Lufthansa Italia will close its underperforming Milan Malpensa-Rome Fiumicino route on Feb 16. An LH spokesperson told this website that LH Italia plans to launch new service from MXP to Stockholm Arlanda, Warsaw, Olbia and Palermo.
IATA, ICAO, US Dept. of Homeland Security officials and executives from 25 airlines held a "security summit" last week in Geneva designed to outline "a new era of industry/government cooperation to improve aviation security around the world," IATA said. "Governments understand the threats and the tools needed to mitigate them. Industry has the operational expertise for effective implementation. Working together is the only way forward," DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said.
Korean Air posted a 2009 net loss of KRW61.2 billion ($53.8 million), ATWOnline calculated, narrowed considerably from a KRW1.96 trillion loss in 2008. KE Friday reported fourth-quarter 2009 net income of KRW122.3 billion, reversed from a KRW659.5 billion deficit in the prior-year period and its third straight quarterly profit after six consecutive losses stretching from the 2007 fourth quarter to the 2009 first quarter. It did not release full-year 2009 figures, but this website calculated its annual result based on quarterly reports throughout the year.
American Airlines said Friday it has made the "painful but necessary decision" to furlough up to 175 pilots in the first half of this year, with the first round of reductions coming at the end of February.
JetBlue Airways said it will decide by the end of the current quarter whether it will maintain its corporate headquarters in New York City or move to Orlando, where its training facility is located, the Associated Press reported. Following a meeting with Florida Governor Charlie Crist, JetBlue CEO Dave Barger told reporters that the airline is "in a jump ball at this point" regarding the possible move.
Southwest Airlines yesterday reported its 37th consecutive full-year profit, a $99 million surplus that represented a 44.4% decline from the $178 million earned in 2008, and remained committed to maintaining flat capacity this year despite improving booking trends.
EasyJet said it remains "on track to deliver substantial profit improvement" during its fiscal year ending Sept. 30 as it reported a solid 10.5% year-over-year increase in revenue to £607.5 million ($990.3 million) in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31. Revenue per seat increased 4.2% to £47.50, comprising a 1.9% rise in ticket revenue to £37.60 and a 14% hike in ancillary revenue to £9.90. Operating cost per seat excluding fuel rose 10.3%.
Iberia flew 3.85 billion RPKs in December, a 2.7% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity was cut 6.4% to 4.87 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 3 points to 79%. Air Berlin said December unit revenue fell 6.5% year-over-year to €4.98 cents (7.06 cents). It transported 2.1 million passengers, up 0.8% year-over-year, while load factor rose 0.5 point to 73.1%.
US FAA sent a portable temporary air traffic control tower to Haiti to assist with aircraft operations at heavily damaged Port-au-Prince International. The tower is 44 ft. long, 13 ft. high and 8 ft. wide, weighs about 25,000 lb. and was transported aboard a chartered cargo aircraft. Assembling the tower will take around 48 hr., according to the agency. Controllers providing terminal ATC services have worked outside at a folding table using military radios to handle about 160 flights per day, FAA said.
Gulf Air signed a preliminary lease agreement with Embraer for two E-170ARs scheduled for delivery in early March. Aircraft will be leased for three years, with an option for a further five, and will seat seven in business class and 60 in economy. Gulf said it will initiate a "full analysis and evaluation of all the regional jets on the market including Embraer, Airbus and Bombardier" in order to select the "optimal" aircraft to complement its new regional focus ( ATWOnline, Nov. 24, 2009).
Airbus said the second A330-200F flew for the first time Wednesday. The Trent 700-powered aircraft flew for 3 hr. The 200-hr. flight test program is expected to result in mid-March certification, with first delivery to Etihad Crystal Cargo scheduled for the summer. The first -200F, powered by PW4000s, initially flew in November and currently is undergoing cold-weather testing in Canada ( ATWOnline, Nov. 6, 2009).
Blue Wings' 48% shareholder Alexander Lebedev said he has accepted an offer from CEO Jorn Hellwig to sell off his stake, according to the dpa news agency. Hellwig currently owns 26% of Blue Wings, which suspended operations last week ( ATWOnline, Jan. 14). Lebedev reportedly has invested more than €500 million ($709.2 million) in the German airline.
Continental Airlines reported a 2009 net loss of $282 million, improved 51.9% from a $586 million deficit in the year-ago period, and pointed to a fourth-quarter profit of $85 million as a sign that it is "holding the line on costs and working more efficiently." Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Smisek warned that CO and the US airline industry "likely have a long and slow road to recovery ahead," though he noted, "A long and slow recovery is better than what we had in 2008 and 2009."
Yemenia Yemen Airways firmed its order for 10 A320 family aircraft announced at the Dubai Airshow, Airbus said ( ATWOnline, Nov. 17, 2009). No engine choice was announced.
Los Angeles World Airports security chief Erroll Southers withdrew from consideration as head of the US Transportation Security Administration Wednesday after his nomination drew criticism from Republican lawmakers concerned about the possibility that he might allow TSA to unionize. They also cited false testimony to Congress in the late 1980s regarding improper access of legal records. "It is clear that my nomination has become a lightning rod for those who have chosen to push a political agenda at the risk of the safety and security of the American people," Southers said.
EU and US yesterday jointly declared that "urgent measures" related to aviation security should be "considered" at a high-level meeting planned for Luxemburg in April, though the two sides continue to differ on specifics.
Ryanair will further reduce its capacity at Dublin Airport this summer and focus on "higher-yield, outbound, peak-month, summer sun routes, rather than stimulating year-round inbound tourism with low-access fares." It cited "high and rising" airport charges and the Irish government's €10 ($14.18) "tourist tax" ( ATWOnline, June 18, 2009). The LCC will cut its Dublin-based fleet from 18 aircraft last summer to 15 and trim weekly rotations by some 19% from more than 600 to fewer than 500.
Delta Air Lines private jet service subsidiary Delta AirElite acquired Segrave Aviation, a North Carolina company specializing in wholesale charter aviation services, private aircraft management, aircraft maintenance and fixed-base operations. DL said the transaction was "all cash" but declined to state a figure. It said the acquisition will "double the size of the Delta AirElite fleet."
China Southern Airlines has committed to purchasing 20 A320 aircraft for delivery in 2011-13. The carrier said it would pay less than the $1.54 billion catalog value for the aircraft and that the fleet expansion will increase ATKs by 4.5%. Aircraft are part of the order for 110 A320 family aircraft and 40 A330s that the Chinese government placed with Airbus in November 2007.
OnAir will go live with its Internet and VPN connectivity service next month but sees a profitable future for its phone and PDA inflight connectivity service, with CEO Benoit Debains telling ATWOnline yesterday, "We are, and we remain, a phone company." The Airbus/SITA joint venture provided no further details concerning Internet OnAir's launch but Debains insisted that the company's Mobile OnAir service and Internet are complementary. "Contrary to what people believe," he said, "it's not phone versus Internet."
BAE Systems secured an agreement from Condor Airlines to remarket 13 757-300s for a sale/leaseback transaction with a financial institution or lessor. All aircraft will remain in operation with the German carrier.
British Airways cabin crew represented by Unite pledged not to strike over the April 2-5 Easter holiday. The union plans to hold a new strike ballot Jan. 25-Feb. 22 and has said a work stoppage could begin soon thereafter ( ATWOnline, Jan. 12). "We are making this announcement now so families can plan their travel arrangements in confidence," Unite Assistant General Secretary Len McCluskey said.
Air France announced the introduction of a new seat on A320 family aircraft operating domestic flights. The Recaro seat will be phased in from Jan. 30 and will be 40% lighter (weighing 9.1 kg.) than its predecessor and feature 2-3 in. in additional legroom and a 15-deg. recline, AF said. Separately, AF denied reports that it is planning to introduce the compulsory purchase of an additional economy class seat for overweight passengers, saying it "has no intention of making corpulent passengers pay for a second seat." From Feb.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake yesterday announced that the carrier placed orders for 10 737-800s this month while achieving a long-sought objective to create a West African hub with the launch of ASKY Airlines, a Lome-based carrier operating a pair of 737s leased from ET. First flights for the new airline on Jan. 15 were from Lome to Abidjan and Banjul ( ATWOnline, Dec. 9, 2009).
