DaimlerChrysler will sell a 7.5% stake in Airbus parent EADS to a consortium that reportedly includes Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, KfW and Goldman Sachs. A company spokesperson told German media this week that an agreement had been reached and "final details" were being settled. DaimlerChrysler will hold a 15% stake in EADS after the sale, which is expected to net nearly $2 billion.
Iberia flew 4.28 billion RPKs in December, an 11.6% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.8% to 5.45 billion ASKs and load factor rose 5.5 points to a December record 78.5%. Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz flew a combined 3.9 billion RPMs in December, up 6.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity grew 4.5% to 4.98 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1.6 points to 78.3%. Copa Airlines flew 398.5 million RPMs in December, up 30% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 24.1% to 502.1 million ASMs and load factor was ahead 3.6 points to 79.4%.
Aviation Partners Boeing said Turkish Airlines placed an order for 24 737-800 Blended Winglet shipsets. The carrier installed three sets on -800s in 2002. Turkish Technic will install the winglets at its Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen facility. APB said 57% of the -800s currently in service are equipped with winglets.
Lufthansa flew 8.28 billion RPKs in December, a 7.4% rise from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 5.3% to 11.4 billion ASKs and load factor rose 1.4 points to 72.6%.
Midwest Air Group will grow capacity by 15% this year and look to boost revenue as part of a new strategy unveiled yesterday that the Midwest Airlines parent hopes will increase shareholder value and fend off AirTran Airways. In a presentation filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Midwest said it rejected AirTran's proposal ( ATWOnline, Dec. 15, 2006) because it undervalued the company and "did not reflect the long-term opportunity inherent in [Midwest's] strategic growth plan."
The European Commission disseminated misleading and incorrect information on passenger rights on posters displayed at EU airports beginning in February 2005 as well as in leaflets, press releases and a video on the EC website, the European Ombudsman has concluded. The opinion follows separate complaints filed by the International Air Carrier Assn. and the European Regions Airline Assn. in April 2005. Those complaints concerned information distributed to passengers regarding compensation and assistance in the event of denied boarding, cancellation or long delays.
Bmi regional is taking delivery of a further four E-145s in the coming months, raising its fleet to 20 aircraft. The additional capacity will support three new routes: Edinburgh-Zurich, Aberdeen-Kristiansand and Leeds Bradford-Copenhagen. The bmi subsidiary also will increase frequencies on existing services for the summer schedule, including additional flights from EDI to MAN and LBA.
Mexican LCC Interjet converted 10 A320 options into firm orders, which Airbus has tacked onto its 2006 order book. The options were part of an order placed at the 2005 Paris Air Show ( ATWOnline, Nov. 8, 2005). The Toluca-based airline celebrated its one-year anniversary in December and carried more than 1 million passengers in its first 12 months of operation.
Airline Partners Australia's A$11.1 billion ($8.64 million) equity buyout of Qantas continued to face criticism yesterday as rebel Sen. Barnaby Joyce, a National Party of Australia member from Queensland, added his influential voice to the call for greater competition on the Australia-US route.
Airbus named former MBDA executive Didier Evrard to head the A350 XWB program, effective immediately. MBDA is a France-based missile manufacturer. Evrard, 53, "brings proven leadership and program development management capabilities in combination with an understanding of customer needs and business objectives," Airbus President and CEO Louis Gallois said.
Brussels Airlines signed a letter of intent with AerCap to add a fourth A330-300 to its long-haul fleet. The aircraft belonged to Air Madrid, which suspended operations last month. Brussels' network "will not necessarily include new African destinations but possibly some destinations on the North American continent," VP-Communications Geert Sciot told ATWOnline. It is expected that the carrier will operate Brussels-Toronto flights, which it currently offers in codeshare with Etihad Airways.
Royal Jordanian said it finalized interline agreements with British Airways, American Airlines, Iberia, LAN and Finnair in preparation for joining oneworld.
US Airways yesterday raised its takeover offer for bankrupt Delta Air Lines to $10.2 billion, promising DL's unsecured creditors $5 billion in cash and 89.5 million shares of US stock, but the Delta board quickly gave a thumbs-down to the proposal, stating that "it does not address significant concerns. . .raised about the initial US Airways proposal and, in fact, would increase the debt burden of the combined company by yet another $1 billion."
Malev Hungarian Airlines and American Airlines this week signed a codeshare and frequent-flier program harmonization agreement. From the summer timetable, AA will add its code to Malev's New York JFK flight as well as numerous other services to Eastern Europe and Balkan destinations. MA's code will appear on several domestic flights operated by AA. Malev will join oneworld this year. Air Transat will launch a weekly Toronto-Montreal-Vienna service in May using A310-300s.
Air China reportedly is planning to set up a Shanghai-based cargo joint venture with Cathay Pacific Airways. "We are now preparing for the joint venture program and hope to realize practical progress in the cargo business partnership with Cathay in the first half of 2007," VP Fan Cheng told China Daily. "How to significantly improve our cargo transport capabilities is an important task for Air China in 2007," he added. He said long-running attempts to reach a similar agreement with China Eastern Airlines had failed.
Jet Airways will expand its international network this month to Bangkok, with flights to the US set to commence later this year. Jet told media that it plans to launch services to Newark in August and to San Francisco via Shanghai in November. It will operate A330s on the Bangkok route and 777-300ERs to the US. It currently flies to London Heathrow, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Kathmandu and Singapore. This week it inked a codeshare agreement with Thai Airways.
Japan Airlines is mulling a plan to lay off 3,000 employees, 6% of its workforce, over the next three years to help cut losses, according press reports. The cuts are due to be unveiled in JAL's mid-year business plan due out next month. It posted a loss of ¥47 billion ($394.8 million) for the fiscal year to March 2006 as fuel prices hit the bottom line and ANA grabbed market share. According to Mainichi Daily, JAL also is considering a restructuring of the group's related businesses with a possible of sale of some units.
LTU German Airlines MD Juergen Marbach confirmed to ATWOnline that the carrier intends to launch a Spanish subsidiary ( ATWOnline, Jan. 10). "We are having intensive talks with Spanish co-investors as well as Spanish authorities to establish a new company, which should be in position to take over some Air Madrid routes to South America as soon as possible," he said. He also reiterated that LTU has no plan to take over Air Madrid.
Monarch Airlines promoted Tim Jeans to MD and a place on the company's board. Former easyJet Director-Business Development Liz Savage will succeed Jeans as MD of the scheduled service division as well as taking over as MD of flymonarch.com.
Citing the "potential to benefit the greatest number of passengers," the US Dept. of Transportation yesterday awarded United Airlines the tentative right to operate a new daily service between Washington Dulles and Beijing as early as March 25, thus ending months of lobbying by the four legacy carriers hoping to fly nonstop to the world's fastest-growing large aviation market.
WestJet indefinitely postponed installation of the aiRES reservation system from Travelport that was supposed to replace its OpenSkies system this year and allow it to interline with other carriers ( ATW, November 2006). The LCC extended its support agreement with Navitaire for the OpenSkies system through the end of 2008, indicating that it could be 2009 before it converts to aiRES.
LTU German Airlines wants to take over certain Latin American routes belonging to Air Madrid, which shut down operations Dec. 15 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18, 2006), but an LTU spokesperson told ATWOnline that the airline does not plan to take over the bankrupt Spanish carrier despite rumors to the contrary. Spanish transport authorities reportedly said that LTU also plans to absorb 568 Air Madrid employees, some 52% of the total, as part of its plan to create a subsidiary named LTU Espana within six months.
Caribbean Sun Airlines will shut down on Jan. 31, according to company officials, and close its operational hub at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan. Sister carrier Caribbean Star Airlines was granted permission by US FAA in October to expand service to US destinations. "When Caribbean Star was launched in 2000 it could not serve San Juan and other US destinations, which of course hindered growth," Star and Sun President and CEO Skip Barnette explained.
Ryanair will launch service from Dublin to Bydgoszcz and Gdansk in May, bringing to 22 the number of new European destinations it will serve from the Irish capital this summer. It also will increase frequencies from DUB to Bratislava, Biarritz, Carcassonne, Kaunas, Krakow, Malaga, Murcia, Riga and Rome Ciampino. The LCC expects to carry 9 million passengers through Dublin this year. Kuwait Airways and Alitalia will codeshare on KU's thrice-weekly service to Rome Fiumicino effective Jan 14.
