Air Transport World

Oneworld carrier Finnair has raised €53 million ($69.2 million) from the disposal of its entire 4.69% stake in Norwegian Air Shuttle, which it has held since 2007.

Delta Air Lines reported first-quarter net income of $7 million, down 94% from a net profit of $124 million in the year-ago period, on a 1% year-over-year rise in revenue to $8.5 billion.

Many US flights were delayed and canceled beginning Sunday as budget sequester-related furloughs of air traffic controllers took effect.

News from Travel Technology Update: Travelport’s Airline Merchandising Platform, unveiled at the CAPA Airlines in Transition conference near Dublin, was designed to “meet airlines wherever they are” in the merchandising universe, according to Derek Sharp, managing director of global distribution and sales.

Latvian carrier Air Baltic has narrowed its full-year net loss to LVL19 million ($35.3 million) in 2012, marking a 77% improvement from a LVL85 million loss in 2011.

Transaero Airlines launched cargo services with a Tupolev Tu-204-100C on the Moscow-Novosibirsk-Yakutsk route carrying 24 tons of general cargo.

International Lease Finance Corp. reported 60 lease transactions in the first quarter.

Boeing Canada Winnipeg plans to increase its Murray Park Road manufacturing site by more than 22%, primarily to house new composites work for the 737 MAX.

Airline Routes

International Airline Group (IAG), parent company of British Airways and Iberia, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Airbus for 18 A350-1000s, plus 18 options.

Kigali’s RwandAir has signed a firm purchase agreement for one Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprop airliner, in an order valued at approximately $33 million based on list prices.

Lufthansa canceled nearly 1,700 flights Monday after Verdi union called for ground workers to strike after rejecting the airline’s latest contract offer.

A two-day strike by El Al Israel Airlines workers in protest of a newly approved Israel-European Union open skies accord ended Monday after the Israeli government agreed to cover nearly all of the airline’s security costs.

Air India is preparing to have its six Boeing 787s back into service by the middle of May, according to airline officials in Mumbai.

Austrian aviation authorities have denied permission for Emirates to operate its Airbus A380 on some of its 13X-weekly Dubai-Vienna flights.

Alitalia has gone outside the aviation industry for its new CEO, Gabriele Del Torchio, who has already taken up his duties.

Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev has sold Red Wings Airlines for a symbolic RUB1 ($0.0318) to GHP Group and businessman Sergey Kuznetsov.

Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle is launching a subsidiary, Norwegian Cargo, to accommodate growing international markets.

Air Canada estimated it will incur a net loss of C$260 million ($253.4 million) for the first quarter, slightly narrowed from a net deficit of C$274 million in the 2012 first quarter, in preliminary results released Monday.

Airbus has rolled out the vertical tail section for the first A380 for Qatar Airways at the manufacturer’s facilities in Hamburg.

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US Mishandled Baggage February 2013

Briefs from the April 22, 2013 issue of ATW's Skypaths

Boeing is deploying 10 teams comprised of 300 specialists around the world to perform FAA-approved modifications on the 50 787s that were in service when the Dreamliner fleet was grounded Jan. 16.