The records piled up for AirTran Airways in the second quarter, with net income of $32 million--nearly triple the year-ago quarter's $11.4 million profit--the highest in any three-month period in its 13-year history. All-time quarterly records also were set for RPMs, capacity, enplaned passengers and load factor, figures that "speak clearly of the customers' demand for our product," according to Chairman and CEO Joe Leonard.
Airbus parent EADS yesterday reported a €527 million ($663.9 million) second-quarter net profit, down 9% from €582 million in the year-ago quarter, on revenues of €9.9 billion, a 10% rise over last year. It conceded that "operational issues" leading to A380 delivery delays, the A350 redesign and the resignations of top executives at both EADS and Airbus made the second quarter a difficult one.
German court ruled that the government was partly liable in the 2002 midair collision between a DHL 757 freighter and a BAL Bashkirian Airlines Tu-154M that killed 71 people, as the government had granted Swiss ATC firm Skyguide control over a portion of German airspace, according to press reports. The court has yet to decide how much compensation is due Bashkirian, which reportedly is seeking $3.3 million. Other civil lawsuits are pending.
Air Deccan said its 21.2% market share in June made it India's second-largest airline, passing Indian Airlines, which held a 20.8% share, according to Deccan. The LCC operates 14 A320s and 21 ATR turboprops on 265 daily flights to 55 domestic destinations.
Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico formed an MRO partnership through which their respective maintenance divisions, Delta TechOps and Aeromexico Maintenance and Engineering, will market and perform MRO services jointly. In addition, Delta will be the exclusive MRO provider for Aeromexico's CFM56-7s and 131-9B APUs while AM will provide heavy MRO for DL's MD-88s.
Midwest Air Group, parent of Midwest Airlines and Skyway Airlines, reported second-quarter net income of $8.8 million, compared to a loss of $8.2 million in the year-ago quarter, on a 34.4% jump in revenues to $176.9 million. "A strong increase in passengers and an improved fare environment helped offset soaring fuel costs in the quarter," Chairman and CEO Timothy Hoeksema said. The company posted operating income of $7.5 million, an improvement over an operating loss of $8.2 million last year. Expenses rose 21.2% to $169.3 million as fuel costs surged 49.4% to $60.6 million.
AirAsia will subcontract rural turboprop services to Fly Asian Xpress, or FAX, which intends to begin operations Aug. 1. AirAsia is taking over the majority of domestic routes once operated by Malaysia Airlines and will transfer operations of its six F50s and five Twin Otters to FAX.
Air Traffic Control Assn. named Peter Dumont president. Dumont is a VP and acting COO at Serco. Singapore Airlines Cargo named Singapore Airlines Executive VP-Marketing and the Regions Huang Cheng Eng as chairman and director effective Aug. 1. Huang joined SIA in 1974.
The merger of US Airways Group and America West Airlines continues to pay big dividends, according to President and CEO Doug Parker, who said it was the "primary driver" behind second-quarter net earnings of $305 million for the combined company.
Amadeus signed a global content distribution agreement with Paramount Airways of India. Travelport, formerly Cendant Travel Distribution Services, signed a multiyear distribution agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways making the airline's full content available on the Galileo GDS as well as Orbitz and CheapTickets.
American Airlines 777 landed safely at New York JFK yesterday after one of its two engines failed, according to press reports. The aircraft was on its way from Los Angeles to London Heathrow and was carrying 239 passengers and 14 crew.
Ryanair yesterday unveiled its first Moroccan routes, part of a May agreement with the Moroccan government to fly up to 20 routes and nearly 1 million passengers per year to the North African country ( ATWOnline, May 26). On Oct. 31 it will launch flights from London Luton to Fez (thrice-weekly) and Marrakech (four-times-weekly). LCC rivals Air Berlin and easyJet already serve Morocco.
LAN posted a profit of $16.5 million in the second quarter after a one-time charge of $6.4 million related to severance payments, reduced 38% from $26.6 million in the second quarter of 2005.
Copa Airlines flew 311.4 million RPMs in June, a 15.3% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 8.2% to 406.9 million ASMs, lifting load factor 4.7 points to 76.5%. Mesaba Airlines flew 108.6 million RPMs in June, a 38.8% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 40% to 149.3 million ASMs and load factor rose 1.5 points to 72.8%.
Aegean Airlines ordered three more IAE V2500-powered A320s, bringing its total order for the type to 14 including three leased from ILFC, plus nine options. It signed the initial agreement in December ( ATWOnline, Dec. 13, 2005). The new A320s are scheduled to be delivered between January 2007 and April 2009 and will replace older aircraft and be used for expansion on routes from the carrier's Athens and Thessaloniki bases.
Boeing yesterday reported a second-quarter net loss of $160 million, a significant decline from net income of $532 million a year ago owing to more than $1 billion in one-time charges related to delays in its Airborne Early Warning & Control surveillance program and a previously announced settlement with the US Justice Dept. in two criminal cases ( ATWOnline, June 30).
Armavia A320 crash that killed 113 people in May was attributable to what appears to be a loss of situational awareness by the flight crew, Russian aviation officials stated yesterday, according to press reports. Last month's flight data recorder analysis revealed no problem with the aircraft ( ATWOnline, June 20). According to civil aviation head Tatyano Anodina, the aircraft was too low on approach and the crew was unable to respond in a timely manner to a GPWS alert.
UPS stock plunged more than 10% yesterday following its Tuesday release of below-expectation second-quarter results. Positive results are relative for the highly profitable express delivery company, which posted net income of $1.06 billion for the quarter, up 7.6% from a $986 million profit in the year-ago quarter. But analysts had predicted $1 per share earnings; the results came in at 97 cents a share for the quarter and triggered a steep drop in share price.
British Airways sold its 14.6% shareholding in WNS, an Indian business services company, for a net $96 million. BA said it will report a gain on the disposal of approximately £48 million ($88.7 million) in the second quarter and use the proceeds to pay existing debt, which amounted to £4.1 billion as of March 31.
Jetstar International, Qantas's new low-cost international arm, unveiled its product offering and fares in Sydney yesterday. Services will start Nov. 23 to six destinations over nine routes with one-way fares from A$169 ($127) to A$249. The airline will operate from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Bangkok, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City, Osaka, Bali and Honolulu. The initial fleet will be 303-seat A330-200s with two classes of service including StarClass, a premium cabin. Jetstar will operate 787s from mid-2008 and will take the first 10 ordered by Qantas.
Etihad Airways unveiled a new Diamond Zone seat on its A340-500. It includes a 23-in. video screen, can rotate 180 deg., has a built-in massager and can lie flat, among other features. The Pearl Zone also will feature lie-flat seats. The aircraft is configured in three classes and will seat 12 in Diamond, 28 in Pearl and 200 in Coral class.
Tiger Airways has recorded an 81% lift in passenger volume since moving to the Budget Terminal at Singapore Changi four months ago ( ATWOnline, March 28). Since then, 400,000 passengers have traveled with Tiger, load factor has leapt 21 points and capacity has doubled to six A320s. Next month the airline will operate almost 200 flights per week from the terminal.
