Finnair will lay off 120 employees as part of an effort to save €25 million ($33 million) in personnel expenses. It said it will achieve the remainder of the targeted savings through furloughs and the scheduled upcoming conclusion of 400 fixed-term contracts. Senior VP-Human Resources Anssi Komulainen said the layoffs will be "widely applied" and "arranged so as to minimize disruption to the flight program." Finnair said it offered employee representatives a 5% temporary pay cut, the cancellation of holiday bonuses and salary freezes but was rejected.
JetBlue Airways promoted VP-Network Planning Martin St. George to senior VP-marketing and commercial strategy and Director-Network Planning Scott Laurence to VP-network planning.
Zest Airways MA60 sustained significant damage after undershooting the runway and hitting a concrete barrier when landing at Caticlan Sunday. Flight was en route from Manila with 22 passengers and three crew. Minor injuries were reported. Aircraft first flew last year. Manila-based Zest operates four additional MA60s, three Dash 7s and two A320-200s.
Cebu Pacific Air transported 683,204 passengers in December, a one-month record for the airline. It said it will add frequencies on flights from Manila to 11 domestic destinations by March "despite the weak economic forecast for the country," increasing the number of weekly domestic flights 16.6% to 1,252. It expects to take delivery of one A320 family aircraft and two ATR 72-500s by March. Frequencies to Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Macau also will increase during March.
Ending six years of public debate, the UK government approved construction of a third runway and sixth terminal at London Heathrow but simultaneously imposed stricter environmental targets and rejected the introduction of mixed-mode operations (landings and takeoffs on the same runway) on the existing runways as an interim measure. The government also indicated support for construction of a high-speed rail line between London and Scotland via a new international interchange station at LHR that would "unlock" the airport for the rest of the country.
Etihad Airways will launch thrice-weekly Abu Dhabi-Athens service at the beginning of June aboard a two-class A320. Route will be five-times-weekly from October and daily in 2010. Bmi said it will terminate its London Heathrow-Jersey service on March 28, citing poor financial performance. Also, bmi regional will launch thrice-daily Birmingham-Aberdeen service on March 29. It is bmi regional's first route to BHX. Bmibaby will cease operating the route on March 27.
SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew 1.35 billion RPMs in December, a 3.3% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity declined 9.1% to 1.72 billion ASMs and load factor rose 4.6 points to 78.2%. Hawaiian Airlines flew 652.8 million RPMs in December, down 0.4% year-over-year. Capacity rose 2.8% to 821.4 million ASMs and load factor dropped 2.6 points to 79.5%. Norwegian said December yield fell 29% year-over-year to NOK0.64 ($0.09). It flew 515 million RPKs, up 20%, against a 25% increase in ASKs to 697 million. Load factor fell 3 points to 74%.
Brussels Airlines said 40% of passengers departing from Brussels opted for self check-in last year, a 30% increase year-over-year. Of those passengers, 55% checked in online and 45% used an airport kiosk.
ST Aerospace subsidiary STA Engines will provide GE Aviation with on-wing support for GEnx-1Bs and -2Bs under a 20-year deal announced yesterday. STA will employ GE material and repair processes from its facilities in Singapore and the US, and GE will offer technical support including training manuals and equipment.
Air Canada announced a tentative three-year labor deal covering approximately 5,000 customer service and sales employees represented by the Canadian Auto Workers. AC President and CEO Montie Brewer said that all of AC's labor agreements are up for renewal this year.
The US Dept. of Transportation yesterday issued its final order for alleviating congestion at New York LaGuardia and said that airlines have until Feb. 2 to identify which flights they will give up voluntarily in order to reduce total scheduled operations from an average of 75 per hr. to 71 from May 31 to Oct. 24. The proposal was announced last month after DOT's effort to conduct slot auctions at New York-area airports was halted by the US Court of Appeals ( ATWOnline, Dec. 23, 2008).
Ryanair announced expansions at its Edinburgh, Bristol and Alicante bases representing five additional 737-800s and an investment of $350 million. Edinburgh will double to four -800s in March and will see new service launched to Rome Ciampino (four-times-weekly on March 30), Limoges (twice-weekly on March 30), Carcassonne, Leipzig (both thrice-weekly on March 31), Malta (twice-weekly on March 31), Poitiers and Zadar (both twice-weekly on April 1). Frequencies will be increased to Alicante and Dusseldorf Weeze.
Airbus began construction on the A350 XWB final assembly line in Toulouse yesterday, with President and CEO Tom Enders saying the manufacturer "is making steady progress" on the next-generation aircraft program and is on track "for first delivery in 2013." The 74,000-sq.-m. factory is where the fuselage and wings will be joined, Airbus said, while aircraft testing and cabin equipping will be completed in the nearby A330/A340 facility.
Indian government appears to be softening its stance on foreign direct investment in the country's airlines as they contend with large losses and overcapacity. Civil Aviation Minister Prafel Patel told reporters this week that "there is a more reasonable case now than there was 3-4 years ago" to allow foreign carriers to acquire up to 25% of an Indian carrier. Kingfisher Airlines has been a strong proponent of investment liberalization ( ATWOnline, Nov. 18, 2008). "There is no clarity on the issue.
Spairliners, the Air France and Lufthansa Technik A380 component joint venture, won a 10-year deal with Qantas to provide component support on QF's A380s, its first with a third party. Contract calls for the repair and replacement of some 750 components stocked in Spairliners' Hamburg depot and covers all 20 A380s ordered by QF. Spairliners is expected to provide component support for a total of 47 A380s.
UK CAA yesterday reiterated its "strong support" for the Competition Commission's provisional decision requiring airports operator BAA to sell off London Gatwick and Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow International ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18, 2008).
Lufthansa Group flew 11.27 billion RPKs in December, down 0.1% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 1.3% to 14.86 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 1.1 points to 75.8%. SAS Group airlines flew 2.22 billion RPKs in December, down 12.5% year-over-year. Capacity fell 10.2% to 3.42 billion ASKs and load factor dropped 1.7 points to 64.8%. SAS Scandinavian Airlines flew 1.64 billion RPKs, down 9.4%, against a 5% fall in ASKs to 2.48 billion. Load factor declined 3.2 points to 66.1%.
Turkish Airlines Chairman Candan Karlitekin told ATWOnline in Istanbul that despite the weak economic environment, THY is projecting growth in 2009 resulting in 26 million passengers plus an additional 5 million from its SunExpress subsidiary.
United Airlines yesterday said it will offer Aircell's Gogo inflight Internet service onboard premium service transcontinental flights between New York JFK and California in the second half of this year. Technology will be available for a flat fee of $12.95 on 13 757s flying between JFK and Los Angeles and San Francisco.
SAS Group took a major step toward achieving its goal of SEK4 billion in cost reductions following the finalization of labor agreements with its trade unions that it said will save SEK1.5 billion ($182.4 million).
Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Tony Tyler warned in the company's internal staff magazine that things "may get worse" as CX and Dragonair reported falling passenger and cargo numbers this week. The airlines flew a combined 7.79 billion RPKs in December, up 2.4% from the year-ago month, but saw a 0.3% dip in passengers to 2.1 million. Capacity rose 4.7% to 9.86 billion ASKs and load factor declined 1.8 points to 79%. Cargo plunged 23.9% year-over-year to 115.2 million tons and cargo load factor dropped 5.7 points to 62.9%.
Southwest Airlines announced the closure of the second tranche of a transaction with an unidentified lessor involving the sale and leaseback of 10 737-700s ( ATWOnline, Dec. 24, 2008), under which it sold the remaining five for approximately $175 million and immediately leased them back for 16 years each.
SITA signed a five-year, $76 million contract with Saudi Arabian Airlines to implement and maintain global communications and desktop infrastructure. The hybrid network solution is expected to reduce communications-related costs, increase flexibility and advance a range of applications including a new Passenger Management System.
Airbus parent EADS CEO Louis Gallois told reporters in France that the manufacturer may need to slow production rates in 2009 owing to airlines' inability to take planned deliveries because of the weak economic environment. "I could not give a figure of a percentage of the 2009 delivery backlog that might be at risk," he said.
