US Airways (Phoenix and Dallas/Fort Worth), part of American Airlines Group, today announced the launch of its codeshare agreement with fellow oneworldยฎ member Airberlin (Berlin), further enhancing its relationship with the German carrier and providing customers increased access to major destinations throughout Germany and beyond.
The codeshare includes placing the US Airways code on Airberlin flights from Chicago, Miami and New York (JFK) to Berlin, and from Fort Myers, Florida, Los Angeles, Miami and New York (JFK) to Dusseldorf. From Berlin and Dusseldorf, customers will have access to 16 destinations in Europe, including Airberlin’s flights to Copenhagen, Hamburg, Munich and Vienna. Customers traveling with Airberlin will now be able to book codeshare travel on US Airways flights from Frankfurt to Charlotte and Philadelphia, Zurich to Philadelphia, and from Munich to Philadelphia, as well as connecting service to Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Phoenix.
US Airways plans to implement codeshare agreements with select other members of the oneworld alliance in the coming months. The airline joined oneworld as an affiliate member on March 31, and will remain as such until it fully integrates with American Airlines as part of their merger to create the largest airline in the world.
In other news, the American Airlines Group is having its first stockholder meeting tomorrow in Dallas. It is the first stockholder meeting since the merger and bankruptcy.
The Dallas News highlights the status of the group heading into tomorrow’s meeting: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. The clock is ticking for the last remaining US Airways Boeing 737-400s. The airline will quietly retire the last 737 Classic flight from the Charlotte hub on August 18. Boeing 737-4B7 N455UW (msn 24997) of US Airways climbs away from the runway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT).
Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) and JTA-Japan Transocean Air (Naha, Okinawa, Japan) have finalized an order for 12 Next-Generation 737-800 airplanes. The arrival of the new 737-800s in 2016 will mark the start of the airline’s fleet renewal program.
The order, first announced as a commitment on March 27, is valued at $1.1 billion at list prices. As part of the agreement, JTA will also have the flexibility to switch to the 737 MAX family of airplanes.
Based in Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost major island chain, Japan Airlines Group member JTA currently operates a fleet of 737-400 airplanes on domestic routes linking Okinawa with major Japanese cities as well as other Okinawa islands.
The airplanes will be fitted with Boeing’s latest Performance Improvement Package (PIP), delivering an additional 2 percent improvement in fuel efficiency for what is already the most fuel efficient single-aisle airplane in the market. The airplanes will also feature the popular passenger-inspired Boeing Sky Interior, with modern sculpted sidewalls and window reveals, LED lighting that enhances the sense of spaciousness and larger pivoting overhead stowage bins.
Top Copyright Photo: KSK/AirlinersGallery.com. JTA currently operates 13 aging Boeing 737-400s including the well-known blue (above) (male) and pink (female) whale shark designs (Jimbei Jet and Sakura Jimbei). Boeing 737-4Q3 JA8939 (msn 29486) completes its over water approach to Ishigaki, Japan.
Alaska Air Cargo (Alaska Airlines) (Seattle/Tacoma) today (May 16) delivered 24,100 pounds of the season’s first shipment of Alaska Copper River salmon to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The arrival of the fish-filled Boeing 737 marks the start of the summer salmon season and is an annual rite of passage anticipated by seafood lovers throughout the Pacific Northwest.
At least five more Alaska Airlines flights today will transport salmon from Cordova, Alaska, to Anchorage, Seattle and throughout the United States. The flights will have fresh fish from three Alaska seafood processors: Copper River Seafoods, Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Trident Seafoods.
Alaska Airlines plays a significant role in supporting the Alaska seafood industry, which is recognized worldwide for its sustainable fishing practices. Last year, the carrier flew more than 24.5 million pounds of fresh Alaska seafood to the Lower 48 states and beyond, including 1 million pounds of Copper River salmon.
“No other airline delivers more Copper River salmon to the Lower 48 than Alaska Airlines, and making that happen within 24 hours after the fish is pulled from the water is no small feat,” said Betsy Bacon, managing director of Alaska Air Cargo. “Hundreds of employees from across the state of Alaska, Seattle and beyond spend months getting ready for the busy summer fish season.”
5th annual Copper Chef Cook-off
Following the arrival of the first fish, three Seattle-area top chefs — John Howie, owner of Seastar, Jason Franey of Canlis and Ethan Stowell, owner of Tavolata — will compete for the best salmon recipe in Alaska Air Cargo’s fifth annual Copper Chef Cook-off. The chefs will have 30 minutes to prepare and serve the first catch of the season to a panel of judges, which include Seahawks place kicker Steven Hauschka; Jay Buhner, Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer; and Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines’ chief operating officer. The airline will announce the winner of the cook-off on Twitter @AlaskaAir. Fish lovers can follow the competition and share their favorite salmon recipes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #SalmonChef.
Among the onlookers awaiting the arrival of the first fish were 10 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP Gold members, and representatives from USO Northwest, the U.S. Marines and U.S. Coast Guard, who were invited to sample the season’s first Copper River salmon.
Anchorage hosts First Fish parade
Farther north, Copper River Seafoods and local Anchorage-area restaurants are also welcoming the arrival of Copper River salmon with festivities planned at Alaska Air Cargo at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Later this afternoon, the seafood company will deliver a ceremonial first fish to seven downtown Anchorage restaurants.
Enhanced seafood quality training program
Copper River salmon shipped on Alaska Air Cargo arrives as fresh as possible to grocery stores and restaurants across the nation, thanks in part to a cool chain training program required of all airline employees who handle perishables. Alaska Air Cargo employees are required to adhere to strict seafood quality standards and pass an annual food quality course.
Seafood processors and shippers follow these cool-chain standards to provide a temperature-controlled environment for proper food handling. The goal is to keep seafood moving rapidly throughout its journey on Alaska Airlines and maintain a consistent temperature range from the time it leaves the water to when it arrives at stores and restaurants.
The first Copper River salmon was brought to SEA with their Boeing 737-400 Combi N765AS.
In other news,ย Alaska Airlines was awarded its seventh J. D. Power award as the best traditional network carrier.
Top Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin/AirlinersGallery.com. Beautifully displayed, Boeing 737-890 N559AS (msn 35178) is the second Alaska 737 to wear the special “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon” livery in support of the Alaska fisheries industry.
Alaska Airlines:ย
Video: the ceremonial fish head “kick-off”:
Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Dedicated as a freighter, Boeing 737-490 (F) N709AS (msn 28896) climbs away from the runway at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC).
Alaska Air Group’s board of directors (Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air) (Seattle/Tacoma) has approved a share repurchase program authorizing the company to buy back up to $650 million of its common stock. This share repurchase program represents approximately 10 percent of the market capitalization of the company.
The board also approved a quarterly cash dividend of 25 cents per share as part of Air Group’s program to be a leader in returning capital to investors. The dividend to all shareholders of record as of May 20 will be paid on June 4.
The $650 million repurchase program will begin immediately after the existing $250 million buyback is completed.
AAG intends to finance the dividend and stock repurchases with cash on hand and cash flow from operations.
The program allows the company to repurchase its common stock using open market stock purchases, negotiated transactions or through other means, including accelerated share repurchases and 10b5-1 trading plans.
This will be Alaska’s eighth repurchase program since 2007. The company has spent $519 million buying back more than 21 million shares of its stock.
Alaska Air Group began paying a quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share in August 2013, the first time since 1992 that the company had paid a dividend. It was increased to 25 cents per share this past February.
Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737-490 N791AS (msn 28886) taxies at Los Angeles International Airport in the special “Follow Me to Disneyland” color scheme.
Bahamasair (Nassau) will again add the Freeport-Miami route on June 6, operating two days a week (on Fridays and Sundays). Additionally the carrier will start a route linking Nassau with Havana three days a week commencing on June 3.
In other news, Bahamasair has contracted with Xtra Airwaysย (Boise, Idaho) to operate a summer seasonal charter service to Birmingham, Alabama. The first charter flight departed from Birmingham to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island on May 3. The seasonal charter flights will operate to Freeport through August 6 and is bookable through VacationExpress.com.
In addition, Bahamasair is back at Baltimore/Washington (BWI) and Richmond (RIC) for its summer charter program. Xtra Airways will again be operating the flights for Bahamasair. The first or second weekly charters will be operated with Xtra’s N43XA in Xtra colors. However N279AD is being painted at this time and will take over the BWI/RIC flights in a hybrid Bahamasair/Xtra Airways livery that N42XA carried last summer.
Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Xtra Airways has operated for Bahamasair in the past. Boeing 737-429 N42XA (msn 25729) is seen in the past at Baltimore/Washington with Bahamasair titles (currently the aircraft still displays Xtra Airways titles for the Birmingham flights).
Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma) is pledging a $1.5 million grant to support job training at its hometown Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. This local investment will be made over the next four years in collaboration with the Port of Seattle with an initial contribution to Port Jobs, a nonprofit committed to preparing workers for the Port of Seattle economy.
In the first year, Alaska’s grant will help Port Jobs expand access to college courses through Airport University, effectively doubling the number of courses, college credits and students. The grant will also enable Port Jobs to add more advanced courses than currently offered.
Alaska Airlines has been involved with Port Jobs since its inception in 1993, with several key executives serving on its board of directors.
The Port of Seattle supports more than 200,000 jobs and generates $6.8 billion in payroll. Alaska Airlines employs more than 7,000 workers at the company and partner vendors in the Seattle areaโmore than any other air carrier. Over the duration of the jobs training grant, Alaska expects to fill 2,000 family-wage jobs in the Seattle market, and will work closely with the Port of Seattle and Port Jobs to prioritize hiring graduates of the program.
Port Jobs has served more than 78,400 community residents and helped more than 12,300 people find jobs since its creation in 1993. It is funded by the Port of Seattle, city of Seattle, King County, the state of Washington, United Ways of King and Snohomish counties, and many local and national foundations.
Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-4Q8 N771AS (msn 25104) taxies at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) hub.
Air Ghana (Accra) commenced cargo operations on May 1 for DHL after securing its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) in April. The cargo airline started operations with a single Boeing 737-400 freighter (above) leased from Swiftair (Madrid) on the Abidjan-Accra-Lagos route. Boeing 737-4Q8 9G-AGL (msn 25163) is fully painted in DHL’s colors.
The new airline issued this statement:
Air Ghana has taken delivery of a Boeing 737-400F aircraft with the registration of 9G-AGL. This first aircraft (total 5 aircraft over the next 3 years) is in DHL livery and will be exclusively dedicated to DHL scheduled services in West Africa. The first flight on May 1, 2014, operated an ABJ-ACC-LOS-ACC-ABJ rotation. Air Ghana now has an AOC issued by Ghana Civil Aviation making Air Ghana a fully operational cargo airline.
This new development represents a very important part and a major step forward in making Accra the number one hub in West Africa. The aircraft will be used to provide a feeder service to West, Central and Southern African countries and once fully operational will significantly increase cargo throughput at Kotoka International Airport. A fully operational integrated feeder service, a strong interline GSSA network, together with a new state of art handling facilities at GACC Ltd.
Air France (Paris) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Air France-KLM Group) together reported a new lossย of โฌ608 million ($843 million) for the first quarter. This was narrowed fromย โฌ641 million ($888 million) in the same quarter a year ago.
Top Copyright Photo: Manuel Negrerie/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 F-HEPG (msn 5802) of Air France with Sharklets and the special 80 And/Years emblem arrives at the Paris (CDG) hub.
City Airways Company Limited was established on February 24, 2011 with three Boeing 737-400s. The airlineย launched scheduled flights from Bangkokโs Don Mueang Airport to Chiang Mai and Phuket in Thailand.
Copyright Photo: Jacques Guillem Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-4Y0 HS-GTA (msn 24688) is parked at the Don Mueang Airport base in Bangkok.
Alaska Air Group, Inc. (Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air – Alaska Horizon) (Seattle/Tacoma)ย today reported first quarter 2014 GAAP net income of $94 million, or $1.35 per diluted share, compared to $37 million, or $0.51 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2013. Excluding the impact of mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments of $8 million ($5 million after tax, or $0.07 per diluted share), the company reported record adjusted net income of $89 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $44 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, in 2013.
“Our record first quarter results reflect strong demand for our service and the efforts we’ve taken to improve the value we bring to our customers,” CEO Brad Tilden said. “Our solid foundation of award-winning service, excellent operational performance, low costs and low fares, and the best employees in the business will help us sustain our success in the face of increasing competition.”
Financial Highlights:
Reported record first quarter net income, excluding special items, of $89 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $44 million, or $0.62 per diluted share in the prior-year quarter. This quarter’s results compare to a First Call analyst consensus estimate of $1.24 per share.
Recorded net income for the first quarter under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of $94 million or $1.35 per diluted share, compared to net income of $37 million, or $0.51 per diluted share in 2013.
Reported record adjusted pretax margin for the first quarter of 11.8%.
Achieved trailing 12-month return on invested capital of 14.8% compared to 13.4% in the 12 months ended March 31, 2013.
Paid a $0.25 per-share quarterly cash dividend on March 11 totaling $17 million. This is a 25% increase from the previous cash dividend payment of $0.20 per-share.
Repurchased 352,851 shares of common stock for $30 million in the first quarter of 2014.
Lowered adjusted debt-to-total-capitalization ratio by 3%, to 32%, from December 31, 2013.
Held $1.4 billion in unrestricted cash and marketable securities as of March 31, 2014.
Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Dedicated freighter operations at Alaska Air Cargo becomes very active in Alaska this time of the year. Boeing 737-490 (F) N709AS (msn 28896) touches down at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC).
Alaska Airlines:ย
Alaska Horizon:ย
Horizon Air:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Horizon Air’s (Alaska Horizon) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (marketed as the “Q400”) N440QX (msn 4347) in the special Oregon State University-OSU Beavers color scheme taxies to the runway at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) hub.
You must be logged in to post a comment.