AirlinesAir Berlin sells Niki as Etihad approves new leisure airlineAir Berlin Group has agreed to sell its shareholding in low-cost Austrian operator Niki to the United Arab Emirates’ Etihad Aviation Group as part of a scheme to create a new European airline. The 49.8% shareholding will be transferred to Etihad Investment Holding Company, but this entity – in line with European ownership regulations – will not have a majority in Niki, nor control the airline.
LinkCityJet calls off Stobart Air acquisition talksIrish regional airline CityJet has withdrawn from talks to acquire UK regional Stobart Air, formerly known as Aer Arann, saying the negotiations were taking too long. “In my experience, most significant corporate transactions have a certain life and, if completion is not reached within that window, the dynamics shift and people tend to move on. Naturally, we are very disappointed as we have been highly motivated to try to finalize this deal. We saw Stobart Air as a really good fit for our growing business,” CityJet executive chairman and CEO Pat Byrne said.
LinkEVA Air posts $79 million 3Q net profitTaiwan’s EVA Air posted a TWD2.5 billion ($79 million) net profit for the third quarter of 2016, up 1.9% year-over-year (YOY). The airline reported third-quarter revenues of TWD38.9 billion, up 8% from TWD36 billion in 3Q 2015. Operating expenses totaled TWD35.5 billion, a 7.8% increase over the 2015 September quarter, and EVA Air’s operating income grew 9.9%, to TWD3.4 billion.
LinkHawaiian Airlines to add A330s, A321neos; pilots issue strike warningHawaiian Airlines has agreed to purchase an additional Airbus A330-200, bringing its A330 fleet to 24 by the end of the fourth quarter of 2017. The Honolulu-based carrier will also lease two more A321neos. According to Hawaiian, the newly ordered aircraft will enable it to early retire its Boeing 767 fleet by the end of 2018.
LinkDOT grants Norwegian permit to begin US servicesNorwegian Air International (NAI) has been granted approval to begin flights between Ireland and the US after a three-year process in which the US Department of Transportation (DOT) seemed reluctant to give the go-ahead despite being unable to find any legal reason to reject the application. In a dramatic turnaround Dec. 2, DOT announced it was granting NAI a foreign air permit. The announcement came just days after the European Commission (EC) said it would take the US to court over the application delay.
LinkSouthwest Airlines rolling out new reservation systemSouthwest Airlines will begin to roll out a new domestic reservations system that will be used to sell tickets beginning this month. Southwest estimates the new system could drive an additional $500 million in earnings by 2020.
LinkUnited technicians ratify contract; airline achieves labor peaceUnited Airlines’ 9,000 technicians and related employees, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, ratified a new six-year joint contract Dec. 5. “[The] package [is] worth a collective $1.7 billion in improvements in compensation and benefits over the current agreement,” Teamsters airline division director David Bourne said. “[It is] the largest contract for a mechanics group in airline industry history.”
LinkUnited agrees to pay second fine related to Newark-Columbia flightUnited Airlines has agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle civil charges related to a money-losing flight it operated to “curry favor” with former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNY) chairman David Samson, according to a statement from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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