Amakusa Airlines-AMX (Amakusa, Kunamoto Prefecture, Japan) has taken delivery in Toulouse of a 48-seat ATR 42-600 (JA01AM, msn 1202), the first of the type to start operations in Japan.
For almost 15 years, the airline has been providing regular scheduled regional services connecting the city of Amakusa off the coast of mainland Kyushu in southwestern Japan to large cities such as Kumamoto, Fukuoka, and Osaka.
This new ATR 42-600 has been purchased from Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC), the industryโs largest turboprop lessor, headquartered in Denmark. It is equipped with the latest technologies in passenger comfort and navigation aid tools and features ATRโs newest Armonia cabin (below) and full-glass cockpit avionics.
With the introduction of this very first ATR aircraft in Japan, Amakusa will replace their current 39-seat turboprop (below), thus offering larger capacity and contributing to the development of tourism and to even better service for the local population.
Commenting on the introduction of the aircraft, Takashi Yoshimura President of Amakusa Airlines, declared:
โWe are honored to debut the ATR in Japan, and to provide our passengers with an aircraft that has an outstanding reputation in terms of comfort, reliability and operational flexibility. The aircraft, which has an increased seat capacity, will also enable us to achieve optimized economics and seat costs, while having a very low environmental footprint.โ
Above Photo: AMX. The top of JA01AM.
Amakusa Airlinesย was established in late 1998 and started operations on March 23, 2000, with services from Amakusa to Fukuoka and Kumamoto. Amakusa Airlines is the smallest airline in Japan, with one single aircraft, and is mainly owned by the Kumamoto prefectural government and the municipal government of Amakusa. Since the beginning of its operations, Amakusa Airlines has carried over 1 million passengers.
The new ATR 42-600 replaces an older Bombardier DHC-8-103 (below) (Kampala21).
Finnair (Helsinki) reported a second quarter net loss of โฌ6 million, down from a larger 2Q net loss of โฌ23.9 million in the same period a year ago.
CEO Pekka Vauramo commented on the results:
Our passenger traffic revenue from tickets and ancillary services saw strong growth in the second quarter of 2015, and we achieved a new record in June by carrying more than 37,500 passengers in one day. At the same time, ancillary sales grew by one third from the previous year. Our customers have heartily welcomed the Chicago route as well as our new seasonal summer routes, with demand exceeding our expectations. Furthermore, business travel has picked up noticeably.
Profitability improved significantly, although the operational result still showed a loss of 12.9 million euros. The result improvement is attributed to revenue growth in our core business operations, the progress of costย reduction measures and the decline in fuel prices, which is reflected in our costs gradually due to our hedging policy. The appreciation of the dollar diluted the benefit from fallen jet fuel price and significantly increased our other dollar-denominated costs, but at the same time, the appreciation of our income currencies boosted our revenues particularly in Asia. In addition, our positive performance was supported by the result improvement at Aurinkomatkat Suntours.
While we cannot be satisfied with our loss-making result, our financial position and liquidity are very strong. Our long-haul fleet renewal, which will start this autumn, will significantly improve the cost-competitiveness and customer experience of our long-haul traffic. At the same time, we will continue to focus on increasing our revenue through, for example, ancillary services and product improvements in intercontinental traffic.
We are moving in the right direction and our strategy, which was updated in the spring, is clear. Our goal is profitable growth, which we will be better equipped to achieve once the Airbus A350 aircraft start joining our fleet later this year. They will enable the gradual growth of capacity and substantially reduce our fuel costs on long-haul flights. In addition, we have begun to recruit cabin crew with a view to future growth. Our whole team is enthusiastically preparing for Finnairโs next phase.
Here are the details:
Finnair Plc. Interim report August 14, 2015:
April-June 2015
Revenue on a par with second quarter of 2014, at 561.0 million euros (565.7).
Operational result improved to -12.9 million euros (-19.6).
Operational EBITDAR was 37.4 million euros (35.5).
Net cash flow from operating activities stood at 88.4 million euros (69.2), and cash flow from investments totalled -53.7 million euros (-92.3).
Unit cost at constant currency excluding fuel (CASK excl. fuel) increased by 0.7% year-on-year.
Unit revenue at constant currency (RASK) decreased by 1.9% year-on-year.
Earnings per share amounted to -0.06 cents (-0.20).
January-June 2015
Revenue on a par with first half of 2014, at 1,101.4 million euros (1,109.0).
Operational result improved to -41.3 million euros (-53.9).
Operational EBITDAR was 56.6 million euros (53.0).
Net cash flow from operating activities stood at 101.4 million euros (48.7), and cash flow from investments totalled 89.2 million euros (141.4).
Unit cost at constant currency excluding fuel (CASK excl. fuel) increased by 0.9% year-on-year.
Unit revenue at constant currency (RASK) decreased by 1.2% year-on-year.
Earnings per share amounted to -0.16 cents (-0.44).
Finnair updates its guidance and estimates that, in 2015, its operational result is around break-even or slightly positive.
Outlook
Outlook published on May 7, 2015
The demand outlook for passenger and cargo traffic in Finnairโs main markets still involves uncertainty. Finnair estimates that, in 2015, its capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres will grow by approximately 3 per cent and that its revenue will remain at the 2014 level. Finnair further estimates, as a change to its previous guidance, and when calculated with the same accounting principles as earlier, that its unit costs excluding fuel will increase from the 2014 level due to the structural changes in the companyโs business and the strong appreciation of the US dollar. By applying the changed calculation method, that neutralises the effect of these changes as defined in notes 16 and 18 to the interim financial statements, Finnair estimates that its 2015 unit costs excluding fuel at constant currency will decrease from the 2014 level.
The lower price of jet fuel and the full impact from the completed savings program are supporting the financial performance of Finnair 2015.
According to its disclosure policy, Finnair will issue guidance on the expected development of its operational result in connection with the JanuaryโJune interim report. As a separate guidance Finnair estimates that, when calculated using the exchange rates effective at the end of the review period, the non-recurring items associated with the long haul fleet renewal in 2015 will have a substantial positive impact on Finnairโs operating result due to the strengthened US dollar. Finnair has previously estimated that the long haul fleet renewal would not have a significant effect on its operating result in 2014 and 2015. The non-recurring items related to the long haul fleet renewal react substantially to changes in the euro-dollar exchange rate.
Outlook on August 14, 2015
Finnair estimates that, in 2015, its operational result is around break-even or slightly positive.
Finnair reiterates its previous estimate that its capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometers will grow by approximately 3 per cent and that its revenue will remain approximately at the 2014 level. As a change to its previous estimate, the company now estimates that its 2015 unit costs excluding fuel at constant currency will remain at the 2014 level.
Finnair also reiterates as a separate guidance that, when calculated using the exchange rates effective at the end of the review period, the non-recurring items associated with the long haul fleet renewal in 2015 will have a substantial positive impact on Finnairโs operating result due to the strengthened US dollar.
Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-112 OH-LVG (msn 1916) arrives in Zurich.
Finnair aircraft slide show:ย
Video: Finnair is depending on the new Airbus A350-900 to boost its bottom line later this year.
Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin) has not stemmed its losses. The airline reported a second quarter net loss of โฌ37.5 million ($41.8 million). This represents a 2Q widened net loss from โฌ8.6 million ($9.5 million) reported in the same period a year ago.
The company’s first half net loss was also reported as โฌ247.6 million ($276 million), widened from the โฌ201.2 million net loss ($224.4 million) previously reported for the same period a year ago.
The airline issued this financial report:
Revenue performance in the second quarter of 2015 was characterized by tactical capacity adjustments. At 1.07 billion euros in Q2 2015, revenue fell by 7.0 percent compared to the same period last year (Q2 2014 1.15 billion euros). Accordingly, Group revenue also declined by -2.3 percent (from 1.91 billion euros to 1.87 billion euros) in the first half of 2015. As a result of capacity consolidation, revenue decreased compared to last year, but capacity utilisation and revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) improved.
Stefan Pichler, CEO airberlin:
“Following a good first quarter, the second quarter was a transition quarter in line with the market trend, as expected and announced. We are optimistic about the outlook for the second half of the year. I am convinced that airberlin is well positioned, thanks to the efficiency improvement measures we have introduced. The noticeable 2.1 percent load factor improvement in July to 87.3 percent shows that we’re on the right track. In the fourth quarter, we will begin the consistent transformation of our business model.”
Operating earnings (EBIT) were -15.9 million euros in Q2 2015 (Q2 2014: -6.9 million euros). This year’s shift in the Easter holidays and last year’s Lufthansa strike affected earnings performance during Q2 2015. Benefits due to the low oil prices were offset by fuel hedging and the US dollar development. Over the half-year, however, airberlin improved its operating earnings (EBIT) by 7.3 percent compared to last year (HY 2014: -189.7 million euros, HY 2015: -175.8 million euros).
Net profit in the second quarter is -37.5 million euros (Q2 2014: 8.6 million euros). In the first half-year, net profit was -247.6 million euros (HY 2014: -201.2 million euros), which was primarily due to pronounced currency effects when evaluating derivates.
Positive RASK performance thanks to efficient capacity and revenue management
In a competitive market environment, Airberlin slightly increased revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) in the second quarter, which coincided with the system-driven realignment of its revenue management. Total revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) was 7.20 eurocts (Q2 2014: 7.16 eurocts), which represents a 0.6 percent increase. In terms of half-year results, RASK also increased by 1.2 percent, from 6.90 eurocts to 6.99 eurocts. In terms of yield performance, the average yield fell by -1.6 percent, from 120.5 euros to 118.5 euros. Compared to the same half-year period last year, the yield improved by 0.7 percent, from 119.0 euros to 119.8 euros.
In the second quarter, Airberlin offered 15.0 billion available seat kilometers (ASK), which, in accordance with its capacity planning, represents a fall of 7.1 percent (Q2 2014: 16.0 billion). Cost per ASK (CASK) rose by 1.5 percent from 7.20 eurocts to 7.31 eurocts.
Realignment of business model
During the first phase of the realignment, the management structure and management processes of the Airberlin Group were more closely aligned to operational airline processes. In addition to the short-term capacity consolidation, the airberlin group continues to focus its efforts on the redesign of its revenue management and sales.
A fundamental review of the current network operated by Airberlin is nearing completion and is aimed at significantly improving both the starting position of the operating costs per ASK (CASK) and the revenue per available seat kilometre. Optimising internal business processes and increasing focus on core business will continue during the 2nd half of 2015.
Outlook
The second half of the current financial year will aim at implementing the optimisation measures initiated during the first half year. Considerable improvements in yield, capacity utilisation and RASK are expected.
Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com. Airberlin is phasing out its Boeing 737 fleet and is going to an all-Airbus fleet. The last 737 should be retired by the end of next year unless the carrier decides to cut additional loss-making routes. Boeing 737-86J D-ABME (msn 37766) painted in the Oneworld scheme taxies at Zurich.
Emirates (Dubai) has announced plans to launch services to Panama City, beginning February 1, 2016.
The new service will be the longest nonstop flight in the world (17 hours 35 minutes in the westbound direction) and will be Emiratesโ first gateway destination in Central America.
Service to Panama City, Panamaโs capital and largest city by population, will commence with a daily flight operated by a Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft in a 3-class layout – 8 in First, 42 in Business, and 216 in Economy. The aircraft can carry up to 15 tons of cargo. Key imports to the country include pharmaceuticals, machinery products, iron/steel rods, and electronics. Service to Panama City will operate through Tocumen International Airport (PTY).
Later this year, Emirates will be adding four additional routes to its global network including Mashhad, Iran and Orlando in September; Bamako, Mali in October; and Bologna in November.
Service to Panama City to begin on February 1, 2016
Emirates flight EK251 will depart Dubai at 08:05 and arrive in Panama City at 16:40 daily. The return flight EK252 will leave Panama City at 22:10, arriving in Dubai at 22:55 the next day.
Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-21H LR (Longer Range) A6-EWH (msn 35587) departs from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Spirit Airlines (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood)ย has announced daily, nonstop service to and from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY) and McCarran International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas.
This new daily service begins on November 13, 2015 and brings the total number of Spirit nonstop flights to six destinations from New Orleans including Chicago (O’Hare), Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, Houston (Bush Intercontinental), Dallas/Fort Worth, and Detroit.
Spirit operates 28 daily departures to 19 destinations from Las Vegas.
Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss/AirlinersGallery.com. This new Airbus A321 is pictured in the new bright yellow 2014 livery. The airliner is seen on a test flight at Hamburg (Finkenwerder). Airbus A321-231 D-AYAH (msn 6736) will become N658NK on delivery.
United Airlines (Chicago) has announced “complimentary personal device entertainment is now available on regional jet aircraft”. The in-flight entertainment offerings now includes expanded HBO content, Vevo videos and concerts. The company issued these further details: United Airlines is continuing the expansion of its “United Private Screening” in-flight entertainment with the launch of free personal device entertainment on two-cabin United Express regional jets; expanded HBO programming; and exclusively curated content from Vevo, the world’s leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform.
United currently has one of the largest offerings of free streaming entertainment โ already on more than 200 United aircraft โ with scores of television shows and movies available for streaming directly to travelers’ laptop computers and iOS and Android mobile devices.
Customers on flights with personal device entertainment may enjoy popular films like “Birdman,” “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and the “Taken” trilogy, as well as kid-friendly favorites such as “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” and “The LEGO Movie.” Hours of popular television shows are also available and may include HBO’s “Veep” and “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” as well as “Mad Men,” “Orange is the New Black” and other hit shows.
Above Photo: United Airlines.
Regional Jet Entertainment and Onboard Experience
United has begun rolling out personal device entertainment on its fleet of more than 120 Wi-Fi-equipped United Express Embraer E170, E175 (above) and Bombardier CRJ700 regional jets, with more than half of these aircraft now offering free streaming entertainment. The airline plans to offer the service on all Wi-Fi-equipped regional jets by the end of next week.
The launch of personal device entertainment on regional jets follows United’s introduction this year of an all-new premium-cabin experience on United Express, featuring freshly prepared meals served on chinaware on regional jet flights of at least 800 miles.
Expanded HBO Content
Additionally, the airline has expanded HBO content on aircraft that offer personal device entertainment as well as on those with seatback on-demand entertainment. Available HBO entertainment includes full seasons of popular television shows such as “Entourage,” “Game of Thrones” and “True Detective.”
Videos and Concert Entertainment from Vevo
United has also joined with Vevo to offer hundreds of music videos and concert performances for customers to view at no charge on United aircraft offering personal device entertainment. Vevo content is also available through seatback on-demand entertainment.
Tribeca Film Festival
Meanwhile, United is in its second year as the official airline of the Tribeca Film Festival. Flights with live television, seatback on-demand entertainment and personal device entertainment offer unique in-flight content curated by Tribeca, including independent feature narratives and documentaries as well as short films.
Tablet Rentals
This summer, United also launched a pilot program offering tablets for rent on Boeing 777 flights between the continental United States and Honolulu and between Honolulu and Guam. The 8.4-inch tablets contain stored entertainment, including television shows, movies and games.
In-flight Entertainment Availability
United aircraft offer several in-flight entertainment options, with Wi-Fi also available on 85 percent of mainline aircraft and regional jets receiving the technology. In addition:
United plans to install personal device entertainment on more than 650 mainline and regional aircraft, including its intercontinental fleet;
The airline operates more than 200 intercontinental and p.s. Premium Service aircraft with seatback on-demand entertainment; and
Another 227 mainline aircraft offer live television, more than any other airline in the world.
Customers may learn before departure which entertainment option will be available by checking their flight status at united.com or via the United mobile app.
Top Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 170-200LR (E175) N86322 (msn 17000465) prepares to land at Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ).
United Express-Mesa Airlines aircraft slide show:ย
OneJet (Indianapolis) will addย Nashville, Tennessee as a new destination city to its growing network. OneJet flights from Indianapolis International Airport (IND) and Nashville International Airport (BNA) will be available for purchase beginning August 13, 2015, for operation starting on September 8, 2015. Nashville joins a growing list of cities from Indianapolis offering OneJet service, including Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Memphis, all introduced earlier this year.
OneJet flights will depart Indianapolis at 8:00am and arrive in Nashville at 8:15am. Flights from Nashville will depart at 4:15pm, arriving in Indianapolis at 6:40pm. All times local.
Flights operate from main commercial terminals and airports in markets served currently including Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Memphis, and Nashville providing weekday service on Hawker 400 light jet aircraft. All flights are operated by regionally based operating partners featuring ARG/US Platinum Safety-rated and TSA-certified operations.
Memphis was added on June 22. OneJet will announce a second focus city on or before September 15.
Jetstar Airways (Melbourne) has issued this statement and photos:
The first of five Jetstar Bombardier Q300 turbo-prop aircraft to be painted in Jetstar livery rolled out of the paint shop in Townsville this week in preparation for regional services in New Zealand later this year.
The aircraft were formerly used by QANTAS Link and will be the first turbo-props to fly under the Jetstar brand.
In addition to the new livery, the Q300s are being given an interior refresh to match the Jetstar onboard product.
Further details of the new services, including the four regional destinations theyโll be flying to in New Zealand, will be announced in a few weeks.
Regional New Zealand flights on the Q300s will be operated by Eastern Australia Airlines for Jetstar Airways.
Copyright Photos: Jetstar Airways. Eastern Australia Airlines Bombardier DHC-8-315 (Q300) was rolled out of the paint shop at Townsville in the new look.
Lufthansa Group (Frankfurt) is happy with the early bookings for its upcoming new Eurowings long-haul services. The group also established Eurowings Europe (Vienna) on August 10. The group issued this report:
The new Eurowings looks all set for a successful launch of its attractively-priced long-haul services. Three months ahead of its first such flights โ to the Caribbean, Thailand and Dubai โ Lufthansaโs new budget-fare subsidiary reports promising booking levels.
โAs the customer demand confirms, what weโre offering here is a highly attractive long-haul air travel product,โ says Karl Ulrich Garnadt, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and CEO of Lufthansa German Airlines. โOur strategy of offering our further Eurowings brand, which is aimed particularly at price-sensitive leisure travellers, clearly meets a market need. And our decision to commence these operations in Cologne and the North Rhine Westphalia region has proved a prudent one, too.โ
The new intercontinental services will be operated with Airbus A330-200 equipment (above). The first two aircraft are already being prepared to enter revenue service at the beginning of November. The Eurowings long-haul fleet will then gradually be expanded to seven Airbus A330s.
The new Eurowings is adopting the business and marketing concept that has already proved successful with its sister carrier Germanwings, which has firmly positioned itself as an innovative quality low-cost airline.
While Germanwings is focused on the German air travel market, Eurowings will now expand the concept throughout Europe, and will further extend it to intercontinental city and vacation destinations.
Eurowings will be opening its first operating base outside Germany in Austria. In collaboration with fellow Lufthansa Group carrier Austrian Airlines, Eurowings will offer European services from and to Vienna using Airbus A320 equipment โ one aircraft from the 2015/16 winter schedules, and a second from March 2016. Both aircraft will be operated by Austrian Airlines.
The new Eurowings Europe GmbH was founded in Austria on Monday, August 10.
The company will serve as the starting point for further growth, which will see the establishment of several more operating bases throughout the European continent. Eurowings Europe is currently setting up its flight operations, which includes creating its own cockpit and cabin crew corps.
The new Eurowings cockpit crew positions are initially being advertised internally within Lufthansa, to give priority to existing pilots from the Lufthansa Group and those who have completed their flight training in Bremen and are awaiting suitable vacancies. The pilot recruitment process should then be extended to outside applicants in the second half of August. The cabin crew recruitment process will begin in the second half of September.
The remuneration systems at Eurowings Europe will be aligned to those already in place at other airlines within the Lufthansa Group. But they will also pay due regard to the particular conditions and challenges of the low-cost airline sector, particularly in terms of productivity levels and seasonal demand fluctuations.
The new remuneration packages will also feature attractive occupational pension benefits. As well as offering an employerโs retirement savings contribution amounting to 2% of the employeeโs basic salary, Eurowings will increase this contribution to 2.5% for any employee who undertakes to make their own employeeโs savings contribution of 1.0%.
Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss/AirlinersGallery.com. Former EVA Air Airbus A330-203 B-16301 (msn 530) became D-AXGA with the new Eurowings.
You must be logged in to post a comment.