AirlinesAir Astana extends pan-Asia-Europe connections Kazakhstan flag carrier Air Astana is aiming to boost its connecting traffic between Asia and Eastern Europe by up 24,000 passengers by the end of 2017, following the opening of a new Almaty-Teheran route earlier this month. The new Teheran 3X-weekly Teheran-Almaty schedule uses Embraer E190 aircraft configured in a two-class, 97-seat layout.
LinkAlaska invites students for first flight aboard 737-900ERAlaska Airlines recently hosted 25 Washington fifth-graders for the inaugural passenger flight of its new 737-900ER, featuring a paint job in celebration of Boeing's century in business. Four former state governors and CEOs from Alaska Airlines and Boeing were on board.
LinkAlaska Airlines to connect San Diego, Newark beginning in NovemberAlaska Airlines has announced new direct service connecting San Diego, Calif., and Newark, N.J. This service will begin operating Nov. 21.
LinkAmerican 2Q net profit down 44%; not worried about BrexitAmerican Airlines reported a 2016 second-quarter net profit of $950 million, down 44.3% from $1.7 billion in net income in the 2015 June quarter, as revenue fell 4.3% year-over-year to $10.36 billion. The Dallas/Fort Worth-based airline noted that the quarter’s earnings were negatively affected by a $541 million non-cash tax provision that CFO Derek Kerr said skews year-over-year comparisons. He argued that a more accurate indicator is pre-tax profit excluding special items; on that basis, American earned $1.5 billion in the second quarter, down slightly from a $1.6 billion profit on a similar basis in the prior-year period.
LinkAmerican defers A350 deliveries, pushes first from 2017 to late 2018American Airlines has reached an agreement with Airbus to defer its first A350-900 delivery from the spring of 2017 to late 2018, and on average will take delivery of its 22 A350s 26 months later than previously planned.
LinkCzech Airlines predicts full-year profit Czech Airlines recorded its best half-yearly results in a decade, showing a net profit of CZK72.4 million ($2.9 million) for the first half of 2016, the Prague-based carrier said July 21. It did not give a comparative figure for the same period in 2015, but said its operating profit improved to CZK47.3 million, compared to a loss of CZK154.1 million for 1H 2015. The figures came from unaudited results, it said.
LinkFastjet gets new share issue African low-cost carrier (LCC) fastjet has raised a new tranche of capital through a share placement. The airline—which aims to be a pan-African company but has had a stuttering start because of several factors including difficulties in the economies of nations where it is operating—placed 30 million new ordinary shares, raiding gross proceeds of £15 million ($19.6 million).
LinkHawaiian Airlines posts $80 million 2Q net profitHawaiian Airlines’ parent Hawaiian Holdings reported a 2016 second-quarter net profit of $79.6 million, up 62.9% from its $48.8 million net profit in the year-ago quarter. Hawaiian president and CEO Mark Dunkerley said the 2Q results were driven by “moderate industry capacity through the majority of our network [and] lower fuel costs.”
LinkJetBlue, El Al team up to foster aviation technologyJetBlue Technology Ventures and El Al have teamed up to create a new program dubbed Navigator with the goal of fostering aviation technology. Startups in the aviation technology field will be eligible for the program, which will include innovations in aviation safety, baggage handling and scheduling.
LinkKenya Airways reports $252 million loss for FY2015-16Kenya Airways posted a net loss of KSh26 billion ($252 million) for the 2015-16 financial year to March 31, virtually identical to last year’s loss of KSh25.7 billion, which was the largest loss in Kenyan corporate history. Since then, the airline has been engaged in a turnaround process that has involved redundancies and shedding of capacity to both US and Middle East carriers, as well as the sale of a lucrative slot at London Heathrow airport.
LinkSearch for MH370 may be suspendedSenior ministers from Australia, Malaysia and China announced July 22 that the search for Malaysia Airlines MH370 will be suspended if no new credible evidence of the missing Boeing 777 is recovered once the remaining 10,000 sq km in the high priority search area is completed. The ministers—Malaysian Minister of Transport Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai, Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester, and Chinese Minister of Transport Yang Chuantang—gathered in Putrajaya, Malaysia July 22 to discuss the situation in the event MH370 is not located.
LinkSouthwest flight cancellations continue following tech disruptionSouthwest Airlines canceled at least 300 additional flights Friday, July 22, as the airline continued to deal with lingering disruptions following its systemwide technology breakdown Wednesday, July 20. The cancellations were primarily the result of displaced flight crews, Southwest said.
LinkMexico’s Volaris doubles 2Q net profitMexican ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) Volaris posted net income of MXP935 million ($50 million) for the 2016 second quarter, more than doubling its MXP351 million net profit reported in 2Q 2015. Volaris said its 2Q results were driven by rising passenger traffic (which increased 24% year-over-year) and non-ticket revenue growth (up 34.7% year-over-year).
LinkTianjin Airlines to expand long-haul fleetChina’s HNA Group subsidiary Tianjin Airlines plans to expand its long-haul Airbus A330 fleet to 10 aircraft as it accelerates its international expansion pace. Tianjin Airlines president Liu Lu said the carrier plans to open more international routes to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Melbourne, Auckland and other European cities over the next five years.
Link 
