Archive for January, 2010
January 28, 2010
US Airways posted a narrower quarterly loss on Thursday, helped by cuts in capacity and costs as well as a series of new revenue-generating fees.
The company said its fourth-quarter net loss was USD$79 million, compared with a loss of USD$543 million a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, US Airways lost USD$32 million.
Total revenue in the fourth quarter was USD$2.63 billion, down 4.9 percent from a year ago.
US Airways ended the quarter with USD$2 billion in total cash and investments, of which USD$500 million was restricted.
(Reuters)
January 28, 2010
US airlines offered mixed quarterly results on Thursday, raising concerns about the industry’s recovery after being clobbered in recent months by the recession.
US Airways and JetBlue Airways surpassed estimates, with US Airways narrowing a fourth-quarter loss and JetBlue reporting a profit.
Alaska Air also swung to a profit, but it missed estimates and its shares fell.
“People are concerned about the economy and whether or not it’s truly recovering,” said Helane Becker, analyst with Jesup & Lamont.
Fuel costs are projected to rise and airlines will have to spend more to accommodate more traffic, Becker said. Meanwhile, the industry has been unable to lift fares in 2010, she said.
“How fast can revenue come back?” Becker said. “That’s really the issue.”
The Arca Airline Index fell 2.2 percent, outpacing a drop in the broader stock market. JetBlue shares fell more than 6 percent to USD$5.18, while Alaska Air’s stock sank more than 8 percent to USD$33.23.
But US Airways shares jumped 6 percent to USD$5.15 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
“We see cash levels as adequate, and think (US Airways) has done a good job reducing cash outlays for 2010,” Standard & Poor analyst Jim Corridore wrote.
The airline industry suffered in 2009 under the weight of the recession, which caused businesses to cut their travel budgets. Airline executives have expressed cautious optimism that business travellers are returning to the skies.
(Reuters)
January 29, 2010
Should airlines charge overweight passengers more if they need an extra seat? Yes, according to more than three-quarters of respondents in a poll.
A survey by travel website Skyscanner (www.skyscanner.net) found that 76 percent of people believe airlines should charge a “fat tax.”
Only 22 percent of the 550 people questioned disapproved of introducing extra payments for overweight passengers.
The poll was conducted in the wake of a heated debate that started after Air France was misreported earlier this month to be planning an extra charge for passengers unable to fit into a single seat.
Air France has, since 2005, offered overweight passengers the option to buy a second seat at a 25 percent discount.
Skyscanner co-founder Barry Smith said a so-called “fat tax” was a very sensitive issue for airlines who would need to tread carefully so as not to alienate heavier passengers.
“On one hand, it’s not unreasonable for airlines to charge passengers extra if they occupy more than one seat. On the other, many would argue that it should be the responsibility of airlines to adjust their standard seat size, enabling them to comfortably accommodate all passengers,” he said in a statement.
Some respondents to the poll said it was airlines’ responsibility to make seats for all shapes and sizes of passengers while others suggested that the charge should be calculated on the weight of the passenger plus their luggage.
In the United States, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have a policy where “oversize” people need to buy a second seat and can claim a refund if the plane is not full. This followed complaints from neighbouring passengers.
The Supreme Court in Canada ruled that obese and disabled people travelling on planes cannot be forced to buy a second seat.
(Reuters)
KINGSTON, Jamaica, January 29, 2010 – An attempt by airline pilots to take over Air Jamaica is something that Prime Minister Bruce Golding says he will consider only if the current negotiations with Trinidad and Tobago’s Caribbean Airlines fall through. The Jamaica Airline Pilots’ Association (JALPA) has submitted another business proposal for ownership of the national carrier. It presented an offer last week but Golding found it inadequate and gave them time to amend it. Golding said he has received the second proposal, but suggested Caribbean Airlines was the preferred purchaser at this stage. “If the negotiations with Caribbean Airlines do not lead to an agreement, we would be in a position to look at the business plan that has been submitted by the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association,” he said. “We have gathered enough experience in this divestment exercise that has been going on for over a year, looking at all the due diligence that has been done, the analysis of the financial evaluation and so on. We know what to look for to ensure that it is a proposal that can be sustained.” The Prime Minister sought to make it clear that after Air Jamaica is sold, the government would not be giving any financial support to the buyer. “Once we dispose of Air Jamaica, there is no possibility to come back to the government. The budget cannot take it,” he said. JALPA and the staff of Air Jamaica have been pressing government to keep the national airline in local hands. |
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Monday, 25/01/2010
Air Jamaica is offering sale fares for purchase until Jan. 26, valid for travel from Jan. 18 to May 28. All fares are roundtrip and subject to government taxes and fees. Conditions regarding black-out periods, cancellations and other charges apply.
Sample roundtrip fares between Montego Bay or Kingston, Jamaica and the below cities include: Fort Lauderdale, $188; Chicago, $264; New York, $238; Philadelphia, $256; and Baltimore, $342. Fares are per person, roundtrip and valid for travel in Lovebird Economy Class from Jan. 18 to May 28 with black-out periods.
Monday, 25/01/2010
Jamaica Tourist Board’s New England Sales Manager John Woolcock and JetBlue Airways Northeast Regional Marketing Manager J.J. Storer were joined by JetBlue crew members to cut the ceremonial ribbon signifying the start of JetBlue’s nonstop service from Boston to Montego Bay.
The Jamaican celebration was held at Boston’s Logan International Airport on Jan. 9, just prior to the flight’s departure. Jamaica Tourist Board’s Regional Director Rosie Johnson exchanged local Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans with Storer.
Storer presented Boston Baked Beans to Johnson as a symbol of the new partnership between the two cities minutes after JetBlue made its inaugural flight from Boston to the Sangster International Airport on Jan. 9.
The new Montego Bay route comes on the heels of the May 2009 launch of daily nonstop service from New York to Montego Bay, the airline’s most successful Caribbean launch to date.
The flight operates on Saturdays departing from Boston at 11:55 a.m., arriving into Montego Bay at 3:45 p.m. The return flight departs Montego Bay at 4:45 p.m., and arrives into Boston at 8:53 p.m.
January 25, 2010
The first broad-based US airline fare increase of 2010 has been rolled back by several major carriers as they struggle to bolster fares amid depleted travel demand, a fare expert said on Monday.
The increase, which was from USD$6 to USD$16 round-trip, was initiated last week by American Airlines and later matched by rivals, including Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines, said Farecompare chief executive Rick Seaney.
The airline industry has been groping for pricing power after demand for business travel sagged during the economic downturn of 2008 and 2009.
Seaney said Delta was the first to retreat from the increase, followed by American, Continental and United Airlines.
(Reuters)
January 26, 2010
Delta Air Lines said on Monday it plans to invest USD$1 billion over the next few years to upgrade its aircraft and enhance airport lounges.
Delta said it would spend about USD$300 million a year through mid-2013 on the initiatives, which include installing full flat-bed seats for business class passengers on 90 Boeing trans-oceanic aircraft and adding first-class cabins to 66 jets operated by regional connection carriers.
Flat-bed seats offer extra legroom and more privacy.
“Rather than invest in new aircraft, Delta will be spending its capital to improve the quality and consistency of the on-board product and efficiency of the aircraft we already own,” Delta President Ed Bastian said in a statement.
Delta, which acquired Northwest Airlines in 2008, said the moves also included completing modification of 269 pre-merger Northwest planes to add blue leather seats, updated lighting and better amenities such as more overhead bin space. The carrier also said it would install winglets on more than 170 Boeing planes to extend aircraft range and boost fuel efficiency.
The airline’s plans also include renovating and expanding its Sky Club lounge in Los Angeles and introducing Sky Club locations in Seattle, Philadelphia and Indianapolis.
(Reuters)
January 22, 2010
A US Airways passenger jet that made a spectacular landing on New York’s Hudson River a year ago is for sale.
All 155 passengers and crew aboard Flight 1549 bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, escaped after pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger glided the crippled plane to a textbook emergency landing on the icy river within view of Manhattan skyscrapers.
The severely damaged Airbus A320 is being sold online by Chartis insurance firm, minus its engines which were knocked out when the plane flew into a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from La Guardia airport on January 15 last year.
New York Governor David Paterson at the time described the landing as the “miracle on the Hudson.” The online auction description was less emotional: “Aircraft suffered severe bird strike event resulting in water emergency landing.”
The plane is kept in Kearny, New Jersey and the online auction at aigaviation.com closes on March 27. No sale price estimates were given for the damaged plane.
(Reuters)
January 25, 2010
Extra airline security checks introduced after the failed Christmas Day bomb plot are still evolving, a senior US official said on Sunday after some countries alleged the screening singled them out unfairly.
US President Barack Obama ordered extra pre-flight screening for air travellers flying to the United States from 14 countries. One of those, close Washington ally Algeria, has called its inclusion discriminatory.
“We are looking at alternatives to address the risks that we see out there,” US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Janet Sanderson told a news conference after talks with Algerian officials. “This is an evolutionary process.”
Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has claimed responsibility for the failed December 25 bombing of a US-bound plane.
Algeria, a mainly Muslim energy exporter, is fighting an al Qaeda-linked insurgency. The violence has subsided significantly in the past few years and security measures, particularly at the country’s airports, are stringent.
The United States and Algeria have cooperated closely in the fight against al Qaeda.
The 14 countries on Washington’s list are Cuba, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. Nigeria and Cuba have also complained about their inclusion on the list.
Sanderson said she assured Algerian officials that the extra security measures were not aimed at any one country, and that the United States was committed to cooperating with Algeria on countering militant violence.
Answering questions about the new airline security measures, she said: “These efforts that we are making together are always changing in order to meet a changing threat.”
“I do not think we should look on this as a static formula. It is a continuing endeavour, it is a continuing effort that all of us who are trying to combat terrorism must take on.”
She said that the US assessment of the threat of militant violence in Algeria is always under review. “But given the time-frame, Christmas Day, that this happened, the president of the United States took steps and that is what happened.”
Washington has agreed with Algiers to send home some of the Algerian detainees at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. In the latest handover, two detainees were transferred to Algerian control last week.
(Reuters)