Air Transport World articles from December 2006

Air Transport World archives from December 2006

World Airline Traffic.(TRENDS)
December 1, 2006... WORLD AIRLINE TRAFFIC [GRAPHIC OMITTED]

Jet Fuel Prices.(TRENDS)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... JET FUEL PRICES* October 20, 2006 New York 178.70 US Gulf Coast 175.25 Los Angeles 181.50 Rotterdam 176.40 Singapore 176.79 *Spot cash markets (average). Source: US Dept. of Energy

Top 20 Airlines System Traffic: January-September 2006.(TRENDS)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... TOP 20 AIRLINES SYSTEM TRAFFIC JANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2006 RANK AIRLINE RPKs (000) 1 American 153,841,431 2 Air France KLM 131,782,000 3 United 128,433,154 4 Delta* ...

Top 20 Airlines International Traffic: January-August 2006.(TRENDS)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Top 20 AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC JANUARY-AUGUST 2006 RANK AIRLINE RPKs (000) 1 Air France KLM 123,072,197 2 British Airways 75,029,289 3 Lufthansa ...

The price/value equation.(of airlines)
December 1, 2006... Recently, Southwest Airlines has been running television commercials tweaking those rival (legacy) airlines that are charging customers for services that formerly were included in the ticket price. Although the advertisement exaggerates this...

US bids $8 billion for delta.(News Briefs)
December 1, 2006... US Airways' Nov. 15 bid to merge with Delta Air Lines as part of that carrier's bankruptcy restructuring could ignite a new round of attempted consolidation among large US airlines. United Airlines Chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton previously has...

Ryanair's Aer Lingus bid stalls.(News Briefs)
December 1, 2006... Ryanair's proposed takeover of Aer Lingus appeared to have stalled at press time in the face of strong opposition from the Aer Lingus board, unions and the Irish government. The EI board urged shareholders in early November to ignore Ryanair's...

FedEx cancels order for 10 A380Fs, orders 15 777Fs.(Airbus S.A.S. appoints Hans Peter Ring )(EADS Airbus GmbH appoints Fabrice Bregier)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Airbus's annus horribilis continued last month with FedEx's announcement that it had cancelled its $2.3 billion order for 10 A380Fs, opting instead for 15 777Fs with 15 options. Only a week earlier, Emirates dropped its order for 10 A340-600s...

TAP takes Portugalia.(News Briefs)(TAP Portugal acquires PGA Portugalia Airlines)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... TAP Portugal acquired control of PGA Portugalia Airlines from parent Espirito Santo International last month. Purchase price was "some [euro]140 million," according to a statement. TAP also is purchasing PGA's 6% holding in the Groundforce...

AC offers 'ala carte' pricing.(News Briefs)(Air Canada )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Air Canada continues to shake up the world of airline pricing. In late October it introduced an "ala carte" fare structure for tickets purchased on its website. Depending on fare type, passengers will be able to save money by declining services...

Brazil confronts ATC crisis.(News Briefs)(air traffic control, airlines departures)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Brazil's long-simmering air traffic control capacity crunch boiled over into a full-fledged crisis in late October as controllers launched a work-to-rule campaign to protest working conditions and the treatment of several colleagues who were...

ACE Aviation.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
December 1, 2006... ACE Aviation, parent of Air Canada, reported a third-quarter profit of C$103 million, down 62% from C$271 million in the year-ago period, as a C$102 million ($90.2 million) noncash pre-tax charge related to the redemption of Aeroplan miles...

Northwest Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Boeing Co., Rolls-Royce Aero Engine Services Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Northwest Airlines completed restructuring agreements with Boeing and Rolls-Royce that will allow it to begin taking delivery of its 18 Trent 1000-powered 787s beginning in August 2008. It has purchase rights for an additional 50. The...

Southwest Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Southwest Airlines began selling tickets for one-stop flights from Dallas Love Field to more than two dozen destinations following passage of a federal law repealing the Wright Amendment that made it illegal to market and sell connections into...

WestJet.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(WestJet Airlines Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... WestJet reported third-quarter net income of C$52.8 million ($46.9 million), a 74.3% increase from the C$30.3 million earned in the year-ago quarter and the highest quarterly profit in its history. Revenues rose 23.8% to C$502.6 million while...

Frontier Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
December 1, 2006... Frontier Airlines earned $509,000 for its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, down 96.4% from income of $6.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenues increased 19.9% to $309.9 million while expenses climbed 25.3% to $306.8 million, producing...

Midwest Air Group.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(sales and revenue)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Midwest Air Group had net income of $1.7 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, reversing a loss of $26.9 million in the year-ago period. Revenues increased 23.4% to $168.6 million and operating income improved to $400,000 from a $27.1...

Sun Country Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
December 1, 2006... Sun Country Airlines was acquired by Petters Group and Whitebox Advisors.

Air Line Pilots Assn.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Air Line Pilots Association elects John Prater as president)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Air Line Pilots Assn. elected a new president, potentially signaling a more aggressive approach to contract negotiations. John Prater, a 767 captain with Continental Airlines, narrowly defeated two-term, eight-year incumbent Duane Woerth....

FedEx Express pilots.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
December 1, 2006... FedEx Express pilots represented by ALPA ratified a four-year labor agreement reached in September.

Air Canada's.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(increases pay for pilots, flight attendants )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Air Canada's 3,100 pilots, represented by the Air Canada Pilots Assn., will receive a pay increase of 2% this year retroactive to July 1 and raises of 1.75% in each of the next two years courtesy of an arbitrator's decision. In a separate...

Continental Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
December 1, 2006... Continental Airlines said its ramp, operations and cargo agents rejected representation by the Transport Workers Union.

US Airways.
December 1, 2006... US Airways said Executive VP-Operations Al Crellin resigned.

Boeing.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(Boeing Co. Boeing Commercial Airplanes)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Boeing reported a 31% drop in third-quarter net income to $694 million from $1.01 billion in the year-ago period largely owing to charges related to the closure of Connexion by Boeing. Total revenues were up 19% to $14.74 billion. Operating...

Alteon Training.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(appoints Sherry Carbary as president)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Alteon Training named Sherry Carbary president. She formerly was VP-strategic management for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and replaces Patrick Gaines, Boeing's new VP-customer support for the Asia-Pacific region.

Worldspan.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
December 1, 2006... Worldspan signed a five-year, full-content distribution agreement with JetBlue Airways.

Frontier Airlines.(NORTH AMERICA Report)
December 1, 2006... Frontier Airlines selected Discover the World Marketing to market its Denver-Calgary service in Canada.

NavAero.(NORTH AMERICA Report)(gets supplement type certification for electronic flight bag on aircraft)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... NavAero said its tBagC22 received an STC as a Class 2 Electronic Flight Bag on A320 family aircraft. It will be deployed first by Virgin America. NavAero also received an STC for its Class 2 EFB for MD-10/-11 series aircraft.

British Airways.(EUROPE Report)(financial results)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... British Airways had a profit of [pounds sterling]168 million ($320.5 million) in the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, down 1.8% from a [pounds sterling]171 million profit a year ago, as fallout from the Aug. 10 terrorism alert affected...

Lufthansa Group.(EUROPE Report)(financial results)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Lufthansa Group posted a [euro]329 million ($413.7 million) third-quarter profit, down 20.9% from the [euro]416 million earned last year. Despite the drop, LH said it is "well on course" and forecast an operating profit of [euro]750 million for...

SAS Group.(EUROPE Report)(financial results)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... SAS Group reported third-quarter net income of SEK604 million ($84.3 million), up 14.2% from SEK529 million in the year-ago quarter, on an 8.9% rise in revenues to SEK18.04 billion. Acting President and CEO Gunnar Reitan called the results...

EasyJet.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... EasyJet celebrated a 59.5% surge in fiscal year profit to [pounds sterling]94.1 million ($178.9 million) from [pounds sterling]59 million last year by firming options on 52 A319s scheduled for delivery between 2008 and 2010 adding 75 new...

Finnair.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Finnair reported a third-quarter net profit of [euro]10.3 million ($13.1 million), narrowed 61% from income of [euro]26.4 million last year, and said it will cut nearly 700 jobs and outsource "some operations" in an effort to lower operating...

Austrian Airlines.(EUROPE Report)(eliminates fleets)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Austrian Airlines supervisory board approved a proposal to eliminate four A330-200s in 2007. With the sale of two remaining A340-300s slated to be completed next year, the long-haul fleet will consist of four 777-200ERs and six 767-300ERs. As a...

Norweglan's.(EUROPE Report)(financial report )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Norwegian's third-quarter profit of NOK27.5 million ($4.2 million) represented a 37.2% drop from net earnings of NOK43.8 million in the year-ago period as expansion weighed on its bottom line. Revenue grew 48.8% to NOK877.8 million but expenses...

Turkish Airlines.(EUROPE Report)(joins Star Alliance Services GmbH)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Turkish Airlines President and CEO Temel Kotil told ATW that the carrier is moving forward with preparations to join the Star Alliance and expects to achieve full membership by the fourth quarter of 2008.

Brussels Airlines.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Brussels Airlines is the new name for the carrier formed through the merger of SN Brussels Express Airlines and Virgin.

FL Group.(EUROPE Report)(Icelandair, Langflug, Naust, Blue-Sky Transport Holding)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... FL Group completed the sale of its 51% stake in Icelandair. It will earn a [euro]305 million ($381.5 million) profit on the [euro]410 million transaction, it said in a statement cited by press reports. The buyers were Langflug (32%), Naust...

Bulgaria Air.(EUROPE Report)(sold to Balkan Hemus Group)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Bulgaria Air will be sold to Balkan Hemus Group, the government announced. Hemus, which outbid Air One for the flag carrier, will buy a 99.99% stake.

German President Horst Koehler.(EUROPE Report)(refuses to sign law)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... German President Horst Koehler refused to sign a law allowing the sale of a stake in Germany's air navigation services provider, saying it was not consistent with the German constitution.

Lufthansa Flight Training.(EUROPE Report)(opens simulator center)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Lufthansa Flight Training opened a new simulator center in Vienna that initially will accommodate one CAE A320 FFS, with a second--either another A320, a 737 or a 767--introduced by next summer depending on demand.

SR Technics Group.(EUROPE Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... SR Technics Group is reorganizing itself by activity rather than country-specific divisions. SR Technics Switzerland, UK and Ireland will continue to exist but will be superceded by the Aircraft Services, Component Services, Engine Services and...

Snecma Services.(EUROPE Report)(signs deal with Travel Service, Air Berlin )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Snecma Services signed a 10-year time and material maintenance contract including on-wing maintenance with Travel Service covering the CFM56-7s powering its 737NGs. Separately, Air Berlin signed a 10-year MRO deal with Snecma covering MRO on...

KLM Engineering & Maintenance and Honeywell.(EUROPE Report)(Honeywell Aerospace)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... KLM Engineering & Maintenance and Honeywell signed a 10-year agreement to establish an APU MRO center at Amsterdam Schiphol. KLM E & M will be an authorized Honeywell MRO center for 737NG, 777, A330 and A340 APUs.

Hamilton Sundstrand.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Hamilton Sundstrand signed a new agreement with KLM E & M to expand and extend its On-Site Support program through 2015.

Lufthansa Technik.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Lufthansa Technik signed a six-year deal with Air Europa covering MRO on landing gear for at least 28 737NGs.

Air France Industries.(EUROPE Report)(has pact with Virgin Atlantic Airways )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Air France Industries announced that Virgin Atlantic Airways chose it to provide total flight hour component support and spares pool access for eight A340s through 2016.

Finnair Technical Services.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Finnair Technical Services signed a three-year general terms maintenance agreement with KLM covering airframe checks on KLM's 10 MD-11s.

Pratt & Whitney.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Pratt & Whitney signed a three-year agreement to provide its EcoPower engine wash services on Martinair's fleet of PW4000, CF6 and V2500 engines.

Sabre Airline Solutions.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Sabre Airline Solutions signed a $3.1 million, five-year deal with Air Italy to implement the SabreSonicPassenger Solutions suite covering reservations, check-in, ticketing and online booking.

Lufthansa Systems.(EUROPE Report)(provides Wind Jet with Lido Route Manual charting solution, FMS services)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Lufthansa Systems will provide WindJet, an Italian LCC, with its Lido Route Manual charting solution, FMS services, Lido Operations Center route planning system and Runway Weight Charts.

Amadeus.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Amadeus said that Icelandair migrated to the Altea Inventory and Revenue Management System.

Aviareps.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Aviareps signed a contract with SunExpress of Turkey to be its GSA in Austria.

Groundforce.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Groundforce and various subsidiaries announced new ground handling contracts with Clickair, Emirates, LatCharter, AtlasJet and Copa Airlines.

Aviapartner.(EUROPE Report)
December 1, 2006... Aviapartner will invest in excess of [euro]2 million ($2.5 million) to expand its warehouse capacity at Frankfurt International Airport's South cargo terminal.

Hochtief.(EUROPE Report)(Hochtief AG, BAA Plc)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Hochtief announced that a consortium led by its Hochtief AirPort subsidiary signed an MOU with BAA for the "potential acquisition" of BAA's 75%-minus-one-share stake in Budapest Ferihegy Airport, for which BAA paid [pounds sterling]1.26 billion...

Japan Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Japan Airlines Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Japan Airlines earned [yen]28.2 billion ($239.2 million) in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, a figure calculated by ATW based on the carrier's half-year results. For the six-month period, JAL posted a [yen]1.5 billion profit, reversing...

ANA Group.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... ANA Group posted a record first-half profit of [yen]33.2 billion ($282.7 million) for the period ended Sept. 30, up 68.8% over the [yen]19.7 billion earned last year. The increase was due in part to an extraordinary loss in the previous fiscal...

Singapore Airlines Group.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Singapore Airlines Group earned S$293.2 million ($186.7 million) in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, down 14.6% from a S$343.2 million profit last year, a decline it attributed to higher fuel costs. Revenues rose 7.7% to S$3.61 billion...

Jet Airways.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Jet Airways lost INR551 million ($12.1 million) in the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, reversing a INR686 million profit in the year-ago period. It cited dramatic capacity increases and a "softening yield environment" for the downturn....

Air China.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Air China posted a CNY3.3 billion ($417.5 million) profit in the third quarter. A comparison with the year-ago period was not provided. Third-quarter revenues were CNY13.94 billion. Nine-month profit was CNY3.35 billion on revenues of CNY34.81...

China Southern.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... China Southern said it posted a CNY1.29 billion ($163.1 million) profit in the third quarter to Sept. 30, up 51.4% from CNY852 million last year, according to a statement cited in a press report. Revenue rose 21.8% to CNY13.89 billion....

China Eastern.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)(China Eastern Airlines Corporation Ltd. appoints Cao Jianxiong as president)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... China Eastern recorded a CNY491.5 million ($62.6 million) profit in the quarter, down from CNY673.2 million last year. Revenues climbed 24.9% to CNY10.34 billion. It lost CNY970.2 million in the nine months compared to a CNY262.7 million profit...

Qantas.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
December 1, 2006... Qantas said it would withdraw its application for approal of a transtasman codesharing alliance with Air New Zealand following a negative draft determination by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that said the Tasman Networks...

Cathay Pacific.(shares in China National Aviation Co. donated)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Cathay Pacific donated its 64.7 million shares in China National Aviation Co., which is being taken over by Air China, to a host of charitable organizations. Under terms of the Hong Kong Takeovers Code, Cathay was forbidden from tendering its...

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines.(ASIA/PACIFIC Report)
December 1, 2006... Oasis Hong Kong Airlines launched operations between Hong Kong and London Gatwick in late October.

LAN Airlines.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... LAN Airlines more than doubled its third-quarter net income to $51.5 million from $23.8 million in the year-ago period as revenues grew 22.6% to $762.3 million. Operating expenses rose 13% to $691.8 million and operating income widened...

TAM.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)(TAM Brazil's sales, earnings)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... TAM more than doubled its third-quarter net profit to BRL212.7 million ($99.2 million) from BRL93.3 million in the year-ago quarter on a 34.8% jump in revenues to BRL2.08 billion. Expenses climbed 26% to BRL1.73 billion and operating income...

Gol.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)(Gol Transportes Aereos)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Gol ended a third quarter touched by tragedy with a profit of BRL190 million ($88.6 million), a 37.5% increase from BRL138.2 million in the year-ago quarter. That achievement was overshadowed, however, by the Sept. 29 midair collision and crash...

Mexicana Airlines.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)
December 1, 2006... Mexicana Airlines reached a cost-cutting agreement with its pilots that it said lowers expenses by $50 million annually.

LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador will join oneworld as affiliate members "as soon as the necessary joining technicalities can be completed," which the alliance said would be "as early as possible" next year.

Consorcio Aeromexico.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)
December 1, 2006... Consorcio Aeromexico, holding company for Aeromexico and Aeroliteral, reported third-quarter net income of MXN124 million ($11.4 million), narrowed from MXN263 million in the year-ago quarter, according to Reuters. Revenues were down 0.7% to...

VEM Maintenance & Engineering.(LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN Report)
December 1, 2006... VEM Maintenance & Engineering appointed Filipe Morais de Almeida CEO. He replaces Evandro Braga de Oliveira.

Emirates.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(Emirates SkyCargo, Emirates Airline)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Emirates reported a $323 million net profit for the first half of its fiscal year, widened from $251 million a year ago, on a 30% jump in revenues to $3.67 billion, marking the highest first-half profit in its history. For the six months ended...

Kenya Airways.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Kenya Airways earned KES2.43 billion ($33.6 million) in the fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, an 8.9% increase. Revenues rose 12.3% to KES28.47 billion. Operating profit was up 0.2% to KES4.09 billion.

ADC Airlines 737-200.(AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Report)(crashes during takeoff)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... ADC Airlines 737-200 crashed during takeoff in Abuja, Nigeria, Oct. 29, killing at least 98 of 106 onboard and one person on the ground. Weather was described as poor. Flight 53 originated in Lagos.

FedEx Express.(CARGO)(signs deal to acquire Prakash Air Freight)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... FedEx Express signed an agreement last month to acquire its Indian service provider, Prakash Air Freight, for $30 million in cash, subject to Indian regulatory approval.

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings.(CARGO)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, reported third-quarter net income of $7.1 million, significantly narrowed from a $29.9 million profit in the year-ago period on lower military charter "heavy-lift"...

UPS.(CARGO)(United Parcel Service of America Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... UPS earned $1.04 billion in the third quarter, an 8.9% rise from $953 million in the year-ago period on a 10.5% increase in revenues to $11.66 billion.

ANA.(CARGO)
December 1, 2006... ANA will exercise two of four 767-300BCF options with delivery by March 31, 2010, bringing the number of firm orders to five.

ABX Air.(CARGO)
December 1, 2006... ABX Air earned $6.6 million in the September quarter, down 10.8% from the year-ago period, on a 24% drop in revenues to $281.3 million.

Airbus.(EQUIPMENT)(signs deal with China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group Corp., Shanghai Airlines )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Airbus and China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group Corp. signed a general terms agreement for 150 A320s and an LOI for 20 A350 XWBs. Shanghai Airlines said it will take five A321s from CASGC's 2005 order for 150 A320 family jets.

Skybus Airlines.(EQUIPMENT)(orders for delivery of A319s)(Singapore Technologies Aerospace, Messier Bugatti provide services for Airbus's aircraft)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Skybus Airlines, a proposed US startup, ordered 65 A319s with deliveries in late 2008. Airbus announced a 12-year Total Support Package for the aircraft, with services provided by Singapore Technologies Aerospace and Messier Bugatti.

EasyJet.(EQUIPMENT)
December 1, 2006... EasyJet ordered 52 A319s, bringing its total orders for the type to 192. It took options on another 75.