Airline Finance News - North America.Apr 30, 2007 Jet fuel prices drop slightly, but remain large part of costs Government statistics show U.S. airlines paid less for jet fuel in February than they did a month earlier. The Air Transport Association notes that jet fuel now accounts for up to 30% of an airline's expenses, up from between 10% and 15%. It has overtaken labor as the top cost for many carriers. On Friday, a jump in the price of crude oil sent airline stocks lower. Apr 23, 2007 Subsidies not unique to aviation A recent report by the Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. showed that fees paid by airline travelers subsidize corporate and private aviation. The Boston Herald The Boston Herald is a tabloid format newspaper, though not a tabloid in the traditional sense, and is the smaller of the two big dailies in Boston, Massachusetts (the other being The Boston Globe). editorial board writes that the U.S. economy is plagued by many such unfair subsidies. The board says the FAA "deserves to win" its proposal to eliminate many passenger taxes and replace them with user fees. Apr 23, 2007 Regional airline traffic in the US rose by just 3.1% to 155.5 million passengers in 2006, the slowest rate of growth in seven years, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. new data produced by Velocity Group. Apr 23, 2007 Alaska Air Group Alaska Air Group, parent of 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. and Horizon Air, recorded a first-quarter net loss of $10.3 million compared to a loss of $79.1 million in the 2006 quarter, but said that excluding special items in both years it would have reported a 2007 quarterly loss of $15.8 million versus a 2006 profit of $2.8 million. "Higher fuel costs, increased competition and a softer revenue environment in the first quarter make it imperative that we continue to drive changes to keep ticket prices affordable and attract new customers," said Chairman and 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. Bill Ayer. Apr 27, 2007 Alaska Air Group Alaska Air Group 2006 first-quarter result included an impairment charge of $131.1 million related to the decision to retire McDonnell-Douglas MD-80s earlier than planned, while this year's result included the impact of mark-to-market adjustments related to fuel hedge contracts. Group operating revenues rose 3.3% in the quarter to $759.4 million while 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. dropped 9.7% to $777.5 million, sending operating loss operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. down to $18.1 million from $125.2 million in the 2006 quarter. Apr 27, 2007 Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines, pre-tax loss decreased to $7.5 million from $124.7 million a year earlier as revenues rose 11.8% to $659.8 million and expenses fell 6.3% to $669.7 million. RPMs dipped 0.3% to 4.07 billion as ASMs lifted 2.8% to 5.69 billion, sending load factor down 2.3 points to 71.4%. Yield was up 2% to 13.43 cents, 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 was essentially level at 10.58 cents, 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 was down 17.6% to 10.57 cents and CASM excluding fuel and fleet transition costs declined 1.3% to 7.80 cents. Horizon Air posted a pre-tax loss of $9.2 million, worsened from a loss of $400,000 in the prior year, on a 10.5% gain in revenue to $161.6 million. Apr 27, 2007 Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines received confirmation of its reorganization plan A scheme authorized by federal law and promulgated by the president whereby he or she alters the structure of federal agencies to promote government efficiency and economy through a transfer, consolidation, coordination, authorization, or abolition of functions. yesterday from 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. , paving the way for it to exit Chapter 11 protection on April 30 after its $2.5 billion in exit financing has closed. Trading of its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. is expected to commence April 26 on a "when issued" basis and on May 3 on a "regular way" basis. Apr 26, 2007 Delta Air Lines Judge approves Delta's plan to exit bankruptcy. A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved Delta Air Lines' plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection. Delta operated under bankruptcy protection for nearly two years and shed 6,000 jobs and $3 billion in annual costs. "I feel elated," CEO Gerald Grinstein said. "For the 47,000 (employees) ... they're the ones who went through all the angst and made the sacrifices. It's for them I feel extreme relief." The airline will exit bankruptcy early next week. Apr 26, 2007 Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines reported a first-quarter net loss of $130 million, significantly narrowed from a net loss of $2.1 billion in the year-ago quarter, but was profitable at the operating level and is eyeing an exit from bankruptcy as soon as the end of this month. Apr 24, 2007 Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines today said it is narrowing the gap to profitability, reporting a $130 million net loss - $6 million excluding special items - compared with a 2006 Q1 $2.1 billion loss in the first quarter of 2007. Thanks largely to growth in international revenue, Delta achieved a $155 million 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. during what it plans to be its last quarter under bankruptcy protection. Apr 23, 2007 Delta Air Lines Delta posts smaller Q1 loss Delta Air Lines reported a small first-quarter loss on Monday. The airline lost $130 million in the latest quarter, a fraction of the loss of $2.1 billion posted in the same period a year ago. Delta plans to exit bankruptcy protection later this week. Apr 23, 2007 Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines Airlines prepare for trans-Atlantic deregulation Deregulation The reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry. Notes: Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. Airlines are eagerly positioning themselves for the deregulation of the trans-Atlantic market. Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines are among the carriers planning new routes and forming agreements with other airlines. Apr 24, 2007 Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines Airlines survive tough years by transforming themselves The airline industry's ability to transform itself by lowering costs has allowed it to survive difficult market conditions over the past five years. Delta Air Lines is expected to leave bankruptcy next week, and Northwest Airlines is expected to exit bankruptcy this summer. Improved economic conditions have also helped the airlines. "The environment is materially better for comprehensive, network carriers now and going forward than it was two years ago," says Michael Boyd, a Colorado airline consultant. "There's no excess capacity among the network carriers. When there's a downturn, Delta will be able to weather it well." Apr 26, 2007 Los Angeles International Five airlines add surcharge to LAX flightsFive airlines have added surcharges on flights departing from Los Angeles International Airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX to offset an increase in rent. The airlines say recent rent hikes at LAX left them no alternative, but they are filing protests with the facility to reduce the increases. Apr 24, 2007 Mesaba Airlines, Northwest Airlines Mesaba Airlines exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday and officially became a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Northwest Airlines. Mesaba operates 50 regional aircraft as Northwest Airlink. Apr 25, 2007 Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines announced a tentative labor deal with cabin staff represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA, perhaps ending a protracted pro·tract tr.v. pro·tract·ed, pro·tract·ing, pro·tracts 1. To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations. 2. dispute that has been in and out of the courts and that featured two rejected deals last year. The new agreement would give flight attendants a $182 million unsecured claim in NWA's bankruptcy and provides for the $195 million in savings the carrier says it needs. The deal will be submitted to the union's MEC MEC Ministério da Educação (Ministry of Education) MEC Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Spain: Ministry for Education and Science) MEC Mountain Equipment Co-Op , which will decide whether to ask membership to vote. Apr 27, 2007 Northwest Airlines Northwest attendants close to agreement The union representing flight attendants at Northwest Airlines says it is close to an agreement on several issues, including a $182 million bankruptcy claim. The flight attendants cannot secure the claim unless they approve a contract before Northwest exits bankruptcy in June. Apr 24, 2007 Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines announced that Chairman Gary Wilson will step down from the board when the company emerges from bankruptcy later this spring, ending an 18-year association with the airline that began when Wilson and former Co-chairman Al Checchi led an investment group that carried out a leveraged buyout leveraged buyout, the takeover of a company, financed by borrowed funds. Often, the target company's assets are used as security for the loans acquired to finance the purchase. of NWA NWA Northwest Airlines (ICAO code) NWA Northwest Arkansas NWA National Wrestling Alliance NWA National Weather Association NWA National Works Agency (Jamaica) NWA Network Analyzer in 1989. Wilson had served as sole chairman since 1997. He will be succeeded by Roy Bostock, a board member since 2005. Northwest said it will continue its corporate governance Corporate Governance The relationship between all the stakeholders in a company. This includes the shareholders, directors, and management of a company, as defined by the corporate charter, bylaws, formal policy, and rule of law. practice initiated by Wilson of requiring separation of the chairman and CEO positions and the board is considering instituting a 12-year term limit for directors. Apr 23, 2007 Northwest Airlines New Northwest board will start work after bankruptcy Northwest Airlines has named a new 12-member board. Members include include John Engler, a former Michigan governor and a board member since 2003, and new member David Brandon, CEO of Domino's Pizza. Current chairman Gary Wilson says he plans to step down. Apr 23, 2007 Republic Airways Holdings Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RJET) is an aviation holding corporation based in Indianapolis, Indiana, which owns three regional airlines operating in the United States: Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America. Republic Airways Holdings reported $19.3 million in net income for the first quarter, a 14.1% increase over the same period a year ago, as operating revenues rose 12.9% to $290.4 million while expenses grew 12.5% to $235.6 million to produce an 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. of $54.8 million, up 14.4%. CEO and Chairman Bryan Bedford cautioned that financial results for the second and third quarters could be impacted by an unexpectedly high pilot attrition rate, which doubled to 20% in the first quarter. Apr 27, 2007 United Airlines United loses $152 million in first quarter. Falling revenue, resulting primarily from the implementation of a deferred revenue accounting policy for its loyalty program, contributed to a $152 million first-quarter net loss for United Airlines parent UAL UAL United Airlines (ICAO code) UAL Unified Accelerator Library (Brookhaven National Laboratory) UAL User Account Lockdown UAL User Access Layer UAL Universal Auxiliary Language UAL User Agent Layer Corp. and a $237 million loss before reorganization items, taxes and equity in earnings of affiliates that narrowed from a $311 million loss on a similar basis in the year-ago quarter. Apr 26, 2007 United Airlines United may reduce domestic capacity; fights Denver competition United's CEO said Wednesday international demand is strong but that the airline added too much domestic capacity in the first quarter. Fierce competition has hurt the airline's profits at its Denver hub. United will continue to compete vigorously in Denver, CEO Glenn Tilton said. "It's a very important hub for us, and we have every intention of defending it," Tilton said. Apr 26, 2007 US Airways US Airways lifts profit despite weather, technological headaches US Airways Group US Airways Group Inc. NYSE: LCC is the Tempe, Arizona-based airline holding company that operates US Airways, US Airways Express and America West Airlines. It also operates additional companies that provide associated services. escaped a first quarter that featured two significant storms disrupting operations in the Northeast and a complicated reservations system integration with a $66 million net profit, a slight 1.8% improvement over earnings of $65 million in the year-ago quarter. Apr 27, 2007 Virgin Atlantic, Boeing, GE Virgin Atlantic Airlines will be first to power jets with biofuels. Plans to make Virgin Airlines the first airline using biofuels were to be announced To be announced (TBA) A contract for the purchase or sale of an MBS to be delivered at an agreed-upon future date but does not include a specified pool number and number of pools or precise amount to be delivered. by Sir Richard Branson today. Boeing and GE are working to get a biofuel-powered jet into the air for an inaugural test flight next year. Apr 24, 2007 ZZ Editor: Aram Gesar, eMail: edit@AirGuideOnline.com For Air Transport & Travel Business Experts contact eMail: bizintel@AirGuideOnline.com For more global news, reviews, features and analysis, please subscribe to our Newsletters: http://www.airguideonline.com/order_formsubs.htm#news To Advertise: advert@AirGuideOnline.com AirGuideFlightTracker is a new, free service that aims to keep travelers informed flight and airport status via the Web. For more go to http://www.airguideonline.com/airline_tracker.htm Copyright [c] 2007 Air Travel Media / Pyramid Media Group. All rights reserved. Apr 23, 2007 |
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