- Boeing to Consolidate Facilities in CA[Jul. 21, 2006]
Boeing has announced plans to consolidate company facilities in Southern California over the next four years. The Boeing facility in Anaheim, with about 3,700 employees, will relocate to the Huntington Beach facility.
- American Airlines Posts Best Result[Jul. 20, 2006]
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. earned $291 million in the second quarter ended June 30, widened from a profit of $58 million in the same period last year and only the carrier's second profitable quarter in the last 5.5 years.
- Southwest Solidifies Domestic Dominance[Jul. 20, 2006]
Reaping the benefits of capacity cutbacks by its legacy competition, Southwest Airlines enjoyed record revenues in the second quarter ended June 30 and more than doubled its net income to $333 million from earnings of $144 million in the year-ago quarter.More good times are ahead, according to CEO Gary Kelly, who said the carrier is "excited about our near-term growth opportunities and pleased with our earnings momentum" and that "assuming continuance of the current healthy revenue environment, we expect to easily exceed our 15% 2006 annual earnings growth goal."
- Brazil's Varig Faces Liquidation[Jul. 19, 2006]
After initially postponing a meeting at which they planned to review a $500 million bid from freight and logistics company VarigLog due to reported changes in the offer, Varig creditors late Monday decided to reject the bid, forcing the Sao Paulo stock exchange to suspend trading in Varig stock briefly after a rush to sell, according to press reports, and leaving Brazil's flag carrier on the cusp of liquidation.
- SAS Invests in Small Business Needs[Jul. 18, 2006]
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has invested six months in the research and development of the SAS Guide to Managing Business Travel.
- Finnair Reaches the Deal with Airbus[Jul. 18, 2006]
Finnair said it has negotiated a compensation package with Airbus to cover the delays in the introduction of the A350, a revamped version of which was unveiled yesterday at the Farnborough Airshow (see today's show report above).Terms of the compensation deal were not disclosed. Finnair originally planned to take the first of nine firm A350s in the spring of 2012. That has been pushed back to 2013.
- Airbus Reassures Airlines on A380[Jun. 19, 2006]
Airbus and parent EADS responded to increasing criticism over A380 program delays announced last week, with the focus intensifying on EADS Co-CEO Noel Forgeard's sale of ?2.5 million ($3.2 million) in stock options three months prior to EADS' stock sinking 26% on June 14 on news of the next-generation aircraft program's setback.Forgeard, who served as Airbus CEO until last year, told Europe 1 radio that he first learned of potential new problems with the A380 program in April and claimed the stock sale was "an unfortunate coincidence."
- Delta Signs LOI for Lease of 10 757s[Jul. 17, 2006]
Delta Air Lines told the US Bankruptcy Court in New York last week that it has signed a letter of intent with ILFC to lease 10 757-200ERs.The aircraft, powered by Pratt & Whitney PW2037s, will be delivered from July 15 through Nov. 15, 2007, after undergoing C checks and painting, and will be leased for seven years and three months each, according to the filing. The rent figures were not disclosed.
- Continental Airlines Adds 50th Partner[Jul. 14, 2006]
Continental Airlines has implemented electronic interline ticketing capabilities with Japan Airlines (JAL), its 50th interline eTicketing partner. As the first carrier to reach this milestone, Continental reinforces its industry leading position in interline eTicketing capabilities and shows the significant progress it has made in eliminating paper tickets for all travel on the airline, including interline (multi-carrier) tickets. Additionally, as part of its continuing paperless initiative, Continental has terminated 20 more agreements with interline partners that are either unwilling or unable to implement eTicket functionality.
- Judge Sends VarigLog Bid to Creditors[Jul. 12, 2006]
Brazilian freight and logistics company VarigLog, a former subsidiary of its namesake airline, boosted its bid for the bankrupt carrier after a Rio de Janeiro bankruptcy court judge reversed his decision last week to present the approximately $500 million bid to creditors, who may be better off if Varig is liquidated, Bloomberg News reported. The judge will ask creditors to review the higher offer at a July 17 meeting. If it is approved, VarigLog could win the carrier's operating assets at an auction scheduled for the following day.