Source : Dow Jones, July 29, 2010
Lufthansa Thursday said operating profits will rise this year due to higher demand and prices for passenger and freight traffic as well as continued cost cutting and synergies from airlines it has acquired. 'Overall, the momentum behind the performance of our business in recent months has further increased our confidence to reach our profitability targets,' Lufthansa said. CFO Stephan Gemkow said that the airline's mid-term outlook has also improved. The airline said that its 2010 operating profit will likely rise 'in line with current market expectations' after reporting Q2 results that beat market views, driven by the recovery in demand and prices for passenger and cargo traffic. The results and outlook come despite higher costs for fuel, strikes and bad weather that burdened Q1 earnings, and lost revenue due to the volcanic ash cloud. The carrier said that it is experiencing 'positive demand trends, above all in the freight and intercontinental passenger businesses.' The company reported that Q2 net profit soared to E194m, from E89m in the prior-year period and revenues jumped 32.7% to E6.9b More

Source : Reuters, July 29, 2010
Shanghai Airlines will leave Star Alliance at the end of October, after bigger rival China Eastern took it over for US$1.3b last year, state media said Thursday. Shanghai-based China Eastern joined SkyTeam earlier this year, a global airline alliance that includes China Southern, China's largest carrier by fleet size. 'In order to maintain the consistency of the new China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines has decided to leave Star Alliance on October 31, 2010,' the official Xinhua news agency said. Air China will become the only Chinese airline that is a member of Star Alliance. More

Source : The Australian, July 30, 2010
United does not see the alliance of rival Delta and V Australia as a major competitive threat. It says nothing in recent developments on trans-Pacific markets has shaken its resolve to remain on the route. The US giant's VP resources planning, Greg Kaldahl, this week acknowledged during a visit to Sydney that the trans-Pacific market had become highly competitive. Fares on the market plummeted with the arrival of V Australia and Delta and have since remained well below previous levels. But Kaldahl said United had served Australia through the 'ups and downs'' of the past 25 years and remained confident that its extensive network and revamped product offerings would see the airline still flying on the market in 25 years' time. He said United was also now the only airline in the market offering first and business class on all flights and its updated premium product that rivalled 'anything available in the marketplace'. More

Source : ATW, July 30, 2010
LOT Polish Airlines said this week that it is making every effort to return to profitability. 'The situation within the company is very difficult but improving,” President Sebastian Miskosz said. LOT is facing strong competition from LCCs not only at its Warsaw hub but also throughout Poland. “LOT has to be more aggressive in the market,” said Miskosz. “We have a very different model [compared to LCCs].' He said LOT’s strategy is to develop its network with a focus on connecting traffic to Eastern Europe and Asia. LOT has been approached by Turkish Airlines about a possible takeover. “We are going for more negotiations in September,” said Miskosz. “There is an interest. Everything is possible; we have to be very creative and open.” More

Source : Bangkok Post, July 30, 2010
THAI has dramatically increased its fuel hedging, with more than two-thirds of its monthly jet fuel consumption now covered by the mechanism used to protect against fluctuations in the price of oil. So far this month, the carrier has covered 69% of its monthly consumption, about 1.2m barrels, through hedging at about US$80 to $90 a barrel, said a senior executive. The percentage represents a steady increase from 47% recorded in Q2 and 44% in Q1, underlining THAI's courageous decision to exploit the risk management tool after a miscalculated gamble in 2008 cost the airline 6b baht. THAI has become more active in fuel hedging since Piyasvasti Amranand, an energy technocrat, became THAI president last October and suggested the airline had not been making efficient use of the practice as a risk management tool. More

Source : Kyodo News, July 30, 2010
A computer glitch hit ANA's check-in system for international flights at Narita, Chubu, Hong Kong and San Francisco airports Thursday morning, the carrier said. Nine international flights leaving Narita airport for destinations including Beijing, Hong Kong and Paris departed by up to 75 minutes behind schedule, inconveniencing about 1,800 travellers, ANA said. No delays have been reported on flights at airports other than Narita, it said. The trouble started around 7 a.m. and the computer system was restored to normal at 10 a.m. More

Source : The Australian, July 30, 2010
Qantas has its eye on Bombardier's new CSeries jet as a potential replacement for Boeing 717s flying for QantasLink. While the airline is under no immediate pressure to replace the now discontinued 717s, acquired during its takeover of Impulse Airlines almost a decade ago, it is already canvassing potential replacements. Bombardier is planning models CS100 (a 110- to 130-seater) and CS300 (a 130- to 145-seater). The CSeries comes with new high-efficiency engines from Pratt & Whitney and is expected to enter service in 2013. The manufacturer is predicting the new plane will boost fuel efficiency and cut costs by 15 to 20%, improvements that have prompted Boeing and Airbus to look at putting more efficient engines on their 737 and A320 workhorses. The QantasLink fleet is already predominantly Bombardier. More

Source : The Australian, July 30, 2010
Qantas' moves to expand service to Indonesia have hit a stumbling block with Strategic Airlines making a bid for some of the same capacity. The International Air Services Commission revealed this week that Qantas had applied for 3898 seats a week from December 10 for Jetstar services to Indonesia. It also applied for 729 seats and four frequencies a week beyond Australia's northern neighbour. The airline, which asked for a five-year allocation to be taken up by the end of October next year, said it would fly the services using one-class Airbus A320s and two-class Airbus A330s. But Strategic Airlines on Wednesday applied to the commission for 1716 seats a week for two-class A320 services. Neither applications specified a destination, but the IASC said the combined request was greater than the 4000 seats available. The contest comes as a sixth carrier has signalled it wants to start services on the busy Perth-Bali route. Batavia Air has flagged it will launch daily A319 flights on a yet-to-announced date. More

Source : Reuters, July 29, 2010
Heavy monsoon rains in Islamabad Thursday hampered recovery efforts at the site of a Pakistani plane crash that killed all 152 people on board a day earlier, a senior police officer said. The Airbus A321, belonging to private airline AirBlue, crashed on Wednesday into a steep and heavily-wooded hillside in Islamabad shortly before it was due to land after a flight from the southern port city of Karachi. Thick fog and rainy weather are considered the most likely reasons for the worst aviation accident on Pakistani soil. Bin Yameen, deputy inspector-general with the Islamabad police, said the operation to recover the remains of victims could not be resumed due to the heavy rain. Difficulty in accessing the site was also complicating salvage efforts. Investigators were looking into causes of the crash, said senior Civil Aviation Administration officer Ayaz Jadoon. The plane's flight data recorder has yet to be recovered. The torrential rain may also damage, or wash away, evidence at the site. More

Source : Reuters, July 29, 2010
Southwest reported a Q2 profit that surpassed expectations, buoyed by strengthening consumer demand and lower-than-expected costs. Southwest said it saw record traffic levels in Q2 and expected 'strong' growth in unit revenue in Q3 based on current traffic and revenue trends. 'We see no signs that the momentum will stall in second half 2010,' CE Gary Kelly said. In Q2, net income rose to US$112m, from $91m a year ago. Revenue rose 21.1% to US$3.2b. Q2 unit costs, excluding fuel, rose 6.4% as fuel costs rose. The company received an US$18m refund from the TSA for excess security fees charged since 2005. Southwest is the last major airline to report results for Q2. More

Source : Bloomberg, July 30, 2010
State-owned Iran Air plans to sell its first shares to the public and buy as many as 100 new aircraft to expand in the face of tighter international sanctions, the company’s chairman said. Iran Air is seeking to modernise its aging fleet of foreign-built jetliners, which it operates amid political obstacles to the purchase of new planes and spare parts from Western suppliers, Chairman Farhad Parvaresh said. “Our company will be going into the Tehran Stock Exchange,” Parvaresh said. “We are creating the conditions for this. Whether that will be 100%, 70%, 60%, we are working on this.” He said it was too early to give a timeframe for the IPO. An IPO would help Iran Air finance its planned expansion, even as the Persian Gulf country comes under a new round of sanctions over its nuclear activities. More

Source : Mercury News, July 29, 2010
Alaska Airlines announced Thursday that it plans to fly three days a week to Los Cabos, Mexico, from Mineta San Jose International Airport, beginning Nov. 20. The carrier said the nonstop flights would depart San Jose at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, subject to regulatory approval. More

Source : AP, July 29, 2010
Far-reaching aviation safety legislation developed in response to a deadly commuter airline crash in western New York last year was approved by the House late Thursday. The safety measures are an attempt to force airlines to hire more experienced pilots, investigate their previous employment more thoroughly and train them better. It would require a major overhaul of rules governing pilot work schedules to prevent fatigue. Senate passage is expected Friday. More

Source : AP, July 29, 2010
Chelsea Clinton's wedding along the Hudson River will be under a no-fly zone. The FAA says local airspace will be restricted from 3 p.m. Saturday to 3:30 a.m. Sunday. Clinton, the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, will wed investment banker Marc Mezvinsky on Saturday evening in Rhinebeck. That's about 90 miles north of New York City. FAA spokesman Jim Peters says Thursday that decisions to restrict air space are made in consultation with other federal agencies. More