Airline Finance News - North America.

AirTran Holdings 

AirTran Holdings said last week that it was forced to adjust its fourth-quarter loss to approximately $1.4 million from the $0.4 million it announced in January "due to changes in estimates as a result of information which became available to management subsequent to the date of the press release." Its 2005 profit falls from $2.7 million to approximately $1.7 million due to the change. Mar 13, 2006

Alaska Airlines 

Alaska Airlines, attendants union reach agreement. Alaska Airlines has reached a tentative contract agreement with its flight attendants union. The airline and union hope to complete ratification by late April. Mar 16, 2006

Alaska Airlines and the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA announced a tentative four-year labor agreement yesterday covering the carrier's 2,480 cabin staff. Details were withheld pending a union ratification vote, scheduled to be completed by the end of April. Mar 16, 2006

DELTA AIR LINES

Delta pilots to present views to panel. Delta Air Lines' pilots union today will start presenting their case to an arbitration panel. The airline, which is operating under bankruptcy protection, wants to secure large pay cuts from the pilots. The union believes Delta needs smaller concessions. Mar 17, 2006

Delta needs major restructuring, consultant says. Delta Air Lines must restructure if it wants to operate successfully after leaving bankruptcy protection, said Timothy Coleman, a senior managing director of the Blackstone Group. Coleman made the remarks on the third day of an arbitration hearing covering possible pay cuts for Delta pilots. Separately, an AirTran Airways executive said he thinks Delta's asset base will assure its survival. Mar 16, 2006

Delta CFO: Revenue does not support high costs. Delta Air Lines' chief financial officer said the carrier must cut pilot pay 18% to stay afloat. Ed Bastian said costs remain too high amid fierce competition from discount airlines. "You can't have costs ahead of your unit revenues," Bastian said. "What I wake up at night worrying about is that our proposals are not aggressive enough." Mar 15, 2006

Delta likely to terminate pension plan, lawyer says. Delta Air Lines will probably end its pilots' pension plan, an attorney for the airline said at an arbitration hearing. The decision would increase the obligations of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. United Airlines and US Airways have already terminated their plans, shifting the burden to the PBGC. An arbitrator on Monday urged Delta and its pilots union to reach a settlement. Mar 14, 2006

Delta, US Airways seek to refinance in rising market. With US domestic airline fundamentals continuing to improve, Delta Air Lines and US Airways announced plans to refinance significant amounts of debt. Mar 16, 2006

NORTHWEST AIRLINES

Northwest cooperates with pension probe. Northwest Airlines says it is cooperating with a Labor Department investigation of its pension plan. The carrier said it fully paid its obligations until it filed for bankruptcy protection. A Northwest official called the investigation "normal." Separately, Northwest extended a deadline by which partner Pinnacle Airlines had to pay about $21 million in additional aircraft security deposits. Mar 16, 2006

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

Southwest raises fares to cover high fuel costs. Southwest Airlines has increased some one-way fares by $10, breaking its four-year-old cap of $299 on one-way tickets. The carrier also raised prices on other fares. "When you're looking at a fuel bill that'll be $600 million more this year than last, you have to govern yourself accordingly," Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart said. "At some point, you have to cover skyrocketing fuel costs." Mar 14, 2006

UNITED AIRLINES

United Airlines expanded the role of CIO Garry Kelly to include oversight for enterprise-wide strategic sourcing and continuous improvement. He is replacing Rick Poulton, who is leaving the company. Mar 17, 2006

United Airlines is outsourcing around 100 jobs from its Sydney and Melbourne ground handling and reservations units, according to Australian press reports citing UA Australasian GM Stephen Pearce. Mar 16, 2006

US AIRWAYS

US Airways announced Tuesday the recall of approximately 400 furloughed flight attendants. Recall notices will be prioritized by seniority and will begin in April, putting the returning cabin staff in place for the carrier's summer schedule. Some 1,200 flight attendants remain on furlough from the former US Airways. "We continue to make great progress in building the new US Airways and today's announcement furthers that momentum," President and CEO Doug Parker said. The airline recalled 55 of its 1,574 furloughed pilots last month. Mar 16, 2006

US Airways to rehire 400 attendants. US Airways said it will rehire 400 flight attendants who had been laid off, some as far back as September 2001. The company will start sending out notices in April. Mar 15, 2006

US Airways Group, comprising US Airways, US Airways Express and America West, flew a combined 4.43 billion RPMs in February, a decline of 8.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 14.5% to 5.86 billion ASMs and load factor rose 4.9 points to 75.7%. Domestic traffic was down 9% to 3.75 billion RPMs against a 16.7% decrease in ASMs to 4.84 billion. International traffic fell 6.8% to 686.1 million RPMs as capacity dropped 2.3% to 1.02 billion ASMs. Mar 15, 2006