SAS took a page out of the low-fare airline playbook yesterday as it announced that it will adopt so-called one-way pricing on all tickets sold to and from European destinations, eliminating roundtrip purchase and weekend stay requirements. Sales of the new European tickets will commence Sept. 1. German destinations will be available from January. Tickets can be purchased by telephone, through travel agencies or on the Internet, "where it will be easy to see what prices are available for each departure," the airline noted.
Low-fare airline Norwegian reported a second-quarter after-tax profit of NOK14.6 million ($2.26 million), reversing a loss of NOK27.4 million last year. "The result exceeds our expectations and we are delighted. . .We are on the right track, and believe that we will post a profit for the year as a whole," said President and CEO Bjorn Kjos. Total operating revenue jumped 70.8% to NOK531.3 million on a 69% rise in traffic to 730 million RPKs. Capacity increased 46% to 940 million ASKs and load factor soared 11 points to 78%.
AirTran Holdings filed a shelf registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission covering the sale of up to $225 million of its debt securities, preferred stock, common stock or warrants to purchase any of these securities.
El Al Israel Airlines earned $29.9 million in the second quarter ended June 30, a fourfold increase over $7 million earned in the year-ago period and a record for any second quarter. Revenues rose 30% to $423 million. The carrier attributed the strong performance "to enormous growth in passenger traffic during the period." A 16% increase in capacity resulted in a 26% jump in passengers on scheduled flights, pushing load factor up 7 points to 80%. El Al noted that it overcame a 52% surge in fuel prices during the quarter that raised operating expenses by approximately $33 million.
Aviapartner will provide catering in Brussels to Continental Airlines for its daily 767-400 service under a five-year contract that begins Jan. 1. Aviapartner valued the deal at €2.2 million ($2.7 million) annually.
Southwest Airlines will add eight daily nonstop departures from its Pittsburgh base this fall to new and existing markets. New cities are Tampa Bay from Oct. 30 and Phoenix from Nov. 22, each with a single daily nonstop. It will add six flights from Pittsburgh to four other destinations: Chicago Midway (one each Nov. 12 and Nov. 22), Orlando (two more as of Nov. 12), Las Vegas (a second daily flight as of Nov. 29) and Philadelphia (a sixth daily departure as of Nov. 29).
Northwest Airlines said it received and rejected a contract proposal from the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. Wednesday evening. It said the offer "appears to fall short of the $176 million in annual cost savings that the company needs from its AMFA-represented employees." NWA valued the proposal at $100 million annually "and only for a two-year period." AMFA employees will be free to strike the airline upon expiration of a federally mandated 30-day cooling-off period at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 20.
Estonian Air, which is 49% owned by SAS, reported a profit of EEK17.7 million ($1.39 million) in the first half of 2005 compared to a loss of EEK1.1 million in the year-ago period. First-half operating revenue grew 13% to EEK494.1 million on a 20.2% rise in passengers to 293,700. Load factor improved 3.4 points to 61.9%. Despite a 68% jump in fuel price, the carrier slashed its cost per ASK by 12.3% compared to 2004.
Qantas reported after-tax earnings for the fiscal year ended June 30 of A$763.6 million ($580.9 million), up 17.8% on prior-year earnings of A$648.4 million, but CEO Geoff Dixon warned that owing to the high price of fuel, savings "of up to at least A$1.5 billion would be required" for the 2007/08 fiscal years above and beyond the A$1.5 billion already targeted through FY06 from the Sustainable Future Program.
KLM Engineering & Maintenance will perform D checks on 10 Cargolux 747s. KLM is able to perform a D check in 28 days including strip and paint. The two also signed a three-year extension of a current agreement covering C checks, engineering services and Maintenance & Pool on the GE CF6 engines and engine components that power the Cargolux fleet.
LOT Polish Airlines is planning to resume domestic flights from Warsaw to Zielona Gora and Lodz in September in cooperation with Jet Air Ltd., which will lease two Jetstream 32s to the carrier. LOT also will increase frequencies from both Bydgoszcz and Katowice to Warsaw.
Air Wisconsin began service for new partner US Airways with a flight from Philadelphia to Burlington. By the end of August, Air Wisconsin is scheduled to operate16 daily departures as US Airways Express. In September the schedule will expand to include a total of 25 markets with approximately 88 daily departures, primarily flown to and from Philadelphia. By February 2006 it will operate a fleet of 70 CRJs as US Airways Express.
ACE Aviation Holdings, parent of Air Canada, named former Aer Lingus CFO Brian Dunne executive VP and CFO reporting to ACE Chairman and CEO Robert Milton. Dunne replaces Rob Peterson, who will assume the position of executive VP-finance and CFO at Aeroplan LP, Air Canada's loyalty program that has been spun off into a separate subsidiary. Dunne was one of the top Aer Lingus managers credited with leading the airline's turnaround who resigned along with CEO Willie Walsh last year.
Lufthansa Technik won Pulkovo Airlines as a new Total Technical Support client. A five-year contract includes support for Pulkovo's 737-500 fleet and engines. LHT also extended its cooperation with Siberia Airlines to provide Total Component Support for Sibair's eight A310s for the next five years.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, suspended plans to merge the carriers in the face of a possible strike next month by Polar's pilots. Polar and the Air Line Pilots Assn. were released from negotiations by the National Mediation Board, starting a 30-day cooling-off period after which the pilots will be free to strike and Polar can impose a contract on the union. The cooling-off period is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. EDT Sept. 16.
Airbus and Russia's Irkut Corp. signed "a preliminary agreement" on Russian participation in the design and manufacture of the proposed A350 "on a risk-sharing basis," the companies announced yesterday. The letter of intent was signed at MAKS 2006 in Moscow by Airbus and Irkut on behalf of Unified Aviation Consortium, "a new umbrella organization that is being formed as a result of the restructuring of the Russian aviation industry," Airbus said.
Changi International Airport Services said it will invest S$11 million in its product offerings "to ensure it stays ahead in Singapore's competitive ground handling environment." CIAS, which was acquired by Dnata last year, will open a "Commercially Important Passenger lounge at Changi's Terminal One in a joint venture with Cathay Pacific.
Australian government will review the bid by Singapore Airlines for access to routes between Australia and the US, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Australian reporters. Qantas has put up fierce opposition to the route application, but most analysts agree it is only a matter of time before SIA gains access, which would be in line with the ongoing liberalization between Australia and Singapore. Just three months ago the Australian government shut the door on SIA and in July Prime Minister John Howard flagged a merger of SIA and Qantas, which surprised both carriers.
SAS Group reported that its second-quarter net profit more than tripled to SEK499 million ($66.2 million) from SEK147 million in the year-ago period and President and CEO Jorgen Lindegaard reiterated that the company expects to achieve a profit this year, "provided there are no important changes in the business environment or further significant increases in jet fuel prices."
IndiGo Airlines' order for 100 A320s announced at the Paris Air Show may have run into some turbulence. According to reports from some analysts and the Times of India, the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation's Aircraft Acquisition Committee deferred a decision on IndiGo's ambitious fleet plans. Sources suggest the committee needs "more clarification of the airline's funding" and there are concerns about the impact of the aircraft on slot requirements.
Midwest Airlines launched a new program, Best Care Business, providing incentives and awards for businesses and corporations that spend $100,000 or less annually on travel with the Milwaukee-based carrier.
UPS ordered eight 747-400Fs, Boeing said yesterday. The order is the first by UPS placed directly with Boeing for any 747 variant. First delivery is scheduled for June 2007 with two additional deliveries that year followed by the remaining five in 2008. UPS chose GE CF6-80C2-B1F engines to power the aircraft. Value of the order was not disclosed. Earlier this year, UPS signed up for 10 A380Fs plus 10 options
Gol, in a step that represents a departure from the low-fare airline template it has followed since startup, announced a marketing agreement with Copa under which the two carriers will codeshare between Brazil and Panama beginning Aug. 24. The first phase of the agreement will connect Gol flights from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo with Copa flights to Panama. Additional phases will increase the number of Brazilian cities served by the codeshare and add beyond destinations from Panama.
