NEWSILFC sues Udvar-Hazy and Air Lease Corp, alleging theft of trade secretsInternational Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) and its parent American International Group (AIG) have filed a civil lawsuit in a Los Angeles court against Air Lease Corp. (ALC) and its chairman and CEO, Steven Udvar-Hazy, as well as a number of other top ALC executives, seeking damages that it said may reach “several hundreds of millions” of dollars “or more.”
LinkUnited Continental reports steep 1Q loss, cites systems integration costs
United Continental Holdings (UCH) incurred a first-quarter net loss of $448 million, widened from a net deficit of $213 million in the prior-year period. It blamed the poor results on costs associated with the ongoing integration of United Airlines and Continental Airlines.
LinkAir China, China Southern 1Q earnings plummet
Air China (CA) and China Southern Airlines (CZ) saw their first-quarter income plunge due to high fuel prices and the slowing of yuan appreciation, according to carrier statements released by Shanghai Stock Exchange. CA reported first-quarter net income of CNY239 million ($37.8 million), down 85.7% over CNY1.67 billion in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenue increased 7.7% to 22.9 billion against an increase of 16.9% in operating expenses to CNY22.71 billion.
LinkChina Eastern To Order 777s, Delay Airbus Deal
China Eastern Airlines is set to place a USD$6 billion order for up to 20 Boeing 777 jets, while simultaneously delaying a recent Airbus deal, people familiar with the matter said.
LinkFirst South Carolina 787 ready to roll for delivery customer Air IndiaThe first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to be assembled at the company’s Charleston, S.C. production facility will be rolled out Friday. A Boeing representative confirmed that the customer is Air India.
LinkEU To Discuss Sharing Of Airline Data To Fight CrimeThe European Union restarted talks on Thursday to establish an EU system for sharing airline passenger data to counter terrorist attacks and trafficking of drugs and people.
LinkLAX Screeners Arrested On Drug, Corruption ChargesTwo security screeners at Los Angeles Airport have been arrested on drug trafficking and corruption charges, accused of taking bribes to allow large narcotic shipments through the airport.
LinkLufthansa Says No Decision On Job CutsLufthansa said it is still evaluating how many jobs it would cut as part of a cost-saving initiative, in response to a report that Germany’s biggest airline plans to slash about 3,000 administrative jobs.
LinkBoeing confirms long-haul 757 replacement studyBoeing chief executive Jim McNerney confirms a replacement for the long-haul 757-200 market segment is being studied internally, adding potentially a new layer to the 737 Max concept. The 757-200 ceased production in 2004, and was replaced on domestic routes largely by either the 737-900ER or the Airbus A321. But US carriers have also introduced the 757-200 on long-haul routes, flying between East Coast cities and Europe and West Coast cities and Hawaii.
LinkIndia Mirage crashes blamed on ‘technical defects’India has attributed two crashes involving Dassault Mirage 2000 aircraft to technical faults, with the fleet remaining grounded as a precautionary measure. "[During the current financial year] two Mirage 2000 aircraft have crashed," says defence minister AK Antony in response to a parliamentary question. "Technical defects were the cause of both accidents."
LinkPanetta pitches Boeing to BrazilDuring a trip to Rio de Janeiro this week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged Brazil to choose Boeing to supply fighter jets that the nation intends to buy. The offer for the Super Hornet fighters "contains an unprecedented advanced technology sharing that is reserved for only our closest allies and partners," Panetta said.
LinkIndustry experts question accuracy of FAA near-miss dataThe Federal Aviation Administration's reporting of near misses has come under scrutiny by industry watchdogs. Jeffrey B. Guizetti, assistant inspector general for aviation, says error rates will likely increase once automatic tracking software is installed. "The chances of a collision on the ground or in the air is low, but if it does occur, there will be a catastrophic loss of life," he said.
LinkCape Canaveral launch schedule is busy in MayUnited Launch Alliance is launching an Atlas V rocket on May 3 and SpaceX is launching a Falcon 9 rocket on May 7, making next month a busy one at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. United Launch Alliance's rocket will carry a military communications satellite and the Falcon 9 will carry an unmanned capsule to the International Space Station, this feature says.
LinkNASA is on track with tests of Space Launch System using ATK motorsNASA in 2017 will run test flights of its new Space Launch System, which uses rocket motors made by defense and aerospace contractor Alliant Techsystems. The move is positive news for ATK, which previously made motors for the now-shelved space shuttles. "We are absolutely on schedule and have our next ground test for the five-segment booster scheduled for next summer. And just three weeks ago we completed a major avionics test for the system," said George Torres of ATK.
LinkUnited Continental reports quarterly loss of $448MUnited Continental Holdings has reported a loss of $448 million for its first quarter. The loss stemmed partly from integration and merger costs, including a switch to a single reservations system. "This was a difficult quarter, but we made significant progress with our integration and we're now able to serve our customers as a single airline," said President and CEO Jeff Smisek.
LinkUS Airways predicts American merger would create $1.2B in valueUS Airways says a merger with American Airlines would create $1.2 billion a year in new value and would reduce labor costs. "There is a tremendous amount of value created by merging US Airways and AMR, and we can and should use a portion of that to give employees more than AMR can on a stand-alone basis," said US Airways President Scott Kirby. An AMR representative didn't respond to Kirby's comment.
LinkAllegiant 1Q earnings increase 26.5% Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Company, parent of Allegiant Air (G4), reported earnings of $21.7 million for the first quarter, up 26.5% compared to $17.2 million in the year-ago period.
LinkBoeing backs American Airlines as a solo actBoeing serves as a creditor to AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines. Boeing says it supports American's plan to emerge from bankruptcy as a stand-alone carrier, rather than merge with US Airways. "American is working through the process now and we support them emerging from this thing as a stronger airline," said Boeing CEO Jim McNerney.
LinkN.Y. lawmaker introduces legislation in effort to reduce bird strikesSen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has proposed legislation that would allow the removal of Canada geese from a wildlife refuge near a New York airport in a bid to reduce the number of bird strikes on planes. The Federal Aviation Administration this year has received reports of 1,090 bird strikes through March 31.
LinkEU would protect itself from retaliation for ETS, official saysThe European Union would protect itself if countries retaliated against its emissions-trading scheme, an official said. "If this moment comes, we would not hesitate to protect our interest," said Mary Veronica Tovsak Pleterski, director of carbon markets at the European Commission.
LinkFee by Hawaii on air cargo operators is voidedA federal judge has issued a permanent injunction against Hawaii barring the state from charging air cargo operators a fee. Airlines for America filed a lawsuit to stop the fee in 2010. The pest inspection, quarantine and eradication fee was approved by state legislators in 2007.
LinkAirlines fight higher cost of fuel with additional feesAirlines are turning to luggage fees and change fees to offset the high cost of fuel. "As with other corporations, airlines are like other companies: They have responsibilities to their shareholders to make a profit and some [companies] have had to make individual decisions how to reach that goal," said Steve Lott, vice president of communications for Airlines for America.
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