Air Fiji shut down last week, according to widespread press reports from the island nation. The carrier no longer is accepting bookings on its website. The Fiji Times reported that the airline's fourth-quarter revenue plunged 75% to FJD450,000 ($204,844). It launched operations in 1967 and served 13 destinations with eight 15-seat aircraft and one six-seat aircraft.
TNT reported first-quarter net income of €76 million ($101.9 million), down 53% from a €179 million profit in the year-ago period, saying that "international express volumes are under significant pressure." Operating income fell 40.8% to €163 million on a 7.8% rise in revenue to €2.44 billion. TNT Express, the expedited delivery segment that relies heavily on air operations, was affected by "continued recessionary pressure on volumes, though decline seems stable since February," the Netherlands-based company said.
Air India parent National Aviation Co. of India named Karnataka state government Infrastructure Development Dept. Principal Secretary Arvind Jadhav as its chairman and MD replacing Raghu Menon. Ministry of Civil Aviation Joint Secretary and Financial Adviser Bharat Bhushan had held the post on an interim basis ( ATWOnline, April 28).
Goodrich was selected by Airbus to supply the external video system for the A350. Deal is worth more than $1 billion in equipment and aftermarket revenue over the life of the program, Goodrich said.
Aer Arann said it will reduce employee salaries by an overall average 7%, with executive and management pay cut by an average 17%. "More jobs have been saved" as a result, the Irish carrier said, as the initially planned 100 redundancies have been reduced to about 60.
Air China is expected to establish a branch company in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, following the collapse of parent CNAC's deal with East Star Airlines.
British Airways officials are heralding the success of London Heathrow's Terminal 5, which they say is contributing to improved operations and ontime performance just a little more than a year after its very troubled opening. The March 2008 debut of the £4.3 billion ($6.37 billion) facility was ruined when the baggage system broke down, forcing cancellation of hundreds of flights. The fiasco cost BA an estimated £16 million, reflecting the costs associated with the disruption as well as lost revenue opportunities.
Pegasus Airlines parent ESAS Holding confirmed that its stake in Air Berlin is 15.3%, making it the German carrier's largest shareholder ( ATWOnline, April 29). Pegasus Chairman Ali Sabanci will join the AB board.
Chinese airlines adopted a new pricing standard that effectively will raise fares by approximately 10%. On April 20, carriers began offering discounts on the base price of the ticket only versus the previous practice of discounting on the full rate comprising the base and floating prices. The new standard has upset many travelers in China, although many discounted fares remain available on airlines' websites.
Aeroflot Cargo said it successfully migrated to a new reservation and accounting system, CargoSpot, that will give it full control over sales and revenue management by integrating all internal business processes into one system.
Boeing's 787 customers face delivery delays of up to an additional six months, according to a report issued Friday by New York-based Bernstein Research that also suggest a 10%-15% range shortfall for early delivery aircraft.
National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. President Patrick Forrey said he welcomed former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey's role in helping to oversee mediation of the union's contract talks with the regulator ( ATWOnline, May 1), calling it a "bold step. . .that will guide a positive way forward in which aviation safety professionals will be included as valued stakeholders."
EasyJet announced that Group Finance Director Jeff Carr will leave the company and Mandala Airlines CEO Warwick Brady will join the LCC as procurement director Wednesday.
Finnair's second A330-200 entered service Friday on a Helsinki-Delhi flight. Aircraft also will operate to New York JFK. Three more A330s are scheduled to arrive this year, including one this month.
American Airlines launched daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Madrid service Friday aboard a 225-seat 767-300. It also started a third daily Boston-London Heathrow frequency and restarted daily seasonal BOS-Paris Charles de Gaulle flights. Continental Airlines launched a seasonal daily Cleveland-London Heathrow service scheduled to operate through Sept. 26 aboard a 757.
AHS Aviation Handling Services is taking over Swissport's passenger ground handling activities at all German stations. Agreement excludes Swissport Cargo Services.
First-quarter 2009 global airline industry losses in aggregate have totaled $1 billion so far, in line with expected full-year losses of $4.7 billion, IATA said in a "Financial Monitor" released Friday, noting that "airfreight appears to have bottomed out but passenger travel continues to shrink, particularly premium."
Swine flu fears continue to affect the industry, with Continental Airlines cutting capacity on service to Mexico by 50% starting today, France calling for the EU to restrict flights to Mexico, United Airlines acknowledging a worker contracted the disease and Southwest Airlines admitting that bookings last week were "erratic" owing to fears that the flu could be spread in aircraft cabins ( ATWOnline, May 1).
CSA Czech Airlines reached agreements with seven of nine unions to reduce salaries to last year's levels, which will save the carrier approximately CZK250 million ($12.4 million) this year. CSA said it "initiated redundancies" targeting 28 positions held by employees represented by the Trade Union of Aviation Mechanics, with which there was no agreement on pay cuts that will bring about the necessary 5% reduction in costs. Negotiations with the CZALPA pilots union are continuing.
Innova Aviation Consulting and InterVISTAS announced their merger, creating the InterVistas Consulting Group, which will operate companies in the US, Canada and Europe.
International Aero Engines, the consortium led by Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce that builds the V2500 engine for the A320 family, expects to produce nearly as many engines this year as it did in 2008, although CEO Jon Beatty said he would not be surprised if both Airbus and Boeing "have some rate rationalization" in 2010.
BAA parent Grupo Ferrovial received three bids for London Gatwick, MD Inigo Meiras told reporters last week. According to Reuters, London City owners Global Infrastructure Partners confirmed its participation.
