Air Transport World articles from December 2003

Air Transport World archives from December 2003

Trends.(includes foreign exchange rates, ranking of top 20 airlines)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
December 1, 2003... [GRAPHICS OMITTED] Top 20 Airlines January-October 2003 1 American 161,342,647 2 United 138,729,766 3 Delta 132,031,874 4 Northwest 92,571,019 5 British Airways ...

Build it. They will come.(Editorial)(analysis of Boeing's 7E7 program)(Editorial)
December 1, 2003... "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."--Albert Einstein As the Boeing board of directors gathers this month to ponder the launch of the 7E7, the company's first new commercial program in...

Lufthansa seeks more savings as losses continue.(airline reports third quarter net loss)
December 1, 2003... Lufthansa Group unveiled major changes to its European network strategy as it reported a third-quarter net loss of 17 million [euro] ($19.6 million), bringing the 2003 nine-month deficit to 409 million [euro]. Corresponding year-ago results for...

Air Canada chooses Victor Li as equity partner.(Trinity Time Investments will take 31% stake in airline)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Air Canada selected Trinity Time Investments, controlled by wealthy Hong Kong businessman Victor TK Li, to take 31% stake in the restructured airline for C$650 million ($495.3 million). Contemporaneously with the investment, AC expects to close...

ANZ/Qantas alliance shot down by NZ regulators.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Air New Zealand's hopes of securing an alliance with Qantas appear to be all but dead after the New Zealand Commerce Commission in late Oct. vetoed the A$550 million ($384.9 million) deal, saying it would result in a substantial lessening of...

Boeing to end 757 production in 2004.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Boeing announced that production of the 757 will end in late 2004, 22 years after the first aircraft was delivered to Eastern Airlines in Dec. 1982. The decision came shortly after Continental Airlines said it would take only five of 11 757s...

MTU up for sale.(DaimlerChrysler negotiates sale of MTU Aero Engines to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... DaimlerChrysler is negotiating divestment of its profitable MTU Aero Engines subsidiary to New York takeover firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in order to concentrate resources on its core automotive business. Parties to the impending deal...

Ted is United with low fares.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... United Airlines' new low-fare operation will be named Ted after the carrier's last three letters, the airline announced last month. Ted, staffed and operated by UA employees, will launch next Feb. with four A320s configured for 156 seats in a...

Southwest Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Southwest Airlines will establish a new base at Philadelphia in May using four gates and five new 737-700s to operate up to 14 daily flights initially to a mix of short- and long-haul destinations. Philadelphia is US Airways' most important...

US Airways'.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... US Airways' common stock began trading on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol UAIR in Oct.

America West.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... America West and its 1,700 pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract. Terms of the deal were not released. Last March the union membership soundly rejected a tentative agreement...

JetBlue Airways'.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... JetBlue Airways' third-quarter net income more than doubled to $29 million from $12.2 million last year despite the impact of Hurricane Isabel and a massive blackout in the Northeast US that cost it close to $1.4 million. Operating revenues...

AirTran Holdings.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... AirTran Holdings, parent of the airline, had third-quarter net income of $19.6 million, up significantly compared to just $1.2 million in 2002. Operating revenues rose 29.6% to $237.3 million while expenses climbed 19.7% to $210.9 million,...

Frontier Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Frontier Airlines earned $2 million in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, greatly improved over last year's net loss of $3.1 million. Results would have been even better but for some $15.3 million in special charges. Revenues rose 38.9%...

Midwest Express Holdings.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Midwest Express Holdings, parent of Midwest Airlines and Skyway Airlines, lost $3.6 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, improved from a net loss of $8.6 million last year. The company incurred $5.8 million in pre-tax restructuring...

WestJet.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... WestJet reported net income of C$32.3 million ($24.5 million) in the third quarter, up 39.8% compared to income of C$23.1 million last year. Operating revenues rose 25.1% to C$253.9 million while operating expenses increased 21.5% to C$200.6...

Hawaiian Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Hawaiian Airlines will return two 717s used on inter-island services to Boeing Capital Corp.

FAA.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... FAA last month released its long-awaited ETOPS NPRM creating regulations "governing the design, maintenance and operation of airplanes and engines for flights that go beyond certain distances from an adequate airport." As proposed, the rule...

Boeing.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Boeing had third-quarter net income of $256 million, down 31.2% from income of $372 million in the year-ago period, on a 3.5% decline in revenues to $12.2 billion. The 2003 results included a $184 million writeoff to close the 757 line,...

US majors traffic: October 2003.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... US Majors Traffic October 2003 RPMs % chg. ASMs (billions) 2002 (billions) Alaska 1.13 17.1 1.72 American 9.82 ...

KLM.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... KLM's first 777-200ER takes off from Everett, Wash. It will add nine more to its fleet.

Boeing Commercial Aviation Services and Singapore Technologies Aerospace's SASCO subsidiary.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Boeing Commercial Aviation Services and Singapore Technologies Aerospace's SASCO subsidiary will convert five MD-11s into freighters on behalf of Lufthansa Cargo. Modification work will begin in June and all of the aircraft will he redelivered...

ARINC.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ARINC was awarded a long-term multiyear contract by WestJet for a new digital voice network to link the airline's airport ramp operations in 24 cities with its headquarters in Calgary.

Jeppesen.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Jeppesen announced an agreement with United Airlines under which it will convert UA's full suite of navigational publications produced by Jeppesen into electronic format and supply them using Jeppesen's electronic information gateway.

ANA Group.(Asia/Pacific report)(ANA Group earned [yen] 20.5 billion ($187.3 million) in the fiscal first half ended Sept. 30. ANA is the parent of All Nippon Airways )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ANA Group earned [yen] 20.5 billion ($187.3 million) in the fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, substantially improved over last year's six-month loss of [yen] 8.1 billion. The parent of All Nippon Airways attributed the strong performance to the...

SIA Group.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... SIA Group, parent of Singapore Airlines, returned to profitability in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30 with net income of S$305.8 million ($176.1 million), up 3.6% compared to S$295.1 million earned last year. Operating revenues...

Qantas.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Qantas in Oct. said its as-yet-unnamed low-cost domestic airline will take to the skies in May as a separate unit with its own brand and aircraft. Airbus is believed to have the inside track to supply up to 23 A320s through mid-2005. Alan Joyce...

Valuair.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Valuair, Singapore's first low-cost airline, said it will lease two new A320s from Singapore-based leasing firm SALE to inaugurate services in March. The carrier plans to operate flights to destinations up to 5 hr. from Singapore.

China Eastern Airlines.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... China Eastern Airlines bounced back into profit for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, earning 228.3 million yuan ($27.6 million), up from 96.7 million yuan last year, as it shook off the impact of SARS. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the...

AirAsia.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... AirAsia this month opens a new base at Senai Airport on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, a short drive from Singapore. Beginning Dec. 3 it will base two 737s at Senai offering half-a-dozen daily roundtrips to four Malaysian cities. ...

Cathay Pacific.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Cathay Pacific commences services to Beijing from Dec. 2, operating three return services per week and marking a major milestone for the airline, which has been prevented from offering services to the mainland for many years.

A380.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A380 port wing for the first flight test aircraft is removed from its four-story-high main assembly jig at Airbus's factory in Broughton, North Wales.

ATW through the years.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Five years ago in ATW: The EU filed a long-threatened suit in the European Court of Justice under Article 169 of the Treaty of Rome against Austria, Belgium, the UK, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden for negotiating open skies...

Virgin Blue.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Virgin Blue plans to acquire further aircraft and undertake a major expansionary drive, capitalizing on estimated net proceeds from last month's 25% share flotation of A$374-A$378 million ($268.1-$270.9 million). The offering valued the carrier...

Thai Airways International.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Thai Airways International announced it will sell 385 million shares of its stock comprising 100 million shares held by the Ministry of Finance and 285 million newly issued shares. The airline said MOF will release an additional 57.75 million...

Korean Air and IBM.(Asia/Pacific report)(Korean Air and IBM announced a 10-year, $120 million outsourcing contract to shift the airline's international IT networks to newer Internet-based technologies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Korean Air and IBM announced a 10-year, $120 million outsourcing contract to shift the airline's international IT networks to newer Internet-based technologies. Korean also announced that it signed a 10-year, $90 million contract to outsource...

Rockwell Collins.(Asia/Pacific report)(wins avionics contract from All Nippon)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Rockwell Collins was selected by All Nippon to provide avionics for six 777s and three 767s with deliveries scheduled to begin next year.

Jet Airways.(Asia/Pacific report)(airline selects Lufthansa Technik for maintenance contract)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Jet Airways contracted Lufthansa Technik to assume responsibility over seven years for total component maintenance of the privately owned Indian carrier's six 737-400s and 27 737NGs. Separately, Jet selected Mercator's revenue accounting and...

British Airways.(Europe report)(retires Concorde fleet)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... British Airways retired its Concorde fleet Oct. 24 with a flourish as three of the aircraft landed at London Heathrow in sequence. All seven BA Concordes will be exhibited in museums and at LHR.

Ryanair.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary confirmed last month that a draft report from the European Commission indicates that "significant portions" of the airline's arrangement at Brussels South Charleroi Airport will be found unlawful and reaffirmed...

British Airways netted 98 million [pounds sterling] ($163.9 million) in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, down 35.5% compared to a net profit of 152 million [pounds sterling] a year ago.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... British Airways netted 98 million [pounds sterling] ($163.9 million) in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, down 35.5% compared to a net profit of 152 million [pounds sterling] a year ago. Pre-tax profit, including a non-cash charge of 58...

KLM.(Europe report)(airline reports second quarter financial results)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... KLM reported a net profit or 89 million [euro] ($105 million) for its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, up 4.7% over last year's earnings of 85 million [euro]. The improvement was owing, however, to nonoperating gains that included the sale...

LOT Polish Airlines.(is latest member of Star Alliance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... LOT Polish Airlines became the newest member of the Star Alliance in ceremonies in Warsaw in late Oct.

European Airline traffic: October 2003.(Europe report)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
December 1, 2003... European Airline Traffic October 2003 RPKs % chg. ASKs (billions) 2002 (billions) AF Group 8.66 0.4 11.28 BA Group 8.75 3.9 11.99 Finnair ...

SAS Group.(Europe report)(airline reports third quarter financial results)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... SAS Group reiterated that it expects to suffer a Sek2 billion operating loss before special items in 2003 as it disclosed that third-quarter pre-tax earnings dropped 11.9% to Sek564 million ($72.2 million) from Sek640 million last year. Owing...

Alitalia.(Europe report)(Italian airline will be privatized)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Alitalia will be privatized under a government decree issued last month, although it is still subject to parliamentary approval and further fine-tuning. "This is a decisive step on the way to an exit from a period of sectoral crisis," CEO...

Thomas Cook.(Europe report)(announces resignations of Stefan Pichler, Norbert Kickum)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Thomas Cook CEO Stefan Pichler and CFO Norbert Kickum resigned Nov. 7 from the travel group, ownership of which is split 50/50 between Lufthansa and German retail giant KarstadtQuelle. The departures were linked to year-long slack results that...

EasyJet.(Europe report)(plans European base at Berlin-Schoenefeld Airport)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... EasyJet's next European base will be at outlying Berlin-Schoenefeld Airport, from which it will operate 11 routes joining existing cities on its network: London Luton, Liverpool, Bristol, Newcastle, Paris, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona,...

Austrian Airlines Group.(Europe report)(airline reports third-quarter financial results)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Austrian Airlines Group reported nine-month we-tax losses of 19 million [euro] ($21.7 million) compared with earnings of 35.6 million [euro] in the 2002 period, blaming economic slowdown, the conflict in Iraq and SARS. Nine-month EBIT swung to...

Aero Lloyd.(Europe report)(charter airline shuts down)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Aero Lloyd, the biggest independent German charter carrier with 12% of the market, shut down and filed for insolvency Oct. 16 after its main creditor and 66% shareholder, Bavarian state bank BayernLB, withdrew support and declined to provide...

Continental Airlines.(Europe report)(announces codeshare agreement with Maersk Air)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Continental Airlines signed a codeshare agreement with Denmark-based Maersk Air.

7 Group.(Europe report)(will acquire Air Littoral)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... 7 Group was selected by the Montpellier Commercial Court to acquire Air Littoral. The acquisition includes 17 50-seat CRJs and 608 fulltime employees throughout the Air Littoral group, which comprises the airline, engineering subsidiary Air...

Euralair International.(Europe report)(bankruptcy filing)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Euralair International filed for bankruptcy. The charter subsidiary of Euralair Horizons based at Le Bourget was launched in 2001 and operates a fleet of five 737-800s.

CAE and Iberia.(Europe report)(training joint venture)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... CAE and Iberia agreed to form a training joint venture by consolidating the assets of their respective training centers in Alcala and at Madrid Barajas. Ownership of the venture will be split 80/20 in favor of CAE. The JV is slated to begin...

IBS Software Systems.(Europe report)(Avient Technologies acquired)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... IBS Software Systems, an IBS Group IT company, acquired Avient Technologies, a business unit within Honeywell that had its origins in Honeywell's acquisition of ICI. Airline Systems in June 2000. Price was not disclosed.

SAS Flight Academy.(Europe report)(new training center)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... SAS Flight Academy next Aug. will open its third training center, a facility taking shape at Oslo Gardermoen. Anchor customers will be SAS Group carriers Braathens, Scandinavian Airlines and Wideroe.

EDS.(Europe report)(agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... EDS signed an agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways under which EDS will provide "enhanced passenger planning systems."

Nav Canada.(Europe report)(contract with UK NATS)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Nav Canada was selected by UK NATS to provide its Integrated Information Display System/Extended Computer Display System to ATC facilities at London-area airports.

Mexicana.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(exiting Star Alliance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Mexicana will become the first Star member to exit the alliance voluntarily after the carrier notified founding member United Airlines last month that it is not renewing its seven-year codeshare and frequent-flier cooperation agreement, which...

LanChile.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(net income)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... LanChile, in what it called the best third quarter in its history, reported net income of $22.7 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, triple the 2002 result of $7.6 million. "LanChile overcame the challenges of continued softness in...

Emirates.(first to operate A340-500)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Emirates became the first airline to operate the ultra-long-range A340-500, powered by Trent 500s.

Varig.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(new aircraft)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Varig plans to introduce three MD-11s and two new 777s as part of its ongoing restructuring. The MD-11s are to operate Brazil-Japan services while the 777s are to fly the Sao Paulo-New York route. The aircraft will be fully operational by early...

Aerolineas Argentinas.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(stock float planned)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Aerolineas Argentinas is to float up to 25% of its stock on the Buenos Aires stock exchange next year. The move is intended to reduce Air Comet's controlling stake from 92% while expanding the airline's capital base. Funds will be used to...

Emirates.(Africa/Middle East report)(net profit)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Emirates reported an unaudited net profit of Dhs612 million ($167 million) for the first half of FY04 ended Sept. 30, up 51% compared to net income of Dhs404.2 million in the year-ago period. Operating revenue grew 33% to Dhs5.8 billion on a...

South African Airways.(Africa/Middle East report)(upper management restructured)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... South African Airways restructured its upper management to add six executive VPs and a deputy CEO but named no one to succeed CFO Richard Forson, who resigned abruptly in Oct. amid disclosures of huge foreign exchange hedging losses at the...

Gulf Air.(Africa/Middle East report)(third-quarter loss)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Gulf Air reported a third-quarter loss of 20 million dinars ($5.4 million), down 50% from losses in the prior-year period. The company said gross passenger revenue for the year to date is up 12.3% but did not provide a figure.

Air Arabia.(Africa/Middle East report)(operations inaugurated)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Air Arabia, which touts itself as the Middle East's first no-frills airline, inaugurated operations from Sharjah with a 55-min. A320 hop to Manama, hoping to cash in on the expatriate and guest-worker market. Rival Gulf Traveller, the low-cost...

FedEx Express.(Cargo)(new regional structure in China)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... FedEx Express said it will begin operation of a new regional structure in China by establishing a headquarters location in Shanghai that will open Dec. 1. FedEx Express serves more than 220 cities in China and said it plans to add a further 100...

DHL.(Cargo)(investments in China)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... DHL, already represented in China by 42 offices, 160 stations and 700 trucks in 318 cities, plans to triple capacity in the country by investing $200 million in its delivery business over five years. Vehicle for the company's growth scenario is...

China Aviation Supply Co.(Equipment)(30 737NGs ordered)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... China Aviation Supply Co. ordered 30 737NGs on behalf of five Chinese airlines: Air China (five 737-700s), Hainan (eight 737-800s), Shandong (three 737-700s, four 737-800s), Shenzhen (five 737-900s) and Xiamen (five 737-700s).

Air-India.(Equipment)(aircraft purchases planned)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Air-India said it will purchase 10 A340-300s and 18 737-800s after its board approved the fleet acquisition plan last month. The deal, with spares and training, is valued at $2.1 billion.

Korean Air.(Equipment)(A380s ordered)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Korean Air finalized an order for five A380s plus three options announced at last summer's Paris Air Show.

Air Europa.(Equipment)(airline will lease four new 737-800s)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Air Europa will take delivery of four new CFM56-7-powered 737-800s in 2004. The aircraft will be leased from Itochu Air-Lease and are the first of 15 it plans to add to its fleet.

Midway Airlines opts for liquidation.(Regional News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A two-year struggle by financially troubled Midway Airlines came to an end when the company, moved from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy status to Chapter 7, which will require the carrier to sell off its assets. The decision to liquidate came at the...

Shandong takes delivery of CRJ700s.(Regional News)(from Bombardier)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Bombardier delivered two CRJ700s to Shandong Airlines, marking the debut of the first 70-seat RJ to operate in the Asia/Pacific region. Shandong Airlines, based at Jinan, currently flies 10 CRJ200s. The CRJ700 is the first 70-seat RJ to be...

Swiss seeks to postpone Embraer 170 orders.(Regional News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Embraer confirmed that financially beleaguered Swiss International Air Lines has asked the manufacturer to "consider the postponement" of its Embraer 170 and 195 firm orders and that the companies are in discussions "about alternatives." Swiss...

Mesaba pilots poised to strike.(Regional News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Pilots at Mesaba Airlines, a Regional affiliate of Northwest Airlines, voted to authorize a strike if their union leaders call for a work stoppage. The Air Line Pilots Assn., which represents some 850 Mesaba pilots, petitioned the National...

Atlantic Coast vs. Mesa.(Regional News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Mesa Air Group's battle to take over Atlantic Coast Airlines continued through November following the surprise bid announced by Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein in early October. ACA rejected the unsolicited offer and said it will continue forward...

Coming events.(Calendar)
December 1, 2003... Dec. 3-4 Airport Security Expo Europe '03, Wiesbaden, Germany. Contact Gillian Pattison at +44 208 542 9090; e-mail press@simply-events.com. Dec. 3-4 4th Annual Managing Aircraft Maintenance Costs Conference, Le Meredien Park Atlantic,...

Airclaims.(People)(Peter Morris )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Airclaims named Peter Morris to head a new International Transport & Tourism Consultancy.

Air Midwest.(People)(airline announces personnel changes)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Air Midwest rapped Stephen Tillotson as VP-flight operations, Robert Ramirez as VP-maintenance, Gary Lightfoot as senior dir.-training, Scott Savoie as senior dir.-system operations and Tim Willett as dir.-technical publications.

Atlantic Coast Airlines.(People)(hires Jeff Pollack, Lillian Dukes)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Atlantic Coast Airlines welcomed Jeff Pollack as senior dir.-market planning and Lillian Dukes as VP-maintenance.

Atlantic Southeast Airlines.(People)(Greg Kennedy)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Atlantic Southeast Airlines appointed Greg Kennedy VP-Atlanta airport hub.

Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority.(People)(Bruce Byron)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority chose Bruce Byron as CEO.