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Airlines currently excluded from cover:
* Please note cover exlcudes any airline that has filed
or applied for any form of insolvency or insolvency
protection at the time of effecting cover
LAB AIRLINES(Lloyd Aereo Boliviano)- as of 17th April 07
OLYMPIC AIRLINES - as of 18th Oct 07
ALITALIA - as of 3rd April 08
FRONTIER AIRLINES - as of 11th April 08
SILVERJET - as of 23rd May 2008
ZOOM - as of 2nd June 2008
News Reports and notices.
2 July 2008
FlyYeti to suspend operations
News reports state that FlyYeti.com, the low-cost joint venture between Air Arabia and Yeti Airlines operating out of Kathmandu, will suspend operations on July 16 owing to what it called "difficult operating conditions in Nepal and a presently opaque regulatory environment" and political conditions that made it impossible to guarantee the renewal of aircraft operating leases that expire this month.
30 June 2008
Fed Court race to decide airline's future
News reports state that the immediate future of Cairns-based independent airline Aero Tropics is teetering on the outcome of a race to the Federal Court after its operations were grounded for safety reasons on Friday.
Company plans to have its operating license reinstated today will not go ahead after Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesperson Peter Gibson confirmed a Federal Court application to extend the suspension for up to 40 days will not be lodged until later this week.
30 June 2008
East Star faces 'financial crisis,' loses route authority
News reports state that struggling Wuhan-based East Star Airlines, which claimed it is in "financial crisis," last week was dealt a further blow by CAAC, which decided to suspend its right to fly to Guangzhou and Shenzhen from July 7.
This makes the second time ESA has faced such a sanction. Flights to Shanghai were suspended by the regulator last month owing to the airline's inability to submit its "air transport funds" to CAAC in time.
An ESA insider recently was quoted in Chinese media claiming the airline might cease operations this month because of its "financial burden." It owed approximately CNY100 million ($14.6 million) to China Aviation Oil Import and Export Co., the main domestic oil supplier to Chinese carriers. Following those reports, the oil company agreed to postpone ESA's payment by one month to June 28.
ESA spokesperson Pan Yanli admitted the airline faces "some severe difficulties," including financial problems and a talent shortage. "We do suffer from financial strain but we are trying our best to solve it," she said, adding that "going listed in order to collect funds" is a possible solution.
25 June 2008
Jet Airways swings to full-year, fourth-quarter losses
News reports state that a significant swing to the red in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 helped drag India's Jet Airways to a full-year loss of INR2.53 billion ($58.9 million), a reversal from the INR280 million profit it reported in the year ended March 31, 2007, and its JetLite subsidiary suffered even heavier losses.
"Over the past few months, the aviation industry worldwide has been facing the effects of continuing increases in crude oil prices," Jet said. "The situation in India is further exacerbated by continuing overcapacity as well as the fact that the operating costs in the Indian environment have always been higher than other comparable countries."
21 June 2008
Sudan Airways grounded
News reporst state that Sudan is to ground its national airline, Sudan Airways from 23rd June, stating that the airline does not meet international standards.
"This decision will come into force on Monday for an undefined period and will include both domestic and international flights," said the official from the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority.
The Sudanese CAA Director of Safety said Sudan Airways had failed to take measures requested by the Civil Aviation Authority in May of this year.
17 June 2008
Increased first quarter losses for America's seven largest airlines
News Reports state that America's seven largest airlines reported a combined first-quarter loss of $1.32 billion, according data released Monday by The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics
16 June 2008
Mexico Government Suspends Airline Magnicharters
News reports state that Mexico's Communications and Transport Ministry suspended budget airline Magnicharters Tuesday, saying the carrier was unable to guarantee passenger safety.
The ministry said in a statement that the airline has 90 days to correct the problems detected, in which case it could then resume operations.
The suspension went into effect at 5 p.m. local time (6 p.m. EDT).
The ministry said routine inspections by civil aviation authorities turned up anomalies in maintenance and training of staff.
The company was also found to be in a difficult financial situation, which limits its possibilities of maintaining a healthy and sustainable operation, the ministry added.
13 June 2008
Rescue deal collapses for British airline Silverjet
News reports state that a takeover deal to rescue small British business-class airline Silverjet has collapsed, resulting in the loss of 300 jobs, administrators said Friday.
Kingplace, an Ireland-based company managed by Heritage Cie SA, a Geneva-based investment firm, had agreed Wednesday to buy Silverjet for an undisclosed price.
"We now understand that, as a result of the unusually complex negotiations with third parties, Kingplace is no longer in a position to acquire Silverjet as a going concern," administrators Begbies Traynor said in a statement on Friday, when the Swiss deal was due to complete.
"As a consequence, we have today had to make the entire workforce formally redundant, in line with our legal obligations as administrator."
The failed airline's 300 employees were made redundant earlier Friday, according to a spokesman for the administrator.
Silverjet was grounded in May after it failed to secure fresh financing from United Arab Emirates investment fund Viceroy Holdings.
11 June 2008
Kingplace Agrees to Buy Silverjet Airline From Administrators
News reports state that Kingplace Ltd., a company managed by Swiss trust Heritage Cie SA, has agreed to buy Silverjet Plc out of administration and restart the airline.
The sale was for an undisclosed sum and is expected to be completed by June 13, administrators Nigel Atkinson and Mark Fry of Begbies Traynor, and Silverjet, said in an e-mailed statement today.
All tickets will be honored and flights may be resumed within ``weeks,'' Ian Ilsley, chairman of Heritage and a director of Kingplace, said in the statement.
* Cover for this airline will still remain excluded until the sale has fully completed and we have completed a full re-evaluation of this airline
11 June 2008
Oil costs will push some Asian airlines under: analysts
News reports state that Record-high oil prices have sparked the biggest crisis in the Asian airline industry since the SARS scare, and analysts say some carriers are likely to go under if prices do not let up soon.
They say many of the region's airlines are ill-prepared to cope with the price surge, which saw oil top 139 dollars per barrel last week amid wide expectation prices will only keep rising in the months ahead.
"No one is going to escape this crisis unscathed," said Derek Sabudin, an analyst from the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation consultancy.
He said airlines face a "severe shakeout" if extremely high fuel prices continue, with the industry already coping with the fallout from a US-led global economic slowdown.
"Carriers will be exiting the market," Sabudin said. "The weaker ones will go, and stronger carriers will shrink in size, if we see prices where they are above 120 dollars beyond the summer peak."
Shukor Yusof, an aviation analyst with Standard and Poor's Equity Research, said most carriers had not factored in prices at such "stratospheric" levels -- and that they were now not moving quickly enough in response.
"Few Asian airlines are reacting, in our view, adequately and aggressively enough to the oil shock and the devastation soon to follow," Shukor said.
If prices continue rising and hit 150 dollars a barrel or even higher, he said, "expect to see a rash of Asian carriers grounded and go bust."
4 June 2008
Icelandair increased loss
News reports state that Icelandair reported a ISK1.7 billion ($22.6 million) loss in the "normally negative" first quarter, deepened from a ISK1.2 billion loss in the first three months of 2007.
30 May 2008
ALMOST 10,000 PASSENGERS HIT BY SILVERJET GROUNDING
New reports state that almost 10,000 passengers have been affected by Silverjet ceasing operations this morning.
The Civil Aviation Authority estimates that 7,000 UK and 2,500 overseas passengers have bookings with the business class carrier.
The CAA today issued advice to passengers due to fly with the airline to Newark or Dubai.
30 May 2008
SilverJet stops operations as of 30th May 2008
News reports state that SilverJet halted operations, a week after it had said it had yet to get a $5 million loan from a Middle East investment group. Silverjet said it continues to be in discussions with investors interested in supporting the business, however it has yet to conclude such discussions to its satisfaction. The last service of Silverjet was the flight from Dubai to London Luton, which departed at 7.30 a.m. BST Friday morning.
29 May 2008
El Al's first-quarter loss triples
News reports state that record revenue was not enough to offset a difficult economic environment and a one-time provision related to potential liability for anticompetitive cargo activities as El Al sank to a $49.9 million first-quarter loss that was more than three times the $15.3 million lost in the year-ago period.
27 May 2008
Club Air, Italian ENAC license suspended
News reports state that Club Air, Italian ENAC license has been suspended. Flights stopped as from May, 28th
(WAPA) - ENAC (Italian Civil Aviation Authority), has informed that as from next May, 28th, it will suspend all flights operated by Club Air, the Italian airline based in Verona which connects many national airports as Rome-Fiumicino, Milan-Malpensa, Verona, Catania, Foggia, Bari, Lamezia Terme, Cagliari and Palermo.
The decision, came after 2 respites (January, 31th and March, 31th 2008) and the temporary release of a license on July, 25th, 2007, has been motivated by ENAC with the missing discharge of the required engagements for the financial and operative reorganization of the airline.
ENAC communicated that "There're no necessary conditions to extend the airline's license because of the critical financial and management state of the company".
23 May 2008
SilverJet shares suspended after if did not received loan
News reports state that business class Airline SilverJet said Friday that it asked the London Stock Exchange to suspend trading in its shares after it didn't receive cash it had tried to draw down under a loan facility. The group said its Silverjet Aviation arm served notice to draw down $5 million under a loan facility with Viceroy Holdings on May 2, but hasn't received the money. "Silverjet's working capital reserves are limited and advances under the loan facility are required as a matter of urgency," the company said. "Silverjet continues discussions with other parties, which have confirmed an interest in investing in the company," it added. In the meantime, the company's service are continuing to run as scheduled.
* Under the terms of IPP's Insurance cover is now excluded for this airline with immediate effect
22 May 2008
Warning of oil crunch, oil soars to new record prices
News reports state that Oil prices surged $5 to a record over $134 a barrel on Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed a surprise drop in crude stockpiles, reinvigorating fears of a supply crunch.
21 May 2008
Martinair suffered a €68.9 million ($107.2 million) loss in 2007
News reports state that Martinair suffered a €68.9 million ($107.2 million) loss in 2007, a steep fall from its €7 million deficit in 2006 on level revenue of €951 million, as operating loss deepened to €71 million from €5 million.
The Dutch carrier said one-off costs associated with the renewal of its cargo fleet and the discontinuation of European passenger flights last year, along with a provision set aside to deal with the multinational investigation into airfreight price fixing, "brought considerable pressure to bear upon results."
21 May 2008
Aegean Airlines' net loss widened to €4.4 million
News reports state that Aegean Airlines' net loss widened to €4.4 million ($6.8 million) in the first quarter, traditionally its weakest period, from €2.6 million in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue climbed 23% to €98.8 million on the back of international network expansion and a 6% rise in sectors flown. Fuel costs jumped 57% to €24.4 million and operating loss plunged to €6 million from €2.6 million.
"Aegean continued to expand its business during Q1, amid challenging conditions for the airline sector created by the rise of oil prices to unprecedented levels," MD Dimitris Gerogiannis commented. "We are encouraged by the continuing positive maturing of international destinations initiated within the last two years as well as from the results of our revenue management efforts."
16 May 2008
Vueling Airlines posted a pre-tax loss
News reports state that Vueling Airlines posted a pre-tax loss of €32.4 million ($50.1 million) for the first quarter, a 47.1% increase over a €22 million pre-tax loss in the year-ago period.
15 May 2008
Mesa Air shutting down Air Midwest early
News reports state that struggling Mesa Air Group is accelerating the shutdown of its Air Midwest subsidiary, announcing Wednesday that the carrier serving rural communities will suspend all flights by June 30.
The Phoenix-based company, which is short on cash from a legal judgment and losses in its operations, cited high fuel prices and low demand for the flights. In Arizona, the affected cities are Prescott and Kingman, where service will end May 31 instead of August as previously announced.
Air Midwest, operating there as US Airways Express, serves Phoenix and Las Vegas from those cities.
15 May 2008
Struggling Alitalia reports €214.8 million first-quarter loss
News reports state that Alitalia reported a first-quarter pre-tax loss of €214.8 million ($333.1 million), 41% higher than the €152 million pre-tax loss in the year-ago period, citing higher fuel costs and lower traffic revenue as the main culprits.
15 May 2008
Iberia swings to first-quarter net loss on high fuel costs
News reports state that Iberia Group said it its first-quarter results were "dulled" by sharp hikes in the price of fuel, resulting in a net loss of €441,000 ($684,000), reversed from a profit of €12.3 million in the year-ago period.
13 May 2008
Far Eastern Airlines Suspends Operation
News reports state that having run out of operating fund, Far Eastern Air Transport has announced suspending its operation starting today (May 12).
To settle the ensuing problems, the airlines will continue maintaining limited flight services today, thanks to fuel oil lent by CPC Corp. Taiwan, an arrangement made following a marathon emergent coordination meeting convened by Civil Aeronautics Administration, under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
The company will operate nine flights today, including three for the Taipei-Matsu route and nine international flights, the latter of which mainly for transporting their 2,000 overseas passengers back to Taiwan.
Large number of sold plane tickets will become invalid, amounting to 56,800 domestic-flight tickets and 22,200 international-flight tickets, totaling NT$173 million in value, as of the end of April.
The suspension of operation of the airline has sent a shockwave among travel agencies and its creditor banks, including Bank of Taiwan, Mega Bank, and King`s Town Bank, and Far Eastern Bank. The banking loans topped NT$4.1 billion. Mega Bank reported that it owned priority claim for its loans for the airlines and would dispose of the latter`s properties to settle the debt. Far Eastern Bank, the largest creditor bank with NT$980 million of debt claim, pointed out that it might abandon its previous application with the court to serve as the executor for the restructuring of the airlines, since the suspension of operation will lead to loss of fund and personnel, making it impossible to carry out the restructuring program. The airline is thus facing the fate of liquidation.
12 May 2008
Austrian Airlines Group reports steep first quarter loss
News reports state that Austrian Airlines Group CEO Alfred Oetsch, under significant pressure following a steep first-quarter loss and the potential loss of a critical new investor (ATWOnline, May 7), told Austria's ORF radio last week that a shift from the airline's "standalone" strategy has become a possibility and that it now will consider partnering with a foreign carrier. "If no signs of improvement in the financial situation are on the horizon, a solution could be to bring in a strategic partner carrier," he said.
9 May 2008
EuroManx stops flying
EuroMax Airlines website stated today "It is with great regret that EuroManx have announced today that the company is ceasing operations forthwith with no further flights being operated." News reports state that Euromanx went out of business blaming fuel prices and falling passenger numbers.
9 May 2008
Air Canada posts C$288 million loss
News reports state that Air Canada reported a first-quarter net loss of C$288 million ($287 million), a substantial increase over a C$34 million loss in the year-ago period, blaming high fuel costs and charges associated with ongoing inquiries into potential antitrust violations in its cargo division.
7 May 2008
ExpressJet Holdings reports first quarter loss
News reports state that ExpressJet Holdings, which flies for partners Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines as well as its own branded operation, reported a $31.3 million first-quarter loss, reversed from a $10.2 million profit in the first three months of 2007
6 May 2008
Airline stocks fall sharly, price of oil hits all time record
News reports state that airline stocks fell sharply Monday as oil prices topped $120 a barrel for the first time.
The Amex Airline Index fell 2.8 percent to 23.59 in late morning trading. The broader market eased more modestly, with the Dow Jones industrial average down 0.6 percent to 12,979.63.
Oil prices hit their latest record amid concerns about overseas supply and a falling dollar. Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose to a new trading record of $120.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, then retreated to trade up $3.52 at $119.84.
Airline shares often move opposite oil prices because fuel represents many carriers' biggest expense.
5 May 2008
China Airlines, EVA Airways report big first-quarter losses
News reports state that Taiwanese carriers China Airlines and EVA Airways reported first-quarter losses of TWD2.97 billion ($97.4 million) and TWD2.29 billion respectively.
The airlines, which reported the results in filings with the Taiwan Stock Exchange cited by Bloomberg News, each blamed high fuel costs for the poor results.
4 May 2008
Sri Lanka's budget airline grounded
News reports state that Sri Lanka's state-run budget carrier has suspended operations indefinitely because of a lack of planes, an aviation official said Sunday.
The budget airline, Mihin Lanka, has been dogged with financial trouble since it began commercial operations last April.
2 May 2008
Pakistan International Airlines loss for 2007
News reports state that Pakistan International Airlines concluded an "exceptionally difficult" 2007, during which it was blacklisted by the European Union, with a PKR13.4 billion ($207.5 million) loss, widened slightly from the PKR12.76 billion loss suffered in 2006.
PIA said it "experienced a series of financial, operational and marketing problems" and that with its "brand severely dented, [it] lost market share as well as growth in business which made the situation still more difficult."
2 May 2008
Gol reports first quarter loss
News reports state that Gol reported a first-quarter net loss of BRL3.5 million ($2.1 million), reversed from a profit of BRL116.6 million in the year-ago period, as last year's acquisition of Varig and its subsequent integration with Gol weighed heavily and led to sinking load factors.
2 May 2008
Hawaaiian first quarter loss
News reports state that Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings reported a $19.9 million loss in the first quarter, widened from an $11.9 million deficit in the year-ago period, but its prospects have brightened somewhat owing to events that have transpired since the quarter's conclusion.
30 April 2008
SAS suffers heavy first-quarter loss, announces capacity, job cuts
News reports state that fuel costs, overcapacity and falling yields hit SAS Group hard in the first quarter, resulting in a SEK1.13 billion ($189.5 million) loss that represented a massive deterioration from the SEK47 million deficit reported in the year-ago quarter.
29 April 2008
Nationwide Airlines ceases all flights due to critical cash flow
Nationwide Airlines announced today that they have ceased all flight operations due to critical cash flow following grounding of their aircraft earlier in the year and 30% increased in fuel costs.
28 April 2008
Austrian Airlines Group suffers loss in the first quarter
News reports state that Austrian Airlines Group suffered a €60.4 million ($95.3 million) loss in the first quarter, widened from a €16.3 million deficit in the year-ago period, which prompted the company to say it expected a fall in full-year adjusted EBIT "due to the time-lagged effect of measures implemented through adjustment of fares and surcharges." Despite the "continued deterioriation in market conditions," OS has not given up on expansion.
27 April 2008
Eos Airlines Files For Bankruptcy
News reports state that Premium class New York to London carrier Eos Airlines on Saturday said it has filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company said it could not close on an investment that would have carried it to corporate profitability in 2009.
The petition was filed April 26 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. Eos will immediately reduce its workforce, eliminating most of its positions. The carrier will cease operations entirely after April 27.
According to Jack Williams, Eos' CEO, "After overcoming today's extremely challenging economic and credit environment to negotiate terms for a round of financing, it is regrettable that we were forced to take this action. We had been clear since closing on our last round of financing that we would need additional capital…Unfortunately, just as we were working toward closing on an investment that would have carried us to corporate profitability in 2009, some issues arose that we could not overcome."
* In accordance with the terms of our policy, cover for Scheduled Airline Failure is withdrawn with immediate effect for this airline
25 April 2008
AirTran posts a 1st quarter loss
News reports state that AirTran Holdings Inc, the parent company of AirTran Airways Inc, reported a net loss of USD34.8 million for the first quarter. During the same quarter in 2007, AirTran reported net income of USD2.2 million. AirTran stated this quarter's loss is attributable to the effects of record high fuel costs.
25 April 2008
Norwegian posts large loss
News reports state that Norwegian posted a consolidated net loss of NOK210.8 million ($42.4 million) in the first quarter, a sharp deterioration from the NOK14.9 million loss suffered in the year-ago period, owing to increased seasonality, introduction of new aircraft, the integration and expansion of the old FlyNordic and the launch of 13 routes from its new base at Rygge.
18 April 2008
Sterling improving but still in the red
News reports state that Sterling improving but still in the red
Sterling Airlines managed to reduce its full-year net loss drastically to DKK34 million ($7.2 million) in 2007, narrowed from the DKK166 million deficit it posted in the prior year.
Revenue decreased 0.8% to DKK3.89 million as average fare fell 5.2% to DKK805. Ancillary revenue per passenger, however, increased 55.4% to DKK101.
18 April 2008
Southwest suffers steep first-quarter profit drop
News reports state that Southwest suffers steep first-quarter profit drop
A plunge in first-quarter profit to $34 million from the $93 million earned in the first three months of 2006 revealed both the strength of Southwest Airlines' business model and the weakness of the environment in which it now operates, as even the US's most consistently profitable airline is struggling with soaring fuel costs.
18 April 2008
Continental reports first-quarter loss
News reports state that Continental reports first-quarter loss, redeems golden share, considers leaving SkyTeam
Friday April 18, 2008
Continental Airlines reported a first-quarter net loss of $80 million, reversed from a $22 million profit in the year-ago period, and confirmed yesterday that it has redeemed Northwest Airlines' "golden share" that prevented CO from entering into merger agreements.
15 April 2008
Asian budget carriers face challenges after Oasis collapse
News reports state that soaring jet fuel prices, slowing economic growth and stiff competition could claim further casualties among Asian budget carriers following the collapse of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines last week, analysts said Monday.
The demise of Oasis just 18 months after it took to the skies shows that the shakeout in the industry is an international phenomenon and not a problem that's confined to the United States, where five airlines have recently shut down.
"We expect the negative and worsening macro environment for airlines to continue to take its toll in the form of forced capacity cuts (bankruptcies) and voluntary capacity cuts," said Morgan Stanley analyst William Greene.
"Consolidation remains the best path to improving the industry's volatile financials," he said in a note.
Oasis, one of the first budget airlines to focus on long-haul flights, collapsed last week, unable to cope with escalating jet fuel prices.
15 April 2008
Virgin blue shares plunge
News reports state that an AAP report today says that Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd shares have plunged to a record low after it forecast annual profit to halve amid rising fuel costs and tougher competition.
Toll Holdings Ltd, the airline's largest stakeholder, also took a beating as the transport giant said it too would be affected and it would not offload its holding in Virgin.
Virgin Blue shares closed down 21.62 per cent, or 24 cents, to 87 cents, hitting a record low of 86.5 cents during the day.
The airline's shares listed at $A2.25 ($NZ2.66) in December 2003.
Shares in Toll, which had been considering the sale of its Virgin stake, closed down $A1.43, or 15.08 percent, to $A8.05.
Australia's second largest airline warned, after the market closed on Friday, its net profit would be significantly lower than last financial year.
11 April 2008
Frontier Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
News reports state that Frontier Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late Thursday in Manhattan.
Frontier blamed the action on an "unexpected attempt by its principal credit card processor to substantially increase a 'holdback' of customer receipts, which threatened to severely impact the airline's liquidity."
* In accordance with the terms of our policy, cover for Scheduled Airline Failure is withdrawn with immediate effect for this airline
10 April 2008
** Swazi Express Airways close operations
News reports state that Managing Director Hans Steffan, addressing a press conference at the company premises here yesterday, said operations came to a halt on Friday. Steffan, 39, said he had invested over E10 million into the 12-year old company."Swazi Express Airways has ceased to operate due to unfair competition from the government," he said.
10 April 2008
More than 30,000 passengers hit by Oasis Airlines closure
News reports state that more than 30,000 passengers holding tickets valued at 300 million Hong Kong dollars (38.5 million US dollars) have been affected by the collapse of Hong Kong's first long-haul budget airline, Oasis, travel industry officials said Thursday.
The airline, which offered fares of as little as 1,000 Hong Kong dollars between London and Hong Kong, suspended all flights Wednesday after going into voluntary liquidation.
The shock news, just 18 months after the airline's launch, has left thousands of people with return tickets stranded in Hong Kong or the airline's two destinations of London and Vancouver.
Thousands more holding advance tickets have been left struggling to make alternative arrangements with no word about compensation or refunds.
9 April 2008
Oasis Hong Kong: Ceasing Airline Operations Immediately
News reports state that budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. said Wednesday it had shut down its operations after being in service for just over 17 months.
Oasis said it had applied to Hong Kong's High Court to have its assets liquidated, and accounting firm KPMG had been appointed as provisional liquidators.
Flights were being canceled immediately, Oasis Chief Executive Stephen Miller told a news conference.
KPMG partner Edward Middleton told the news conference the liquidators were exploring the company's options.
Oasis, which offered one-way fares to London for as low as HK$1,000, had been operating four used Boeing 747-400 aircraft on flights to London and Vancouver.
The Hong Kong Economic Times reported Wednesday that Oasis had accumulated a loss of HK$1 billion since it was launched in October 2006. Oasis and KPMG didn't immediately address this issue in their news conference.
7 April 2008
Air Jamaica lost US$171 million in 2007
News reports state that AIR Jamaica lost a staggering US$171 million last year, its largest loss ever, according to an internal document shown to the Sunday Observer.
The loss came against revenues of US$413.3 million, an interest subsidy of US$44.71 million and a government grant of US$25.41 million, and continued a trend for the two previous years when the carrier bled heavily.
5 April 2008
Skybus folds
News reports state that Columbus-based airline blames high fuel prices, weak economy -- Surprised fliers find themselves stranded without notice -- 450 lose jobs; failure dims growth prospects for Port Columbus
Skybus Airlines has made its final flight.
Just over 10 months after its heralded takeoff at Port Columbus, the airline that became famous for its $10 fares said yesterday that it has quit flying as of today.
The decision, made after a board meeting yesterday, left hundreds of Skybus ticketholders stranded and its 450 employees out of work.
The company has lost millions of dollars and plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday. Its chief executive, Bill Diffenderffer, resigned nearly two weeks ago.
Skybus workers were stunned by the news yesterday.
4 April 2008
ATA Airlines shuts down
News reports state that ATA Airlines, an independent carrier based in Indianapolis, shut down operations yesterday after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday.
The airline, which began flying in 1973, blamed the shutdown on the loss of a military charter contract. ATA operated 29 aircraft, serving 10,000 passengers per day. Its 2,230 employees were notified that their positions had been eliminated. It is the second US carrier to shut down this week--Aloha Airlines closed up shop on Monday (ATWOnline, April 1). A third, Bloomington, Minn.-based charter carrier Champion Air, announced that it will stop flying on May 31.
3 April 2008
Alitalia Pushed Closer to Bankruptcy as Air France Ends Talks
News reports state that Alitalia SpA, which loses more than $1.6 million a day, moved closer to bankruptcy after Air France- KLM Group broke off takeover talks, scuttling a 15-month effort by Italy to find a buyer for the airline.
Air France ended the talks three hours before a midnight deadline, rejecting counter proposals by Alitalia's unions in Rome that the carrier said were ``incompatible'' with its offer. Italian Finance Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said yesterday Alitalia likely would have to seek protection from creditors if the Air France bid failed.
3 April 2008
Alitalia cover excluded
Effective immediately, cover is withdrawn for Alitalia following the withdrawal of the Air France KLM Group’s takeover bid.
As per the terms of the policy a “Threat of Insolvency” has occurred and we are no longer able to insure this airline.
Should the situation change we will, of course, advise you immediately.
31 March 2008
Aloha Airlines Halting Passenger Service
News reports state that Aloha Airlines said Sunday it will halt all passenger service after Monday, signaling the end of an airline that has served Hawaii for more than 60 years.
Aloha, which filed for bankruptcy for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 20, was a casualty of fierce competition and rising fuel prices. The airline said it will stop taking reservations for flights after Monday.
"We simply ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure continued financing for our passenger business," said Aloha President David Banmiller in a statement. "We had no choice but to take this action."
28 March 2008
Air Macau posts loss
News reports state that Air Macau posted a 2007 loss of 109 million patacas (US$13.6 million), an increase of 76 percent on the 62 million patacas loss posted in 2006.
In 2005 Air Macau posted a loss of 20 million patacas.
Air Macau’s shareholders are China National Aviation Corporation (51 percent) – which is part of the holding company managed by Air China – and SEAP - Serviços, Administração e Participações, which includes TAP Portugal and Banco Nacional Ultramarino (20 percent), Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (14 percent) and, 5 percente each for the Special Administrative Region of Macau and air carrier taiwan Eva Air and a group of small private investors.
According to Portuguese news agency Lusa, Zhao Xiaohang, chairman of the airline, explained Air Macau’s losses were partly due to the constant rise in the price of oil, but said that “throughout 2007 Air Macau did not make total use of the figure earmarked for purchasing fuel.”
27 March 2008
China Airlines record loss
News reports state that China Airlines Ltd, Taiwan's flag carrier, reported a record loss in 2007 net profit, dragged by the surging fuel price and the decreasing number of passengers.
Net loss was NTD 2.52 billion (US$83.7 million), or NTD 0.63 a share last year, compared with a net income of NTD 738.4 million, or NTD 0.19 apiece a year ago, said the company in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
21 March 2008
Aloha Airlines Files for Bankruptcy
News reports state that Aloha Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, a little more than two years after emerging from bankruptcy.
Aloha said it will continue to fly as long as a bankruptcy court accepts the airline's financial plan to keep operating.
The airline said in its filing that it was unable to generate sufficient revenue due to what it called "predatory pricing" by Mesa Air Group Inc.'s go! airline.
Aloha Airgroup Inc. emerged from bankruptcy protection in February 2006, just 14 months after filing under Chapter 11.
Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group launched go! into the interisland market later in 2006 to compete with Aloha, as well as Hawaiian Airlines Inc.
In January, go! reported a $20 million operating loss in its first 16 months of operations. Meanwhile, Aloha and Hawaiian reported combined losses of nearly $65 million since go! began operating.
* In accordance with the terms of our policy, cover for Scheduled Airline Failure is withdrawn with immediate effect for this airline
19 March 2008
US Airline stocks hit all time low
News reporst state that Airline stocks fell sharply Monday, carrying the benchmark index to an all-time low on more economic uncertainty and widespread malaise in the financial industry
19 March 2008
Low cost Indonesian airline Adam Air to be shut down
News reports state that Indonesian low-cost carrier Adam Air will no longer be allowed to fly, Indonesian officials said.
17 March 2008
Indonesia threatens to close down Adam Air
News reports state that Indonesia threatened Monday to close low-cost carrier Adam Air after two of its largest shareholders announced plans to pull out of the beleaguered company.
The airline has defaulted on debt payments to airplane leasing companies, which has forced the company to ground 12 of its 22 planes, said Adam Suherman, whose family together with Sandra Ang owns a 50 percent stake.
Transportation Minister Jusman Djamal said the airline, which already has sliced its number of routes from 52 to 12 - has three weeks to prove it is economically viable.
If it cannot meet its financial obligations, he said, "its operating license will be revoked." No specific conditions were released to the media.
17 March 2008
Mihin Lanka flies into turbulance
News reporst state that eleven months after beginning operations, Mihin Lanka, a low cost Air Lines fully owned and funded by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), is facing a loss of Rs.300 million, and if the economic performance does not improve soon, the airline may face bankruptcy, airline industry observers in Colombo said.
The trouble-plagued air lines was launched 24 April, 2007 to provide low cost flights to Sri lankans employed in Middle East countries, to passengers travelling to India, and also to be used by the Sri Lanka's President and his delegation during official trips abroad.
13 March 2008
Airlines losses $4-9 billion projected for 2008
News reports state Airlines have struggled due to rising oil prices, of late around $109 a barrel, and J.P. Morgan says “even a best-ever recessionary demand scenario results in a $4 billion industry loss. And if demand trends mirror prior recessions, a $9 billion loss can’t be ruled out. And in that scenario cash becomes scarce for many.”
7 March 2008
Crude oil record high price at $105.97 a barrel !
News reports state that crude-oil contracts for April delivery hit a record $105.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before easing back to finish the day at $105.47. Crude-oil prices are a barometer for jet fuel, airlines' single biggest operating expense.
6 March 2008
PAN AM grounded !
News reports state Pan Am has been grounded after the government revoked its flight certificate.
The airline has stopped its flights out of New Hampshire's Pease Air Terminal after the Transportation Department move. The agency is questioning Pan Am's financing, management practices and regard for the law and regulations governing service.
Boston-Maine Airways, which was the most recent airline to resurrect the Pan Am name, has filed an objection to the revocation, which became effective last Friday.
Pan Am also has suspended flights out of Bedford, Mass. and Trenton, N.J.
4 March 2008
SkyEurope first-quarter loss narrows
News reports state that SkyEurope posted a loss of €11.3 million ($17.2 million) in its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, a 17.9% improvement on the €13.8 million deficit the LCC experienced in the year-ago period.
Operating loss, however, widened 21.8% to €14.8 million from €12.2 million a year earlier. Revenue grew 32.2% to €53 million on a 44.1% increase in passengers carried to 857,953. Total operating expenses rose 30% to €59.6 million.
27 February 2008
Vueling's full-year loss soars
News reports state that Vueling Airlines reported a sharp widening in full-year net loss to €63.2 million ($93.7 million), nearly six times worse than the €10.8 million loss posted in 2006, citing falling fares and record fuel costs as causes.
The Spanish LCC's average fare dropped more than 20% in 2007 to €37.65 owing to strong competitive pressure from "traditional and low-cost carriers alike," it said, noting that the negative impact on its bottom line amounted to €60 million.
Revenue rose 54.3% to €362.7 million on a 77% increase in passengers carried to 6.2 million. Load factor gained 3.7 points to 73%. Operating loss widened to €70.9 million from €10.3 million the previous year. CASK was up 4.5% to 5.75 euro cents but CASK excluding fuel improved 1.4% to 4.33 euro cents.
In the fourth quarter, Vueling reported a net loss of €30.9 million compared to a net loss of €9.4 million in the year-ago period. Operating loss increased to €32.5 million from €9.4 million. Despite canceling delivery of one new A320, the carrier grew its fleet to 20 aircraft that now operate on 50 routes. In 2006 it operated on average of 12.3 aircraft on 31 routes.
The LCC is formulating a strategic plan to address its financial situation and is expected to release details next month. It already has decided to discontinue several loss-making routes including Paris Charles de Gaulle to Milan Malpensa, Jerez and Seville and Madrid-Nice. It has stopped operating to Bologna and Pisa and will abandon Madrid to Amsterdam and Brussels at the end of March.
16 February 2008
Gol Has Loss
News reports state that Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Latin America's second-biggest airline by market value, posted a fourth-quarter loss after delays at Brazil's busiest airports reduced demand. The shares fell 5 percent.
The deficit was 24.2 million reais ($13.8 million) compared with a profit of 92.7 million reais a year earlier, Sao Paulo- based Gol said today in a statement on its Web site.
15 February 2008
PAL posts Q3 net loss of $11.3M
News reports state that Philippine Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, incurred a net loss of $11.3 million in its third quarter fiscal year compared to a net income of $79.5 million in the previous year’s comparative period, due primarily to the absence of one-time gains.
15 February 2008
Mesa Air Group $4.2 million loss first quarter
News reports state that Mesa Air Group, which provides regional lift for Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways and operates independently as Mesa Airlines and go!, reported a $4.2 million loss in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, reversed from an $8 million profit in the year-ago period.
12 February 2008
Big Sky Airlines
News reports state Big Sky Airlines parent MAIR Holdings reported a $15.2 million loss for the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, widened from a $1.1 million deficit in the year-ago quarter, and confirmed Big Sky will cease operations in the western US on March 8. It ceased flying in the East last month (ATWOnline, Dec. 21, 2007). MAIR said it is "currently seeking to transition its remaining western operations to another carrier" and is "working to realize the maximum value of all its assets, including assessing the most tax-efficient mechanism to return cash to our shareholders." Third-quarter operating loss soared to $15.6 million from $2.4 million in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2006. Big Sky transported 61,464 passengers during the quarter, up 131% year-over-year, on 8,385 flights. Unit cost rose 39.2% to 45 cents. MAIR's nine-month net loss nearly doubled to $11.3 million from $6.2 million.
8 February 2008
Fuel debts said to ground several Cameroon Airlines aircraft
News reports state that African carrier Cameroon Airlines insists that it is still conducting flights although three of its aircraft are said to have been grounded over debts.
Speaking on behalf of Cameroon Airlines, a spokesman from the Cameroon High Commission in London, UK says the airline has been obliged to renegotiate agreements with its fuel suppliers, but that has now been done and flights are operating as normal.
The spokesman said the carrier does not have the ability to buy fuel on futures markets to hedge against price rises, and the rising cost of oil has put pressure on its finances, which caused the need to renegotiate fuel supply arrangements. He says this has been done satisfactorily, but has not provided details of the arrangements.
However, for the past 10 days, claims a local media report, three of Cameroon Airlines’ aircraft have been grounded in Douala owing to non-payment of fuel bills, causing significant disruption to the airline’s operations.
7 February 2008
Thai AirAsia posts a loss
News reporst state that Low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia posted a loss last year as it faced more intense competition and higher costs.
6 February 2008
SAS Shares Slump After Grounded Planes Prompt Loss
News reports state that SAS Group, owner of Scandinavian Airlines, fell the most in more than six years in Stockholm trading after plane groundings and strike threats led to a fourth-quarter loss.
SAS shares declined as much as 14 percent, the biggest drop since Sept. 12, 2001, and were down 8 kronor, or 13 percent, to 53.5 kronor at 4:35 p.m.
The airline owner had a net loss of 596 million kronor ($93 million), compared with a year-earlier profit of 4.61 billion kronor, Stockholm-based SAS said in a statement today. Analysts had predicted a profit of 101 million kronor.
6 February 2008
Tiger Airways flys into a loss
News reports state that TIGER Airways has posted a full-year loss of $S14 million ($A11 million) for its international operation, according to its most recent financial results.
1 February 2008
Koreans Air Lines - 4th Quarter losses
News reports states Korean Air Lines Co. said Thursday it lost money in the fourth quarter of 2007 due to high fuel prices and foreign exchange losses.
Korea Air, South Korea's largest airline, recorded a net loss of 34.8 billion won ($36.9 million; euro24.8 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared to a net profit of 114 billion won a year earlier, the airline said in a statement.
31 January 2008
Travel misery after airline closure - City Star Airlines
Travel misery after airline closure
News reports state that Passengers are facing misery after an airline shut down following financial difficulties.
Aberdeen based City Star Airlines on Wednesday said it would cease operations from midnight.
The announcement came after one of the company's planes was impounded at Aberdeen Airport by BAA on Wednesday.
30 January 2008
3 More Airlines Cite Fuel Costs for Losses
News reports state that Northwest, JetBlue and AirTran Holdings — posted fourth-quarter losses on Tuesday as rising fuel costs erased gains from fare increases.
But the losses were narrower than expected for Northwest and JetBlue, and shares rose as a result.
Northwest said its deficit was $8 million after a $267 million loss in bankruptcy in the period a year earlier. JetBlue’s $4 million loss compared with net income of $17 million. AirTran pared its loss to $2.17 million from $3.55 million.
Fuel is “the principal culprit,” said David Swierenga, president of consulting firm AeroEcon in Round Rock, Tex. “The softening economy is clearly also having a negative effect.”
29 January 2008
Jet slides into red on high fuel prices, expansion costs
News reports state that Jet Airways, India's sole profitable major carrier, yesterday reported a INR911 million ($23.1 million) loss for the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, reversed from a profit of INR400 million in the year-ago period, ending a streak of four consecutive positive quarters.
Jet cited "historical high fuel prices and startup losses on international business" as factors in the result. Three-month revenue rose 27.8% year-over-year to INR25.17 billion on an 8.7% increase in passengers to 2.95 million. Fuel costs jumped INR609 million from the year-ago period. "The increases in all other costs were in line with the increase in level of operation and in most instances, even lower than that of the same period last year," the company said. Traffic climbed 43% to 4.55 billion RPKs against a 43.2% rise in ASKs to 6.59 billion, lowering load factor 0.2 point to 69.1%. It added 10 aircraft during the quarter.
26 January 2008
Alaska Air Group Q4 Adj. Loss Widens
News reports state that Airline operator Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) Thursday announced results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Non-GAAP net loss for the quarter, excluding special items, widened from last year.
26 January 2008
Frontier Airlines reports net loss of $32.5 million
News reports state that Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. late Thursday reported a third-quarter net loss of $32.5 million, or 89 cents a share, versus the 82-cent loss estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
The quarter ended Dec. 31 included charges totaling 9 cents a share, the company said.
In the comparable period last year, the Denver-based airline reported a net loss of $14.4 million, or 39 cents a share.
Revenue in the quarter rose to $333.9 million from $271.3 million.
Frontier said the primary drivers for its loss were the 16.3% year-over-year increase in fuel cost per gallon and losses from its regional fleet operation.
For 2009, the airline expects mainline capacity to grow roughly 4% to 6%.
Shares of Frontier closed the regular session at $2.97, and climbed 3.5% in after-hours trading.
23 January 2008
Norway's No. 4 airline, Coast Air, declares bankruptcy, immediately grounds all flights
News reports statte that Norway's No. 4 airline, Coast Air, declares bankruptcy, immediately grounds all flights.
, saying it had been stunned by unexpected and unsustainable fourth-quarter losses.
Coast Air was Norway's fourth-largest airline, after SAS Norway, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Wideroe. It had eight routes in Norway and two international connections, to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Gdansk, Poland.
«The bankruptcy is the result of a dramatic and unexpected increase in negative results for the fourth quarter,» said Trygve Seglem, a major shareholder. He did not disclose the extent of the losses.
He said the cost of operating the aircraft had increased dramatically, and that the airline had failed to reach a revised agreement with pilots that would have cut costs and increased crew flexibility.
The airline said about 400 passengers had been booked on flights Wednesday, and that their tickets were rendered invalid by the bankruptcy. Seglem said the company had no money left to offer them compensation or book them onto other airlines. Its staff of about 90 people was also immediately laid off.
The airline, based in the southwestern Norwegian city of Haugesund, was founded in 1975 and operated eight aircraft.
Seglem called the bankruptcy «a paradox,» saying strong growth in passengers and traffic was accompanied by a cost explosion that broke the company.
22 January 2008
SpiceJet net falls, says will post FY08 loss
News reports state that SpiceJet Ltd's quarterly profit fell to 93.4 million rupees on higher fuel prices and its chief said the budget airline would not meet a target of breaking even by the end of 2007/08.
For the quarter ending Dec 31, SpiceJet posted net profit of 93.4 million rupees, down from 121.6 million rupees a year ago. Net sales almost doubled to 4.09 billion rupees from 2.07 billion rupees in the previous year quarter.
Earlier, a top company official had said net profit fell 22.5 percent to 93 million rupees from 120 million rupees.
"We now expect to close the year with losses to the tune of 450-500 million rupees. We would have been better if we did not get a kick from oil prices," Executive Chairman Siddhanta Sharma told reporters after publishing the results.
In November, Sharma had said he expected the firm to break even by March, but added, he was concerned about rising oil prices.
Fuel prices made more than half of SpiceJet's total costs per available seat kilometer in the quarter, finance chief Partha Sarathi Basu said.
"Fuel prices are now inching towards 46 percent of our total costs... For 2008-09, we should be posting a small profit on the operational level," Sharma said.
22 January 2008
Shanghai Airlines predicts loss for 2007
News reports state that Shanghai Airlines predicted on Tuesday that it would post a loss for 2007, deteriorating from a net profit of 8.2 million yuan ($1.1 million) in 2006.
The airline posted a loss of 134.5 million yuan in the first half of last year, but said at the time that earnings were improving and a full-year profit was very likely.
Shanghai Airlines said on Tuesday that earnings were hit by high oil prices, while it had not yet managed to make its new international flights fully profitable, and the setting up of a cargo subsidiary drained money. It did not elaborate.
18 January 2008
** Air Mauritanie liquidated
News reports state that court orderes Air Mauritanie to liquidate assets following ongoing financial crisis.
The Mauritanian court ordered Air Mauritanie liquidate its assets following a financial crisis that has plagued the national air carrier for years, a judicial source said Friday.
14 January 2008
Mesa Air Swings to a Loss Amid Surging Fuel Prices
News reports state that Mesa Air Group Inc. swung to a net loss for the fiscal fourth quarter, as surging fuel prices and a charge related to litigation with Hawaiian Airlines weighed on the airline.
The Phoenix-based carrier posted a net loss of $68.2 million, or $2.37 a share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $4.8 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter fell 6% to $327.8 million from $348.8 million, primarily resulting from a decrease in aircraft in service.
9 January 2008
Alitalia sees wider-than-expected loss
Alitalia expects an extra €200-million ($294-million) in loss this year because of the increased cost of fuel, the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Wednesday.
The airline, which is likely to be acquired by French group Air France-KLM, had recently told Air France it expected a loss of €400-million in 2008, the report said.
Last year, Alitalia paid €1.013-billion or 21.0 percent of its income, for fuel.
In the first nine months of last year the airline ran up a pre-tax loss of €255-million.
9 January 2008
Frontier Airlines loss
News reports state that Frontier Airlines will report a pre-tax loss for the fourth quarter of 2007, President and CEO Sean Menke said. A $0.78-$0.88 per share loss excluding special items, larger than forecast, was caused by "higher-than-expected operating expenses" related to winter weather in Denver and the Midwest late last month and "weaker-than-expected performance in some sun destination markets," he said.
26 December 2007
Big Sky Shuts Down Nationwide Operations
News reports state that the airline announced they are ceasing operations nationwide.
The Montana-based airline said they could not make a profit. A spokesperson for the company said that Big Sky is not bankrupt and that all shareholders will be paid. The airline plans to liquidate its assets as quickly as possible.
Airport officials at Burlington International Airport say they're confident that another airline will take Big Sky's place offering non-stop flights to Boston.
"Quite frankly, the service hadn't been particularly good," said Brian Searles of Burlington International Airport. "We're in touch with Delta now to find out what kind of service will be provided after the Big Sky contract is up and we feel it will likely be an improvement."
Big Sky service to the Northeast ends Jan. 7, 2008. The airline will also shut down its operations in five western states.
25 December 2007
Maxjet Airways files for bankruptcy protection
News reports state that Maxjet Airways threw itself onto bankruptcy protection Monday as soaring costs, stiff competition and a deteriorating credit market scuttled the fledgling airline's bid to carve out a niche for itself by catering exclusively to business-class passengers in the trans-Atlantic market. "It is with deep regret that I must inform you that Maxjet filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy ... With today's fuel prices and the resulting impact on the credit climate for airlines, we are forced to take this drastic measure," Maxjet President and CEO William Stockbridge said in a statement posted on the company's Web site. Maxjet's bankruptcy came as no surprise in the airline industry. Mounting financial problems forced the suspension of its shares on Dec. 7, six months after the Dulles, Va.-based company debuted in London. Maxjet's maiden flight took off two years ago, aimed exclusively at budget-minded business travelers on the New York-to-London run. The airline promised amenities that business travelers had come to expect but were getting increasingly hard to find, especially after the demise of the legendary Concorde flights operated by British Airways. Maxjet's fleet of five aircraft used Stansted airport outside London as the hub for a tight network of flights to New York's JFK, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The venture met with plenty of analyst skepticism from the start, amid warnings that the carrier offered too few flights to too few destinations to compete for lucrative corporate accounts. Pricing pressure from established carriers such as British Airways, Air France-KLM and Virgin also made it hard for the newcomer to break into the field while a slowdown in corporate as well as consumer spending was seen as a major factor making it hard for Maxjet to line up any more credit.
22 December 2007
FlyWhoosh grounded
News reports state that troubled airine flyWhoosh finally admitted yesterday that its Dundee services have been grounded for good.
The belated announcement came after the Polish company which provided the plane and crew, White Eagle Aviation, ended its business relationship with flyWhoosh two weeks ago, leaving it with no aircraft.
Bizarrely though, the company has blamed its demise on what it terms “negative publicity” by The Courier, in an Email to customers who have lost their flights and, possibly, their money.
21 December 2007
Big Sky bails on East Coast operations, braces for shutdown
News reports state that Big Sky Airlines, a subsidiary of MAIR Holdings, will shutter its US East Coast operations as a Delta Connection partner on Jan. 7.
MAIR plans to sell seven Big Sky Beech 1900s and will attempt to offload its operating certificate as well, President Paul Foley said. Big Sky has been operating the 19-seat turboprops under codeshare with DL since April.
"Big Sky is going to be shut down at some point," Big Sky President Fred deLeeuw told ATWOnline. He said he expects it to happen in 60-90 days. "Our eastern operations were dramatically affected by a combination of unusually bad weather, disappointing revenue and record-high fuel prices," he explained. Foley said yesterday that Big Sky lost $1.3 million in November and "we do not see future conditions improving to the level required."
This is the second round of bad news this year at MAIR. In January it turned over its bankrupt regional subsidiary Mesaba Airlines to codeshare partner Northwest Airlines as part of a stock purchase and reorganization agreement
20 December 2007
Nationwide is still battling headwinds
News reports state that Nationwide Airlines, still recovering after its temporary grounding last month, says it has been struggling to accommodate passengers who, in turn, say they have lost faith in the airline.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) grounded the airline on November 30 when it suspended its approval of the airline's aircraft maintenance organisation and the certificates of airworthiness of its fleet of aircraft.
About two weeks ago the CAA ruled that Nationwide's aircraft could again take to the skies.
Rodger Whittle, Nationwide's corporate quality director, said it had been taking strain this festive season.
"We are operating with far fewer aircraft than normal. This has obviously had huge implications ... we have been inundated with calls from our clients and we can't accommodate them," he said.
Two Nationwide flights to Johannesburg were cancelled on Wednesday for as yet unestablished reasons.
20 December 2007
Skybus Airlines losses
News reports state that Skybus Airlines lost $16 million in the third quarter, according to statistics the startup LCC provided to the US Dept. of Transportation and cited by several press reports. Revenue was $22 million as the carrier achieved a 79% load factor. Yield was just 5.08 cents. The Ohio-based airline told media that the results were "in line" with expectations.
19 December 2007
AlpiEagles: creditors have petitioned in bankruptcy
News reports state that SAVE, GESAC, AZ and the "Il Sole 24 Ore" the main creditors
The lawyers of AlpiEagles creditors have petitioned in in bankruptcy.
The main creditors of the airline, led by Paolo Sinigallia, that have petitioned to the Venice Court, are SAVE, Venice Airport Management Company, GESAC, Napoli-Capodichino Management Company, Alitalia and unofficial sources report also the name of "Il Sole 24 Ore" newspaper and in that regard it has not yet released any statements.
The global amount requested by the first two companies is about 6 million Euro (over 4 million Euro for SAVE) relating to the use of the airports, while the debt on Alitalia is 300,000 Euro and about 100,000 for the Italian newspaper.
On December 18th there was the first hearing, but all has been postponed to February 12th, 2008.
The licence of AlpiEagles will expire on December 31st, 2007, but the hearing is delayed to next February. Will ENAC, Italian Civil Aviation Authority, suspend the airline's activity or allow it to extend its licence still further?
19 December 2007
Virgin America sees loss after takeoff
News reports statet that Virgin America Inc., the Burlingame startup airline partly owned by U.K. billionaire Richard Branson, lost $34.8 million in its first quarter of operation, according to U.S. government data.
19 December 2007
Aloha Airlines
News reports state that Aloha Airlines yesterday confirmed press reports of a $15.1 million loss in the third quarter, widened from a $9.9 million deficit in the year-ago period. The carrier now has suffered a loss in each of the past 16 quarters, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin calculated. Third-quarter revenue rose 4.6% to $104.4 million, but higher fuel prices and lower fares continued to plague Aloha, according to President and CEO David Banmiller. Expenses climbed 5.1% to $116.1 million and operating loss deepened to $11.7 million from $10.6 million in the third quarter of 2006. The airline, which emerged from bankruptcy in February 2006, lost $58.1 million through the first nine months. It lost $41.5 million last year.
16 December 2007
Mesa expects fiscal 2007 loss
News reports state that Mesa Air Group Inc., the parent of interisland carrier go!, said today it expects to report a loss for the fiscal year that ended in September.
The earnings release will be delayed pending a review of “certain estimates,” Phoenix-based Mesa said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The airline fired Chief Financial Officer George “Peter” Murnane last month and named William Hoke as interim CFO after a probe into possible misconduct.
14 December 2007
Airlines face 33% profit loss
News reports state that the airline industry predicts profits next year will be cut by one third as soaring fuel costs and the credit crunch begin to take their toll.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast yesterday that the global aviation business would make profits of $US5 billion ($A5.7 billion) in 2008, compared with a previous forecast of $US7.8 billion.
The greatest burden on airlines next year will be fuel prices, with the spike in charges set to add $US14 billion to the industry fuel bill, bringing it to $US149 billion, based on an average price of $US78 per barrel.
The impact of the credit crunch is also expected to lead to slower growth in revenue and traffic. The delivery of new, bigger aircraft will make the problem worse, with more seats competing for fewer passengers.
13 December 2007
O'Connor Airlines will cease operating
News reports state that O'Connor Airlines is about to be grounded because there has been no interest in buying it as a going concern.
The troubled regional operator O'Connor Airlines will cease operating tomorrow night.
The administrator has announced that, despite significant initial interest, there were no offers to acquire the South Australian-based airline as a going concern.
It says that continuing trading losses, declining support from customers, flight crew shortages and significant aircraft maintenance issues have contributed to the decision.
Passengers affected by the imminent closure are being contacted by O'Connor Airlines staff.
13 December 2007
Airline Shares Tumble
News reports state that Airline shares extended early losses Tuesday after the Federal Reserve cut the benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.25 percent, in line with what most economists expected.
The federal funds rate is the rate commercial banks charge one another on overnight loans.
Broader markets dipped shortly after the announcement as investors appeared to want bolder action from the central bank. Airline stocks tumbled further, pressured by rising crude oil prices and a downbeat earnings outlook that weighed on the sector earlier in the session.
13 December 2007
Fuel costs put airlines back into the red
News reports state that an analyst says higher jet fuel prices will lead to first industrywide loss since early 2006, although reduced profits could return in '08.
After almost two years of profits, the airline industry will hit turbulence and post a fourth quarter loss due to high jet fuel prices, according to a leading analyst.
Ray Neidl of Calyon Securities cut his earnings forecast on most major airlines. He said fuel costs have averaged $2.55 a gallon so far in the fourth quarter, up 16 percent from a $2.20 average in the third quarter.
11 December 2007
Nationwide 24-hour-strike to paralyse transport across Greece
News reports state that all flights are expected be grounded, ships to be docked and urban transport and public services are expected to grind to a halt across Greece when labour unions Wednesday stage a 24-hour-strike to protest proposed pension reforms.
No flights would be leaving or arriving at Athens International Airport as air-traffic controllers decided to join the action Tuesday.
State-operated Olympic Airlines joined the strike after the government said it was unlikely that it could rescue the airline from bankruptcy.
11 December 2007
Frontier Airlines
News reports state that Frontier Airlines said it expects a pre-tax loss of $0.58-$0.68 per share excluding special items in the third fiscal quarter ending Dec. 31. It did not offer a comparison to the year-ago quarter, when it reported a net loss of $14.4 million. It also said it planned to reduce year-over-year mainline capacity growth for the fiscal fourth quarter to 8.6% from the originally scheduled 13.7%.
7 December 2007
MaxJet Suspends Share Trading
All-business-class airline Maxjet today suspended trading in its shares pending “clarification” of its financial position.
The airline started flying between Stansted and New York in November 2005, claiming to offer the amenitites of business class at fares comparable to economy class.
It lost £40 million in its first year of operation, but gained £47.3 million after floating on the Alternative Investment Market this year, aiming to use the cash to pay off debts and fund expansion.
Maxjet’s first-year losses, in the 12 months to the end of 2006, came on a turnover of £21 million.
At the time it insisted that it was normal for a new airline to lose money in its early years, and it expected to break even by launching more services.
7 December 2007
Kingfisher Airlines posts Rs 577 cr loss
News reports state that Kingfisher Airlines has posted a net loss of Rs 577 crore in the financial year ended March 2007, the balance sheet of UB Holdings, which owns the airline, shows. The loss was on a revenue of Rs 1,553 crore earned during the year. This, incidentally, may well be the biggest loss posted by a major domestic airline recently.
Kingfisher’s more established rival, full-service carrier Jet Airways, had recorded a marginal profit of Rs 28 crore in the same period while government-owned Indian closed the year with a Rs 275-crore loss. Industry analysts estimate that domestic airlines have lost around Rs 2,000 crore in 2006-07.
Kingfisher, now in its third year of operation, hopes to break even in 2008-09. But analysts reckon that the going could get tougher, especially if the current cost pressures continue even as the Vijay Mallya-owned airline attempts to chart its international foray next year.
“The high cost is the main reason for the loss,” said Kingfisher Airlines vice-chairman Subhash Gupte. “Aircraft acquisition, depreciation, new routes, training requirement and the spiralling cost of aviation fuel in India are the other reasons,” he said. Kingfisher’s failure to utilise aircraft capacity in full has also added to the woes.
Air Deccan has been in the red since its inception, having accumulated losses of around Rs 420 crore. Kingfisher Radio, another UB Group firm, had acquired 46% stake in Deccan Aviation this June. The prospects of an eventual merger between the two carriers is on the cards.
7 December 2007
Olympic Airlines to liquidate
News reports state that Olympic Airlines will be prepared for liquidation. Greek Minister of Transport Kostis Hadzidakis is planning the closure of the loss-making carrier next year and wants to replace it with a new airline under a new name and with a much smaller fleet. The Greek government also is looking for private investors, according to press reports. "We do not want a blueprint of Olympic, where the state has full control," Hadzidakis was quoted as saying.
According to preliminary plans, the new carrier would operate with a fleet of 20 aircraft instead of the current 42. Most international routes would be closed, with the network focused on flights to domestic destinations and neighboring countries. Half of the 8,500 positions at Olympic would be cut, with the government planning to offer early retirement packages or jobs in other state-owned enterprises. Last weekend, Hadzidakis said Olympic's debt had reached €2 billion ($2.94 billion) and that legal proceedings involving alleged illegal state aid to the struggling carrier have made finding investors impossible
4 December 2007
British holiday makers face misery as airline is grounded
The Daily Mail reported on Monday that hundreds of British holidaymakers have had their travel plans severely disrupted following the grounding of an international airline.
South African carrier Nationwide, which operates four return flights a week between Gatwick and Johannesburg, lost an engine on take-off on a recent flight from Cape Town.
Last week the South African Civil Aviation Authority suspended Nationwide's aviation maintenance organisation licence, leading to the suspension of all flights.
A spokesman for Gatwick airport said today that Nationwide's planned 7pm Gatwick-Johannesburg flight had been cancelled. The airline's other normal Gatwick departures are on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays have also been stopped.
The disruption will now mean misery for the hundreds of British holiday makers planning to travel to South Africa.
Yesterday South Africa's Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said Nationwide were attempting to solve the problems by leasing an aircraft from Dutch airmline KLM to fly passengers to London.
Earlier this month the SACAA said it took the decision to ground all Boeing 737 200 aircraft in the country yesterday for safety checks after an engine fell off the wing of a Nationwide Airline aircraft carrying 106 passengers in Cape Town. There were no injuries sustained by anyone on board or on the ground.
On its website yesterday, Nationwide said: "The Civil Aviation Authority is still investigating the cause of the incident, and the results of the investigation are not expected to be known for some time.
"It would appear however that during the take off roll an object which is yet to be defined was ingested into the engine which caused a catastrophic engine failure. The subsequent forces experienced by the engine supporting structure caused this to fail and for the number two engine to detach from the wing.
"Effectively, this grounded all Boeing 737-200 aircraft operated in South Africa until compliance with the Airworthiness Directive could be accomplished."
4 December 2007
IATA shuts Nationwide back-office
News reports state that the Geneva-based International Air Transport Association (IATA) has suspended Nationwide Airline from participation in its billing and settlement systems. The global industry association says the move follows confirmation on Nationwide's Web site on Friday that it had suspended operations.
4 December 2007
Olympic 'facing difficult future'
News reports state that the Greek government has said that national carrier Olympic Airlines has a 'more difficult future' amid speculation it may soon be grounded.
Athens is under increased pressure to reclaim illegal state aid that it paid to the airline.
And Ryanair is taking the European Commission to court for failing to act on further state subsidies it alleges were paid to Olympic.
The Greek carrier has struggled despite the widely-criticised funds.
Athens has previously said that the demands for repayments have made it impossible to find investors for the potential privatisation of the airline.
'Jobs safe'
The legal action by Ryanair makes Olympic's survival "more difficult" Greece's Transport Minister Costis Hadzidakis warned.
In a carefully worded statement following a meeting with EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot over the weekend, he said that the government was committed to keeping Olympic in the air.
But if it was forced to close, he pledged that none of the estimated 8,500 workers at the flag carrier would lose their jobs and that none of the Greek islands would lose their air links to the mainland.
This has been widely interpreted that the troubled airline's days are numbered.
Financial woes
Olympic has faced financial difficulties for years, despite being propped up by Athens.
Efforts to privatise the carrier hit turbulence after a 2005 ruling by the European Commission that found the Greek government guilty of illegal state aid to Olympic and demanded it reclaim the money worth hundreds of millions of euros.
The ruling related to subsidies given to Olympic between 1998 and 2002.
Ryanair's complaint relates to a further 500m euros subsequently given by Greece to the airline, which the Irish budget airline alleges is the latest attempt by the government to support the carrier.
2 December 2007
SkyEurope preliminary FY net loss narrows to 24.1 mln eur on higher loadfactor
News reports state that SkyEurope Holding AG said preliminary net loss for the full year narrowed to 24.1 mln eur from over 57 mln a year before thanks to a record loadfactor in the fourth quarter.
The low-cost Slovakian airline reported preliminary EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, debt, amortisation and rent) at 9.6 mln eur for the year ending Sept 30 versus a negative 32.1 mln reported in 2006.
30 November 2007
Nationwide aircraft grounded indefinitely
News reports satet that Nationwide’s aircraft will remain grounded until the airline has fixed deficiencies within its maintenance section, the SA Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Friday.
The CAA suspended approval for the airline’s aircraft maintenance organisation from midnight on Thursday, said CAA chief executive officer Zakes Myeza.
It had also suspended the certificates of airworthiness of Nationwide’s fleet of 16 aircraft - twelve 737 - 200s, five 727s and one 767.
If the airline did not comply, its licence would be revoked altogether.
“It was unavoidable,” said Myeza.
He said the suspension arose from the airline’s failure to comply with an airworthiness directorate issued in September and subsequent audits of its compliance.
29 November 2007
EU keeps ban on Indonesian airlines
News reports state that the EU on Wednesday lifted its entry ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and on Blue Wing Airlines of Surinam, but refused to do the same with Garuda and other Indonesian airlines because of ongoing safety concerns. A statement from the EU's Transport Commission said both PIA and Blue Wing Airlines had "successfully completed the implementation of a corrective action plan following their inclusion in (the EU's) list (of banned airlines)."
The EU added Indonesia's national airline, Garuda, and all other Indonesian airlines to its list of carriers that are not allowed to fly into EU territory in June.
While no Indonesian airline flew to EU member states before the crashes, the ban obliges travel agencies to warn customers that Indonesian airlines are unsafe if they sell package tours that use such carriers.
Last week, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged the EU to act swiftly to lift the ban, saying Indonesia was making every effort to improve aviation safety.
But a Transport Commission spokesman said Wednesday that improvements were still needed.
"Clear progress is there, but more effort is still needed to make sure that all the deficiencies have been tackled and that we can lift our ban. That is not the case yet. We still need some improvements," said Michele Cercone, the spokesman for Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso promised to send a team of experts back to Indonesia to speed up a review of airline safety in the country during his visit to Jakarta last week.
Wednesday's update of the EU blacklist, which takes place every three months, also acknowledged the efforts being made by the civil aviation authorities of Iran, Ukraine and Angola to improve safety.
However, TAAG Angola Airlines, Mahan Air and Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines remain on the EU's blacklist, which covers eight individual airlines and all carriers from Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Europe's civil aviation authorities carry out only random inspections of aircraft operating within the 27-member bloc. Therefore, the fact that an airline is not included in the EU blacklist does not automatically mean that it meets the applicable safety standards, officials note.
28 November 2007
Air India
News reports state that Air India board this week signed off on a loss of INR4.48 billion ($112.5 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31, a result reversed from a INR149.4 million profit in the prior year, according to widespread press reports from India. Revenue climbed 2.8% year-over-year to INR95.9 billion and the carrier struggled to fend off low-fare competition as its fuel bill rose a reported INR3.86 billion, or nearly 13%, and it was forced to pay INR4.25 billion in wage arrears. Dow Jones reported that Indian Airlines, which has merged with Air India under the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd. banner, reported a fiscal-year loss of INR2.75 billion following three straight years of profit, including a INR495 million surplus in 2005-06.
28 November 2007
Thai Airways suffers a 29.5% decline in profit
News reports state that Thai Airways suffered a 29.5% decline in profit in its fiscal year ended Sept. 30 to THB6.34 billion ($201.7 million), according to press reports from Bangkok that cited weak aircraft sales and unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations for the result. Sales climbed 7.5% to THB192.03 billion, but foreign currency gains plunged 80.6% to THB1.2 billion and the THB500 million earned from the sale of three aircraft compared to THB2 billion it made from disposal of four freighters in the 2005-06 fiscal year, Thomson Financial reported. Costs were up 5.3% to THB179.2 billion and passenger numbers rose 3% to approximately 20 million. Load factor was 77%.
26 November 2007
Indian may post Rs 250-crore loss
News reports state that the national carrier, Indian, the country’s second largest airline by marketshare, is expected to post a net loss of about Rs 250 crore for the financial year 2005-6, instead of a profit of Rs 48 crore.
The change is after the audit committee of the National Aviation Company (NACL) board asked the Indian management to provide for losses of Alliance Air worth about Rs 300 crore. The losses were not provided for earlier. Indian’s accounts for the last fiscal have hence not been finalised yet. Air India’s accounts on the other hand, were approved by the board and amount to a net loss of Rs 447.93 crore for the full year 2005-6.
Alliance Air, is the low cost subsidiary of Indian. The books of the two carriers will be merged from this fiscal as the merger comes into effect. The board meeting of NACL, the holding company, that began on Friday spilled over to Saturday on the issue of the finalisation of accounts.
On the NACL board are the Air India chairman V Thulasidas, financial advisor to the ministry of civil aviation Raghu Menon, joint secretary RK Singh, chairman of ICICI bank Mr N Vaghul who is an independent director and the NACL vice chairman V Trivedi, who is also the former chairman of Indian. The board also has six functional directors from the two carriers.
The former Air India director, who spoke to ET on Friday said, ``savings resulting from the merger between the two carriers will improve the financial health of the company this fiscal.”
Meanwhile, elaborating on the reasons for Air India’s losses, the company’s director public relations Jitender Bhargava said, ``higher fuel cost, increased interest liabilities because of new aircraft and lower revenues have resulted in the losses.’’
He also said almost every airline in the country was losing money. Air India’s fuel bill increased by Rs 386 crore to Rs 3,530 crore during 2006-7. The interest liability was up by Rs 239 crore during the period.
The revenues, however, fell to Rs 5,360 crore from Rs 5,689 crore in 2005-6. Air India’s Ebitdar (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation ammortisation and rent), an important parameter for the airline industry, amounted to Rs 798 crore.
22 November 2007
AIRLINES BRACE FOR FURTHER TURBULENCE
News reports state that as the price of oil surged towards USS100 per barrel in overnight trade, the aviation industry was bracing itself for further after-shocks.
In its daily media hotline, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said the fallout of the US sub prime mortgage crisis and worries over the outlook for the US economy continued to rattle investors.
“In Asia, the impact has not been as great, as economic growth remains strong and US dollar weakness has cushioned the blow of rising fuel costs,” said CAPA.
Cathay Pacific CEO, Tony Tyler, stated that Asia's airlines still have pricing power in the current market, adding “that's how we can keep our heads up, despite the very high fuel costs”.
CAPA said fuel surcharges would continue to rise, particularly in less competitive, long-haul international markets.
"Much depends on the Chinese economy, Asia’s dominant market," said Peter Harbison, CAPA executive chairman. "If it were to stumble, the blowtorch could be quickly applied to Asia’s economies and its airlines."
21 November 2007
Deccan runs up accumulated losses
News reports state that Low cost airline, ‘Simplifly’ Deccan has run up accumulated losses worth about Rs 778 crore (as of June, 2007) but it is confident that it will return to profits as early as April-June 2008 quarter.
“Consolidation in the industry is setting in which means airlines will start achieving higher yields and realisation,” Deccan’s officiating Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ramki Sundaram, told Business Line.
The accumulated losses exclude the Rs 253.18-crore loss the airline suffered during the July-September quarter this year. If one takes into consideration the Rs 800-crore debt which the UB Group raised to buy 46 per cent stake in Deccan Aviation which runs Deccan, the owners of the airline have a lot to worry about. But airline officials claim that in another 18 months, accumulated losses will reduce considerably.
What worries the domestic airlines more, according to Mr Sundaram is the sharp increase in oil prices as well as poor airport infrastructure. “If the government stops cross-subsidising, and prices the ATF (aviation turbine fuel) on par with international prices, we will be able to manage our finances much better,” Mr Sundaram said.
21 November 2007
Shares in Austrian Airlines AG nosedive
News reports state that shares in Austrian Airlines AG nosedived in heavy volumes in mid-afternoon trading, as the carrier led a broad decline among European airline stocks on the back of rising oil prices.
At 2.26 pm, Austrian Airline shares were down 7.83 pct to 5.53 eur, while the ATX index was down 1.88 pct to 4,328.01.
Analysts attributed the carrier's strong share price loss to additional gains in the already high price of oil, as well as to the general weakness in trading on the Vienna bourse today.
On Friday, the airline said its October passenger traffic volume was up 0.2 pct year-on-year to 952,600 passengers, while its passenger load factor for the month was 76.4 pct, compared to 75.4 pct a year earlier.
21 November 2007
More turbulence in Brazil's airline industry
News reports state that there is more turbulence in Brazil's airline industry with the grounding of BRA, Brazil is left with two dominant groups: TAM and Gol/Varig
The suspension of flights at BRA, sharp profit falls at both Gol and TAM in the third quarter and the return to international duty of Varig, all in the past few weeks, illustrate perfectly the fluctuating fortunes of the Brazilian airline industry.
São Paulo-based BRA, which had built up a network of around 30 destinations in under two years, suspended all of its domestic and international operations in early November. Its fleet of seven Boeing 737s and two 767s were grounded as the carrier ran out of cash. Privately owned BRA says it is in negotiations to secure enough financing to resume operations. Prior to the suspension, it emerged that the airline's founder and chief executive, Humberto Folegatti, had resigned in October. He had just ordered 20 Embraer E-195s.
BRA's predicament was deepened by air traffic disruption in the country, partly caused by flight restrictions at São Paulo's Conganhas airport following the crash of a TAM Airbus A320 in July. This disruption was mainly behind Gol's profits in the third quarter plummeting by 75% and TAM's by over a third.
20 November 2007
Industrial problems in Jamaican airline
News reports state that the financially-strapped national airline, Air Jamaica, says it is seeking to reduce its workforce and has also proposed a 12-month voluntary leave of absence for workers.
Newly appointed executive chairman Shirley Williams has confirmed that the work force will be reduced and that the company is to carry out an audit of all departments to determine how it would carry out the planned staff reduction.
Williams said there is an urgent need to cut costs at the airline.
"As I said from the very first day that I assumed responsibility for Air Jamaica, we have to restructure the organisation so that it is efficient," she said.
"We have to do cuts in terms of human resources because in many areas they are currently overstaffed. We are auditing every department and whatever action is required to be taken in the interest of efficiency will be taken and will be taken in a timely manner," she added.
But the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, (BITU), which represents the workers including pilots and flight attendants, has rejected the voluntary leave of absence proposal.
BTU president general, Kavon Gayle, said if the company pursues the plan it would have a negative impact on the airline's operations.
"It was proposed to us sometime earlier on this year and we raised the concerns about it as to how it would impact on the operations.
"What Air Jamaica needs to do is to make a forensic analysis on all facets of their operations and come up with a structured set of objectives and priorities in terms of how they can improve the operation and how they can reduce and save costs," Gayle said.
He said that a meeting would be held with the workers later this week.
Meanwhile, flight operations at the Norman Manley International Airport could be severely affected by as early as Tuesday afternoon after emergency and maintenance workers attached to the Airports Authority of Jamaica, (AAJ) have threatened to walk off the job if the management fails to present them with a new wage offer.
The workers are being represented by the Trade Union Congress (TUC), whose deputy general secretary, Barrington Dawes, said wage negotiations have been going on for nearly a year without much success.
He said the workers had rejected previous offers presented by the AAJ and ultimatums issued against the company have not had much effect.
"As a consequence we have urged the AAJ repeatedly to make meaningful offers. The response of the management is very slow in coming and we have reached a point where our patience has been completely exhausted and we have said the airports authority make some meaningful response."
He said failure to do so by midday on Tuesday could result in "a cessation of operations".
19 November 2007
Philippine Airlines suffered an $11.8 million loss
News reports state that Philippine Airlines suffered an $11.8 million loss in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, widened from a $6.2 million deficit in the year-ago period. PAL said the increase was due principally to higher maintenance and fuel expenses. Revenue rose 13% to $354.1 million as yields climbed, it said. Fuel accounted for $108.2 million of the $365.9 million in expenses. Despite the result, PAL reached the halfway point of its fiscal year a record $22.7 million in the black compared to a surplus of $10.9 million in the year-ago semester.
19 November 2007
AIRLINE STOCKS - Sector hit by broad market sell-off, climbing crude
News reports state that Airline stocks fell sharply Monday, clobbered by a big downdraft in the overall stock market, rising oil prices, and more gloomy comments about the state of the industry.
At the close, the Amex Airline Index (XALamex airline index XAL) was down 5.2% at 39.68 points, with some of the index's biggest carriers leading the decline.
US Airways Group Inc. (LCCUS Airways Group Inc LCC) posted the group's steepest percentage decline, down 8% to close at $20.61 a share. Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWAnorthwest airls corp com NWA) fell nearly 7% to $17.95.
Continental Airlines Inc. (CALContinental Airlines Inc CAL) ended at $27.82, down nearly a 6% from Friday's close, while American Airlines parent AMR Corp. (AMRAMR Corporation AMR) shed 4.9% to end the session at $21.38.
Much of the pressure came from a Goldman Sachs downgrade of Citigroup, citing the likelihood of more subprime mortgage losses, which gnawed away at investor confidence in the broad market and sent the Dow Jones Industrials into a 218-point tailspin.
But crude-oil's brief overnight surge to $95 a barrel was another unsettling factor. The front-month crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange finished the day with an 80-cent gain at $94.64.
Crude's gains stemmed from a decision over the weekend by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries not to boost production quotas. Some of the group's members went so far as to say that oil prices appear undervalued given the weak U.S. dollar, the currency of the global oil market.
The comments gave little encouragement to airline fuel managers hoping crude prices would continue their retreat from near $100 a week ago, but instead seem to be settling in at the mid-$90s level.
16 November 2007
Save and Gesac petition in bankruptcy against Alpi Eagles
News reports state that the Alpi Eagles airline situation seems to be more and more difficult. The carrier of Veneto, long time is in the centre of enourmos problems , is faced with petition in bankruptcy, filed by SAVE and GESAC (the companies which manage the airport of Venice and Naples respectively) at the Court of Padova.
The news has been confirmed by union sources and the FIT, FILT and UILT national secretaryships have immediately asked for a confrontation with the minister of Transport Alessandro Bianchi. The future of Alpi Eagles concerns about 800 workers, 300 of which are employees of the carrier.
The debts towards the SAVE come to 3.8 million of Euros, sum not confirmed by Paolo Sinigaglia, the President of Alpi Eagles, who replies this way to the SAVE and GESAC petition: "Alpi Eagles is not in a state of insolvency, because it is super-capitalized. I want stigmatize SAVE action, made by its President Enrico Marchi, who long time plots to close our airline".
16 November 2007
Alitalia's third-quarter loss narrows but still heavy
News reports state that despite falling passenger traffic revenue and continuing labor unrest, Alitalia managed to narrow its third-quarter deficit.
Its pre-tax loss of €57.6 million ($84.3 million) was an improvement over the €66.4 million suffered in the year-ago period, while its operating loss narrowed to €19.1 million from €42 million in the third quarter of 2006.
A 4.6% decline in passenger revenue was offset by rising cargo and nontraffic income, producing a 1% climb in consolidated turnover to €1.27 billion. AZ said "industrial unrest" during the period resulted in a "potential" revenue loss of approximately €32 million. Costs fell 0.2% to €1.21 billion, which helped boost the operating result.
Operating a fleet of 185 aircraft at the close of the quarter, AZ reported a 0.1% increase in passenger traffic and a 0.3% rise in capacity, resulting in a 0.2 point slip in load factor to 78.6%. Yield fell 5.3% year-over-year owing to increasing LCC competition and unfavorable foreign exchange trends, and revenue per ASK declined 5.5%.
Nine-month pre-tax loss narrowed to €255 million from €274.8 million in the year-ago period as operating less fell to €146.4 million from €172.6 million. AZ said its full-year operating results "should be practically in line" with the €265.7 million deficit reported for 2006 prior to a readjustment necessitated by a writedown in the value of its fleet. It forecast a "moderate" increase in passengers and a "noticeable" fall in yield and said it will retain sufficient cash to continuing operating for more than 12 months.
* Despite the continuing negative profits IPP continue to maintain cover for this airline
14 November 2007
Alitalia says Q3 pre-tax net loss narrows
News reports state - Italy's national carrier Alitalia on Tuesday reported a third-quarter pre-tax loss of 58 million euros ($84.78 million), an improvement of almost 9 million euros on the same period last year.
Alitalia, still on the hunt for a buyer after a failed auction for the Italian government's controlling stake in the airline, said operating revenues rose by about 1 percent to 1.267 billion euros in the period.
9 November 2007
Italian minister says Alitalia risks bankruptcy if government sale fails
Press reports state that Italy's transport minister said Thursday that Alitalia SpA might have to file for bankruptcy in a few months if government attempts to sell a controlling stake in the Italian airline fail.
``If we're not able to sell Alitalia in an acceptable manner within the next two to three months, we'd run the serious risk of bankruptcy,'' Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi said.
The Italian government has been struggling to sell its 49.9 percent stake in loss-making Alitalia. Its attempt earlier this year to sell at least a 39 percent stake failed after all potential buyers gradually pulled out, saying the conditions were too stringent.
Last month, Alitalia Chairman Maurizio Prato said he would sound out interest for the company's sale with six candidates, including Air France-KLM, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the private Italian carrier Air One and Russia's Aeroflot.
No new terms have been indicated. But after the failed auction, analysts said it is likely that most of the conditions have been taken off the table in order to accelerate a sale.
Air One is Italy's second-biggest carrier by passenger numbers after Alitalia. The holding company that controls Air One on Wednesday said Goldman Sachs will act as adviser for a bid it is preparing with the support of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo.
Alitalia has been suffering under competition from low-cost carriers, high operating costs and damaging strikes. In the first half of the year, its net loss was ¤211 million (US$297 million).
* IPP still continue to offer cover for this airline
8 November 2007
Solomon Airlines suspends flights
News reports state that the Solomon Islands national airline has suspended all domestic flights with immediate effect.
The financially-troubled Solomon Airlines announced the suspension today. The move will disadvantage thousands of people who rely on its services to travel between the nation's scattered islands.
Airline officials could not be contacted for comment this evening in the capital, Honiara.
It was unclear if the airline's international flights to and from Brisbane would be affected.
The Solomons government, which owns the airline, has had to bail it out in the past.
8 November 2007
Creditors want AEXJet to liquidate
Press reports state that the two largest creditors of Aspen Executive Air filed a motion Monday asking the court to convert the airline’s bankruptcy from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, meaning the Basalt-based airline would sell off all assets instead of reorganize its debts.
But John Gallaher, the CEO of Aspen Executive Air — better known as AEXJet — said Tuesday that he is confident the motion won’t be approved.
“We don’t think [the motion] is going to go through,” Gallaher said while he was at Denver International Airport en route to Delaware, where a hearing is scheduled Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The motion comes after AEXJet filed for bankruptcy protection Sept. 14, and court papers filed last month state that the airline is $66.9 million in debt, including $30 million to two aircraft leasing companies — JLT Aircraft Holding Co. and Walker Aircraft.
The two Minnesota firms filed the motion arguing that because AEXJet “is apparently unable to pay its operating expenses, JLT and Walker believe that (AEXJet’s) continued presence in chapter 11 will only result in further losses to the bankruptcy estate.”
JLT and Walker also contend that AEXJet’s pending merger with Arkansas-based Pinnacle Airlines would increase AEXJet’s debt, and, in turn, “negatively impact creditors by decreasing their chances for recovery.”
7 November 2007
Brazilian airline BRA asks for temporary suspension amid financial problems
New reports state that Brazilian airline BRA announced Tuesday that it had asked for the temporary suspension of all its domestic and international fights because of financial problems.
In a statement, the carrier said it would await investments to eventually resume operations after asking the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) to grant the suspension.
BRA denied the allegation that it had declared bankruptcy, while indicating that it would need approximately 30 million U.S. dollars to come back to business.
With a fleet of 10 aircraft, the company has 26 destinations in Brazil and three abroad. It operates 35 domestic and five international flights per week, representing 4.6 percent of the country's total.
BRA also advised passengers to contact the company to have their tickets refunded or transferred to other airlines.
The suspension will leave 1,100 workers jobless. The company said it had notified the employees of the decision.
7 November 2007
Goldman Sachs To Advise Air One In Alitalia Bid
New reports state - ROME -(Dow Jones)- The holding company of Italian airline Air One said Tuesday that Goldman Sachs (GS) will act as adviser for a bid it is preparing, with the support of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), for Alitalia SpA (AZA.MI).
In a statement, AP Holding said Nomura Holdings (NMR) and other investment banks would also take part in the deal to buy a controlling stake in Alitalia held by the Italian Treasury, without providing details.
The Italian government has this year been struggling to sell its 49.9% stake in loss-making Alitalia. A tender organized by the Treasury was scrapped in July after Air One, Italy's second-biggest carrier by passenger numbers after Alitalia and the last credible buyer left in the running, pulled out saying the sale terms didn't give it a free enough hand to implement a restructuring strategy.
* IPP continue to offer cover for this airline
7 November 2007
FRONTIER AIRLINES HOLDINGS
Press reports state that FRONTIER AIRLINES HOLDINGS, a lagging low-cost carrier in a troubled industry, has watched its stock sputter along for nearly two years. But after a stand-out September quarter and with a new chief executive in the pilot's seat, the airline could be in for a turnaround.
Frontier flies routes to 47 cities in the U.S. out of its Denver hub, as well as to seven cities in Mexico and two in Canada. The $258 million company has held its own against UAL's United Airlines for years, but ever since Southwest Airlines began flying out of the Mile High City, Frontier's stock has fallen 24%. Frontier has also lost money in three out of the past four quarters.
7 November 2007
Big Sky Airlines loss
News reports state that Big Sky Airlines parent MAIR Holdings reported a $2.5 million loss in the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, unchanged from the year-ago period. Revenue climbed 46.4% to $9.05 million while expenses rose 29.9% to $12.5 million, resulting in a flat operating loss of $3.4 million. Big Sky, which serves 26 cities with 13 Beech 1900Ds as a Delta Connection partner and in codeshare with Northwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air and US Air, flew 14.8 million RPMs during the quarter, up 63.5%. Capacity rose 28.8% to 28.5 million ASMs, lifting load factor 11 points to 52%. Fiscal first-half result swung to a $4 million profit from a $5 million deficit in the year-ago period.
6 November 2007
National Airline On Verge Of Bankruptcy
Press statements report that the government-run airline in the Marshall Islands is on the verge of bankruptcy as the country continues to suffer with no domestic air service.
Last week, the government injected $200,000 to the struggling airline, which has been going through payless paydays for lack of revenue.
5 November 2007
Air Deccan registers highest loss ever
Press reports state that Air Deccan registers highest loss ever, poorer by Rs253 cr in Q1. The performance signals continued financial challenges for a carrier attempting to reinvent itself after a buyout and a new chief executive took over at the helm of the airlineMehul SrivastavaCosts of an ongoing merger, a lean passenger season, and softening ticket yields have seen India’s biggest low-cost airline, Air Deccan, posting its largest ever quarterly net loss of Rs253.18 crore in July-September, its first quarter this year, nearly six times the loss in the year-ago period.
The performance signals continued financial challenges for a carrier attempting to reinvent itself after a buyout and a new chief executive took over at the helm of the airline.
The losses in the comparable period last year were just under Rs43 crore for the quarter ended September 2006, but the airline then had seen a one-time income from outside sources made on asset sales. In just this one quarter, the airline’s losses equal 55% of the company’s annual losses for the last financial year, which it ended on 30 June with about Rs419 crore in the red.
5 November 2007
Pakistan's major airline suffers disappointment
Press statements report that the head of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)is puzzled, six months into the job, why the business isn’t turning around.
Losses since the start of 2006 exceed half a billion dollars and PIA chairman Zafar Ahmad Khan says he is 'confused and disappointed'.
The total loss is about 2.5 times the market capitalisation of the state-run company.
Mr Khan is now convinced the airline will need to come up with a new game plan and new techniques.
2 November 2007
Alitalia
News reports state Alitalia Group's net debt as of Sept. 30 was €1.71 billion, an increase of 6% from the prior month. The company repaid €13 million worth of medium/long-term financing in September.
Despite this report IPP continue to offer cover for this airline.
2 November 2007
SpiceJet
News reports state that SpiceJet reported a INR377.7 million ($9.6 million) loss in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept 30, widened from a INR319.1 million pro forma deficit in the year-ago period. The carrier changed its financial year to April-March from June-May, meaning it did not report official results for the July-September 2006 period. Second-quarter revenue rose 64.6% to INR2.7 billion and pre-tax loss widened to INR374.7 million from INR310.8 million. Six-month loss of INR192.3 million was an improvement from a INR355.9 million loss in the semester ended Sept. 30, 2006.
Despite these reports IPP continue to offer cover for this airline
1 October 2007
Vueling sees possible loss in 2007
News reports state that Spanish airline Vueling (VULG.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it could not meet its 2007 financial targets due to falling ticket prices and rising fuel costs, marking its second profit warning in three months.
The Barcelona-based airline said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and aircraft rentals (EBITDAR) could fall to a loss of up to 10 million euros, compared with a previous forecast of a profit between 23 million and 42 million euros.
In a statement to the Spanish stock exchange regulator, Vueling said fuel prices, the euro-dollar exchange rate and the availability of slots at airports were among factors hitting results.
It said a 10 percent reduction in income from ticket prices per passenger could cut the company's full-year financial results by 30.4 million euros.
Vueling did not specify which line of the income statement it was referring to.
Spanish news agency Efe reported on Monday that Vueling could warn the market of expected losses of over 50 million euros this year.
Last year the airline lost 10.78 million euros but forecast moving into net profit in 2007.
In its statement on Monday, Vueling also said it was cancelling a tax credit it had booked in the first-half, knocking 21.9 million euros off its balance sheet.
Vueling shares were first rocked in June when founding shareholder Apax Partners sold its 21 percent stake, and fell further in August when it published deepening first-half losses and warned that core earnings would not hit the 95 million euros forecast last November.
Then last week the airline's chairman and two other directors, representing its largest shareholder Hemisferio, resigned after differences over the company's commercial strategy.
The stock has lost two-thirds of its value so far this year.
The company named Barbara Cassani, the founder of former British low-cost carrier Go, as chairwoman.
In an interview with Reuters, she said the airline had to move away from its relian | | |
