- eLong uses global platform of Expedia[May 11, 2006]
eLong, Inc., an online travel company in China, and Expedia, which owns 52 percent of eLong, have come up with a 360-degree hotel virtual tour capability and an expanded international hotel offering on elong.com (5/11/2006)
- Air Canada parent reports 1Q profit[May 12, 2006]
Largely driven by proceeds from the partial sale of Regional subsidiary Jazz, Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings posted first-quarter net income of C$118 million ($107.3 million), a figure that represented a vast improvement over a C$77 million loss in the year-ago quarter and overshadowed a C$29 million operating loss.
- 'Sturdy' costs Lufthansa ?98 million[May 12, 2006]
In a first quarter it called "sturdy" and "in line with our expectations," Lufthansa Group reported a net loss of ?98 million for the three months ended March 31, narrowed from a ?116 million deficit in the year-ago quarter.Changes in the group's composition that included the integration of Swiss International Air Lines and Eurowings affected the bottom line. It said its operating loss of ?75 million, nearly triple its loss of ?26 million in 2005, would have been ?47 million if not for the additions.
- Priceline launches marketing initiative[May 10, 2006]
Priceline Europe has launched a new online marketing programme designed to encourage international tourists to visit select US, Canadian, Caribbean and Mexican destinations and patronise hotels that have partnered with Priceline Europe. (5/10/2006)
- ABX posts the first-quarter profit gain[May 10, 2006]
ABX Air posted a 14.3% profit increase in the first quarter to $8.1 million, rebounding from a difficult 2005 that saw profits drop as primary customer DHL Worldwide Express struggled to compete against FedEx and UPS in the US market.The carrier earned $7.1 million in the year-ago period. "Our operating results reflect the success of our initiatives to drive down costs and improve productivity in our sort, line-haul and air operations for DHL," President and CEO Joe Hete said.
- US Airways posts 1Q profit:$64 million[May 10, 2006]
Touting synergies created by the merger of America West Airlines and the former US Airways, US Airways Group reported a first-quarter profit of $64 million compared to a profit of $28 million for America West in the year-ago quarter and said it now expects to be profitable for the full year, "even after accounting for merger-related expenses and continued high fuel costs." Excluding special items and a change in accounting principles, net profit was $5 million, which company officials said marked an improvement over net losses of $15 million and $257 million for AWA and US respectively in the year-ago quarter.
- SIA maintains income levels: FY05[May 10, 2006]
Record revenue and a commitment to cutting costs helped Singapore Airlines Group reduce the impact of soaring fuel prices to record a massive S$1.24 billion ($791.3 million) profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, just 8.3% down on the previous year.The group enjoyed an 11.1% hike in revenue to S$13.34 billion. Operating profit fell 7.9% to S$1.21 billion as rising fuel costs hit the bottom line. Expenditures increased 13.4% to S$12.13 billion with fuel accounting for 35%, up from 25.2% in the previous fiscal year. Excluding fuel, costs dipped 1.4%, the result of productivity gains and cost management programs. The group also suffered a foreign exchange loss of S$137 million, a reversal of a S$112 million gain in FY05 that was offset by revised accounting standards that resulted in a net addition of S$279 million.
- UAL loss widens excluding special gains[May 09, 2006]
Reporting its first quarterly results since exiting Chapter 11 in February (ATWOnline, Feb. 2), United Airlines parent UAL Corp. said it lost $306 million excluding bankruptcy-related items, widened from a deficit of $302 million in the year-ago period.Including noncash gains related to its restructuring, United earned $22.9 billion in the three months ended March 31 versus a loss of $223 million last year.
- Korean Air doubles first-quarter profit[May 05, 2006]
Korean Air credited rising passenger and cargo demand and a strong won for an impressive first quarter during which it more than doubled its net profit to KRW127 billion ($134 million) from the KRW59 billion earned in the quarter ended March 31, 2005.
- Norwegian's loss widens on fuel costs[May 01, 2006]
Affected by its lack of fuel hedging contracts, Norwegian posted a net loss of NOK43.1 million ($6.9 million) for the quarter ended March 31 compared to a net loss of NOK34.3 million in the year-ago period.The jet fuel bill more than doubled from NOK56.7 million to NOK123.3 million and now represents 21% of the carrier's total operating costs against only 15% in the year-ago quarter.