AirlinesAlaska loyalty program named industry's bestAlaska Airlines' Mileage Plan has been named the best loyalty program by FlyerTalk. American Airlines' AAdvantage program won the award for the previous five years.
LinkAlitalia Staff To Vote On Union DealAlitalia and its unions have reached agreement in mediated talks that, if approved, should allow the airline’s owners to invest more money in the struggling flag carrier. The tentative agreement reached in the early hours of Friday morning will limit the total number of job losses to 1,700, down from over 2,000 required by Alitalia’s business plan.
LinkChina Eastern, China Southern to invest in new Beijing airportChina Eastern and China Southern airlines have won approval from the National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC) to invest in Beijing’s new airport, which is expected to open in 2019. Shanghai-based China Eastern and Guangzhou-based China Southern will invest CNY13.2 billion ($1.9 billion) and CNY14.8 billion, respectively, in the yet-to-be-named airport in an effort to enhance their positions in the Beijing market.
LinkEVA Air posts $107 million net profit for 2016Taiwan’s EVA Air posted a full-year 2016 net profit of TWD3.5 billion ($107 million), down 46% from the company’s TWD6.4 billion 2015 net result. The Taipei-based airline reported TWD115.5 billion in operating revenue for the year, down 0.3% from TWD115.9 billion in revenue for 2015; operating expenses totaled TWD99.6 billion, up 1.1% year-over-year (YOY). EVA’s resulting operating profit for the year came to TWD15.9 billion, down 8.5% from TWD 17.4 billion in 2015.
LinkHorizon Air, pilots’ union reach tentative agreementAlaska Air Group regional subsidiary Horizon Air and its pilots, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, reached a tentative agreement April 14 to amend their existing eight-year contract. In the proposed amendment agreement, Horizon management said it would increase salaries and bonus provisions for Horizon’s pilots, according to an Alaska Airlines statement. If ratified, the agreement will run with the current contract and become amendable in December 2024.
LinkInterjet takes delivery of first A320neoMexico's Interjet has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo. The airline is the first in Mexico to operate the A320neo powered by CFM Leap-1A engines.
LinkJetBlue, Boeing invest in electric-jet startupJetBlue and Boeing have invested in Zunum Aero, a startup that is working on building an electric-powered aircraft with a 1,000-mile range by 2030. Zunum says one of its goals is to allow for more routes between smaller airports.
LinkUnited 1Q net profit down 69%; Munoz calls Dao incident ‘watershed’United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said United Express flight 3411, from which passenger David Dao was violently dragged after being involuntarily bumped on April 9, “will prove to be a watershed moment for our company.” The comment came in United’s first-quarter earnings release, in which the Chicago-based airline reported a net profit of $96 million, down 69.3% from $313 million in net income in the 2016 March quarter. Sharp rises in fuel costs and higher labor expenses appeared to drive the profit decline as growth in expenses outpaced the rate of revenue gains.
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