The JV, launched in 1999, now will be a wholly owned FedEx subsidiary. The deal also includes DTW assets used to perform IP services. DTW will continue to operate international freight forwarding, general cargo transport and merchandise distribution businesses.
ITA Software, which provides software solutions to the airline and travel industries and is also a GDS new entrant, announced $100 million in equity financing. Led by Battery Ventures, the round includes participation from General Catalyst Partners, PAR Investment Partners, Sequoia Capital and Spectrum Equity.
China Airlines will retrofit Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets to 11 737-800s. Work at the carrier's MRO facility in Taipei will commence in March and be completed by year end.
News from Travel Technology Update: AirTran, which dropped out of Worldspan in November because the two companies could not come to terms on the cost of participation, is back in the GDS with a new multiyear, full content agreement, effect Jan. 24. The carrier is distributing inventory, availability and fares through Worldspan at a level of participation called Limited Connect, which is below Worldspan's Full Service level. Worldspan said Limited Connect is designed to meet the distribution needs of carriers that require limited functionality
Indonesian government, as expected, is seeking foreign capital to rescue debt-ridden Garuda. However, the government's desire to retain 51% control is expected to restrict interest significantly, analysts say. According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Garuda has asked Malaysia Airlines to reduce its thrice-daily 777 service between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta to increase yields--Garuda operates 737s on the route. The carrier's problems are wide-ranging, with traffic to Indonesia down 5.9% due to the recent Bali bombings.
Royal Air Maroc announced creation of an A320 and 737 MRO subsidiary called Aerotechnic Industries to be based at Marrakech-Menara. RAM's initial investment of MAD70 million ($7.5 million) will be directed largely toward the construction of an 11,000-sq.-m. hangar with room for two aircraft.
Aer Lingus will order four A330s for delivery beginning later this year, according to sources at the carrier, possibly indicating it will favor the A350 over the 787 for its upcoming fleet expansion. It has a need for up to 12 A350-type aircraft. The deal is worth $400 million, according to media reports.
Chinese airlines reported robust growth in passengers and cargo for 2005 thanks to surging traffic, and in the case of China Eastern and China Southern the gains from mergers completed last year. Air China reported a 13% increase in passengers to 27.7 million while cargo jumped 10.2% to 732,818 tonnes. China Eastern saw a 37% leap in passengers to 24.3 million and a 14% rise in cargo to 755,010 tonnes. China Southern also had impressive numbers as passenger totals jumped 56.4% to 44.10 million and cargo climbed 42.1% to 774,550 tonnes.
Murray Air Certifications announced it completed Virgin America's operating manuals process and assisted it in its effort to become a US FAA-certified FAR 121 carrier.
Austrian Airlines Group transported a record 10.1 million passengers in 2005, 7.6% more than in 2004. Yearly traffic in RPKs increased 7.6% to 22.8 billion, ASKs rose 5.7% to 30.8 billion and load factor improved 1.3 points to 74.1%.
ATR of France logged firm orders for 90 new aircraft--17 42-500s and 73 72-500s--plus 26 options in 2005 against only 12 firm orders in 2004. Revenues amounted to $542 million, an increase of 15% compared to 2004, prompting CEO Filippo Bagnato to declare, "2005 was our best year since 1989" during a Paris press conference yesterday.
China Eastern Airlines will acquire five 50-seat ERJ-145LRs from Harbin Embraer to be delivered between November 2006 and June 2007. Harbin Embraer is a joint venture between Embraer and China Aviation Industry Corp. II.
Pilots at Comair, a Regional subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, narrowly approved a measure last week designed to save the carrier $17.3 million annually. Represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., Comair pilots voted 50.57% in favor of an agreement that reduces pay and retirement benefits and extends the pilot contract for four years. The deal is subject to approval by the US Bankruptcy Court. Last October, Comair announced plans to lower costs by up to $70 million to aid Delta's emergence from bankruptcy.
ANA filed an application Friday with Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to raise the fuel surcharge on international fares from March 1, saying it has "little choice but to reluctantly ask customers [to] share this burden." Sample surcharges include to ¥8,000 ($69.41) from ¥5,000 on routes to Europe, North America and the Middle East; to ¥6,500 from ¥3,600 on routes to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, and to ¥3,900 from ¥1,300 on routes to China (over 2,000 km.), Taipei, Guam and Vietnam and from ¥1,200 to Hong Kong.
Assn. of European Airlines is irritated that authorities are targeting air travelers with yet another tax proposal "for the most questionable motives." Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel provoked AEA's ire by suggesting last week that taxes on air travel and short-term financial transactions provide revenues that would solve recurring budget problems. Austria currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. "There seems to be a tax epidemic in the air at the moment," AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said Friday.
Southwest Airlines' board of directors authorized last week the repurchase of up to $300 million worth of common stock, which the carrier said represented approximately 17.9 million shares as of Jan. 18. It has about 804 million shares outstanding. Repurchased shares may be retired or used to fund the carrier's employee stock plans.
The US Transportation Security Administration on Friday announced several parameters for a nationwide smart-card-based Registered Traveler program to be run by the private sector. In a statement, TSA said it could approve qualified RT programs "by June of this year." But the agency apparently is leaving it in the hands of airports and private companies to invest "in approved screening equipment, fund additional screeners and/or obtain space for separate RT screening" in order to provide participants in the program with a speedier trip through security lines.
