Air Transport World articles from December 2004

Air Transport World archives from December 2004

Jet fuel prices *.(Trends)(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... Jet Fuel Prices * cents per gallon May 115.98 June 104.77 July 115.49 Aug. 125.96 Sept. 136.26 Oct. 158.46 October 15, 2004 New York ...

Top 20 airlines.(Trends)(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... Top 20 Airlines January-October 2004 Rank Airline RPKs (000) 1 American 175,202,166 2 United 155,084,693 3 Delta 147,157,882 4 Air...

Exchange rate.(Trends)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... Exchange Rate Currency units per US dollar Country/Currency 10/29/04 8/31/04 Brazil/Real 2.867 2.945 Canada/$ 1.2242 1.3194...

Long shot.(Editorial)(Airlines revenue)(Editorial)(Industry Overview)
December 1, 2004... Anyone who ever played a game of pickup football as a child (we're talking US-style football here) can recall the three simple words that were certain to be in the playbook of every John Elway wannabe ages 8 to 18: "Everybody go long." Now US...

ATA files Chapter 11, sells some assets to AirTran.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The brutally competitive US domestic market claimed its first low-cost victim when ATA Airlines, the 10th largest US Major, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Oct. 26, citing "excess capacity, extremely high fuel prices... and declining...

Cathay, Air China plan equity tie, cooperation.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Air China and Cathay Pacific Airways entered into an MOU under which Cathay will acquire 9.9% of Air China at the time of the hitter's IPO. The MOU details future cooperation between the two, including joint marketing and sales activities,...

Last 757.(production contracts)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Last 757 rolled out of Renton on Oct. 28, ending a production run of 1,050 aircraft over 22 years. It was delivered to Shanghai Airlines. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Airbus expected to take A350 to market.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Airbus shareholders FADS and BAE Systems are expected to approve marketing of the proposed A350 to airlines by year end. A derivative of the A330, the A350 will be offered in two versions. The A350-800 will be about the size of the A330-200 but...

Boeing launches 777 freighter.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Boeing Commercial Airplanes on Nov. 15 announced the launch of a 777 freighter, to be based on the the 777-200LR set to roll out early next year. Firm backlog for the 777-200LR passenger version is just five aircraft from two customers--EVA...

United seeks extra $725 million from labor.(bankruptcy reorganization)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Bankrupt United Airlines is seeking $725 million in additional savings from its employees above and beyond the $2.56 billion achieved in May 2003. This new target does not include any savings associated with its previously announced decision to...

Air Berlin, Niki ink deal to purchase up to 110 A320s.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... In the largest order so far this year by a low-fare airline, Air Berlin and its Austrian partner Niki last month agreed to purchase up to 110 174-seat A320s. The deal, which must be finalized, includes 70 firm orders, with 60 joining Air...

The crash of an American Airlines A300-600R occurred.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The crash of an American Airlines A300-600R occurred as a result of "aerodynamic loads that were created by the first officer's unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs after the aircraft encountered wake turbulence," according to the...

Delta Air Lines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Delta Air Lines faces a funding gap of $85 million early next year, the company said Nov. 8. The shortfall is in spite of some $900 million in new financing recently arranged with GE Commercial Financial Services and American Express Travel...

US Airways pilots.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... US Airways pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., in late Oct. ratified an 18% pay cut and other concessions that will save the bankrupt company $300 million annually over the next five years. It supersedes a court order permitting...

American Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... American Airlines plans to furlough some 1,100 employees, including up to 650 maintenance workers and up to 450 pilots. The layoffs, disclosed by the Associated Press, are part of a plan to cut domestic capacity by 5% in the first...

US major traffic.(North America report)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... US Majors Traffic October 2004 RPMs % chg. ASMs % chg. (billions) 2003 (billions) 2003 Alaska 1.25 11.1 1.80 4.6...

Northwest Airlines.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Northwest Airlines pilots in early Nov. ratified a new agreement that includes a 15% pay cut and will provide the company with $265 million in annual savings over the life of the two-year contract. The deal is subject to a "satisfactory...

Air Canada.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Air Canada reported C$235 million ($187 million) in third-quarter unaudited operating income before reorganization and restructuring items, a big improvement from the C$17 million operating income posted last year at this time.

WestJet.(North America report)(corporate finance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... WestJet cited record high fuel prices and diminished yields for a 34.5% drop in third-quarter earnings. The Calgary-based LCC earned C$21.1 million ($17.5 million) in the period compared to income of C$32.3 million a year earlier. For the...

Midwest Air Group.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Midwest Air Group, parent of Midwest Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiary Skyway Airlines, reported a $13.4 million net loss for the third quarter, widened from $5.1 million lost last year.

Aloha Airgroup.(North America report)(appointment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Aloha Airgroup, parent of Aloha Airlines, appointed David Banmiller president and CEO effective Nov. 14. Most recently, Banmiller was Air Jamaica's executive VP and COO.

Boeing.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Boeing reported net income of $456 million for the third quarter, a 78.1% increase compared to $256 million earned in the prior-year period, on an 8.2% gain in revenue to $13.2 billion. Boeing Commercial Airplanes recorded an 8% decline in...

CFM International.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... CFM International has launched a product improvement program for the CFM56 called Tech Insertion that in early 2007 will be incorporated in new power-plants and made available in upgrade kits to current operators of CFM56s. The package of...

Hamilton Sundstrand.(North America report)(contract)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Hamilton Sundstrand was chosen by Rolls-Royce to design and manufacture the gearbox system for the Trent 1000 being developed for the 7E7.

Goodrich Corp. and Messier-Bugatti.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Goodrich Corp. and Messier-Bugatti were selected to provide electric braking systems for the 7E7 and Boeing said airlines will be able to choose either for their aircraft. Separately, Goodrich was selected to supply the engine control...

Avcorp Industries.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Avcorp Industries will produce the wing extension assembly for Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets on 757-200s. The initial contract is for 125 shipsets with an option for an equal number.

Sabre Airline Solutions.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Sabre Airline Solutions' SabreSonic suite of passenger management solutions was selected by Hawaiian Airlines in a multiyear contract renewal.

GE Engine Services.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... GE Engine Services was chosen by Frontier Airlines to maintain 69 CFM56-5Bs powering 32 A318s and A319s under a 16-year maintenance cost per hour agreement with a potential value of more than $100 million.

Lufthansa Technik.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Lufthansa Technik won its first maintenance agreement with a US LCC as it announced a 15-year Total Component Support contract with Spirit Airlines covering its new A320 fleet.

Singapore Technologies Aerospace.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Singapore Technologies Aerospace will maintain UPS DC-8s, A300s and MD-11s at ST Aero repair stations around the globe under a 10-year, $438 million contract.

Wencor Aviation.(North America report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Wencor Aviation acquired APS, maker of the digE-player series of portable IFE systems. APS will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Wencor.

Lufthansa Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Lufthansa Group earned 125 million [euro] ($161.2 million) in the third quarter compared to a 17 million [euro] loss last year, while operating profit rose to 218 million [euro] from 200 million [euro]. Revenues grew 5.3% to g4.45 billion. For...

British Airways.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... British Airways earned 123 million [pounds sterling] ($228.2 million) for the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, up 25.5% over a 98 million [pounds sterling] profit last year. The 2003 results were impacted by the surprise walkout of...

Ryanair.(Europe report)(corporate finance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Ryanair reported that profits for the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30 increased 14.9% to 147.6 million [euro] ($187.4 million) from 128.4 million [euro] in the year-ago period. Operating revenues climbed 19.1% to 418.3 million [euro] while...

SAS Group.(Europe report)(corporate finance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... SAS Group reported net income of just Sek68 million ($9.5 million) for the third quarter, down 90% versus Sek699 million earned in the 2003 quarter. Operating revenue climbed 3.4% to Sek15.42 billion while operating expenses rose 3.7% to...

Iberia.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Iberia profits rose 52.1% to 166.6 million [euro] ($213 million) in the first nine months to Sept. 30. It said it expects income from ordinary activities for 2004 to exceed 200 million [euro], up from 146 million [euro] in 2003. Revenues for...

Icelandair.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Icelandair has purchased a 10.1% shareholding in easyJet for an undisclosed amount. In a statement, it said it regards the share buy as "a long-term trade investment." It did not disclose how much the stake cost. "We have a positive opinion of...

Aeroflot.(Europe report)(Company Earnings)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Aeroflot had a net profit of $119.3 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, up 17.9% over $100.8 million earned in the year-ago period. Operating revenues rose 23.1% to $1.39 billion while operating costs were up 22.4% to $1.3 billion,...

European airline traffic.(Europe report)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
December 1, 2004... European Airline Traffic October 2004 RPKs % chg. ASKs % chg. (billions) 2003 (billions) 2003 AF-KLM (1) 14.79 6.4 18.61 5.9...

Bmi Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Bmi Group CEO Austin Reid left the airline at the end of Oct., a year earlier than planned, "for personal reasons," the company said in a statement. He was replaced by CFO Nigel Turner. Reid had been with bmi for 19 years and his sudden...

Austrian Airlines Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Austrian Airlines Group said it believes it can reach its target of a 50 million [euro] adjusted EBIT for 2004 as it reported profits of 47.7 million [euro] ($61.4 million) in the Sept. quarter, up significantly over 8.9 million [euro] earned...

TAP Air Portugal.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... TAP Air Portugal earned 7.7 million [euro] ($9.8 million) in the first nine months of 2004, a 54.4% decline versus a net profit of 16.9 million [euro] in the prior-year period.

Aer Lingus.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Aer Lingus said 1,560 employees applied for voluntary redundancy under the terms of its Voluntary Severance Scheme presented to staff in mid-Aug. The Irish airline aims to reduce its workforce by a third to about 2,700 over three years.

PGA Portugalia Airlines.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... PGA Portugalia Airlines lost 5.3 million [euro] ($6.8 million) in the first nine months of 2004, a 50% improvement on the net loss in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 15.4% to 128.5 million [euro].

EADS Group.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... EADS Group net profit more than doubled to 597 million [euro] for the first nine months of 2004 from 242 million [euro] last year. Revenue rose 16% to 21.46 billion [euro] while EBIT climbed 91% to 1.5 billion [euro] versus EBIT of 784 million...

Snecma.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Snecma will merge with French telecommunications equipment maker Sagem, leading to the privatization of the aerospace engine maker. The French state, which at present holds 66.22% of Snecma, will hold 30%-35% of the new group.

SAS Component.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... SAS Component was transformed from a business unit under SAS Technical Services into an independent limited company owned by SAS Technical Services.

Air France Industries.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Air France Industries plans to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul center in Paris for the GP7200, which will be used on AF's A380s.

GE Engine Services.(Europe report)(service contract)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... GE Engine Services signed a 10-year agreement with a 10-year option to provide total maintenance and support on the CFM56-7 engines and engine components powering Ryanair's current and future fleet of 737NGs.

CAE and Iberia.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... CAE and Iberia inaugurated their aviation training joint venture in Madrid that consolidates CAE's center in Alcala de Henares and Iberia's center near Madrid Barajas.

Teledyne Controls.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Teledyne Controls said that Lufthansa selected its Wireless GroundLink for use on its A320 fleet.

PROS Revenue Management.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... PROS Revenue Management announced that Lufthansa licensed the PROS O&D Network Optimizer, the PROS Low Fare Solution and significant PROS Group System next-generation enhancements.

EADS EFW.(Europe report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... EADS EFW was approved as a Design Organization by the European Aviation Safety Agency, enabling the unit to design and certify aircraft modifications as well as to obtain STCs for major modifications for Airbus aircraft.

Japan Airlines.(Asia/Pacific report)(earnings)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Japan Airlines earned [yen] 82.9 billion ($784.3 million) in the fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, a healthy turnaround from a loss of [yen] 57.6 billion in the SARS-devastated year-ago period. Despite the improvement, however, the carrier...

Former Japan Airlines President Mitsuo Toshimitsu died Nov. 9 of heart failure.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... Former Japan Airlines President Mitsuo Toshimitsu died Nov. 9 of heart failure. He was 80. Toshimitsu was one of JAL's first employees, having joined it as a passenger sales agent in Aug. 1951, the same month and year that the airline was...

ANA Group.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... ANA Group reported a consolidated net profit of [yen] 29.8 billion ($280.9 million) for its fiscal first halt, up 45.3% over [yen] 20.6 billion earned a year ago. Operating revenues rose 8.4% to [yen] 659.5 billion while operating expenses...

SIA Group.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... SIA Group's fiscal second-quarter profit rose 16.3% to S$357.3 million ($214.8 million) compared to a net profit of S$305.8 million in the year-ago period. Revenue was up 21.3% to S$3.1 billion and total expenditure climbed 23.6% to S$2.7...

China Southern Airlines.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... China Southern Airlines netted 208.1 million yuan ($25.1 million) in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, down 45.5% compared to a 381.8 million yuan profit in the year-ago period. The carrier said record high fuel prices were the primary cause of...

Hainan Airlines.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Hainan Airlines lifted its net profit 37.8% to 41.62 million yuan ($5 million) for the third quarter to Sept. 30. In the first nine months of 2004, Hainan recorded a 127.71 million yuan net profit compared with a net loss of 950.44 million yuan...

Qantas.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Qantas reached agreement with its 4,000 long-haul flight attendants on the basing of cabin crew overseas while concluding an in-principle deal to provide for a 9% pay rise over three years. This will enable the carrier to proceed with plans to...

Virgin Blue.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Virgin Blue entered into an arrangement with LiveTV to deliver the Live2Air service to its passengers.

Singapore Technologies Aerospace.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Singapore Technologies Aerospace will maintain Jetstar Asia's fleet of up to eight A320s on a five-year, $47 million total aviation support program.

Jeppesen and Singapore Airlines.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Jeppesen and Singapore Airlines finalized a three-year deal through which Jeppesen will provide SIA its e-Link Internet delivery service for access to its electronic charts and data.

Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics Head-up Guidance System was selected by Shandong Airlines for installation on its new 737-700s/800s. Air China and Xiamen Airlines selected Rockwell Collins to provide avionics for five 737NGs each airline has...

Lufthansa Systems'.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Lufthansa Systems' FMS Database Services were deployed by Bangkok Airways.

Ameco Beijing.(Asia/Pacific report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Ameco Beijing will perform heavy, checks on 12 747s on behalf of Air Atlanta Icelandic in 2005. It will perform a D check on a 737-300 for LHT Philippines.

LAN Airlines.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... LAN Airlines (formerly LanChile) recorded net income of $36.4 million for the third quarter, up 60.6% versus net income of $22.7 million in the year-ago period. Operating revenue climbed 31% to $528.8 million while operating expenses rose 31.9%...

Brazilian low-cost carrier Gol.(Latin America/Caribbean report)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Brazilian low-cost carrier Gol posted net income of 96.9 million reais ($34.3 million) for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, virtually unchanged from net income of R$96.7 million in the prior-year period. Net operating revenues climbed 28.4% to...

AWAS.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... AWAS delivered the first of two A321-100s to Air Macau. It delivered two 737-300s to Mexico's Lineas Aereas Azteca.

Debis AirFinance.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Debis AirFinance delivered three A320-200s on operating lease to Indian Airlines. Debis purchased a new A321 from Airbus and delivered it to Spirit Airlines under an operating lease.

Skyways Aviation.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Skyways Aviation on behalf of Mandarin Airlines of Taiwan arranged the sale of two Saab 340Bs to Macair Airlines. Skyways arranged the sale of one Jetstream 32 on behalf of Tomalpin Holdings of Australia to Khors Air Co. of the Ukraine.

Engine Lease Finance Corp.(Leasing & Finance briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Engine Lease Finance Corp completed the sale of five CFM56-3C1s and three CF6-80C2B1Fs from its leasing portfofio to Dublin-based Orix Aviation Systems. ELF also signed an agreement with Gulf Air to buy seven spare engines for the airline's...

Qatar Airways.(Africa/Middle East)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Qatar Airways is talking to Boeing about a potential order for up to 60 7E7s, but only if the manufacturer launches the 7E7-9, a stretch of the dash 8 capable of carrying 257 passengers in a three-class configuration up to 8,300 nm, CEO Akbar...

South African Airways.(Africa/Middle East)(resignation)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... South African Airways last month announced that Deputy CEO Oyama Mabandla would leave for "personal reasons." He has agreed to be available until the end of March. No replacement was named. Amadeus signed an LOI with SAA for provision of...

DHL.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... DHL's new Central European hub will be located at Leipzig/Halle airport from 2008, Deutsche Post World Net said. DPWN in Oct. eliminated Brussels as a possibility, stating that "the political consensus that was needed for DHL to further grow...

Lufthansa Cargo and Shenzen Airlines.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Lufthansa Cargo and Shenzen Airlines agreed to establish a new cargo airline in Shenzen to be called Jade Cargo International. European investment institute DEC is part of the joint venture. Shenzen Airlines will hold a 51% stake in Jade,...

Guggenheim Aviation Partners.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Guggenheim Aviation Partners finalized a contract with Boeing to purchase four 747-400 Special Freighters. The aircraft will be acquired through Boeing Aircraft Trading and will be converted to freighters between 2006 and 2009 under the...

Mercator.(Cargo)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Mercator launched its new-generation cargo system Chameleon. It already is in place within Emirates SkyCargo and Dnata Cargo.

Primaris Airlines.(Equipment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Primaris Airlines, a Las Vegas-based carrier that operates a single 757 providing charter services to the White House press corps, in Oct. announced plans to purchase 20 7E7-8s and 20 737-800s with options on an additional 25 737-800s and 15...

Hainan Airlines.(Equipment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Hainan Airlines ordered eight A319s with deliveries in 2005-07. Engine selection was not announced.

CSA Czech Airlines.(Equipment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... CSA Czech Airlines will order 12 CFM-powered Airbus narrow-bodies with deliveries in 2006-08. It plans to lease in five A320/A321s until deliveries of the new aircraft begin.

Southwest Airlines.(Equipment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Southwest Airlines ordered 55 additional CFM56-3 advanced upgrade kits with a value of approximately $66 million.

Turkish Airlines.(Equipment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Turkish Airlines firmed a previously announced commitment for 19 A320s, 12 A321s and five A330-200s with deliveries between Oct. 2005 and 2008. The A321s and A320s will be powered by IAE V2527-A5s and the A330-200s by GE CF6-80E1s.

CAE.(Equipment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... CAE was selected to provide the first full flight simulator for the ARJ21 regional jet being developed by China Aviation Industry Corp. Commercial Aircraft Co. for delivery in 2008. CAE was awarded a contract from China Airlines to provide an...