Star Alliance News

[Pieter C. 5]

UAL, CAL Putting Together Management Team

 

June 10, 2010

 

United Airlines and Continental Airlines were busy assembling a management team for what will be the world's largest carrier once their merger is official, the chief executive of United's parent UAL said on Thursday.

 

Speaking to reporters after UAL's annual shareholders meeting near Chicago, Glenn Tilton said he and Continental CEO Jeff Smisek, who will head the new company -- United Continental Holdings -- were evaluating executives currently on their staffs.

 

Tilton, who will be chairman of the new company, said they aim to have the new management ready to work by the time the deal closes later this year.

 

"Jeff and I are committed to equal representation at the top of the new company," Tilton said.

 

The airlines announced in May that UAL would buy Continental for USD$3.17 billion in an all-stock deal. The carriers say there is minimal overlap in their operations and that rank-and-file employees would see little impact to their numbers.

 

But Tilton has said there would be reductions among salaried and management employees.

 

Tilton said United Airlines President John Tague, whom many industry experts had believed was being groomed for the CEO job at UAL, would have strong professional options after the merger. But Tilton declined to say specifically whether Tague would help run the new airline.

 

Integration planning for the two airlines was under way, Tilton said, adding that the carriers were mapping their functions and establishing integration teams.

 

UAL and Continental have hired Bain & Company as the integration consultant.

 

"It's an art form," Tilton said. "It's planning and integration itself."

 

Speaking to shareholders during the meeting, Tilton reiterated that consolidation would help stabilise the industry, which has been battered in recent years by overcapacity, low-fare competition and an economic recession that drained travel demand.

 

"Without this merger we would not be as effective a competitor as we can be," Tilton said. "We must continue to change."

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

Lufthansa starts A380 service, says flights are 'fully booked'

 

June 14, 2010

 

Lufthansa operated its first scheduled A380 flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo Narita with 520 passengers and 22 crew onboard.

 

Thrice-weekly service on the route will become daily on Aug. 4 following delivery of LH's second A380 by the end of July. Its third will operate between FRA and Beijing thrice-weekly beginning Aug. 25 and its fourth will fly between FRA and Johannesburg thrice-weekly from Oct. 25.

 

LH last week flew its A380 from the Berlin Air Show to Brussels to show the aircraft to the Belgian market, part of its tour of European cities prior to Friday's service launch. It is configured with 526 seats: Eight first class and 98 business class on the upper deck and 420 economy on the lower deck."The [FRA-NRT] flight is almost fully booked through September with very strong bookings in first class," LH Chief Pilot and COO Juergen Raps told ATW Daily News onboard the flight from Berlin Schoenefeld to BRU.

 

The LH A380's visit to Brussels "proves that Brussels Airlines plays an important role in Lufthansa's global network and that Brussels has a place in its multihub strategy," Brussels Airlines Co-CEO Bernard Gustin told this website during the flight. "We are too small to operate the A380 ourselves, but through our partnership with Lufthansa we are able to offer this fantanstic product to our clients."

 

SN will add its code to LH's A380 FRA-NRT service as well as the planned service to Johannesburg, he said. "Subject to traffic rights, we want to maximize codesharing on Lufthansa's global network."

[Pieter C. 5]

United, Continental Grilled On Merger

 

June 16, 2010

 

Senior executives of United Airlines and Continental Airlines sparred with irritated US lawmakers on Wednesday over their planned merger, drawing a threat for closer industry regulation if the deal goes through.

 

United's Glenn Tilton and his counterpart at Continental, Jeff Smisek, received a frosty reception from the House of Representatives aviation subcommittee, and faced the sharpest public questioning yet on specifics of the deal.

 

They later appeared before the House Judiciary Committee where members raised similar questions about service, job protection and competition in an industry that is consolidating at the top and fragmented at the bottom.

 

"United and Continental are repeating a strategic move that many airlines before them have made that has brought sustained success to none," said Representative James Oberstar, who as Transportation Committee chairman is influential on aviation matters.

 

Oberstar, who says the United/Continental deal will harm competition and raise fares, said he would explore legislation to stiffen regulation if the deal is approved. Oberstar voted for airline deregulation 30 years ago, but said he did not envision an industry of mergers and mega-carriers.

 

"When I cast my vote, I expected the antitrust laws to be vigorously enforced, as did others," said Oberstar, whose home-state airline, Northwest, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008. He also opposed that deal.

 

If the deal is approved by antitrust officials at the Justice Department, United/Continental operating as new United would join Delta and American Airlines as the three largest domestic US carriers. They would hold a combined 35 percent share of the market and new United would command about half of that.

 

Tilton and Smisek told the aviation and judiciary panels that the merger was necessary to compete effectively with American, Delta, Germany's Lufthansa, and Air France-KLM.

 

"This is a brutally competitive industry. It is today and will be after this merger," Smisek said.

 

Congress cannot block the merger. The US has approved two big mergers and several alliances since 2005.

 

The Senate Commerce Committee will review the United/Continental proposal at a hearing on Thursday.

 

At the tense transportation subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, which some experts say could be vulnerable to job and service cuts as a result of the merger, said he would investigate Continental's marketing alliance with United.

 

Kucinich, who chairs the domestic policy subcommittee, questioned why Continental would tell regulators in 2009 they did not want to merge and reverse the decision a year later.

 

"It is easy to see that the merger was Continental's plan all along," Kucinich said.

 

Northwest and Delta also forged an alliance before their merger. Continental backed out of merger discussions with United two years ago over concerns about United's finances, which have since improved.

 

Tilton and Smisek tangled with Representatives John Garamendi and John Boccieri over safety, including outsourcing some United maintenance work to China.

 

Smisek was grilled on pilot training following the February 2009 midair stall and crash of a plane operated by Continental regional partner Colgan Air near Buffalo that killed 49 people. Family members of some of the victims of Flight 3407 attended the hearing.

 

Smisek called the crash tragic and regrettable, and said Continental was not aware that the pilots of the ill-fated aircraft were undertrained, as US crash investigators concluded.

 

Smisek said individual airlines should ensure safe operations, but training oversight industrywide is the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

Thai Airways Says Unrest Hit Q2 Revenue

 

June 17, 2010

 

Thai Airways said on Thursday its second-quarter revenue and its cabin factor would be hit, mainly by recent political unrest and the tourist low season.

 

The national carrier expected its percentage of seats sold, or cabin factor, to be 60 percent in the April-June quarter, down from 81 percent in the first quarter, President Piyasvasti Amranand told reporters.

 

"The recent political unrest has slashed a lot of revenue we should earn in the second quarter," Piyasvasti said, referring to anti-government protests in Bangkok from March to May which ended with a military crackdown and violence.

 

Early this month, the airline said it expected its second-quarter performance this year would be roughly the same as the same period of last year.

 

It reported a loss of THB5.4 billion baht (USD$167 million) in the second quarter of 2009, hit partly by political unrest and the H1N1 flu outbreak.

 

The company is due to announce its second-quarter results in August.

 

In April this year, its cabin factor was 72 percent but it dropped to 56.8 percent in May, Piyasvasti said.

 

"However, it is likely to pick up from July, especially on the flight to Johannesburg," he said. South Africa is hosting the 2010 World Cup.

 

The airline had said in February it was aiming for a 2010 cabin factor of 75 percent, compared with 72 percent in 2009.

 

The national carrier expected a fund-raising plan to be completed in the third quarter, delayed from the middle of the year as initially planned, said an executive who declined to be identified.

 

"We are in the process of filing documents to the stock regulator," the executive said.

 

Thai Airways announced the stock offer in March by selling up to 1 billion new shares to the public and shareholders, including the Finance Ministry, which owns 51 percent of the airline.

 

The move is aimed at strengthening its financial position as it overhauls operations and restructures management.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

UAL/CAL Cite Foreign, Low-Cost Threats

 

June 18, 2010

 

United Airlines and Continental Airlines need to merge to be profitable in competing with low-cost and foreign carriers, executives of the two US major airlines said on Thursday.

 

"Today, international competitors have emerged and powerful new entrants have continued to gain ground," Glenn Tilton, chief executive of United, said during a hearing of the US Senate Commerce Committee.

 

"The merged Continental/United will allow us, as a US carrier, to compete effectively," Continental CEO Jeffery Smisek said, adding that the merger would make the combined airline more "financially viable" than either carrier alone.

 

The merger, announced last month, would create the world's largest airline by revenue and traffic, surpassing Delta Air Lines.

 

If the deal is approved by antitrust officials at the Justice Department, United/Continental -- operating as new United -- would join Delta and American Airlines as the three largest domestic US carriers.

 

They would hold a combined 35 percent share of the market. New United would command about half of that.

 

Some senators strongly opposed the merger, saying it would hurt consumers and reduce competition. Congress cannot block the merger but can influence regulators and public opinion.

 

It was the second straight day of hearings for the two executives, who were grilled by the House of Representatives Transportation and Judiciary committee on Wednesday.

 

Both executives painted a picture of a brutal US airline industry beset with competitors from around the world, forcing already razor-thin margins to be cut and air fares to be pushed lower on an inflation-adjusted basis.

 

Tilton said the major US airlines have been "systematically incapable" of turning even a modest profit.

 

Smisek said more than 85 percent of Continental's nonstop flights have competition from low-cost airlines, such as Southwest Airlines, which carries more passengers than any other airline in the United States.

 

"We have low-cost competition in all of our hubs, as does United Airlines," Smisek said. "We have to compete against those lower costs."

 

'NOT IN GREAT SHAPE'

 

Last month, United and Continental announced they would merge in an all-stock deal worth USD$3.17 billion. The two airlines said they hope to achieve synergies of USD$1 billion to USD$1.2 billion, largely from new business.

 

Low-cost airlines, volatile fuel prices and slumping demand have hammered the US aviation industry in the past decade, executives said during the two-hour hearing in Washington.

 

"We're not in great shape at Continental," Smisek said. "We've lost a lot of money."

 

Tilton pointed to Republic Airways, a regional airline company that bought two carriers last year, as an example of one airline that has boosted its presence in some already competitive markets, such as Milwaukee.

 

An analyst on the panel, Daniel McKenzie of Hudson Securities, said Southwest was in the midst of a transformation that would allow it to enter smaller markets that are typically the province of major airlines and their regional affiliates.

 

"If we're one company, we're going to be much better prepared for whatever the next shock is because everyone in this room knows... that it's coming," Tilton said.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

Swiss to retrofit entire A340 fleet by mid 2011

 

Swiss International Air Lines has no short or medium-term plans to acquire replacements for its Airbus A340 fleet as the carrier instead plans to focus on retrofitting all 15 of its A340-300s with a refreshed premium product by next June.

 

The Star Alliance carrier introduced new first and business class seats last year as it placed into service the first of 10 new A330-300s, which Swiss is using to replace its A330-200s. The first A340-300 with the new product was introduced earlier this month and is currently operating some of the carrier's new Zurich-San Francisco flights. This aircraft has a special one-off San Francisco livery, which features a loud and colourful flowery design.

 

Swiss CEO Harry Hohmeister says the carrier plans to retrofit all the A340-300s by June 2011. He adds with the cabin upgrade, Swiss believes it has a good product to serve the market for the next 10 years, and as a result it is not currently looking to replace any of its A340s in the short or medium-term.

 

"We have no time pressure," Hohmeister said prior to a speech to the International Aviation Club in Washington DC.

 

Swiss has been evaluating the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 for several years as potential long-term replacements for its A340s. Hohmeister says this evaluation continues independent of parent Lufthansa, which also has been evaluating both new aircraft types and has also said it has no short or medium-term plans to acquire new medium-size widebodies.

 

Hohmeister says Swiss plans to complete retrofitting a second A340-300 in August. This aircraft will also be placed on Zurich-San Francisco, allowing Swiss to offer the refreshed product on all six of its weekly flights on the new route. Hohmeister says at the same time some Zurich-Boston flights will also be upgraded to the refreshed A340 because Swiss has a rotation in which the Boston and San Francisco flights use the same group of A340s.

 

Hohmeister says the Zurich-Hong Kong route is next in line to receive the upgraded A340-300. This will occur in the autumn.

 

While all of Swiss' A340 routes will feature the new product by next June, all of the carrier's A330 routes will be upgraded by the end of this year. Hohmeister says Swiss currently has six A330-300s in service and a seventh will be delivered within the next few days. This aircraft will replace an A330-200 currently operating on the Zurich-Nairobi route, leaving Swiss with only two remaining A330-200s.

 

The final three A330-300s from the 10-aircraft acquisition will all be delivered in the second half of this year. Swiss originally indicated its last A330-300 would be delivered in 2011.

 

Hohmeister says two of the A330-300s to be delivered in the second half of this year will be replacement aircraft and the final aircraft will be a growth aircraft. Swiss has not yet decided on a route for the growth aircraft.

 

Swiss' new first-class cabin features lie-flat beds, in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems that offer iPod connectivity and 23in monitors as well as generous work surfaces and storage facilities. The new business-class offering feature seats which fully recline and include air cushions that can be adjusted to passengers' desired comfort level.

 

Hohmeister claims its investment in upgrading its premium product has helped Swiss stay profitable in the current downturn and relevant despite being a small carrier. Swiss was among a minority of European carriers which posted a profit in 2009 and Hohmeister is confident the carrier will stay profitable this year despite "a really rocky start of 2010" due to the volcanic ash cloud, which closed Europe's airspace for several days.

 

He says while the Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern and African markets are now relatively healthy and the US is "quite OK, Europe is still doing very poorly".

[Pieter C. 5]

United, Continental Pilot Negotiations Hit Snag

 

June 26, 2010

 

Efforts by United Airlines and Continental Airlines to reach a joint contract with pilots before concluding their merger have hit a snag, pilots said on Friday.

 

Negotiations on the early stage transition agreement have stalled over issues the pilots say would have little financial impact on the new airline, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said in a statement.

 

"This merger could be simple if the right path is chosen. Regrettably it appears the companies at this early juncture are headed down the wrong path," said Wendy Morse, chairman of the United pilots' union.

 

The airlines announced last month that UAL would buy Continental for USD$3.07 billion in an all-stock deal that would create the world's largest airline. They hope for US government approval of their merger by year's end.

 

The union was not specific about sticking points but said the companies' have not followed through on their promise to negotiate in good faith.

 

United and Continental would not comment on details of the discussions held this week in Denver. But the carriers said in separate statements they were confident a full contract could eventually be reached for all pilots.

 

Integrating union contracts can be one of the toughest aspects of an airline merger.

 

There is no timeframe for resuming discussions with union leaders representing about 5,000 pilots at Continental and 6,500 at United, a source familiar with the matter said.

 

Transition agreements include terms for how unions, in this case pilots, will work separately between the merger closure and the point at which the companies combine their employee groups.

 

This period can last a year or two after which a multi-year contract, or collective bargaining agreement, would come into force. That would also include new terms for wages and benefits.

 

The new airline expects to employ nearly 90,000 people with few cuts expected once the companies formally join forces, executives have said.

 

A smooth integration is crucial for the new United to achieve its projected annual cost savings of between USD$200 million and USD$300 million.

 

During the transition period, United pilots will continue to fly the planes and routes they do now as will their counterparts at Continental.

 

Key issues in transition agreements generally revolve around flight scheduling and job security, especially in the event of a financial downturn.

 

The pilot groups also have to negotiate a joint agreement governing seniority, which determines flight hours, schedules and certain compensation.

 

The pilots will get a board seat on the new carrier.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

South African Flight Attendant On UK Drugs Charge

 

June 28, 2010

 

A South African Airways flight attendant has been charged with trying to smuggle three kilos of cocaine into Britain through Heathrow airport, the UK Border Agency said on Monday.

 

Elphia Dlamini, 42, was arrested after arriving on a flight from Johannesburg to London on Saturday.

 

The UK Border Agency said its officers found the cocaine, which had an estimated value of around GBP£120,000 (USD$181,000), on Dlamini during crew clearance checks.

 

Dlamini, from Cape Town in South Africa, was charged with attempting to import a Class A drug and remanded in custody at Uxbridge Magistrates court, southeast England.

 

She will reappear at the court on July 6.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

Lufthansa Upbeat On 2010 Profit Goal

 

June 29, 2010

 

Brisker business of late after months of weak demand is making Lufthansa more optimistic about hitting its 2010 profit target, Germany's biggest airline said.

 

"Despite the negative first quarter and the airspace closures in early April, the developments of the last few months have altogether strengthened the expectations of achieving a higher operating result in 2010 than last year," it said in a statement.

 

Lufthansa had in May confirmed its 2010 outlook for operating profit above last year's EUR€130 million (USD$160.9 million) on hopes global economic recovery will help offset the negative impact of a volcanic ash cloud that swept across Europe.

 

(Reuters)

 

Passengers Sue To Block UAL/CAL Merger

 

June 29, 2010

 

The proposed merger of United Airlines and Continental Airlines would lessen competition and lead to higher fares, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday by a group of customers seeking to block the deal.

 

The complaint, filed in US District Court in San Francisco, says the planned merger to form the world's largest airline could result in higher fares and service cuts.

 

"The effect of the announced merger between United and Continental may be to substantially lessen competition or to tend to create a monopoly," according to the lawsuit, which lists more than 45 individuals plaintiffs.

 

United said in May that it would buy Continental in a USD$3 billion all-stock deal. The new airline would fly under the name United. The Justice Department must still approve the transaction.

 

"We believe this suit has no merit, and we will vigorously defend what we strongly believe to be a transaction that is in the best interests of Continental, its shareholders and the flying public," Julie King, a spokeswoman for Continental, said in a statement.

 

United spokeswoman Jean Medina said the airlines are cooperating with the DOJ and that the merger would "benefit customers with the most comprehensive route network."

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

French prosecutor cites 'faulty sensors' in 2008 A320 crash, won't press charges

 

July 1, 2010

 

An inquiry by French prosecutors concluded that a combination of pilot error and faulty sensors caused an Air New Zealand A320 to crash into the Mediterranean Sea during a November 2008 test flight conducted by XL Airways pilots, killing all seven people aboard.

 

Prosecutors determined that no criminal misconduct took place and decided against levying any charges. The A320 had been leased to XL for more than two years by ANZ and was on an acceptance flight on Nov. 27, 2008, in advance of its planned Dec. 1 return when it crashed off Canet-en-Roussillon, killing two XL pilots, four ANZ personnel and one New Zealand CAA inspector.

 

The French BEA issued an interim report last year that alleged the aircraft stalled during a low-speed, low-altitude test maneuver as it was coming in to land at Perpignan. French Deputy Prosecutor Domnique Alzeari told media in Perpignan yesterday that "faulty sensors might also be partly to blame for the crash." Two of the three sensors apparently were not working and thus the excessive pitching of the A320 "could not be corrected by the electronic brain of the aircraft," he said.

 

It is understood that this could be "linked to cleaning operations" on the A320 the day before the crash, he added, explaining that some water may have lodged in the sensors and frozen in flight, causing them to fail. No charges will be filed, the prosecutor stated.

 

ANZ said yesterday that it was unable to comment on the prosecutor's decision or statements "due to a confidentiality agreement...Under French law all the parties to that investigation are bound by confidentiality, so we can't make any comment until the final report is completed."

[Pieter C. 5]

Aegean joins Star in Athens

 

July 1, 2010

 

Aegean Airlines became the 28th member of Star Alliance in ceremonies in the Greek capital yesterday, just over one year after it officially was invited to join.

 

"One more time the Star family is growing today, one more time we are adding a high-quality brand name to our impressive list of world-class airlines, one more time are we proud to call an exciting country our home," Star CEO Jaan Albrecht said. The grouping added TAM as a member in May. Despite some delay, Air India is on course to join by the end of this year or early next year, he confirmed.

 

"Star Alliance can simply not afford not to have a home here," Albrecht said, noting that Greek people have traveled the world long before many others and they "continue to enjoy traveling and connecting communities in every corner of the globe." Aegean's induction into Star extends the carrier's and the grouping's network to/from/within Greece to more than 1,500 weekly flights to 69 destinations in 27 countries.

 

The Star Alliance chief executive heaped praise on its new member, describing Aegean as a "fascinating" airline because of its "young and successful history, the stringent and entrepreneurial business concept of its owners and its management, and its competitiveness in the marketplace based on its dedication to cost-efficiency, quality and service."

 

Aegean Chairman Theodore Vassilakis said, "Joining Star Alliance is an honor and a great opportunity for Aegean. Our customers will enjoy recognition, loyalty benefits and end-on-end global service that Star Alliance is renowned for. At the same time, there will be a 'star' on the map, showing that services and access to Greece have been significantly upgraded."

 

Aegean operates a fleet of 30 aircraft covering 26 domestic and 28 international short/medium-haul routes with more than 150 daily flights. It became Greece's largest carrier in terms of passengers in 2008 and is awaiting approval from the European Commission to merge with rival Olympic Airways, which had been in alliance talks with SkyTeam.

 

"They lost this one," Albrecht joked, confirming that the enlarged entity (which will carry the Olympic name) will be a full Star member if the planned merger wins regulatory approval.

 

Following the integration, Aegean will seek to enter into bilateral commercial agreements with several Star members and sign codeshare deals with Continental Airlines, among others, depending on regulatory approval, CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis said. It presently codeshares with bmi, Lufthansa and TAP Portugal.

[Pieter C. 5]

Austrian eyes return to operating profitability

 

July 5, 2010

 

Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said last week that LH subsidiary Austrian Airlines is on track to become profitable on an operating level this year.

 

Speaking on the sidelines of Aegean Airlines’ Star Alliance induction event in Athens, he said, "I expect that Austrian will reach this target. The carrier has a plan." He conceded, however, that in some areas of its restructuring, "we want to see…more dynamic" action. For example, OS's talks with its unions to win concessions that would lead to cost savings of €150 million ($185.4 million) annually are taking longer than LH would have liked.

 

Austrian Member of the Chief Executive Board Peter Malanik said the carrier is well aware that it needs to keep expenses tight. Despite the cost-cutting, it is gaining market share at its Vienna hub against tough competition from LCCs, he noted.

 

OS has deployed larger aircraft on European routes and is offering lower fares than in the past. "This of course brings lower yields," Malanik said. "But before [we focus on] better yield, we have to increase our load factors to gain market share."

 

Meanwhile, OS is working on implementing a new network system for the coming winter schedule that will be centered on time banks to offer more connections, with a particular focus on traffic arriving at VIE from Western Europe to connect to flights to destinations in Eastern Europe.

 

The carrier also is installing new, lighter seats on its narrowbody aircraft, allowing it to add one extra row on each. It received clearance from LH to add two new A320s to its fleet, allowing it to phase out its last Dash 8-Q300s by next year.

[Pieter C. 5]

Lufthansa Cabin, Ground Crews Agree To Pay Freeze

 

July 7, 2010

 

Cabin crew and ground crew workers at Lufthansa agreed to a pay freeze for almost two years, ending a months-long dispute just as Germany's biggest airline tries to cut costs in a market downturn.

 

The 50,000 workers will receive no pay increases before the end of next year, Lufthansa said in a statement on Wednesday.

 

In exchange, they will get a one-time bonus that could be equivalent to up to 2 percent of their annual pay, depending on Lufthansa's full-year 2011 earnings.

 

The agreement comes as British Airways cabin crew members vote on whether to accept a revised pay offer from the UK-based airline, which has already lost GBP£150 million (USD$227 million) this year from a series of strikes.

 

Lufthansa also took a hit from strikes earlier this year, losing about EUR€50 million (USD$67 million) in a one-day walkout by pilots that resulted in mediated talks.

 

The dispute with the pilots ended on June 25, when both sides accepted a proposal by mediators that included a pay freeze to the end of March 2011.

 

Lufthansa is trying to cut staffing and administrative costs as it battles BA and Air France-KLM for pole position in Europe, where airlines are expected to post further losses this year.

 

Industry body IATA last month said it sees European airlines posting total 2010 losses of USD$2.8 billion, while carriers in the rest of the world will return to profit after the industry's worst downturn in decades.

 

Lufthansa has said it expects to post a 2010 operating profit above last year's EUR€130 million as demand for air travel and cargo services improves. Lufthansa had a net loss of EUR€112 million in 2009 and has not given a 2010 net outlook.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

EgyptAir positive on expansion

 

July 12, 2010

 

EgyptAir said it is making good progress with implementation of its strategy of network expansion and product enhancement and is on course to take delivery of its first new A330-300 next month and a further two 777-300s in November and December as scheduled.

 

Passenger feedback on its first two 777-300s, which arrived earlier this year and feature a new cabin including the carrier’s first fully flat seats in business class, is “extremely positive,” Chairman and CEO Hussein Massoud said during the recent Star Alliance event in Athens to induct Aegean Airlines into the grouping. MS will deploy the new aircraft on its daily Cairo-New York JFK flights starting in December. It will commence thrice-weekly CAI-Copenhagen service Oct. 1 aboard a 737-800 and next summer it will add Toronto as its second North American destination, Massoud revealed.

 

MS will launch mobile and Internet services onboard its new A330-300 fleet. Passengers will be able to use the Wi-Fi service throughout their flight to make calls through their mobile phones with the same international call rates of their service providers, according to the carrier. The new A330-300 will be configured with 36 fully flat seats in business class and 265 seats in economy.

 

Massoud also said that EgyptAir is contemplating launching a hybrid carrier at Alexandria, which in recent months has seen an influx of LCCs. He refrained from releasing further details and stressed the “plan has not yet been adopted” but said that if MS proceeds, the hybrid will launch under a different brand because “EgyptAir is not in the business of LCCs and is a full-service carrier.”

 

----------------------------------------------------------------

 

Serbia, Turkey To Speed Up Aviation Deal Talks

 

July 12, 2010

 

Serbia and Turkey moved closer to an aviation deal on Monday after the countries' leaders pledged to speed up talks that could see indebted Serbian flag carrier JAT Airways merge with Turkish Airlines.

 

In March, Serbia announced it would split JAT into two separate companies with one assuming debts and the other profitable assets, in order to attract a strategic partner that was likely to be Turkish Airlines.

 

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said he and his Serbian counterpart Mirko Cvetkovic discussed cooperation between JAT and Turkish Airlines and the conversion of a military air base in Serbia's Southwest into a civilian airport.

 

"We are ready for steps that will make that cooperation possible. I am promising to do my best that the people of Serbia have links to every corner of the world through our two companies," Erdogan told a news conference in Belgrade, speaking through an interpreter.

 

Cvetkovic only said he and Erdogan "tackled aviation industry issues."

 

In March, JAT Airways announced a EUR€16.5 million (USD$21.97 million) loss for 2009 and said it planned to borrow EUR€51.5 million to renew its ageing fleet and prepare for a potential partnership with Turkish Airlines.

 

JAT Airways operates a fleet of 15 aircraft comprised of older Boeing 737-300, Boeing 737-400 and ATR 72-200s.

 

In 2008 Turkish Airlines took over a 49 percent stake in BH Airlines in neighbouring Bosnia and pledged to invest EUR€5 million to lease a Boeing 737 and secure another aircraft at a later date.

 

In April JAT announced the sale of its headquarters building in Belgrade to state landline operator Telekom Srbije for EUR€10.3 million, to pay back a government loan from 2009.

 

The fellow EU aspirants also abolished visa requirements between the two countries.

 

(Reuters)

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Airline merger talks between THY, Serbia’s Jat intensify

July 14, 2010

 

The governments of Serbia and Turkey have pledged to speed up talks that could result in indebted Serbian flag carrier Jat Airways merging with Turkish Airlines.

 

During a news conference, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said, “We are ready for steps that will make that cooperation possible. I am promising to do my best [to provide] the people of Serbia with links to every corner of the world through our two companies.”

 

THY CEO Temel Kotil said in May that he was in talks with Jat about a possible merger. In March, Serbia announced it would split Jat into two separate companies. Reuters reported that one would assume the debt and the other the profitable assets.

 

Jat announced a €16.5 million ($21.97 million) loss for 2009 and said it planned to borrow €51.5 million to renew its aging fleet and prepare for a potential partnership with THY. It operates a fleet of 15 aircraft comprising 737-300s, 737-400s and ATR 72-200s.

[Pieter C. 5]

Lufthansa CFO Says Cargo 'Absolutely Booming'

 

July 12, 2010

Lufthansa's cargo business is benefitting from rising demand for goods in China and growing appetite worldwide for Chinese goods, the airline's finance chief said.

 

"The cargo business is currently absolutely booming. For the first time in over 10 years we are seeing not just strong imports out of China, but also strong exports to China," Stephan Gemkow said.

 

Demand in China for goods made in the United States and in Europe is rising as wages improve and markets open. Trade data published on Saturday showed that imports rose 34.1 percent in June.

 

At the same time, exports rose 43.9 percent, giving China a USD$20 billion trade surplus.

 

Global industry body the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said last month that demand for both air travel and air freight rose strongly in May and now exceeds levels seen before the global economic downturn.

 

Air cargo is seen as a leading indicator of the health of global trade. Lufthansa, Germany's biggest airline, on Friday reported a 20 percent rise in June cargo.

 

Gemkow said the company was not feeling any effect from the European debt crisis and said he was optimistic for the company's second-quarter earnings.

 

"As far as a CFO can be optimistic, I am optimistic," he said.

 

IATA has said it expects the world's airlines to post an overall 2010 profit, though European carriers will continue to lose money this year, partly due to a volcanic ash cloud that swept large parts of the continent in April.

 

Lufthansa's aim is to improve 2010 operating profit compared with last year's result of EUR€130 million (USD$163.7 million) on hopes global economic recovery will help offset the negative impact of the volcano crisis.

 

Gemkow said Lufthansa still expected recently acquired Austrian Airlines, bmi and Brussels Airlines to post a loss this year but that restructuring at the units was going well.

 

"Management is undertaking a whole bunch of measures to turn them around. We are very happy with the progress they are making," he said.

 

Lufthansa added the three carriers in a shopping spree last year as it competes with British Airways and Air France-KLM for European pole position.

 

(Reuters)

[Pieter C. 5]

NTSB cites pilot actions, lack of wind information in 2008 overrun accident

 

July 14, 2010

 

The probable cause of the 2008 runway overrun of a Continental Airlines 737-500 at Denver International was "the captain's cessation of right rudder input, which was needed to maintain directional control of the airplane, about four seconds before the excursion," the US National Transportation Safety Board concluded .

 

The 737-500 en route to Houston Intercontinental veered from Runway 34R while on its takeoff roll, crossed a field and a taxiway, careened down a 40-ft. hill and caught fire after it encountered a "strong and gusty crosswind that exceeded the captain's training and experience," according to NTSB. The captain and five of the 110 passengers onboard were seriously injured in the accident.

 

Contributing to the Dec. 20, 2008, accident was an ATC system "that did not require or facilitate the dissemination of key, available wind information to…controllers and pilots," the board said. It added that "inadequate crosswind training" by airlines owing to "deficient simulator wind gust modeling" also was a factor.

 

NTSB said, "The captain's use of tiller and full right control wheel in the 3 seconds before the excursion likely resulted from acute stress stemming from a sudden, unexpected threat, perceived lack of control, and extreme time pressure."

 

Among other recommendations, the board asked FAA to gather data on crosswinds at various airports including those like DEN "located downwind from mountainous terrain." It said the agency should use the data to develop "realistic, gusty crosswind profiles" for airports and then establish a standard for "empirically embraced, type-specific maximum gusting crosswind limitations for transport category aircraft." FAA should require manufacturers to assign each aircraft type a maximum crosswind standard, NTSB said, adding that in the meantime manufacturers should provide "interim crosswind takeoff guidelines."

[Pieter C. 5]

Turkish Air Passengers Up 19 Percent In Q1

 

July 15, 2010

 

Turkish Airlines, Europe's fourth-biggest airline by passenger numbers, carried 13.4 million people in the first six months of the year, up 19.3 percent on the year before, it said on Thursday.

 

Overseas business class and international transit passengers rose 35 percent and 26 percent respectively, it said in a statement.

 

Turkish Airlines has rapidly expanded its fleet since 2008 in a bid to grab market share from European peers. It has doubled the number of seats on long-haul planes in the past two years to focus on lucrative transit fares and international routes.

 

"We see that growth has not slowed despite the effects of the volcanic ash cloud in April," said Ozgur Goker, equity analyst at UniCredit Securities in Istanbul.

 

"It's positive that demand is outpacing capacity, as is the increase in transit... and business class, which earns more revenue per individual, which reflects on net income."

 

Turkey's flag carrier also said its load factor climbed 3.9 percentage points to 72 percent.

 

Available seat kilometres rose 20 percent to 30.4 billion and revenue passenger kilometres rose 27 percent to 22 billion, the statement also said.

 

Cargo rose 40 percent to 151.8 tonnes.

 

(Reuters)

 

VERY, very well done THY !!! Congrats !!!

[Johan Z 0]

Lufthansa cargo plane crashes at Riyadh airport

 

A Lufthansa cargo plane has crashed at King Khaled International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Saudi state television reports.

 

There were no casualties on the German-owned plane, the kingdom's civil aviation authority said.

 

But the plane's two pilots were being treated in hospital, Lufthansa said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

 

The Saudi civil aviation authority has been trying to put out a fire on the plane, reports said.

 

"The firefighters are containing the fire," said a spokesman for the General Authority of Civil Aviation.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10772817

 

pic:http://twitpic.com/2941pd (posted on A.net)

Edited July 27, 2010 by Johan Z

[Johan Z 0]

LH crash is such a major event, I suggest to have a dedicated thread for it.

[Denny Yen 0]

The wreckage of a Lufthansa cargo plane which caught fire and split in half as it was landing lies on the tarmac in Riyadh on Tuesday. The German pilot and co-pilot of Flight LH8460, which was carrying about 90 tons of unspecified cargo, were lightly injured, an airport official said.

 

A four way composite photo showing a Lufthansa MD-11 cargo plane as it crashes while attempting to land in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 27 July 2010. The pilot and co-pilot were taken to hospital. Both survived the crash. The cargo aircraft had flown from Frankfurt

 

A Lufthansa MD-11 cargo plane is broken into two pieces after it crashed while attempting to land in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 27 July 2010.

[KC Sim 2]

Shanghai Airlines will no longer be a Star Alliance member come October 2010 and it has reached agreement with the Star Alliance for this move. Shanghai Airlines has merged with China Eastern Ailrines - the latter has confirmed its membership in Skyteam and Shanghai Airlines' move was therefore not unexpected.

 

Air China is now the only Chinese carrier in Star Alliance and it is now speculated that Shenzhen Airlines, recently acquired by Air China might join Star Alliance instead. Shenzhen Airlines gives the Air China group a foothold in the Pearl River Delta region.

 

Yeah!!! More Skyteam livery to chase.

 

KC Sim

[alberttky 0]

Southeast Asia is steadily becoming the focal point of global aviation. When headed for Southeast Asia, most travellers fly to/from or via one of two cities: Bangkok or Singapore. And they are most likely to do so on a Star Alliance member carrier. Recently CAPA reviewed the world’s top routes and found that the rankings confirmed the rise of Asia as the largest, and fastest growing, aviation market. Using CAPA’s Route Analyser Tool, we will now consider the most travelled routes between different regions and how traffic flows are concentrated – or not – on these sectors. First the seats available between Europe and Southeast Asia is reviewed

 

Concentrated at both ends

 

Even a cursory glance reveals the repeated appearance of a handful of airports. Of the leading Southeast Asia-Europe markets, over 75% of the seats originate in either Bangkok or Singapore, confirming their status as the region’s primary hubs.

 

In the series in which we analysed the world’s top airports (Number 17, Bangkok) for 2011, Bangkok, with 79 airlines, trailed only Heathrow with 86, for the world’s airport with the largest selection of carriers. While Singapore has fewer airlines, its home carrier operates a growing fleet of A380s, which provides high seat counts. The Zurich-Singapore route has but one daily non-stop, and is operated with an SQ A380, placing it in 15th position.

Lufthansa Group and AF/KL home airports dominate in Europe

 

At the European end, the breakdown of services by operating carrier or group also reveals a rather concentrated picture, with 15 of the 25 city pairs operating from either AF/KL or Lufthansa group hubs.

 

However, this does not mean the flights are all operated by these airline groups. As mentioned above, the ZRH-SIN service is operated by Star partner SQ with a Swiss codeshare.

 

Additionally, almost all of the top seat offers are generated at airports clustered in central Europe and the UK. With the exception of Milan at position 25, there is no representation of southern Europe or the Iberian Peninsula until much further down the list. Spain, represented by Barcelona, does not appear until position 44.

 

By frequency

 

Converting another parametre available via the Route Analyser Tool, the next chart shows frequencies rather than seats with the same city pairs displayed but in a different order in some cases, attributable to aircraft size.

In alliance terms, it is Star

 

Looking at alliance strength, a similar kind of concentration is present with Star, thanks to Bangkok (Thai Airways) and Singapore (SIA), riding high. In Europe, 11 of the end point airports are home to Star members and in Asia, a whopping 19. This high degree of interconnectivity also means Star holds an advantage in the regional dispersal of the traffic as well.

 

SkyTeam, due to AF/KL, does well in Europe but has only one partner distribution hub in Southeast Asia in the top 25, Hanoi.

 

oneworld lags considerably in the display, with only Heathrow and Helsinki in Europe and Kuala Lumpur in Asia. And since one of the routes, KL-Stansted (soon moving to Gatwick) is operated by Air Asia X, KL moves to the unaligned group on that sector.

 

There are also possible new players. Now that Garuda has been recertified for service by EU regulators, Jakarta may slowly move into the top group – especially to Amsterdam. Elimination of the Kuala Lumpur stop by KLM on its Jakarta service would immediately put that route into the top 25 and a companion non-stop by Garuda would move it even further up the list.

 

Vietnam routes will also probably become more numerous as more carriers connect to either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City with non-stops as opposed to the present one-stop flights.

 

Finally, as more carriers take delivery of A380s, the overall number of seats is very likely to climb as airlines including Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways deploy larger aircraft on key European routes.

 

http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/global-aviation-focal-point-bangkok-singapore-and-the-role-of-the-star-alliance-59084

[alberttky 0]

A Continental Connection turboprop plane landed at the wrong airport Wednesday night, leaving passengers to share a limo ride from Southland Field in Sulphur, Louisiana to their intended destination of Lake Charles Regional, about a half-hour drive away.

 

It's the third time in the past 15 years that pilots have confused the two airports, an official tells local TV station KPLC.

 

The confusion, says Southland Field manager Sam Larsh, stems from the fact that the airports are on the same latitude. Because runways are oriented according to prevailing winds, the two neighboring airports can look similar from the air, he tells KPLC.

 

It's hardly the first time pilots have missed their destination. In 2009, two Northwest pilots missed their runway by 150 miles, leading the FAA to revoke their flight credentials. In 2007, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama was on a private flight that landed in Des Moines — instead of Cedar Rapids.

 

As for Continental Connection, it's one of the many regional carriers operating under increased scrutiny since the 2009 crash of a regional turboprop outside Buffalo. That plane was also operated by Colgan Air, the carrier that operates Flight 3222 between Houston and Lake Charles, or in at least one case, Sulphur, Louisiana.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/continental-connection-pl_n_955358.html?ir=Weird%20News

[alberttky 0]

United Airlines is in early stage discussions over placing an order for 200 new aircraft, according to a report from Reuters. Reuters said the order is worth up to USD18 billion, based on list prices.

 

http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/united-airlines-reportedly-considering-order-of-200-aircraft-121529

[Josh T 0]

United Airlines is in early stage discussions over placing an order for 200 new aircraft, according to a report from Reuters. Reuters said the order is worth up to USD18 billion, based on list prices.

 

http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/united-airlines-reportedly-considering-order-of-200-aircraft-121529

More A320 and B737?

They need new widebody aircraft. Seriously.