Airlines scheduled 6% fewer flights this month compared with April 2008, with a 3% drop in seat capacity, according to the latest statistics from OAG. It marks the ninth successive month of declines and represents a reduction of more than 136,000 flights and 9 million seats year-over-year. Flight schedules within Europe are down by 8% while capacity is off 7% with 4.7 million fewer seats on offer. Figures for North America show downturns of 9% in domestic frequencies and 8% in capacity, with a 6% drop for flights and capacity to/from the region.
AeroLogic, the joint venture between Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Express, will take delivery of its first 777-200F in May and confirmed that it will start commercial flights on June 29. A second aircraft will join the fleet in July.
Air India parent National Aviation Co. of India announced that Ministry of Civil Aviation Joint Secretary and Financial Adviser Bharat Bhushan will serve as interim chairman and MD replacing Raghu Menon. Bhushan, 54, has held a variety of government positions for the past 30 years. No reason was given for the government's decision to replace Menon, according to press reports from India. A search for a permanent replacement is underway.
American Airlines said the US Dept. of Transportation issued a scheduling order establishing a six-month timeframe for its decision on the application for antitrust immunity from AA and oneworld partners British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian. A decision now is expected by November.
Boeing received a commitment from Alaska Airlines for five 737s and took one 747-8 cancellation during the week ended April 21, according to its 'Orders and Deliveries' website. The customer for the 747 was unidentified. The manufacturer now has orders for 40 gross and seven net aircraft this year. Separately, Boeing said 25% of the design releases have been completed for the 747-8 Intercontinental. "The engineering is proceeding as planned," VP and GM-747 Program Mo Yahyavi said.
Air Senegal International suspended all operations last Friday. According to press reports, disputes between 51% owner Royal Air Maroc and the Senegalese government over management, control, audits and money owed resulted in the shutdown. RAM provided two 737-700s to the subsidiary and has withdrawn both, leaving ASI with just one -700 and one Dash 8. "For several weeks Royal Air Maroc has warned its Senegalese co-shareholders that there was a risk Air Senegal would stop its activities," RAM said in an April 24 statement.
Gulf Air chose CFM56-5Bs to power 15 new A320s scheduled for delivery from late this year to 2012. The deal is worth approximately $270 million, CFM International announced. Engines will feature the Tech Insertion configuration introduced in September 2007.
Clickair launched a facility called Lock your Fare that guarantees ticket prices for a period of either 24 or 72 hr. with an option to extend the "protection" period by a further 24 hr. Prices for the service start at €2 ($2.65).
Undisclosed asset sales prompted ANA Group to issue a revised guidance yesterday anticipating a smaller loss for the fiscal year ended March 31 than previously forecast.
Qantas announced a comprehensive review of its seating configurations, with many premium seats expected to get the ax as business travel plummets. The reassessment comes as QF is suffering the worst decline in business travel in decades with a fall of up to 30% in premium travelers, who are paying up to 50% less than the normal premium fare. CEO Alan Joyce conceded to ATWOnline yesterday that "we have too few seats on some of our aircraft," with premium seats making up 40% of the total on some.
Airlines on either side of the Taiwan Strait are expected to reap further benefits following the Sunday signing of an expanded agreement by the Taipei-based Strait Exchange Foundation and the Beijing-based Assn. for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait that will more than double the number of permitted flights.
Airlines and regulators around the world are monitoring the swine flu outbreak and have been urged to review health emergency plans, but no action was taken yesterday aside from an EU official's warning to avoid "nonessential travel" to parts of North America and a number of airlines waiving change fees for flights to Mexico, where the disease originated and is believed to have caused more than 100 deaths.
Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber predicted Friday that LH's 2009 operating profit will be "distinctively positive" despite the economic downturn. Speaking at the company's annual general meeting in Cologne, he conceded that 2009 earnings likely will be "substantially below" 2008, for which LH posted net income of €599 million ($760 million) ( ATWOnline, March 12). But he insisted its business model is strong and predicted it will perform better than many of its competitors.
Chromalloy will invest $16.5 million to expand turbine engine component casting capabilities in Tampa. It said it would work with OEMs and operators to design and manufacture parts while "manag[ing] the entire supply chain process to deliver complete, engine-ready components." Facility enhancements will be ready by year end, with production ramp-up to start early next year.
Vueling Airlines is predicting another full-year profit after reporting a 72.2% year-over-year improvement in its first-quarter net loss to €6.3 million ($8.2 million) from the €22.6 million reported in the year-ago period.
SITA said CSA Czech Airlines signed a four-year deal making SITA the single supplier of CSA's global network communication and messaging services. Agreement involves evolution of the existing infrastructure "to increase performance while reducing cost by 25%." New "hybrid network" includes IP VPN, ISP, DSL and SITA AirportHub connections.
Joy Air, the joint venture launched by AVIC and China Eastern Airlines in March 2008, is expected to be formally operational in June, AVIC Chairman Lin Zuoming told China Business News. Lin said the Xi'an-based carrier plans to conduct trial flights in May, although it has not yet obtained its airworthiness certificate. It has registered capital of CNY1 billion, in which AVIC originally contributed a 60% stake and China Eastern Airlines 40%.
Blue Wings signed a deal with Abu Dhabi's Elite Aviation to operate two A320s, which the carrier hopes will help it reacquire its operating license that was suspended by Germany's LBA on April 1 ( ATWOnline, April 17). Blue Wings owner Alexander Lebedev told reporters that he has offered a 49% stake in the airline to Aeroflot (in which he holds 30%) for €1 ($1.30). SU said it would consider the offer, according to Reuters.
Norwegian narrowed its first-quarter net loss to NOK109.6 million ($16.4 million) from the NOK210.8 million reported in the year-ago period as revenue rose 27.4% year-over-year to NOK1.39 billion. "The demand for travelling with Norwegian and advanced bookings has been satisfactory entering the second quarter of 2009," CEO Bjorn Kjos said, warning, however, that a slowdown in the business environment is expected. "Norwegian will closely monitor the traffic development and will make adjustments to the route portfolio if necessary."
Delta Air Lines will begin serving Dallas Love Field on July 6 with thrice-daily service to/from Memphis aboard CRJ200s operated by Pinnacle Airlines. DL currently flies to Dallas/Fort Worth from seven US cities. American Airlines recently announced the suspension of its DAL service from June 11 ( ATWOnline, March 13).
Iberia last week warned that a full-year profit is "unlikely" if "current difficult economic conditions persist." It posted a €32 million ($41.7 million) profit in 2008, down 90.2% from the prior year. It said in an investor update that it faces an "important decrease in revenues" owing to a "weakness" in traffic, a declining number business passengers and falling yields.
Air New Zealand said it will lock out Zeal320 flight attendants represented by the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, who voted to strike for four days beginning May 7 ( ATWOnline, April 24). "Air New Zealand will not be held to ransom by a union who is not interested in coming back to the mediation table and working out a deal," GM-Short Haul Airlines Bruce Parton said.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and AirTran Airways parent AirTran Holdings said last week in government filings that a change in the way they report convertible debt owing to a new accounting rule has altered their net results slightly for the past five years.
