AirlinesAir China boosts international schedules Air China plans to introduce a 4X-weekly Beijing-Kuala Lumpur nonstop from the end of October. The service will be complemented by an additional four flights to New York from Beijing—also starting end October—to give an 11X-weekly service to the North American hub.
LinkAir France offers to limit job cuts to 1,000 Air France will limit job cuts to 1,000 from its original plan to cut 2,900 jobs as part of its cost-cutting measures in 2016-17. The job cuts will be voluntary, but only if a union agreement can been reached by January 2016, CEO Frédéric Gagey told reporters after a Central Works Council meeting Thursday evening. Gagey told Reuters that Air France has seen an improvement in its operations since the summer, but needs to press ahead with restructuring to reach medium-term goals.
LinkAmerican 3Q net profit up 80%; touts res system cutover successAmerican Airlines Group reported third-quarter net income of $1.69 billion, up 79.8% over a net profit of $942 million in the 2014 September quarter. This brings its nine-month 2015 net income to $4.33 billion. American executives told reporters and analysts the company had reached a major milestone Oct. 17 when it successfully cutover US Airways’ reservations system to American’s Sabre system, officially ending the US Airways brand. President Scott Kirby said American has had an 89.4% on-time performance and 99.5% completion rate since the cutover.
LinkAmerican Profit Surges, Launches Bare-Bones AirfaresAmerican Airlines reported third quarter earnings up 80 percent to USD$1.7 billion, on lower fuel prices. American Airlines also said it will roll out bare-bones fares in 2016, matching competitors' prices on any non-stop route.
LinkThe brilliance in American’s reservation cutoverDid you hear that? If you reply “what?”, then that’s the point. The world’s largest airline, American Airlines, completed the final and most challenging step in its merger-acquisition with US Airways at the weekend – the cutover to a single reservation system. And the sound of silence since that cutover is proof of what can only be described as the most meticulously planned and executed airline mergers ever. Despite the scale of the operation, Doug Parker’s team this month proved that they knew the challenges that lay ahead, correctly identified the pain points, and rightly identified the approaches and solutions that would get them through the various integration steps.
LinkAmerican takes Spirit seriouslyThe notion that ultra low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines isn’t taking passengers away from major US airlines and isn’t in direct competition with them—promulgated by both Spirit and major US carriers in the past—is no longer germane. American Airlines president Scott Kirby has made clear that American considers Spirit a very serious competitor and, in fact, is planning to roll out a new fare model next year primarily to enable it to better compete against Spirit and other US ULCCs.
LinkEtihad wins injunction to continue airberlin codeshare flightsA German court has granted Etihad Airways temporary permission to continue operating all codeshare flights with airberlin to destinations in Europe, the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Etihad, which welcomed the ruling, had applied for the injunction after waiting since April for approval on the codeshare flights. Ethad owns a 29.2% stake in German carrier airberlin, which is one of Etihad's partner carriers.
LinkAustrian regional InterSky could lose AOC by Nov. 3The Austrian Ministry of Transport said it will cancel Austrian regional InterSky’s air operator’s certificate (AOC) if it does not declare it has enough money to operate by Nov. 3. In addition, Austrian media outlets have reported InterSky’s AOC will be canceled if it fails to sell, which would generate enough cash to keep it operating.
LinkCebu pilot misinterpreted runway lights before A320 excursionPilots of a Cebu Pacific Airbus A320 should have executed a go-around rather than pursue an unstable approach into Davao, which resulted in a runway excursion that damaged the jet. The aircraft passed through a burst of intense rain as it neared touchdown and the captain “misconstrued” runway edge lights as centerline lights, states the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
LinkDelta Air Lines' Challenge to Alaska Air Keeps GrowingAs recently as 2013, Delta Air Lines operated just 40 daily departures in Seattle. However, the company has been rapidly building a hub in Seattle since then, reaching a new high of 128 daily departures this summer. Delta's sudden growth spurt in Seattle has put pressure on hometown airline Alaska Air Group. Alaska is still top dog in Seattle -- its main hub -- with more than 250 daily departures and growing, but it no longer dominates the market as it did just a few years ago.
LinkEngine Alert Forces Ethiopian 787 Back To DublinTechnical experts were trying to discover the cause of an engine problem on an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner stranded in Dublin after being forced to turn back over the Atlantic on Friday. The crew of the 787 returned to the Irish capital after the plane's left engine signaled a fault following a scheduled stopover en route from Addis Ababa to Washington.
LinkOman Air firms order for 20 Boeing 737sMuscat-based Oman Air has firmed an order for 20 new Boeing 737s, according to Boeing’s Orders and Deliveries report of Oct. 20. The order was originally placed in March. According to an earlier statement from Oman Air CEO Paul Gregorowitsch, the aircraft are a mix of current-generation variants and the new generation 737 MAX. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2017, with the MAX variant due in 2019.
LinkAeroflot LCC subsidiary Pobeda gains international status Russian authorities have granted permission for Aeroflot low-cost subsidiary (LCC) Pobeda Airlines to operate international flights. As a result, the carrier will launch 14X-weekly Moscow-Minsk Boeing 737 service; 7X-weekly Moscow-Cologne and Moscow-Dresden service; 10X-weekly Moscow-Bratislava service; and 17 Moscow-Chamberi flights from Dec.12 through March 26, 2016.
LinkTigerair trims 2Q loss to $8.93 million Singapore-based low-cost carrier Tiger Airways Holdings reported a S$12.8 million ($8.93 million) second quarter 2016 net loss, down 93% from a $143 million loss in the year-ago period. The airline said the results were due to better performance in overall airline operations, and the lack of special provision for aircraft leases and part sale of Tigerair Australia that were included in last year’s 2Q figures.
LinkUnited Reaches Tentative Deal With Maintenance WorkersUnited Airlines has reached a tentative deal with the union representing its maintenance workers, paving the way for a wage increase and the first contract to cover technicians from both United and Continental since the airlines merged in 2010. The deal provides for a 25 percent raise for United's highest-earning technicians, to USD$46.15 per hour, according to an email the company sent to employees. It also includes an offer for a USD$100,000 buyout for at least some workers and furlough protection.
LinkUnited Continental Recovery Still a Long Way OffWhile much of the airline industry is enjoying healthy profits, United Continental is still charting a course to sustainable growth. The carrier reported another quarter of choppy results on Thursday morning. Overall revenue fell 2.4% year-over-year to $10.306 billion while passenger revenue fell 3.8% to $8.96 billion over the same period. Per-share earnings adjusted for one-time items and non-cash charges jumped to $4.53 from $2.75 a year ago. Nevertheless, analysts tracked by S&P Capital IQ were expecting $10.309 billion and $4.55 per share, respectively.
LinkUPS pilots vote to authorize strike; UPS cautions vote is ‘symbolic’United Parcel Service (UPS) Airlines pilots have voted to authorize a strike, though a number of steps remain before the flight deck crew can actually strike. The 2,252-8 vote gives the executive board of the Independent Pilots Association (IPA), the union representing UPS pilots, the right to request a release from talks mediated by the US National Mediation Board (NMB). Only if NMB grants the release would the pilots be able to strike. NMB has scheduled talks in November and December, so the release request would likely not come until those negotiations have occurred.
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