UA upgrades its triple sevens
May 11, 2012 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under Aviation, News
BANGKOK 11 May 2012: United Airlines was touting its ‘refurbished Boeing 777s and the imminent arrival of the Boeing dreamliner as examples of its “new United” image.
United, which completed a complicated merger process with Continental, last February, claims to be the world’s largest airline conglomerate. It is spending US$550 million on an upgrade of aircraft operating on international routes, including a relaunch of it long-haul premium cabin services.
About 130 aircraft will be fitted with flat-bed seats by 2013 as part of the upgrade and economy class cabins will feature video on demand, while business and first class will eventually offer Wi Fi internet access. About half of the inter-continental fleet has been upgraded so far.
SQ seeks partners
Singapore, 11 May 2012: Singapore Airlines said Thursday it is exploring partnerships in India and China as it looks to guard against increased competition and global economic uncertainty.
“There is always a constant look at how we can be nimble in response to changes in the market,” chief executive Goh Choon Phong told reporters a day after the group announced sharply lower profits for the fiscal year to March.
SIA’s profit slumped 69% year-on-year to S$336 million.
Emirates takes a profit dive
DUBAI, 11 May 2012: Dubai’s Emirates airline group posted a 61% slump in net profit in the year to 31 March due to unprecedented economic pressures and record high fuel prices, the company said Thursday.
Total profits for Emirates Group, including all of its subsidiaries, dropped to 2.3 billion dirhams (US$629 million) in 2011-2012 from 5.9 billion dirhams (US$1.6 billion) for the previous year, the company said.
Net profits for the airline alone stood at 1.5 billion dirhams (US$409 million), compared with 5.4 billion dirhams (US$1.5 billion) for the same period in the year before.
Air India strike halts flights
MUMBAI, 10 May 2012: The number of pilots involved in a wildcat strike at India’s national carrier Air India rose to 150 on Wednesday, as the walkout forced the cancellation of more international flights.
Some 100 pilots walked out on the first day of the strike at the debt-laden airline Tuesday and by day two the number had increased.
“About 150 pilots representing the Indian Pilots’ Guild have reported sick,” K. Swaminathan, a spokesman for Air India, told AFP.
Sukhoi plane wreckage found
CIDAHU, Indonesia, 10 May 2012: Indonesian rescuers Thursday spotted the wreckage of a missing Russian Sukhoi Superjet that disappeared in mountainous terrain during a demonstration flight with about 50 people aboard.
Russia’s first post-Soviet civilian jet vanished from radar screens south of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Wednesday, 50 minutes into what was meant to be a short flight to show off its capabilities to prospective buyers.
Lao Central Air and Orient Thai Airlines are two Mekong Region airlines that have said they were interested in the new Russian commercial jet, without providing details other than to say they had placed orders.
CX stock takes a dip
HONG KONG, 10 May 2012: Shares in Cathay Pacific plunged Thursday, after the Hong Kong flag carrier announced a raft of cost-cutting measures and warned of “disappointing” first-half results due to high fuel prices.
The firm, which is listed at the Hong Kong stock exchange, fell 5.54% to HK$12.62 in morning trade, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index was 0.93% lower.
Cathay said Wednesday there was “no sign of a sustained recovery” in its cargo business due to rising fuel costs, and that its 2012 financial results scheduled to be announced, 8 August “are expected to be disappointing”.
Hajj trip hand outs to end
NEW DELHI, 9 May 2012: India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the government to scrap subsidised travel for tens of thousands of Muslims on the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
“We hold that the policy is best done away with and it should be eliminated over 10 years,” said Justice Altamas Kabir, striking down New Delhi’s argument that pilgrims were entitled to the state help once in their lifetime.
The details of the court judgment were not immediately available.
Fury over Berlin airport delay
BERLIN, 9 May 2012: Red-faced authorities said Tuesday they had delayed indefinitely the opening of Berlin’s new main airport due to fire safety problems, in a shock move that angered politicians and the industry.
Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport was supposed to open 3 June. Designed to replace Berlin’s Schoenefeld and Tegel airports two symbols of Germany’s cold war division airlines such as Air Berlin were counting on the new airport as it revitalize its international network.
Acknowledging his “bitter disappointment”, airport chief Rainer Schwarz apologised at an impromptu press conference and said he was now aiming for an opening “after the summer break”, probably in August, without setting a date.
Air France and KLM report losses
PARIS, 8 May 2012: Air France-KLM said over the weekend it suffered a first quarter net loss of 368 million euros (US$485 million) as higher fuel prices continued to outpace increased revenues.
Airlines worldwide are reporting substantial declines in revenue while cutting costs by delaying aircraft purchases.
Sales in the three months to March rose 6.0% to 5.6 billion euros, it said, as passenger traffic proved satisfactory while cargo weakened due to the global economic slowdown.
QF stalls on A380s purchase
SYDNEY, 8 May 2012: Embattled carrier Qantas said over the weekend it would delay the delivery of two A380 as part of a further A$400 million (US$410 million) in spending cuts as it works to turn its business around.
The Australian airline had already announced A$500 million in cuts in February, which included job losses for cabin crew and pilots as well as in catering, engineering and ground operations.
Qantas has also been reviewing its maintenance operations to identify how to keep costs down, which could see more jobs go.
