Low Cost Airline News.

For more airline news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm Aug 21, 2006

Air Berlin

Air Berlin has acquired 100% of dba, the former British Airways offshoot. Whilst still to be approved by the German cartel office the route networks of the two carriers complement each other very well. Air Berlin says that it can integrate dba's domestic routes into its European network without any problems. The dba slots at Munich and Dusseldorf are also very useful. dba is to continue to operate as an independent company under the umbrella of Air Berlin. Martin Gauss and Peter Wojahn will remain as managing directors. However, in future the company will be marketed as Air Berlin ("powered by dba"). The flight schedules for the coming winter months will be harmonized where possible. A joint summer schedule will be in operation from April 1, 2007. In the last financial year 2005/2006 dba, with its 29 aircraft, carried 4.3m passengers whilst Air Berlin counted 13.5m and operated 58 aircraft. Dba acquired LTU German Airlines just two months ago and that carrier is expected to follow its new parent under the Air Berlin umbrella. http://www.airberlin.com Aug 19, 2006

Air Berlin

Air Berlin and dba expect to transport 20 million passengers this year and AB has no plans to cancel dba's order for 25 737NGs scheduled to begin delivering in 2008, according to the spokesperson, who said that "dba got a very good price for that deal from Boeing and we need those aircraft for further growth." AB earned a [euro]30 million ($38.4 million) profit in the second quarter, Hunold said, following a first quarter in which it lost [euro]31 million. It operates 58 aircraft and expects a profitable year. Dba operates 29 aircraft and transported 4.3 million passengers in its last fiscal year with turnover of [euro]404 million. Aug 18, 2006

Air Berlin and dba schedules should be integrated fully with the summer timetable starting April 1, 2007 with dba's domestic routes folding into AB's European network. Dba's slots at Munich and Dusseldorf, where AB could not grow any further, were a critical component of the deal. Additional synergies will be implemented through joint orders, yield management, logistics and the entree for dba to 13,000 German travel agencies. Aug 18, 2006

Air Berlin transported 1.6 million passengers in July, up 15.4% over the year-ago month. Load factor rose 1.8 points to 85.7%. Aug 17, 2006

v AirAsia

AirAsia secured a $230 million loan to be used to finance the acquisition of six A320s, according to press reports citing Deputy CEO Kamarudin Meranum. The carrier increased its commitment to the type last month with an order for 40 firm and 30 options. The loan was arranged largely by Kuwait Finance House and adheres to Islamic financing principles. AirAsia will lease the aircraft from the lender for 12 years, at which time it will purchase them. Aug 16, 2006

AirTran Airways

AirTran Airways announced that it reached a tentative five-year labor deal with 40 mechanics and ground service employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Ratification is expected within 10 days. Aug 17, 2006

AirTran Airways said operations were "actually going very smoothly" and that it had no security-related cancellations. "Passengers are adjusting to the new regulations and many are checking bags, so we have had a slight increase in checked baggage," a spokesperson said. Aug 14, 2006

Bmibaby

Bmibaby announced that its 189 pilots represented by the British Air Line Pilots Assn. voted not to strike, with just 47% voting in favor of a work stoppage. BALPA began balloting pilots earlier this month. "BALPA have requested a meeting with us to attempt to find a way through the dispute and we are reflecting on that proposal," the carrier said. "Bmibaby's offer of negotiations for a multiyear pay deal for 2007 onwards remains on the table." The result of voting by mainline pilots will be announced Aug. 24. Aug 17, 2006

EasyJet

EasyJet Keeps Profits Forecast. European low-cost airline easyJet retained its pretax profit growth forecast of 40-50 percent this year despite recent travel woes, its chief executive said. Andrew Harrison told German weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche that flights had largely returned to normal since Thursday, following a week when airlines had cancelled flights as security was tightened after UK police said they had foiled a plot to blow up trans-atlantic airliners. Harrison reiterated the airline would increase pretax profit to GBP114 million pounds (USD$214.5 million) this year. He said the airline would double its profit margin to 15 percent in 2008 and earn at least GBP4 (USD$7.50) per passenger. Launched by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou in 1995, easyJet floated in London in 2000, bought the low-cost carrier Go in 2002 and has since grown rapidly, with around 170 planes expected in the air by 2008. Aug 20, 2006

EasyJet intended to operate a full flying program by Saturday and maintained extended check-in hours to allow passengers to deal with intensified security checks. Ryanair advised passengers booked to travel over the weekend on flights from the UK to bring only one bag and offered those who did not wish to travel on Aug. 11-12 a rebooking free of charge via a special Web link, a policy it introduced on Aug. 10. Aug 14, 2006

FlyGlobespan

FlyGlobespan seems to have got the Transatlantic and long haul bug in a big way. After successfully introducing daily Boeing 767 flights from Glasgow International to Orlando for this summer, and announcing Toronto services for the winter from Belfast, Cardiff, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted, the airline now says it will operate Glasgow - Boston next summer. It is also committed to Liverpool - Newark New York at the same time and has previously confirmed Manchester - Cape Town. Glasgow to Barbados and Las Vegas will have limited services. Both two and three - class aircraft are used on the services. http://www.flyglobespan.com Aug 19, 2006

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways has launched up to six daily nonstop flights between New York/John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Washington, D.C./Dulles International Airport breaking into a market dominated by the US generic carriers. Services will be operated by JetBlue's Embraer 190 fleet, featuring 100 leather seats, generous legroom, 36 channels of onboard TV and more than 100 of satellite radio. The new services complete the JetBlue New York - Boston - Washington triangle. http://www.jetblue.com Aug 19, 2006

JetBlue Airways yesterday launched six-times-daily (five on Sunday) New York JFK-Washington Dulles service aboard Embraer 190s. Aug 18, 2006

JetBlue Airways said operations at New York JFK were going well and that it was relieved to get permission to continue offering to passengers traveling overnight its Shut-Eye amenity kit that includes lotion and lip balm. US Airways told this website that Friday featured "some delays, but not much more than normal," while Continental Airlines said the 34-min. average delay at Newark was due to high winds and that security screening was "not a big factor." Aug 14, 2006

Norwegian

Norwegian flew 535 million RPKs in July, up 67% on the year-ago month. Capacity rose 70% to 595 million ASKs and load factor fell 1 point to 90%. Aug 18, 2006

Ryanair

Ryanair Says Security Won't Derail Low-Cost Travel. Heightened airport security will not derail the rapid growth of budget airlines, Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Friday. However, the boss of Europe's largest low-cost airline threatened to sue the British government for compensation if it did not scale back security measures in seven days, saying recent transport chaos had cost it some GBP2 million pounds (USD$3.8 million). Air travel in Britain has been severely disrupted since police said last week they foiled a plot to bomb transatlantic airliners. Since then, travellers have faced tighter security, long delays and restrictions on hand luggage, and airlines have cancelled more than 750 flights from London's Heathrow Airport alone. Aug 18, 2006

SkyEurope Airlines

SkyEurope Airlines said it has appointed UBS Investment Bank and CA-IB Corporate Finance to "examine a range of financing options" that may include the flotation of new shares in order to "finance the fleet and continued network expansion." The carrier raised [euro]60 million ($76.4 million) from an initial offering of 12.98 million shares last fall. It reported a loss of [euro]33.8 million in the fiscal first half ended March 31. Aug 17, 2006

SkyEurope Airlines transported a record 346,597 passengers in July, up 44% over the year-ago month. Load factor fell 5.5 points to 84.2%. It also named Karim Makhlouf chief commercial officer, Lane Zirnhelt finance manager and Benjamin Djiane communications manager. Aug 17, 2006

Southwest Airlines

Southwest to add five flights at Dallas Love Field. Southwest Airlines in October will add five round-trip flights at Dallas Love Field. The airline will add flights to St. Louis, Kansas City, New Orleans and Albuquerque, N.M. Aug 18, 2006

Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines launched service Tuesday from Boston to Detroit (twice-daily) and Myrtle Beach (daily) aboard A319s. Aug 17, 2006

Sterling European

Danish LCC Sterling, acquired officially by FL Group in the first quarter, reported a pre-tax loss of ISK2.53 billion for the first half but pre-tax income of ISK320 million for the three months to June 30. "The Sterling turnaround is moving according to plan while record high fuel prices and increased competition remain challenging," Smarason said. Aug 16, 2006

Virgin America

Virgin America secures additional $53M in financing. Virgin America has signed a new financing agreement for an additional $53 million to help offset legal costs. Several large U.S. carriers are challenging Virgin's plan to start U.S. service. The company did not disclose who provided the financing in a filing made with the Department of Transportation.

Aug 18, 2006

Virgin America Causing US Airline Turbulence. Start-up US air carrier Virgin America has not flown a plane or even got its license to operate, but it is already creating turbulence in the US airline industry. Incumbent carriers, led by Continental Airlines, have lobbied hard to keep Virgin America from getting off the ground. Those efforts, which have slowed Virgin America's efforts to gain US government approval to start flying, show how intense competition is in the US airline industry and how fragile its recent recovery may be. Aug 15, 2006

Vueling Airlines

Vueling Airlines will begin daily Santiago de Compostela-Paris Charles de Gaulle service on Sept. 18 aboard an A320. Aug 18, 2006

WestJet Airlines

WestJet will launch the following routes on Oct. 29: Toronto-West Palm Beach (thrice-weekly); Edmonton to Phoenix (four-times-weekly) and Palm Springs (thrice-weekly); Montreal to Orlando (four-times-weekly) and Tampa (thrice-weekly), and Ottawa to Orlando (four-times-weekly) and Tampa (thrice-weekly). It also will increase frequencies on 19 other transborder routes. Aug 17, 2006

Wizz Air

Not all companies have suffered from the London airport chaos. High-speed train operator Eurostar has seen a 27% increase in passengers since the introduction of tougher security measures across Europe, carrying an extra 28,000 travelers over the past four days. Central Europe's Wizz Air said it experienced "no flight cancellations" during the peak of the crisis Aug. 10-14, operating 130 flights to and from the UK and carrying more than 22,000 passengers, including a significant number rebooked from other airlines' cancelled flights. Aug 16, 2006

Wizz Air

Wizz Air will extend its twice-weekly service from Katowice to Girona-Costa Brava, originally scheduled to end next month, to Oct. 28. Aug 14, 2006