SuperJet International, the Sukhoi/Alenia Aeronautica joint venture, received certification to provide maintenance on Aeroflot A320s at its Venice facility. Commercial Jet of Miami completed a heavy maintenance check and passenger-to-freighter conversion on one MNG Airlines 737-400SF.
Oneworld partners British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia offered to lease at least four daily slot pairs at London Heathrow or Gatwick to competing carriers for service to three US cities in order to address regulatory concerns about their proposed transatlantic joint venture.
Cathay Pacific Group returned to profit in 2009, posting a HK$4.69 billion ($604.9 million) surplus that was reversed from a restated 2008 loss of HK$8.7 billion, as fuel hedges, one-time gains and capacity and cost cuts boosted the bottom line. Revenue dropped 22.6% to HK$66.98 billion, but the company benefitted from fuel hedge gains of HK$2.76 billion and HK$1.25 billion from the sale of a 12.5% stake in Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. ( ATWOnline, Sept. 17, 2009).
The current round of pilot negotiations at US major network airlines "will be the most important since deregulation" and could determine the future growth path for the regional airline segment, according to William Swelbar, a research engineer at MIT's International Center for Air Transportation.
British Airways and Aer Lingus each reached a crossroads yesterday with disgruntled flight attendants as attempts to agree on terms designed to produce cost savings met with resistance.
Air Astana reported a $47 million net profit in 2009, a record result for the airline that represented a 176% improvement from the $17 million surplus posted in 2008. Revenue fell 16% to $546 million and the carrier benefitted from an $8.2 million foreign exchange gain. "The result represents the effectiveness of cost-saving measures from mid-2008," President Peter Foster said. "The fact that we were not fuel hedged until April 2009 meant that we took full advantage of price falls.
Delta Air Lines expects March unit revenue to soar 16% year-over-year, but the February snowstorms will impact revenue by an estimated $30 million, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Nevertheless, operating margin now is expected to be 1%-2% rather than the breakeven forecast in late January. System capacity will be down 4%-5%.
China Southern Airlines plans to join SkyTeam Cargo this year, Senior VP-Cargo Luo Laijun announced during the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Vancouver. The Guangzhou-based carrier would be the first Chinese airline to join a global cargo alliance and is expected to gain full membership by November. "Since its passenger membership into the SkyTeam alliance on Nov.
United Airlines firmed its order for 25 A350-900s, Airbus announced yesterday. Aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWBs. UA, which will take delivery of the aircraft in 2016-19, signed a contract for 25 787-8s two week ago ( ATWOnline, Feb. 26).
US airline executives said at this week's FAA Aviation Forecast Conference in Washington that passenger behavior contradicts negative publicity on ancillary fees that have proven to be valuable revenue generators and will be expanded even if the economy continues to improve. "If you ask customers what they want, it's low fares and the way you get those low fares is through a la carte pricing," US Airways President Scott Kirby said.
EgyptAir took delivery of the first of six 777-300ERs on lease from GECAS. Remaining five are due before the second half of 2011. The -300ER seats 346 and features 49 lie-flat beds.
EU and Georgia signed a comprehensive air services agreement that will "open up and integrate the respective markets, strengthen cooperation and offer new opportunities for consumers and operators" and transition to open skies within two years. The EC said passenger traffic between the EU and Georgia has increased by an average of 10% per year over the past five years. There currently are direct flights to Georgia from nine EU nations.
Wizz Air introduced Wizz Flex, a €10 ($13.59) supplement available for purchase during the booking process that will allow the customer to alter the date, time and routing of a flight up to 3 hr. prior to departure with no change fee (although any difference in fare must be paid.)
Flybe reached a three-month agreement with Gulf Air to provide assistance with integration of the Bahraini carrier's two new E-170s. Deal covers flight deck and line engineering, training support and acceptance/delivery services.
Despite reporting a €763 million ($1.04 billion) net loss in 2009, reversed from a €1.57 billion surplus the prior year, Airbus parent EADS yesterday announced an increase in the monthly A320 family production rate from the current 34 to 36 in December thanks to "continuing demand" and a "record backlog." The Airbus commercial unit posted an operating profit of €386 million excluding goodwill impairment and exceptional items, an 83.3% plunge from the €2.31 billion earned on a similar basis in 2008. Revenue slipped just 0.6% to €26.37 billion.
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, speaking yesterday at the FAA Aviation Forecast Conference in Washington, said President Barack Obama's administration will "soon" make a decision on whether to allocate federal funds to equip commercial aircraft with NextGen ATC technology such as ADS-B.
