Airline Finance News - North America.Alaska Air Group Alaska Air Group announced the conversion of $150 million in outstanding convertible notes due in 2023 into Alaska Air common stock. "With this transaction, we have converted $150 million of debt into equity," CFO See Chief Financial Officer. Brad Tilden said. May 1, 2006 Alaska Airlines' April traffic increased 7.1% year-over-year to 1.49 billion RPMs against a 4.3% rise in capacity to 1.89 billion ASMs. Load factor was up 2 points to 78.6%. May 5, 2006 Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines, (NYSE: ALK) is an airline based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates hubs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and Portland International Airport. flight attendants ratified a new four-year labor contract that the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA said "provides a more generous profit-sharing program." No other details of the deal were released. May 1, 2006 Aloha Airlines Aloha Airlines is an American airline headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii USA. It operates extensive scheduled services within the Hawaiian Islands, and between Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States. US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said Friday it has assumed responsibility for the pensions of nearly 4,000 employees and retirees of Aloha Airlines, which emerged from bankruptcy in February, two months after it received US District Court permission to cancel its defined-benefit pension plans defined-benefit pension plan A pension plan in which retirement benefits rather than contributions into the plan are specified. Thus, a retired employee who has reached a certain age with a given number of years of service and has earned a certain income is to which it owed $155 million. PBGC PBGC See: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation said the three plans are 55% funded, with $190 million in assets covering $345 million in benefit promises. It expects to be responsible for $117 million of the shortfall, a commitment it said will have no material effect on its balance sheet. May 1, 2006 American Airlines American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It continued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international carrier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the Profits remain elusive at American as fuel prices soar: American Airlines has lowered its costs and boosted fares in the past three years. CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Gerald Arpey said high fuel prices continue to keep the carrier from becoming profitable. May 4, 2006 American expects strong summer season. American Airlines' CEO expects the company to have its most lucrative summer season in years. "We should be able to fill our planes at better fares than we'd had in a long time," Gerard Arpey Gerard J. Arpey is the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AMR Corporation, parent company to American Airlines, the world's largest airline. External links
American expects to cut fuel consumption by 3% in 2006. American Airlines plans to reduce the amount of fuel it uses this year by 3% compared to 2004, saving $220 million. Chief Executive Gerard Arpey is leading the effort to lower costs and has asked workers to come up with ways to reduce fuel consumption. May 1, 2006 Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines flew 9.42 billion consolidated RPMs in April, a 5.9% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 7.3% to 12.15 billion ASMs and load factor rose 1.2 points to 77.6%. Domestic traffic decreased 11.6% to 6.86 billion RPMs against a 13.5% drop in capacity to 8.88 billion ASMs, raising load factor 1.6 points to 77.2%. International traffic rose 13.9% to 2.56 billion RPMs, capacity climbed 15.1% to 3.27 billion ASMs and load factor fell 0.8 point to 78.5%. May 5, 2006 Delta, government dispute payment for military flights. Delta Air Lines wants the U.S. government to pay them for flights provided to military personnel. The government, in court documents, said it overpaid o·ver·pay v. o·ver·paid , o·ver·pay·ing, o·ver·pays v.tr. 1. To pay (a party) too much. 2. To pay an amount in excess of (a sum due). v.intr. To pay too much. Delta for tickets used by the military. May 4, 2006 Delta Air Lines filed a motion last week with the US. Bankruptcy Court bankruptcy court n. the specialized Federal court in which bankruptcy matters under the Federal Bankruptcy Act are conducted. There are several bankruptcy courts in each state, and each one's territory covers several counties. to reject a number of leases and agreements for facilities at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (IATA: CVG, ICAO: KCVG) is located in Hebron, unincorporated Boone County, Kentucky, United States and serves the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. The first airplane landed at the airport January 10, 1947. . The carrier said it remains committed to serving the airport but needs to use airport facilities "in the most efficient and cost effective way possible" in order to emerge from bankruptcy protection. May 2, 2006 Delta inks new agreement with Orlando airport. Delta Air Lines has signed a new lease with Orlando International Airport “KMCO” redirects here. For other uses, see KMCO (disambiguation). “MCO” redirects here. For other uses, see MCO (disambiguation). Orlando International Airport (IATA: MCO, ICAO: KMCO, FAA LID: MCO)[2] . The new agreement expires in 2008. Delta will operate eight gates at the airport. May 2, 2006 ExpressJet Holdings ExpressJet Holdings reported that its Continental Express fleet flew 870 million RPMs in April, up 24.3% over the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 12.3% to 1.09 billion ASMs and load factor increased 7.7 points to 79.7%. May 3, 2006 Mesa Air Group Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ: MESA) is a Nevada Corporation[1] commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. The company operates three regional airline subsidiaries: Mesa Airlines, Freedom Airlines, and Air Midwest, and five supporting Mesa Air Group reported net earnings of $5.3 million for the second fiscal quarter ended March 31, a more than 51% drop from a profit of $10.8 million earned in the same period a year ago. The company attributed the fall to a debt equity charge of $7.5 million and some $3.6 million in costs associated with its Hawaii startup carrier go!. Operating revenues were up 18.3% to $312.1 million due primarily to an increase in the regional jet fleet; Mesa now operates 144 RJs compared to 136 at the end of the year-ago quarter. Expenses climbed 20.7% to $284.1 million and operating profit Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. fell 1.6% to $27.9 million. Traffic grew 14.7% to 1.6 billion RPMs as capacity rose just 8% to 2.19 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 4.3 points to 73.2%. Yield increased 3.2% to 19.5 cents but unit costs advanced more than revenues. RASM RASM Revenue per Available Seat Mile RASM Reliability, Availability, Scalability and Manageability (Red Hat, Inc.) RASM Rear Admiral Submarines (UK) RASM Recorded Announcement Systems Manager grew 10% to 14.3 cents while CASM CASM Cost per Available Seat Mile CASM Communities and Small-scale Mining CASM Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine CASM Certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics (Univeristy of Cambridge, UK) CASM Coherent Adaptive Subcarrier Modulation jumped 12.1% to 13 cents, although it dipped 1.2% to 8.3 cents excluding fuel. May 1, 2006 Mesaba Airlines Mesaba Airlines is an American regional airline based in Eagan, Minnesota. The airline operates under Mesaba Aviation, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwest Airlines. All of its flights are operated under the name Northwest Airlink for Northwest Airlines. Some Mesaba employees leave company amid talks. Mesaba Airlines employees are leaving the carrier ahead of anticipated pay cuts. The bankrupt airline and its unions are negotiating pay cuts, and Mesaba wants to reduce labor costs by 19.4%. May 1, 2006 Northwest Airlines Approval of Northwest contract could help pension law. Legislation to help save airline pension plans has a better chance of passing now that Northwest Airlines pilots have ratified a new contract, one lawmaker said. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., said the airline would need to terminate the plan unless lawmakers allow it to stretch payments out. May 5, 2006 Northwest pilots ratify agreement. Pilots for Northwest Airlines ratified a new contract that includes a large pay cut. The agreement gives the pilots an unsecured claim in the company and will cut the carrier's costs by $358 million. May 4, 2006 Northwest Airlines pilots are set to finish voting at 10 a.m. today on the labor agreement reached in early March . Voting by Air Line Pilots Assn. members on the five-year deal began April 6. May 3, 2006 Northwest pilots will disclose vote result Wednesday. Northwest Airlines pilots have voted on a contract that would make permanent a temporary 24% pay cut. The union will release the results Wednesday. Flight attendants will begin voting on a concessionary contract Sunday. May 2, 2006 Republic Airways Republic Airways flew 541.5 million RPMs in April, an increase of 49.7% over the year-ago month. Capacity grew 43.8% to 720.6 million ASMs and load factor rose 2.9 points to 75.1%. May 3, 2006 SkyWest, Atlantic Southeast Airlines For the defunct low-fare airline, see . Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) is a fully certificated American airline based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. SkyWest, parent of Regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, posted first-quarter net income of $34.6 million, an 84.3% increase over the $18.8 million earned in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenues rose 118.3% to $742.9 million as RPMs jumped 123.4% to 3.65 billion. Capacity increased 110.8% to 4.7 billion ASMs and load factor improved 4.4 points to 77.6%. SkyWest said the "significant increases" in operating statistics and financial results are largely the result of last year's acquisition of ASA Asa (ā`sə), in the Bible, king of Judah, son and successor of Abijah. He was a good king, zealous in his extirpation of idols. When Baasha of Israel took Ramah (a few miles N of Jerusalem), Asa bought the help of Benhadad of Damascus and . Operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. soared 115.8% to $660 million while operating income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. grew 141% to $82.9 million. Yield fell 2.4% to 20.1 cents but RASM increased 3.3% to 15.8 cents while CASM rose 4.3% to 14.6 cents. May 4, 2006 United Airlines United Airlines consolidated its airport operations and cargo divisions into one unit to be led by Senior VP-Cargo Scott Dolan. Senior VP-Airport Operations Larry De Shon will leave the airline and Alex Marren will assume the role of VP-operational services. Executive VP and COO Pete McDonald said the move will "further streamline United's operations" and drive down costs. Dolan, formerly COO of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, joined UA in 2004 and focused on lowering cargo operating costs as the carrier navigated through bankruptcy reorganization. United also has initiated a search for a senior VP-human resources. May 4, 2006 Oil prices threaten to add $1 billion or more to fuel costs for United. United Airlines hopes fare hikes will soften the blow to its bottom line coming from increases in oil prices that threaten to add $1 billion or more in fuel costs for the airline this year; a figure that could hurt the carrier's hope of posting its first annual operating profit since 2000. Oil prices have reached $75 a barrel, and the cost of jet fuel touched $2.20 a gallon and is expected to average at least $2 this year, Air Transport Association chief economist John Heimlich says. May 1, 2006 US Airways pilots hope to negotiate pay raise. Pilots at US Airways say they want a pay raise now that the airline's fortunes have improved. The pilots' contract at America West, which merged with US Airways last year, is up for renewal in June. Representatives are negotiating a merged contract. May 5, 2006 Court orders dismissal of US Airways pilots' suit. A U.S. federal appeals court said pilots at US Airways should pursue pension claims through administrative channels and ordered the dismissal of a suit filed against the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The pilots believe the agency made mistakes when calculating benefits. May 3, 2006 |
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