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Passenger numbers climbed 9.2% over the year-ago period to 7.1 million and load factor rose 2 points to 78.4% on a 6.5% increase in RPKs and a 4% lift in capacity. Unit costs grew 3.1% to A7.96 cents but fell 2.6% to A5.93 cents excluding fuel. The decline in earnings also reflected a A$10 million one-off cost associated with the introduction of Velocity and the fact that the high-volume Easter period fell in April this year. May 12, 2006

Available seats shrink 2.7% in first months of 2006. Airlines have cut the number of available seats to bring it more in line with demand. Statistics from the Air Transport Association say the number of available seats in domestic markets fell 2.7% in the first four months of 2006.

May 11, 2006

Taxpayers and shareholders subsidize executives' personal travel on corporate jets In 2005, 67 companies reported personal use of private jets, up from 60. Until 2005, companies could count on a sizable tax break for all travel on corporate jets. But Congress was concerned that taxpayers were essentially providing a subsidy for corporate air fleets because neither executives nor companies were paying taxes on the value of personal travel. May 10, 2006

Cathay Pacific 

Cathay Pacific flew 5.86 billion RPKs in April, a 16.3% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity rose 11.5% to 7.26 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 3.3 points to 80.7%. May 12, 2006

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific Airways will offer early retirement to 1,600 cabin crew with more than 15 years experience, according to a Cathay spokesperson cited by the Associated Press. Those who elect to take the buyout will receive 17 months' salary in addition to standard benefits and will be replaced by new staff. May 8, 2006

Gulf Air

Gulf Air faces a deficit of approximately BHD80 million ($211 million) despite "strong improvements" in key performance indicators during the first quarter because "revenue growth simply cannot keep pace with oil price rises," according to President and CEO James Hogan. "We are looking at a range of options to mitigate these additional costs. We are already seeing a more consistent application of fuel surcharges in all our markets," Hogan said. The airline said first-quarter unit revenues rose 6.6% over the year-ago period and load factor increased to 73%. May 10, 2006

Indian Airlines 

Indian Airlines began adding a fuel surcharge of INR300 ($6.68) to tickets on all domestic sectors effective May 4. May 9, 2006

Japan Airlines Group

JAL's difficult year ends with losses above $400 million. Japan Airlines Group blamed sluggish traffic growth caused by "safety-related occurrences" and anti-Japanese sentiment in China for its inability to overcome rising fuel costs, resulting in a drastic reversal in financial fortunes and a loss of [yen]47.2 billion ($423.2 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31 compared to earnings of [yen]30 billion in FY05. May 11, 2006

Singapore Airlines 

Singapore Airlines maintains income levels despite challenges. Record revenue and a commitment to cutting costs helped Singapore Airlines Group reduce the impact of soaring fuel prices to record a massive S$1.24 billion ($791.3 million) profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, just 8.3% down on the previous year. May 10, 2006

TAM

TAM posts big first-quarter earnings gain. TAM's first-quarter net income soared 107.9% compared to the year-ago period to R$111.2 million ($53.6 million) on a 24.6% rise in revenues to R$1.7 billion. May 8, 2006

Thai Airways 

Thai Airways reported a 78% rise in its fiscal second-quarter profit to THB6.2 billion ($164.7 million) from THB3.49 billion in the year-ago quarter, according to a filing submitted to the Thai Stock Exchange cited by press reports. Key to the earnings increase was a 19% rise in sales to THB46.1 billion and a strengthened baht, which resulted in a THB3.86 billion foreign exchange gain. Expenses advanced 20% to THB40.5 billion and load factor climbed 6.1 points to 76.7% as Thai added four aircraft during the quarter. Additional passenger data were not released. Thai is raising its fuel surcharges from June 1 to help mitigate a 60% increase in fuel costs. May 12, 2006

Varig

Varig will auction off a portion of its assets to raise the money it needs to maintain operations under a plan approved yesterday during a meeting in Rio de Janeiro of employees, government officials and the carrier's creditors, according to media reports. The government confirmed it will not bail out the bankrupt carrier, which reportedly will be split into two companies and sold in approximately two months. Two options are on the table, depending on investor intentions. One would split Varig into a flight operations company and a service unit handling distribution, reservations, etc. The operations unit would be auctioned off at a minimum $860 million, with the proceeds used to pay off the debt of the service unit. The other option would split Varig into domestic and international carriers, with the proceeds from the sale of the domestic carrier bailing out the new international airline, according to Bloomberg. May 10, 2006

Virgin Blue

Virgin Blue still is in some limbo as Toll Holdings completes its acquisition of port operator Patrick Corp., which holds 62.4% of the airline. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the coming days. Toll has ruled out a sale of its share in the short term, according to Reuters. May 12, 2006

Virgin Blue's unhedged exposure to escalating jet fuel prices undermined its net earnings for the first half of the financial year, with the carrier reporting an 8.5% fall in profit to A$68.2 million ($52.4 million), reflecting a 33.7% rise in the cost of fuel over the six-month period to March 31. CEO Brett Godfrey said the A$49 million in additional fuel expense was offset partially by the benefits of Virgin Blue's new corporate business strategy and improved productivity, which contributed to a 6.1% increase in revenue to A$935.9 million. Yields remained relatively steady despite continuing competition from Jetstar on domestic and transtasman routes. May 12, 2006