Flybe said it was "surprised" that British Airways decided to impair the value of the carrier, in which it holds 15% following the 2006 sale of its BA Connect regional operation.
Boeing booked five 787 orders and had orders for five 767s cancelled during the week ended May 26, according to the manufacturer's Orders and Deliveries website. The customer(s) were not identified. It now has taken 13 gross 787 orders this year, but cancellations have reduced the net to -44 so far ( ATWOnline, May 12). Its year-to-date totals across all types now are level--65 gross orders and 65 cancellations for a net of zero.
Frontier Airlines Holding reported a $2.4 million net profit in April, reversed from a $26.9 million deficit in the year-ago month. Operating profit was $5 million compared to a $21.9 million operating loss last year. It incurred $1.1 million in bankruptcy-related expenses during the month. Mainline unit revenue rose 1.3% year-over-year to 9.30 cents and unit cost dropped 19.5% to 8.49 cents.
Austrian LCC Niki said it has derived significant benefits from the weakness of Austrian Airlines, and it also is involving itself in its larger rival's privatization process. "In the first quarter of 2009, our passenger numbers increased 34% compared to the same period last year. We are seeing a caravan of passengers not wanting to pay higher fares moving to us," President Niki Lauda told ATWOnline.
Cargoitalia took delivery of the first of three MD-11SF. freighters formerly operated by Alitalia Cargo and currently undergoing certification. It will enter commercial service on a twice-weekly Milan Malpensa-New York JFK-Toronto-MXP-Abu Dhabi-MXP routing. Second aircraft is scheduled to arrive in July with the third before year end. The original Cargoitalia suspended operations last year but was relaunched under the ownership of ALIS (66.7%) and Intesa SanPaolo (33.3%). It recently purchased the cargo assets of Alitalia.
Deccan 360, a cargo startup established by Air Deccan founder G.R. Gopinath, launched service yesterday with an A310 freighter flight from Delhi to Hong Kong. "Deccan 360 will be the first Indian company to create a hub-and-spoke distribution model in the express industry in India," parent company Deccan Express Logistics said. "Deccan 360's air and surface network will offer unmatched, next-day connectivity to more than 85% of the Indian GDP." The carrier reportedly will add more A310Fs later this year.
Natural Resources Defense Council International Climate Policy Director Jake Schmidt said the "writing is on the wall" regarding carbon dioxide emissions standards for US airlines. Speaking yesterday in Washington at the Eco-Aviation conference presented by ATW and Leeham Co., he said that "no source of emissions can be left unchecked. . .Emissions controls are coming. Within the US, aviation will be covered in some form or another. Inevitably it's coming."
Alitalia has been reestablished as an IATA member and said it is "now in a position to play an active role in all the association's projects, confirming its intention to be a key player in the air transport world, at the same time as following an investment strategy to continuously improve its services and products."
British Airways CEO Willie Walsh said the airline would consider purchasing bmi's slots at London Heathrow if they became available, the Financial Times reported. "In the current environment, it is difficult to argue we should go out and acquire those slots. Having said that, it may be the only opportunity we ever get," Walsh told the paper. Bmi is the second-largest slot holder at LHR after BA with about 12%.
American Airlines will operate a cashless cabin on US and Canadian mainline flights beginning June 1. Separately, American Eagle will launch twice-daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Manhattan, Kan., service on Aug. 25 aboard an ERJ-145.
Air Berlin lost €88.4 million ($123.4 million) in the first quarter, widened 48.3% from its €59.6 million deficit in the year-ago period, although revenue and yield rose and its impending partnership with TUIfly appears to be on the verge of being finalized.
EgyptAir said it will offer OnAir's inflight Internet service on its A330-300s. It offered no further details, but press reports indicated that installation will take 18 months and begin in August 2010.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airline does not expect to try to obtain new capital beyond the A$500 million ($389.6 million) raised through a February share placement ( ATWOnline, Feb. 5). "We have built up our cash balances and our plans going forward have deferred capital expenditure," he said in comments cited by Reuters.
Air Southwest of Plymouth, England, will add the SZ code to its flight numbers beginning May 31, allowing its flights to be available for sale in external systems. It previously used the WOW prefix. "Our website. . .will continue to be our main source of bookings, but we now see great opportunities in being able to use global sales systems. And it means we can work more closely with other airlines in the future," MD Peter Davies said. Air Southwest serves 13 destinations
Aegean Airlines reversed its traditional first-quarter deficit, posting a €4.6 million ($6.4 million) profit compared to a €4.4 million loss in the year-ago period, crediting falling oil prices, fleet renewal and reduced distribution costs owing to the rise in Web sales. It broke even on the operating level compared to a €6 million loss last year but recorded a €4.4 million gain on the sale of its participation in three catering companies. Revenue increased 13% to €111.3 million on a 9% lift in passengers to 1.2 million.
Blue1 will furlough each of its 450 employees for 2-4 weeks, a spokesperson told Finnish national broadcaster YLE. Leave will be staggered and will not affect scheduled flights. The SAS Group subsidiary serves 24 destinations.
US Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James May yesterday said the organization does not support the environmental approach being taken by the Aviation Global Deal Group, the partnership among Air France KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Qatar Airways, Finnair and UK airports operator BAA.
Air New Zealand yesterday revealed the results of its Dec. 29 747-400 biofuel test flight at the Eco-Aviation conference presented by ATW and Leeham Co. in Washington, saying that data gathered from the 2-hr. flight show that a 50/50 blend of jatropha-based fuel and standard jet fuel could reduce fuel burn by 1.2% and carbon dioxide emissions by 60%-75% on an average 12-hr. 747 flight.
WestJet announced yesterday that its codeshare partnership with Southwest Airlines, slated to launch by late 2009, "will be delayed" because SWA "has decided to redirect a portion of its resources dedicated to the codeshare project towards other near-term revenue opportunities." Calgary-based WS emphasized that its new Sabre reservation system will be online by the fourth quarter and could handle implementation of the codeshare ( ATWOnline, July 9, 2008) but said SWA is concerned about launching the arrangement i
Republic Airways Holdings reached an agreement with Midwest Airlines to operate two 100-seat E-190ARs with service scheduled to begin in August and September. Currently, Republic operates 12 76-seat E-170s under the Midwest Connect brand. Midwest Chairman, President and CEO Timothy Hoeksema said the new aircraft will enable Midwest to once again offer nonstop service to the West Coast from Milwaukee.
Air India started construction of an MRO and engineering center at Hyderabad Shamshabad. Facility will include a 9,000-sq.-m. hangar, component overhaul shops and offices and will cost approximately INR800 million ($16.8 million), the carrier said. AI is targeting completion in 18 months.
El Al reported a $39.8 million first-quarter loss, narrowed 20.4% from the $50 million deficit posted last year. Revenue was down 26% to $346.7 million as passenger numbers fell 13% year-over-year. "Strict management of expenses together with the drop in fuel prices after offsetting for hedging expenses led to a significant drop in the company's costs and better results," President Haim Romano said in a statement cited by Reuters.
