Airline Finance News - Europe.

Edited by Aram Gesar, [e-mail] For more global news, data, analysis and features, please go to: http://www.AirGuideOnline.com/professional.htm Sep 18, 2006

Aeroflot

Aeroflot announced that Accenture has completed an audit of the carrier's organizational structure, IT systems and management processes. Aeroflot said the examination "determined key priorities and tasks in a field of information technologies and pointed out perspectives for future development." Sep 15, 2006

Air France 

Air France KLM flew 18.1 billion RPKs in August, up 4.8% from the year-ago month. Capacity increased 4.5% to 21.47 billion ASKs, nudging load factor up 0.2 point to 84.3%. Sep 14, 2006

Air France

Air France yesterday issued [euro]550 million in unrated bonds that will mature on Jan. 22, 2014. The company said the transaction "met great success in the market" and that the issue, its first since 1993, is intended to diversify its funding sources, refinance existing debt and lengthen the average debt maturity profile. Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, HSBC and Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking were joint lead managers. Sep 13, 2006

Alitalia

Alitalia Group said this week that its full-year net result "should approach the level achieved in 2005," when it lost [euro]167.6 million ($212.9 million). It had postponed making a full-year forecast following a difficult first quarter in which labor unrest and falling passenger revenues hit hard on its bottom line. Sep 14, 2006

Alitalia

Alitalia Group a net [euro]221.5 million for the semester, widened from [euro]125 million in the year-ago period. Revenues dropped 1.6% to [euro]2.24 billion owing to the spinoff of the Alitalia Servizi services company. Half-year operating loss was [euro]131.8 million compared to [euro]83.8 million in 2005. Passenger revenues increased 1.4% to [euro]1.75 billion while the number of passengers transported climbed 3.1% to 11.7 million. Yield dropped 1.5% and load factor rose 3.6 points to 72%. Sep 14, 2006

Alitalia

Alitalia Group late yesterday released half-year financial results showing a net loss of [euro]221.5 million in the six months ended June 30, nearly double the [euro]125 million deficit posted in the first half of 2005. Revenues fell 1.6% to [euro]2.24 billion and operating loss widened to [euro]131.8 million from [euro]83.8 million. AZ said it expects nonrecurring items to boost its net and operating results into the black in the second half. A more stable second quarter ended June 30 in which it showed "indicative and tangible recovery" and suffered a pre-tax loss of [euro]53 million, plus a previously announced revision of its business plan, left the airline confident it could forecast "positive operating and net results" in the second semester. Second-quarter operating loss was [euro]3 million. It not did not offer year-ago comparisons, but it marked an improvement from the first quarter when it posted an operating loss of [euro]128.8 million. Second-quarter traffic revenue increased [euro]54 million, or 5%. Sep 13, 2006

Alitalia

Alitalia initiated an appeal with a regional administrative court against the conditions imposed by the Italian competition regulator on its acquisition of Volare, La Stampa reported. In July, AZ received conditional approval for its [euro]38 million ($48.1 million) bid to acquire Volare. The conditions included the surrender of four slots at Milan Linate--two of Volare's domestic slots to Bari and Lamezia Terme and two pairs of slots for flights to Paris Orly. Sep 12, 2006

Lufthansa

Lufthansa has agreed to pay $85m to settle US class-action lawsuits stemming from alleged cargo price-fixing and has received conditional immunity from antitrust investigators. Lufthansa also said it had applied for leniency to the US Department of Justice, the European Union Commission and other authorities and had received conditional immunity from all of them, reducing the risk of further penalties. Lufthansa had said in February it would cooperate with a probe being carried out by US and European officials into possible price-fixing of freight shipments by passenger and cargo airlines. American Airlines and United Airlines have both confirmed they received inquiries as part of the probe and have agreed to settle lawsuits, without paying out to plaintiffs. SAS revealed it had been raided by the European Commission, while British Airways, Air France/KLM and freight airline Cargolux said they had also been questioned. http://www.lufthansa.com Sep 17, 2006

Lufthansa

Lufthansa yesterday said it agreed to pay $85 million to settle a string of class-action lawsuits filed in the US following the February launch of a multinational probe into alleged price-fixing by airlines carrying cargo. The US Dept. of Justice, the European Commission and regulatory agencies in several Asian countries raided airline offices to investigate alleged collusion and price-fixing in the setting of fuel and security surcharges related to cargo transport. The results of that investigation have not been announced, but more than 30 lawsuits reportedly have been filed in the US naming Lufthansa and other European, US and Asian carriers and seeking damages for anticompetitive practices relating to air cargo pricing. Lufthansa said in a statement that the $85 million settlement, subject to court approval, would release it and Swiss International Air Lines from liability in the pending class action suits. It added that it has "applied for leniency to the US Department of Justice, the EU Commission and other authorities in other countries and received conditional immunity." It did not say how the offer, if approved, would affect the company financially or when it would incur the charge on its balance sheet. LH reported net profit of [euro]183 million ($231.8 million) in the three-month period ended June 30. Sep 12, 2006

Lufthansa

Lufthansa flew 10.08 billion RPKs in August, down 0.9% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 0.5% to 13.18 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 1.1 points to 76.5%. Sep 12, 2006