Air Transport World articles from April 2004

Air Transport World archives from April 2004

Jet fuel prices: spot cash markets (average).(Trends)(illustration)(Illustration)
April 1, 2004... Jet Fuel Prices Spot cash markets (average) Feb. 20, 2004 New York 98.94 US Gulf Coast 95.59 Los Angeles 106.25 Rotterdam 96.87 Singapore 91.00 cents per gallon Sept. ...

Top 20 airlines: January-February 2004.(Trends)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Top 20 Airlines January - February 2004 1 American 30,816,678 2 United 26,474,856 3 Delta 24,445,114 4 Northwest 16,729,759 5 British Airways 15,876,000 6 Continental ...

Exchange rate: currency units per US dollar.(Trends)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Exchange Rate Currency units per US dollar Country/Currency 2/27/04 12/31/03 Brazil/Real 2.932 2.903 Canada/$ 1.3429 1.2946 China/Yuan ...

Patience and practicality.(Editorial)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... "The best is the enemy of the better." This axiom is something that the European Commission needs to keep in mind as it pursues what appears to be an all-or-nothing negotiating strategy with the Bush administration to create a transatlantic...

Reid leaves Delta for US Virgin.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Delta Air Lines President and COO Fred Reid, who was passed over by that carrier's board to succeed Leo Mullin as CEO, is leaving April 1 to become CEO of Virgin's proposed US domestic low-fare carrier. Virgin USA said Reid will oversee...

FAA weighs fuel tank inerting rule.(Federal Aviation Administration weighs fuel tank inerting rule.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... FAA is considering a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be issued later this year to require that fuel tank inerting systems be installed on Boeing and Airbus aircraft whose air-conditioning systems could cause heating of center-wing fuel tanks....

777-300ER.
April 1, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: 777-300ER received FAA and EASA type certification in March. First delivery is to Air France this month, on lease from ILFC.

EC set to rule on foreign subsidies.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The European Parliament approved legislation last month empowering the European Commission to impose duties on non-EU carriers that it determines have received subsidies that create unfair conditions for EU airlines. In the most serious cases,...

The board of directors of SAS AB on March 10 approved plans to establish separate airline units in each of the three SAS home countries--Denmark, Norway and Sweden--in hopes of making the units more competitive and responsive to local market conditions.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The board of directors of SAS AB on March 10 approved plans to establish separate airline units in each of the three SAS home countries--Denmark, Norway and Sweden--in hopes of making the units more competitive and responsive to local market...

Lufthansa Group.(Europe report)(net loss)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Lufthansa Group reported a preliminary net loss of 980 million [euro] ($1.22 billion) for 2003, which included 800 million [euro] in "extraordinary amortization of goodwill and depreciations of fixed assets," 700 million [euro] of which was...

Air France Group.(Europe report)(earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Air France Group earned 28 million [euro] ($35.8 million) in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, up 33% from 21 million [euro] in pro forma net income in the year-ago period. Turnover remained flat at 3.13 billion [euro] but would have...

Iberia.(Europe report)(Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana S.A. earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Iberia reported income after minority interests of 143.6 million [euro] ($175 million) in 2003, down 8.6% compared with income of 157.1 million [euro] in 2002. Operating revenues dipped 1.7% to 4.62 billion [euro] while operating expenses...

Swiss International Air Lines.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Swiss International Air Lines CEO Andre Dose resigned March 10, days before the Swiss Federal Prosecutor's office confirmed it had opened an investigation into whether to bring criminal charges against him in connection with the Nov. 2001 crash...

Quote of the month.
April 1, 2004... "the airline came through a very testing year in remarkably good shape." --Cathay Pacific Chairman James Hughes-Hallett

British Airways.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... British Airways will close its Glasgow and London call centers in response to a 34% drop in calls handled in the last two years and rising online bookings. The closures will bring savings of more than 10 million [pounds sterling] ($19.1...

Virgin Express and SN Brussels Airlines controlling shareholders signed a nonbinding letter of intent that "contemplates placing their respective operational airlines under common ownership.".(Europe report)
April 1, 2004... Virgin Express and SN Brussels Airlines controlling shareholders signed a nonbinding letter of intent that "contemplates placing their respective operational airlines under common ownership." The deal calls for the combined company to continue...

Ville de Bordeaux.
April 1, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Ville de Bordeaux roll-on/roll-off vessel was christened in late Feb. The 154-m. ship will transport A380 sections by sea from A380 production sites across Europe to Bordeaux, where the sections will be...

Austrian Airlines Group.(Europe report)(Net profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Austrian Airlines Group reported a pre-tax profit of 25.7 million [euro] ($32.1 million) for 2003, sharply up over a profit of 4.2 million [euro] in 2002. Operating revenues declined 6.5% to 2.24 billion [euro] and EBIT climbed 53.5% 63.4...

Finnair Group.(Europe report)(Net loss)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Finnair Group lost 16.3 million [euro] in 2003 compared to net income of 36.8 million [euro] in 2002. The deficit was expected (ATW, 3/04, p.26). "A difficult year is behind us," President and CEO Keijo Suila commented. Turnover fell 6% to 1.56...

Aer Lingus.(Europe report)(net profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Aer Lingus earned 69.2 million [euro] ($85.6 million) in 2003, up 96% over 35.3 million [euro] earned in 2002. Turnover on continuing operations declined 7.3% to 888.3 million [euro], reflecting the carrier's fare cutting, but costs on...

Icelandair Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Icelandair Group reported a pretax profit of 1.4 billion kronur ($19.7 million) for 2003, the second-highest annual result in its history. Group President and CEO Sigurdur Helgason attributed the outcome to the restructuring of operations...

Ryanair.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Ryanair will drop its eight daily flights between Brussels Charleroi and London, which represent 10% of its daily flights at Charleroi, effective April 29. The airline confirmed that the decision was the "first element" of its response to the...

EasyJet.(Europe report)(will establish its second German base)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... EasyJet will establish its second German base at Dortmund International Airport. The UK-based airline said it will introduce eight routes from Dortmund utilizing three aircraft, with flights starting at the end of May.

Thomas Cook AG.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Thomas Cook AG said it will cut its German workforce by 10% or around 550 jobs to save 50 million [euro] as it reported that losses doubled to 251 million [euro] ($310.3 million) in the fiscal year ended Oct. 31. More red ink is expected in...

Alitalia.(Europe report)(Alitalia Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A.)(Marco Zanichelli)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Alitalia's board of directors appointed Director General Marco Zanichelli to replace Francesco Mengozzi as CEO at the end of Feb. Mengozzi reportedly was sacked over his insistence on including layoffs in his reorganization plan for the...

The EC.(Europe report)(European Commission )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The EC has opened an investigation into the process by which debt-laden Olympic Airways was transformed into a new company, Olympic Airlines, which took over the former's aviation activities at the end of 2003 while seemingly leaving much of...

The Russian government.(Europe report)(aviation industry restructure)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Russian government plans to restructure the aviation industry by 2007 into a United Aircraft Manufacturing Holding Co. modeled after EADS, bringing together all the design bureaus including Ilyushin, MiG, Sukhoi and Tupolev and most of the...

European airline traffic: February 2004.(Europe report)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2004... European Airline Traffic February 2004 Load RPKs % chg. ASKS % chg. factor +/- (billions) 2003 (billions) 2003 ...

Martinair.(Europe report)(earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Martinair's net income jumped to 9 million [euro] ($11 million) last year from 3 million [euro] in 2002 despite an 8.7% decrease in operating profits to 21 million [euro] from 23 million [euro].

Estonian Air.(Europe report)(earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Estonian Air reported that it doubled net earnings in 2003 to 81.4 million kroons ($6.7 million) from 39.2 million kroons in 2002 on a 3.6% increase in total revenues to 885.3 million kroons. Operating profits rose 24% to 7.3 million kroons.

Air Littoral.(Europe report)(Air Littoral Industrie)(Commercial Court of Montpellier)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Air Littoral and its maintenance subsidiary Air Littoral Industrie were placed in judicial liquidation by the Commercial Court of Montpellier in late Feb.

US FAA.(Europe report)(United States. Federal Aviation Administration ups Polish rating)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... US FAA announced that Poland met the international standards for aviation safety and was awarded a Category 1 rating. It previously was rated Category 2.

EADS.(Europe report)(earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... EADS posted a net profit of 152 million [euro] ($185.4 million) for 2003 compared to a loss of 299 million [euro] in 2002 when results were impacted by 936 million [euro] in goodwill charges. Owing to "strong growth in its defense business and...

Messier-Dowty.(Europe report)(nose landing gear structure supply )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Messier-Dowty was selected by Boeing to supply the main and nose landing gear structure for the 7E7 including design, development, testing, manufacture and integration.

Lufthansa Systems.(Europe report)(software systems implemented)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Lufthansa Systems said it developed an Internet Booking Engine that specifically targets low-cost carriers. Separately, it said Singapore Airlines successfully deployed its new Routing Selector tool for optimizing cargo business.

Luxair.
April 1, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Luxair recently put the first of three winglet-equipped 737-700s into service.

SAS Component and EADS Sogerma Services.(Europe report)(joint Free2Fly component supply and support program)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... SAS Component and EADS Sogerma Services announced the extension of their joint Free2Fly component supply and support program to provide coverage for Airbus operators worldwide. It initially was offered to European-based Airbus operators.

EADS Sogerma Services.(Europe report)(aircraft support package enlarged)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... EADS Sogerma Services' full aircraft support package for Air Moldova was enlarged to include a second recently delivered A320.

ARINC.(Europe report)(Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... ARINC said that Virgin Atlantic signed a two-year contract for its wide-area network service MUSE Link to "enhance data communications with three of its global passenger handling operations."

Sabena Technics.(Europe report)(contracts with Exel Technics)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Sabena Technics will supply line maintenance to Exel Technics for a 767-300 operated by Belgium Exel. Sabena Technics signed a five-year contract with Air Luxor for components for five A320s and components and heavy maintenance for one A330....

The PROS.(Europe report)(implementation of revenue management system)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The PROS revenue management system was implemented by Swiss International Air Lines.

Hapag Lloyd.(Europe report)(FlightVu Cockpit Door Monitoring Systems chosen)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Hapag Lloyd selected FlightVu Cockpit Door Monitoring Systems for its fleet of 29 737-800s.

Cathay Pacific.(Asia/Pacific report)(company sales and earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Cathay Pacific credited a "sharp rebound in passenger demand and continued strong support from the cargo business" for propelling it to a HK$1.3 billion ($166.8 million) net profit attributable to shareholders for 2003. Although this was down...

Qantas.(earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Qantas reported a net profit of A$357.8 million ($282 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31, which Chairman Margaret Jackson described as "excellent given the circumstances." The company did not supply comparable figures for the year-ago...

Air New Zealand.(earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Air New Zealand earned NZ$105 million ($72.1 million) in the fiscal half-year ended Dec. 31, a 12% increase versus a net profit of NZ$94 million in the 2002 period. Including tax and unusuals, net profit was NZ$149 million for the period, up...

Japan Airlines System Corp.(change in the name)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Japan Airlines System Corp. will become Japan Airlines Corp. effective June 6, the parent of Japan Airlines and Japan Air System announced (see article, p. 40).

Malaysia Airlines.(earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Malaysia Airlines earned RM230.1 million ($60.6 million) in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, down 30.4% compared to RM330.4 million earned in the year-ago period. Operating revenues increased 10.4% to RM2.39 billion while operating...

Korean Air.(Asia/Pacific report)(plans to expand cargo services over ten years)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Korean Air intends to invest more than $9 billion over the next 10 years as part of a plan to become the world's leading cargo carrier by 2007 and one of the world's top 10 passenger airlines by 2010. It will invest $6.6 billion in fleet...

Tiger Airways.(Patrick Gan appointed CEO and William Franke chairman)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Tiger Airways, the new low-cost startup partly owned by Singapore Airlines, named Patrick Gan, 48, as its new CEO. Gan comes from the pharmaceuticals industry and recently served as area director for the Asia/Pacific region for Novartis. ...

Boeing.(Airplane Health Management system introduced on Singapore Airlines)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Boeing announced that Singapore Airlines is the launch customer for its Airplane Health Management system that monitors the health of aircraft in flight and relays the information in real time to the ground.

Air China and All Nippon Airways signed a marketing and operations agreement including code-share fights and reciprocal frequent-flier mileage accrual.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Air China and MI Nippon Airways signed a marketing and operations agreement including code-share fights and reciprocal frequent-flier mileage accrual. It was set to begin March 28.

Singapore.(United Arab Emirates)(sign open skies agreement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Singapore signed a broad open skies accord with the United Arab Emirates that provides both countries with unrestricted traffic rights.

Pratt & Whitney.(signs fleet management program with Pakistan International Airlines)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Pratt & Whitney received a 10-year Fleet Management Program from Pakistan International Airlines covering the PW4152s powering four leased A310-300s. Shanghai Airlines awarded Pratt a 10-year Fleet Management Program for its PW4056-powered...

Sabre.(schedule manager and profit manager deployed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Sabre's AirFlite Schedule Manager and Profit Manager providing automation of the flight scheduling and mute evaluation processes was deployed by Qantas.

US Airways Group.(North America report)(Air Transportation Stabilization Board)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... US Airways Group reached agreement with the Air Transportation Stabilization Board to amend the terms of its $1 billion federally guaranteed loan that funded its emergence from bankruptcy. As part of the revised agreement, it prepaid $250...

Emirates.(airline launches $500 million bond issue)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Emirates launched a $500 million bond issue, increased from $400 million.

Boullioun Aviation Services.(signs plane lease with Bluebird Cargo)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Boullioun Aviation Services signed a medium-term lease with Bluebird Cargo for an RB211-535E4-powered 757-200PCF freighter. The aircraft is scheduled to be delivered to Bluebird this summer.

Focus Aviation.(MD-11 aircraft delivered)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Focus Aviation delivered a fifth MD-11 formerly operated by Swiss International Air Lines to Varig. The aircraft is part of a fleet of 15 MD-11s the ownership of which is controlled by a syndicate of banks of which ABN-Amro is the lead agent...

PNC Leasing Corp.(PNC Leasing L.L.C. lease aircraft to United Air Lines Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... PNC Leasing Corp. re-leased a 757-222 back to United Airlines. Meridian Aerospace Group was PNC's exclusive agent for placement of the aircraft.

Midwest Airlines Holdings.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(GAL Global Aviation Leasing purchased DC-9-32)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Midwest Airlines Holdings sold a DC-9-32 to GAL Global Aviation Leasing of South Africa. Meridian Aerospace Group acted as the exclusive agent for Midwest Airlines.

Saab Aircraft.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(OMNI Aviacao e Tecnologia SA)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Saab Aircraft Leasing delivered a Saab 2000 to OMNI Aviacao e Tecnologia SA of Portugal. The 50-seat aircraft will operate on an ACMI contract with PGA Portugalia Airlines under the brand name Portugalia Express.

Northwest Airlines.(North America report)(Northwest Airlines Corp.)(pilot labor cost cuts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Northwest Airlines' pilots union leaders voted to recommend to its membership a proposal that calls for $200 million in pilot labor cost cuts per year through 2006, a figure believed to be well below management goals. NWA closed its...

US majors traffic: February 2004.(North America report)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2004... US Majors Traffic February 2004 RPMs % chg. ASMs (billions) 1003 (billions) Alaska 1.12 14.7 1.66 American ...

Air Canada and its Regional Air Canada Jazz and the airlines' pilot unions reached a tentative settlement last month related to the allocation of aircraft between the airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Air Canada and its Regional Air Canada Jazz and the airlines' pilot unions reached a tentative settlement last month related to the allocation of aircraft between the airlines. Details of the agreement were not released. Separately, AC and...

Frontier Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Frontier Airlines will launch service to Philadelphia from Denver and Los Angeles May 23, putting a bit more pressure on US Airways, which is girding for the arrival of Southwest Airlines at PIlL next month as well.

World Airways.(North America report)(appointments and retirements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... World Airways Chairman and CEO Hollis Harris is stepping down as CEO April 1 and retiring from the board of directors at the company's May 6 general meeting. President and COO Randy Martinez will be promoted to president and CEO while Senior...

America West Airlines.(North America report)(tentative agreement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... America West Airlines reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract with its dispatchers, represented by the Transport Workers Union, The agreement is subject to ratification by the TWU membership.

Spirit Airlines.(North America report)(equity investment)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Spirit Airlines received a $125 million equity investment from a group of new investors led by Oaktree Capital Management that the airline will use primarily to finance acquisition of aircraft.

Boeing.(North America report)(Kevin Brown appointed leader of Air Traffic Management unit)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Boeing will downgrade its effort to build a presence in the global market for air traffic management as it named Kevin Brown, a 26-year veteran of the company, to succeed John Hayhurst as leader of its Air Traffic Management unit. Hayhurst...

Rockwell Collins.(North America report)(weather radar with a fully automatic worldwide hazard detection system)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Rockwell Collins introduced what it describes as "the industry's first weather radar with a fully automatic worldwide hazard detection system." The unit "automatically adjusts weather detection parameters for variations" caused by time of day,...

Honeywell.(North America report)(Honeywell/Thales MCS 4000 satellite communications system)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Honeywell said WestJet will purchase the Honeywell/Thales MCS 4000 satellite communications system for 91 737s. Pakistan International Airlines also selected the system along with Honeywell avionics systems for eight 777s it is purchasing.

Goodrich Corp.(North America report)(fuel-quantity indicating system and fuel management software for Boeing's 7E7)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Goodrich Corp. was selected to supply the fuel-quantity indicating system and fuel management software for Boeing's 7E7.

CAE.(North America report)(training contracts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... CAE signed training contracts with 22 airlines estimated to be worth C$10 million ($7.5 million). Airlines training in Europe include Alpi Eagles, Air Astana, Blue Panorama, Shanghai Airlines and Holland Exel and new customers in the Americas...

Sabre.(North America report)(services contract)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Sabre's Aerodynamic Traveler Web Check-in and Aerodynamic Traveler Gate Reader were implemented by Sun Country, Airlines.

Air Canada Technical Services.(North America report)(Norterra contracts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Air Canada Technical Services signed a five-year, C$50 million ($37.4 million) agreement with Canadian North, a subsidiary of Norterra, to provide both heavy and line maintenance for its fleet of 737-200 combis.

Gate Gourmet.(North America report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Gate Gourmet was selected by United's Ted as its caterer for its buy-on-board concept.

Meggitt Safety Systems.(North America report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Meggitt Safety Systems received FAA certification of its engine fire warning system silicon dioxide cables for use on the 737NG family to replace original equipment wire harnesses.

Air Arabia.
April 1, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Air Arabia, the Sharjah-based low-fare airline startup, recently took a new CFM56-powered A320 on lease from ILFC. It operates two used A320s, also leased from ILFC.

LanChile.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... LanChile posted net income of $83.6 million in 2003, the highest annual result in its history and its 10th consecutive year of profitability. In 2002 it earned $30.8 million. Total operating revenues increased 12.8% while operating expenses...

Cintra.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Cintra announced unaudited results for 2003 showing that net loss grew 23.2% to 2.1 billion pesos ($186 million). The parent of AeroMexico and Mexicana also reported that revenues rose 0.9% to 30.0 billion pesos. Operating expenses increased...

Vasp.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(Viacao Aerea Sao Paulo S.A)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Vasp CEO Wagner Canhedo was arrested and detained for two days by the Brazilian federal police for violating the law regarding social security payments for the airline's employees. According to the government, Vasp has not been making regular...

El Al.(El Al Israel Airlines earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... El Al reported net income for 2003 of $6.35 million, reversing a loss of $6.4 million in the prior year. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, net earnings climbed to $24.2 million compared with a $22 million loss in 2002. Revenues...

South African Airways.(applies to join Star Alliance sponsored by Lufthansa)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... South African Airways said it applied to join the Star Alliance under the sponsorship of Lufthansa. SAA would be the group's 15th member if accepted.

US and Madagascar.(United States of America)(open skies agreement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... US and Madagascar inked an open skies agreement last month providing for "open routes, capacity, frequencies, designations and pricing as well as opportunities for cooperative marketing arrangements, including codesharing," US DOT said. It...