Air Transport World articles from April 2005

Air Transport World archives from April 2005

Top 20 airlines.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2005... TOP 20 AIRLINES FEBRUARY 2005 RANK AIRLINE RPKs (000) 1 American 32,449,653 2 Air France/KLM 27,169,000 3 Delta 27,135,270 4 United 26,896,159 5...

Currency unit per US dollar.(exchange rates)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2005... EXCHANGE RATE CURRENCY UNITS PER US DOLLAR COUNTRY/ CURRENCY 2/28/05 12/31/04 Brazil/Real 2.638 2.6615 Canada/$ 1.2395 1.2048...

Jet fuel prices.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2005... JET FUEL PRICES * [GRAPHIC OMITTED] February 25, 2005 New York 148.98 US Gulf Coast 145.57 Los Angeles 162.48 Rotterdam 150.05 Singapore 138.33 * Spot cash markets (average). Source: US...

Stop the machine.(comparison of problems faced at US Airways Inc. and Comair Inc.)(Editorial)
April 1, 2005... Last December, US Airways and Comair each suffered near-simultaneous operational meltdowns over the Christmas holiday period, resulting in the cancellation of many hundreds of flights and the inconveniencing of nearly three quarters of a...

Lufthansa nears takeover of Swiss.(Swiss International Air Lines AG to retain independence even after its merger with Deutsche Lufthansa AG)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Swiss International Air Lines would be acquired by Lufthansa but retain its independence "to the extent possible" under a plan being discussed by the companies. In a joint statement issued March 13, the two said they are developing a business...

Cabotage of 'no interest' to AF-KLM.(Air France-KLM Group Chairman and chief executive Jean-Cyril Spinetta's views)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Air France-KLM Group Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta urged US and EU negotiators to accept "a certain degree of realism" and not get diverted by "tricky" issues such as cabotage in pursuing a proposed transatlantic Open Aviation Area (see...

Eddington 'a tough act to follow'.(British Airways PLC's Rod Eddington)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Rod Eddington, who will retire from British Airways at the end of September to be replaced by former Aer Lingus CEO Willie Walsh, leaves the carrier in far better shape than he found it when he took over from Robert Ayling in May 2000. Although...

China overtakes Japan in size of airline market.(Financial Results, New Deals, And Reports From Every Corner Of The Globe)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... China has overtaken Japan as the largest air travel market in Asia and is second only to the US in terms of total scheduled departing seats, according to a new report from the ITTC consultancy division of Airclaims. "Until 2003, Japan was the...

China is no. 1.(captures largest air market from Japan)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: China has overtaken Japan as the largest air market in Asia in terms of scheduled departing seats.

Stonecipher latest to fall at Boeing.(Harry Stonecipher)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The sacking of Boeing President and CEO Harry Stonecipher in the wake of a sex scandal is a fresh blow to the company, which appeared to be settling down after the turmoil of the past 18 months. Stonecipher, 68, came out of retirement in...

Air Finance-KLM Group.(profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Air France-KLM Group reported a flat profit of 61 million [euro] ($79.3 million) for the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 as a strong showing from cargo operations offset losses on the passenger side attributed largely to high fuel costs....

Tower of London.(air traffic control tower at London Heathrow airport)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: New air traffic control tower at London Healthrow to support the new Terminal 5 is 87 m. in height.

European airline traffic February 2005.(Fact File)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2005... FACT FILE European Airline Traffic February 2005 % % Load RPKs change ASKs change factor +/- Airline (billions) 2004 (billions)...

Lufthansa.(Deutsche Lufthansa AG profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Lufthansa earned 400 million [euro] ($530 million) in 2004, much improved from a massive loss of 984 million [euro] in 2003, according to preliminary figures. Results for the fourth period were not supplied, but the annual result implies a...

Iberia.(profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Iberia earned 218.4 million [euro] ($289.4 million) in 2004, up 53% over 34.9 million [euro] earned in 2003 and its second-best profit ever. For the fourth quarter, consolidated net profit rose 53.1% to 53.4 million [euro]. Annual operating...

Finnair Group.(profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Finnair Group returned to profit in 2004, with annual earnings of 11.8 million [euro] versus a loss of 16.2 million [euro] in 2003. Earnings for the fourth quarter were 0.5 million [euro] versus a deficit of 6.9 million [euro]. Full-year sales...

Austrian Airlines Group.(profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Austrian Airlines Group reported a 2004 operating profit of 10.5 million [euro] ($13.9 million), up from 4.2 million [euro] in 2003 after adjustments to account for asset disposals, currency fluctuations and other special items in both years....

Bmi Group.(profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Bmi Group reported a 2.1 million [pounds sterling] ($2.8 million) pre-tax profit for 2004, reversing losses of 9.8 million in [pounds sterling] 2003 and 19.6 million [pounds sterling] in 2002. EBIT remained negative, however, at a loss of...

French judicial investigation.(investigations into 2000 Air France Concorde crash)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... French judicial investigation into the role played by Continental Airlines in the July 2000 Air France Concorde crash began in Paris last month. The US carrier is under investigation for manslaughter and involuntary injury. Accident...

DBA.(dba Luftfahrtgesellschaft mbH's merger and earning plans)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... DBA is to take over the aircraft and routes of Germania Express under an agreement that may pave the way toward full merger. As of March 28, DBA was to wet-lease 12 F100s from Gexx and begin flying that carrier's 15 routes. DBA expects to show...

TAP Air Portugal.(Transportes Aeros Portugueses EP)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... TAP Air Portugal officially joined the Star Alliance as its 16th member in March.

Denmark's Sterling Airlines.(losses)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Denmark's Sterling Airlines had a pre-tax loss of DKK199.3 million ($35 million) in 2004, including a deficit of DKK69.8 million in the fourth quarter. It noted that passenger numbers rose 36.4% to 1,825,206 while earned revenues totaled...

European Commission.(negotiations for air agreements with China and Russia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... European Commission recommended that the Council of Transport Ministers authorize it to negotiate "ambitious" air agreements with China and Russia "without further ado." The EC noted that the EU s the destination of 75% of am] passenger traffic...

Quoted briefly.(Boeing Chairman Lew Platt )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... "This was a very difficult decision [but] the CEO must set a standard for unimpeachable behavior." --Boeing Chairman Lew Platt on the decision to fire CEO Harry Stonecipher

First flight for worldliner.(Boeing 777-200LR's first flight)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Boeing 777-200LR made its first flight March 8. US FAA and European JAA certification are expected during the fourth quarter.

EADS.(profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... EADS posted a net profit of 1.03 billion [euro] ($1.38 billion) in 2004 a 60% increase on 2003 owing mainly to the strong performance of Airbus and a swing into profit By space activities. But Co-Chairman Philippe Camus warned that breakeven...

SAS Group.(signs catering contract with LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... SAS Group signed a comprehensive catering contract with LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG covering Scandinavian Airlines that also includes takeover of Braathens' catering department by LSG Sky Chefs. The three-year contract has a two-year...

Sabre Airline Solutions.(contract with Air Malta Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Sabre Airline Solutions' suite of AirMax revenue management applications was selected by Air Malta including the Revenue Manager, Group Manager and Low Fares Manager products.

Lufthansa Systems.(gets contract from Hapag-Lloyd Fluggesellschaft mbH for navigation chart systems)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Lufthansa Systems said Hapag-Lloyd Flug opted for the Lido Route Manual electronically generated navigation chart system for more than 40 Hapag-Lloyd and Hapag Lloyd Express aircraft. Contract has an initial term of five years.

OnAir.(to provide KLM Royal Dutch Airlines with SMS text messaging and e-mail facilities)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... OnAir will provide KLM with SMS text messaging and e-mail on 10 KLM 777s and six A330s operating long-haul services.

Teledyne Controls.(gets Lufttransport-Unternehmen Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung und Company KG's contract)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Teledyne Controls said LTU ordered its Aviation Quality Database software tool to support safety management and quality assurance processes.

Goodyear.(extends multiyear contract with Airbus S.A.S.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Goodyear extended a multiyear contract with Airbus for the supply of aviation tires to the aircraft manufacturer for A300s, A310s, A318s, A319s, A320s and A321s.

Delta Air Lines.(forecasts losses to the brink of bankruptcy)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Delta Air Lines expects to report a "substantial" loss in 2005 and warned in a government filing that if it is unable to reduce its operating expenses further and continues to experience significant losses, it will be forced to seek Chapter 11...

Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings.(earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings earned C$15 million ($12.4 million) in the fourth quarter of 2004, which included foreign exchange gains of C$98 million. It lost C$768 million in the prior-year period, which included C$560 million in...

WestJet.(WestJet Airlines Ltd. reports losses)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... WestJet's streak of consecutive quarterly profits ended at 31 as it reported a fourth-quarter loss of C$46.3 million (937 million), reversing a profit of C$12.8 million in the year-ago period. The red ink pushed it into an annual loss of C$17.2...

ATW is pleased to announce that Cathy Buyck has been promoted to the position of European Editor, with primary responsibility for leading ATW's coverage of European air transport activities.(Air Transport World)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... ATW is pleased to announce that Cathy Buyck has been promoted to the position of European Editor, with primary responsibility for leading ATW's coverage of European air transport activities. Cathy, who is based in Brussels, has been writing for...

US major traffic February 2005.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 1, 2005... FACT FILE US Majors Traffic February 2005 RPMs % chg. ASMs % chg. LF +/- chg. Airline (bil.) 2004 (bil.) 2004 (%) 2004 AirTran 0.74 23.5 1.08 20.8 68.2...

Canadian discount airline Jetsgo.(suspends operations and will seek bankruptcy protection)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Canadian discount airline Jetsgo suspended operations without warning March 11 and said it would seek bankruptcy protection. Jetsgo was launched in 2002. It operated 14 MD-80s and 11 F100s and had a further six F100s in storage, according to...

UAL Corp.(losses and pesions agreement with US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, had a $326 million net loss in January including $138 million in reorganization expenses. In the year-ago period it lost $252 million, which included $26 million in reorganization expenses. Operating...

US Airways.(signs agreement with Eastshore Aviation for equity funding )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... US Airways reached agreement with Eastshore Aviation, an investment entity controlled by Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp., on a $125 million financing commitment to provide a "substantial portion" of the equity funding for US Airways' emergence...

Continental Airlines.(signs cost-savings agreements with airline worker's unions)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Continental Airlines met a self-imposed deadline of Feb. 28 to reach cost-savings agreements with unions representing its pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and dispatchers. Terms of the deals were not released but the carrier had said it...

ATA Holdings Corp.(promotion at ATA Airlines)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... ATA Holdings Corp. promoted Co-Chief Restructuring Officer John Denison to CEO of ATA Airlines. Denison will report directly to Chairman George Mikelsons. He previously served in several senior management positions with Southwest Airlines,...

US Dept. of Transportation.(selects Continental Airlines and American Airlines to operate daily passenger services to China)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... US Dept. of Transportation tentatively selected Continental Airlines and American Airlines to operate new daily passenger services between the US and China and awarded new weekly cargo flights to FedEx, Northwest Airlines, Polar Air Cargo and...

US DOT.(Department of Transportation proposes extending flight reduction agreement )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... US DOT proposed extending the flight reduction agreement at Chicago O'Hare beyond its April 30 expiration date through the end of October. Under the proposed extension, domestic airlines serving ORD will continue to be limited to 88 scheduled...

World Air Holdings.(profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... World Air Holdings, parent of the airline, earned $8.1 million in the December 2004 quarter and $25.6 million for the full year, up from $0.9 million and $15.3 million respectively in the equivalent 2003 periods. Fourth-quarter operating...

Hawaiian Airlines.(gets bankruptcy court approval)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Hawaiian Airlines, which has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for two years, on March 11 received bankruptcy court approval for its plan of reorganization, which was developed jointly by its creditors committee and investor...

Mainland's first A330-200.(China Southern Airways gets first A330-200s)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: China Southern recently took first of four A330-200s, becoming the first mainland China operator of the type.

US FAA.(Federal Aviation Administration proposes new rules)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... US FAA in February proposed new rules requiring "significant upgrades" to cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders at an estimated cost to the industry of $256 million. Under the proposal, CVRs must record the last 2 hr. of cockpit...

Onex Corp.(to acquire Boeing Commercial Airplanes facilities and assets)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Onex Corp. will acquire Boeing Commercial Airplanes facilities and assets in Wichita, Kan., and Tulsa and McAlester, Okla., for $900 million in cash. Approximately 9,000 employees currently work at the plants, which will continue to supply...

Rolls-Royce.(Rolls-Royce North America Inc. to upgrade facility)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Rolls-Royce will spend $42 million on construction and upgrades at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for its large-engine outdoor test facility that is being relocated from Hucknall, UK.

Sabre Airline Solutions.(North America Report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Sabre Airline Solutions said six airlines selected its AirCrews Pairing Optimizer on the Linux operating system. They are Air Jamaica, Frontier Airlines, Mesa Air Group, Spirit Airlines, Skyservice Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines.

AAR.(gets United Airlines' heavy maintenance contract)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... AAR was selected by United Airlines to be the exclusive provider of heavy maintenance for the carrier's fleet of 737s under a five-year deal.

Rockwell Collins.(Southwest Airlines selects Flight Dynamics Head-up Guidance System 4000 )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Rockwell Collins said Southwest Airlines selected the Flight Dynamics Head-up Guidance System 4000 for installation on new 737-700s.

B/E Aerospace.(aircraft parts contracts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... B/E Aerospace was selected by several Asian, European and other international airlines to provide a range of cabin seating and galley products. It said the deals are valued at up to $145 million, including more than $100 million in firm orders....

JAL Group.(Japan Air Lines Company Ltd. profits and restructuring plans)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... JAL Group raised its profit forecast for the March 31, 2005, fiscal year to [yen] 27 billion ($260 million) from [yen] 23 billion and announced that Japan Airlines Corp. President Toshiyuki Shinmachi, a 40year veteran of the airline, will...

Cathay Pacific Airways.(profits)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Cathay Pacific Airways reported its second-best year with profit to shareholders of HK$4.42 billion ($566 million) for 2004, up sharply over net income of HK91.3 billion in SARS-affected 2003. Cathay attributed the growth to the improved Hong...

Qantas.(Asia/Pacific Report)(Qantas Airways Ltd. )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Qantas announced a 28% increase in profit for the fiscal first half ended Dec. 31, earning A$458.4 million ($360 million), up from A$357.8 million in the 2003 first half. Revenue increased 10.8% to A$6.4 billion. But A9245 million in efficiency...

Air New Zealand.(Asia/Pacific Report)(sales and earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Air New Zealand earned NZ$102 million ($73.6 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31, down 2.9% compared to NZ$105 million earned in the year-ago period. Chairman John Palmer described the result as "solid" given the tough environment the...

Inflight breakup.(Asia/Pacific Report)(China Airlines Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Inflight breakup of a China Airlines 747-200 on May 25, 2002, with the loss of all 225 persons onboard was "highly likely" the result of "the structural failure in the aft lower lobe section of the fuselage," Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council...

Virgin Blue.(Asia/Pacific Report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Virgin Blue's independent directors in late February flatly rejected as "neither fair nor reasonable" a A$1.1 billion ($871.6 million) buyout bid by major shareholder Patrick Corp. Virgin Blue Chairman David Ryan said the bid price by 45.4%...

AirAsia.(Asia/Pacific Report)(AirAsia Sdn. Bhd. earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... AirAsia posted a net profit of 44.4 million ringgit (911.7 million) for the fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31. Revenue totaled 178.6 million ringgit, while cost of sales was 114.4 million ringgit. For the six months ended Dec. 31, the company...

Dynamic duo.(Asia/Pacific Report)(Boeing Co., China Eastern Airlines)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Boeing delivered a 737-700 to China Eastern Yunnan Airlines and a 737-800 with Blended Winglets to China Eastern Airlines Wuhan at the end of February, both on lease from ILFC.

Thailand.(Asia/Pacific Report)(opening of the new Bangkok airport)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Thailand postponed the opening of the new Bangkok airport, Suvarnabhumi, from September 2005 until March 2006.

Rockwell Collins.(Asia/Pacific Report)(contracts with Hainan Airlines )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Rockwell Collins was selected by Hainan Airlines to provide avionics for six 737NGs and eight A319s/A321s with options on a further 12 Airbus aircraft. It was selected by ANA to provide its Flight Dynamics HGS for ANA's new fleet of 45...

Sabre Airline Solutions.(Asia/Pacific Report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Sabre Airline Solutions said that Hainan Airlines implemented and launched the AirFlite Suite including Schedule Manager, Profit Manager, Fleet Manager and SlotManager. The AirFlite Suite also was selected by Air China, which has contracted...

Lufthansa Systems.(Asia/Pacific Report)(contracts with Indian Airlines)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Lufthansa Systems' ProfitLine/Yield revenue management system was selected by Indian Airlines. LH Systems also will supply consulting and support services.

Goodrich Corp.(Asia/Pacific Report)(contracts with Air China )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Goodrich Corp. was selected by Air China to supply the main deck and lower lobe cargo handling systems for its two new 747-400Fs. which will be delivered n November 2005 and March 2006.

GE Engine Services and Cebu Pacific linked a 12-year.(Cebu Pacific Air)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... GE Engine Services and Cebu Pacific linked a 12-year, $50 million maintenance cost per hour agreement covering 31 CFM 565Bs that will power Cebu's new fleet of A319s/A320s.

SITA SC.(Asia/Pacific Report)(contract with Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... SITA SC was selected by Cathay Pacific Airways to provide an integrated Traffic Management solution. The ITM system's built around Peribit's Sequence Reducer product family.

Trax.(Asia/Pacific Report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Trax said that Air Philippines has decided to implement Trax's Maintenance and Engineering system.

Teledyne Controls.(to supply integrated data management unit to Japan Air Lines Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Teledyne Controls will supply its Integrated Data Management Unit for retrofit on 16 Japan Airlines 767-200s/300s.

Jouve Aviation Solutions.(gets EVA Air's contract)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Jouve Aviation Solutions was chosen by EVA Air to provide an integrated electronic maintenance manual and job cards system to support the airline's fleet.

Air-India, Viking Airlines and Uni Air placed orders.(contracts for SafTGlo floorprox system)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Air-India, Viking Airlines and Uni Air placed orders for the SafTGlo floorprox system.

Swissport.(launches operations at Singapore Changi)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Swissport launched operations at Singapore Changi, becoming the airport's third ground handling provider.

LAN Airlines.(Latin America/Caribbean Report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... LAN Airlines (formerly LanChile) said it began negotiations to acquire an unidentified Argentine airline in partnership with Argentine investors. The airline will use the name Lan Argentina and will be part of the LAN airline group. LAN's...

Gol.(Latin America/Caribbean Report)(Gol Transportes Aereos earnings)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Gol earned R$384.7 million last year, up significantly over net income of R$175.5 million in 2003. Net operating revenues rose 40% to R$1.96 billion and operating income climbed 68.6% to R$576.3 million from R$341.7 million in 2003. For the...

Brazilian government.(Latin America/Caribbean Report)(Varig S.A., TAM Group)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Brazilian government approved a request by Varig and TAM to end their code-sharing relationship, the last remaining element of a cooperation agreement that originally was intended to lead to a merger between the airlines.

Copa Airlines.(Latin America/Caribbean Report)(AeroRepublica)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Copa Airlines acquired a 51% stake in AeroRepublica of Colombia, which has a 35.7% share of that country's domestic market. AeroRepublica will maintain its corporate identity and current workforce. It carried 2.3 million passengers last year.

Goodrich Corp.(Latin America/Caribbean Report)(LAN Airlines contract)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Goodrich Corp. was selected by LAN Airlines to provide thrust reverser overhaul services for its fleet of CF6-80C2-powered 767s.

Virgin Nigeria Airlines.(Africa/Middle East Report)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Virgin Nigeria Airlines, the 49% affiliate of Virgin Group, is scheduled to begin operations later this year following a successful private placement of 51% of the share capital worth $26 million with Nigerian institutional investors, Reuters...

El Al.(Africa/Middle East Report)(El Al Israel Airlines)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... El Al signed a definitive agreement to install Connexion by Boeing high-speed Internet service on its long-haul fleet of 747-400s and 777s beginning later this year.

IER 978.(Africa/Middle East Report)(contracts with Royal Air Maroc)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... IER 978 self-service kiosks with the Common Use Self Service platform have been selected by Royal Air Maroc to provide self check-in at Casablanca.

Aviation Partners Boeing.(Africa/Middle East Report)(contracts with Air Algerie)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Aviation Partners Boeing sold three 737-800 Blended Winglet shipsets to Air Algerie with an option covering its entire fleet.

Emirates-CAE Flight Training.(Africa/Middle East Report)(Emirates Airline)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Emirates-CAE Flight Training received Type Rating Training Organization certification from JAA.