Airbus closed 2010 with 644 gross and 574 net aircraft orders in 2010 and delivered a record 510 aircraft over the year. The company finished the year with 203 orders and 41 deliveries in Dec-2010, allowing it to pip Boeing in the annual orders race. Boeing finished the year with 530 net orders and...
Turkish Airlines announced it plans to expand its fleet from 175 to 186 aircraft in 2011 and expand capacity by 14.7% during the year. The airline plans to add 11 new routes, including new services into the Middle East, North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
US airlines will report USD3.95 billion in profits on USD122.2 billion revenue for 2010, according to AirlineFinancials.com founder Bob Herbst, who issued his expectations over the weekend. However, he expects the average profit margin to be 3.3%, well below the targets of the eight largest US airlines...
Germany’s second-largest carrier, airberlin, announced it has joined the Association of European Airlines, the trade body that represents Europe’s network airlines. The carrier has incrementally shifted towards the position of a hybrid carrier, mixing elements of the low-cost model with those of...
Shares in Hellenic Duty Free (HDF) leapt 6.7% in trading on Monday. At the end of 2010, the duty free operator completed a merger through absorption of Folli Follie and Elmec Sports and issued new shares.
Shares in Jazeera Airways surged 4.9% in trading on Monday. The shares ran against the general trend on the Kuwaiti bourse, which was down yesterday. The carrier continues to build its market shares out of Kuwait International Airport, and is now the largest carrier at the airport in terms of passenger...
Premium traffic increased at a slower pace in Nov-2010 but the upward trend remains intact according to IATA in its Nov-2010 premium traffic monitor. The industry body, however, noted premium traffic remains well below its previous peak while economy traffic is moving to “new highs”.
Delta Chairman Richard Anderson told analysts at the of last year the airline does not really need to re-equip its fleet but rather retire older aircraft and buy used, mostly the MD-90 it is amassing.
SATS reports higher volumes across all operations in the third quarter of FY2010-2011 (three months to Dec-2010), with strong growth in flights handled. The Sinagpore-based airport ground handling company reports that growth peaked in the third quarter. Growth levels across all metrics in the third...
Japan’s All Nippon Airways will reportedly sign a formal joint venture agreement with First Eastern Investment Group to launch a new LCC. The carrier will operate 16 aircraft within four years and plans to operate domestic services and to points in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang....
European air navigation service providers have bid a not-so-fond farewell to an event-marred 2010. Last year, ANSPs suffered through flight cancellations due to volcanic ash clouds, industry-wide industrial action – including air traffic controller strikes in some of Europe’s busiest airspace –...
NAV CANADA’s outlook for FY2011 is improving after a solid first quarter. With traffic and revenues increasing at better-than-anticipated rates and expenses lower than initially expected, the company is looking forward to a very strong year.
Virgin America announced plans to more than triple its fleet by 2019, unveiling a USD5 billion (list price) firm order for 60 A320 aircraft. The aircraft will be delivered between 2013 and 2016 and includes 30 A320neo (new engine option) aircraft. This confirmed order could make Virgin America possibly...
Indian aviation enters 2011 with increased optimism about the outlook for the market, with traffic yields and profitability all expected to head upwards.
Delta posted a USD598 million profit for 2010 – "among the best in Delta's history" said its CEO – as well as USD158 million for its fourth quarter. Excluding special items Delta’s year-end profit would have been USD1.4 billion.
Virgin Atlantic Airlines founder and President, Sir Richard Branson, is considering selling part of his stake in Virgin Atlantic, according to a report in The Financial Times. The carrier’s long-term “stability” depends on an alliance partner.
Boeing has announced the official resumption of B787 testing and set the delivery date for the first aircraft to launch customer All Nippon Airways for 3Q2010. The revised delivery schedule allows the company more time to install and certify fixes following a fire on a test aircraft in Nov-2010. Boeing...
Shares in Australia’s Virgin Blue dipped 2.3% yesterday. Maquarie analysts lowered the carrier’s underlying profit forecast by 21% for FY2011 and 10% for FY2012, due to the prospect of oil prices returning to more than USD100 per barrel.
Air Arabia’s share price recovered 1.6% in trading on Tuesday. The carrier, the largest LCC in the Middle East, recently took delivery of its 20th A320. It operates joint ventures in Egypt and Morocco, as well as announcing plans last year for a new JV in Jordan.
Delta Air Lines reported a net profit of USD593 million for the 12-months to 31-Dec-2010, compared with a loss of USD1237 million in 2009. The President of the airline, Ed Bastian, said that the carrier’s positive momentum from 2010 should see it maintain its March quarter margins, despite more than...
ALAFCO, the Kuwait-based leasing company partly owned by Kuwait Airways, reported a profit of USD77.7 million for 2010, an increase of nearly tenfold compared with its 2009 result of USD8.2 million. The result was attributed to a one-off revenue boost of USD71.2 million in the three months ended 31-...
Airports of Thailand, the Thai national airports operator, reported passenger traffic rose 5.2% year-on-year in Dec-2010, with Bangkok traffic up 3.3%. Aircraft movements in the country rose 8.3%, with movements up 7.4% in Bangkok. Air cargo volume was 125,559 tonnes, up 10.5%. AoT shares were unchanged...
Royal Jordanian is in many ways a model for second tier carriers in the Middle East that are hoping to carve out a successful strategy amid rising regional competition. Despite a tough 2009, which resulted in revenue at the oneworld alliance member slumping 15% to JOD598 million (USD843 million), swift...
ANA Group announced (18-Jan-2011) details of its route network, fleet and corporate plan for the financial year commencing on 01-Apr-2011, capitalising on the expansion of capacity at Tokyo airports in 2010. In addition to an unspecified number of B787 deliveries from 3Q2011, the carrier will take delivery...
As eastern Europe's largest LCC, Wizz Air appears to have bigger plans still, taking aim at Eastern Europe’s flag carriers on their own turf. The airline announced in Jan-2011 it carried 9.6 million passengers in 2010, representing year-on-year growth of 23%.
Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport’s (KAIA) USD7.2 billion upgrade was launched on 12-Jan-2011, marking the start of one of the most significant infrastructure investments in the Kingdom’s history, according to the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority. The KAIA project is not only an enormous...
Air New Zealand has taken a vital second step in expanding its relationship with Virgin Blue, acquiring a “substantial” shareholding in the Australian carrier as part of a planned acquisition of between 10% and 14.99%. The New Zealand carrier, which is 49% government owned, however, stated it has...
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III confirmed at the start of Jan-2011 plans to implement a “pocket” open skies policy by year-end, to gradually liberalise the country’s civil aviation industry.
airberlin took another step in its evolution on 17-Jan-2011 when it became a member of the Association of European Airlines (AEA), a lobby group representing “Europe’s most important network carriers”. The story of this former charter carrier, low-cost carrier, hybrid, and now alliance member-...
South American carriers LAN and TAM moved closer to the merger that was first revealed in an MoU signed last August. In the most recent development on 18-Jan-2011, both boards approved the binding documents and will recommend shareholder approval.
