US Dept. of Justice announced yesterday that Frank de Jong, formerly Martinair's VP-European cargo sales, has agreed to serve eight months in prison and pay a criminal fine of $20,000 for his role in a conspiracy to fix international cargo rates. He is the fourth airline executive to be sentenced to jail in the wide-ranging investigation that has ensnared 15 carriers around the world.
Thales announced that its microwave landing system received UK approval for ground installations for Cat IIIb operations at London Heathrow. Thales received European certification for its onboard aircraft installations to Cat IIIb in November 2007. British Airways is the first airline to implement the system, using it on its LHR-based Airbus single-aisle fleet throughout 2008. The system became fully operational on March 25.
Boeing is completing final 787 static testing in advance of launching an aggressive flight test program later this quarter to gain FAA type certification within 8.5-9 months of first flight, 787 VP and Chief Project Engineer Mike Delaney said yesterday.
Safi Airways of Afghanistan will launch its first intercontinental route, a thrice-weekly nonstop Kabul-Frankfurt service, on June 15. The privately owned carrier, established in 2006, will use a two-class, 196-seat 767-200ER on the route. Safi plans to join the principal international GDSs next month. It currently flies to Kabul, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Sharjah, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-e-Sherif. Virgin America yesterday launched five-times-daily San Francisco-Orange County service. SNA is its ninth destination.
Government health organizations yesterday used stronger language to caution against travel to Mexico, with US Centers for Disease Control Acting Director Richard Besser saying that "people should avoid nonessential travel to Mexico as a precaution to guard against contracting the swine flu." The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control urged Europeans not to travel to Mexico unless their trips were "unavoidable and absolutely necessary." The UK government said it advises against "all but essential travel." There still were no reports of passengers canceling trips to Mexico on
Ryanair said it will allow "price comparison only" websites to access its timetable, seat availability and fare information but will continue to ban reselling through so-called screenscraper sites. The LCC will introduce a license agreement for an annual charitable donation of €100 ($131) to the "price comparison only" websites.
Aer Lingus yesterday said that its full-year loss "will be materially below the bottom of the range of current market expectations" and that it is reorganizing its senior management structure in order "to safeguard the long-term viability of the group," according to Chairman Colm Barrington. The Irish carrier said six weeks ago that it expected its operating loss this year to be "larger" than the €159.5 million ($209.7 million) posted in 2008 ( ATWOnline, March 12).
Finnair reported a first-quarter loss of €18.6 million ($24.5 million), reversed from a €3.1 million profit in the year-ago period, as "the potential for profitability has run into the sand due to feeble demand and a collapse in price levels," President and CEO Jukka Hienonen said.
China Southern Airlines reported a CNY222 million ($32.5 million) first-quarter profit, down 71.3% from the CNY796 million earned in the year-ago period, on a 9.4% decrease in operating revenue to CNY12.93 billion. Operating expenses climbed 3.3% to CNY13.71 billion, and analysts credited "the return of a CNY1.07 billion aviation construction fund" for the profit. Foreign exchange losses played a role in the year-over-year decrease. The Guangzhou-based carrier did not release further figures.
LOT Polish Airlines is nearing insolvency, Management Board President Sebastian Mikosz was quoted as saying by the Warsaw Business Journal and Rzeczpospolita, which reported that the auditor is unwilling to sign off on the airline's accounts and that its survival is uncertain. It lost €155 million ($203.8 million) last year and reportedly does not have the cash to pay its bills. Mikosz said layoffs will be necessary and that new investment or acquisition by a competitor are the most likely solutions to the crisis.
JDA Aviation Technology Solutions of Bethesda, Md., entered into a partnership with UK-based EQ2 to launch an environmental management system, EQ2-EMS, designed to allow operators to analyze emissions and their impact on operating costs.
EDS announced an agreement with Continental Airlines to develop, implement and deliver enhanced EDS Flight Planning Services as a software-as-a-service model based on the EDS Airline SOA platform.
Japan Airlines now expects to report a ¥63 billion ($651.3 million) loss in its fiscal year ended March 31, nearly double the ¥34 billion it forecast in February, owing to a "relentless" decline in global demand.
Aeroflot transported 604,600 passengers in March, a 16.5% fall from the year-ago month. Load factor was down 8.1 points to 60.7%. LAN Airlines flew 2.47 billion RPKs in March, up 7.6% from the year-ago month. Capacity increased 12.5% to 3.25 billion ASKs, reducing load factor 3.4 points to 76.1%.
SAS Group narrowed its first-quarter loss by nearly 36% to SEK748 million ($91.4 million) from the SEK1.16 billion reported in the year-ago period, although it said that "uncertainty with regard to when recovery will begin is considerable" and that it is pressing ahead with its Core SAS efficiency program.
Air Berlin said the German Federal Cartel Office approved Pegasus Airlines parent ESAS Holding's acquisition of approximately 15% of the voting shares in AB ( ATWOnline, March 31). It also announced the establishment next month of a Corporate Users Advisory Council that will "monitor the development of the business travel sector" and "offer a more effective and flexible response to immediate market conditions." Former German Travel Management Assn. Chairman Michael Kirnberger will head the council.
IATA said airline profitability remained weak in the first quarter as traffic and yields declined, offsetting the benefits of lower fuel prices and capacity cuts, but "pessimism about the outlook ahead. . .has softened somewhat," according to its latest Airline Business Confidence Index released yesterday. IATA's survey of airline members revealed that carriers "have on balance moved away from indicating significantly further reductions in profitability," the organization said.
EgyptAir yesterday launched operations at Cairo International's new Terminal 3 with a daily service to New York JFK. MS and several Star Alliance carriers plan to transfer operations to the new facility over the next month.
Transaero launched thrice-weekly Moscow Domodedovo-Blagoveshchensk aboard a Tu-214. Jetstar Asia will launch daily Singapore-Penang service on July 1, increasing to twice-daily on Oct. 1.
Ukraine International Airlines posted a $6.2 million profit in 2008, its ninth consecutive year in the black. It reported a $12.9 million profit in 2007. Revenue last year was $371 million, up 36%, and operating profit rose nearly 20% to $22 million. It said the bottom line was impacted by a $7.6 million foreign exchange loss. UIA currently operates 17 737s.
Porter Airlines will invest C$45 million ($37.2 million) in a new 150,000-sq.-ft. passenger terminal at Toronto City Centre Airport, with the first phase scheduled to open in November. All 10 gates, customs facilities and both passenger lounges will be operational by next spring. Porter plans to be operating 18 Q400s by year end and will launch a YTZ-Thunder Bay service on June 26.
